The Mage of Primordial Chaos

Chapter 474: Fireworks of Dread

Soon, the lot of us arrived at the top of of the Arcane Skyscraper, and exited the elevators to take the final few steps up to the roof using stairs. When Long Lu finally pushed open those doors, the breeze of cool air that rushed in was exhilarating.

It was summer, so naturally, the climate was hot, but all the way up here, the air was cool. The higher one climbed in altitude, the colder it would be. This building had to be at least a good 500 meters tall, piercing the heavens itself.

“Ahh… that wind feels great,” Feng Mian breathed, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

“Never mind that… look.” Yu An Yan pointed at the black sky in front of them, where a single streak of light shot out from the ground up. As it rose into the air, it attracted the gazes of every Fragment citizen, and flew higher and higher.

Until at last…

BOOM!

A loud explosion signaled the firework’s detonation, and the rising streak of light bloomed into a beautiful red flower that marked the beginning of the show.

And then another. And another.

Fireworks began soaring into the air and exploding all over the scene, and just like Long Lu claimed, this place truly had the most incredible view.

Qing Yue rode on my shoulders, Flaria, Lorelei, and Mei Gui stood in front of me since they were all short, squeezed together, and Feng Mian rested her head against my left shoulder while Ling Xin took my other side. The Yu sisters and Lan Xiao Su were too entranced by the fireworks show to be jealous, but Axilia was a different story. Even so, she didn’t say anything to disrupt the calm atmosphere and kept silent.

None of the girls said anything. Neither did Long Lu, Long Yi, Ming Hao, or Sisi. Of course, these fireworks were beautiful, but we didn’t need to voice that out loud. It was a common opinion that we all silently shared, so there was no need to say it.

The fireworks then converged and formed a pattern, painting the message ‘Happy Summer Festival!’ in an explosive plethora of different colors. It was impressive, to say the least.

By the time the fireworks show was finally over, we had all lost track of time, and merely stood there, stunned.

“That was… beautiful,” Feng Mian said at last, smiling warmly. The other girls nodded in agreement.

“Been a while since I last saw fireworks as impressive as this,” Yu An Yan said. “Definitely exceeded my expectations, that’s for sure.”

“What about you, Xuan Kai?” Ming Hao butt in, a grin on his face. “What do you think of the fireworks show? Was our boy Long Lu’s spot good?”

I nodded. “That’s… technically the first time I’ve seen fireworks.”

“Huh…?” Qing Yue tilted her head. “But didn’t you go on a date with Mei Gui a long time ago, and saw fireworks there…? She told me about it.”

“Well, almost,” I said with a sigh. “The fireworks were about to start, but then the Midnight Syndicate’s invasion screwed everything up.”

“Oh yeah… that,” Ming Hao laughed awkwardly. “I almost forgot about that… but hey, at least this time, the show wasn’t ruined by the Midnight Syndicate, right?”

BOOM!

Suddenly, a loud explosion went up into the air. Another firework? No. This one was something far greater—far more dangerous. The earth began shaking, and the girls and I immediately got ready to fight. Ming Hao, on the other hand, was shocked still.

“Uh… right?”

“This is going to fall!” I yelled to them. “Run!”

I immediately used Warp Gate to bring all the girls and I back to the ground, but the others were out of my range and had to deal with it on their own. I saw the building we had just been on slowly tumbling, falling to the floor, but then-

“Look! Above us!” A man to our right cried out, and at once, everyone in Fragment looked to the air.

It was a horrifying sight.

The originally clear black sky now had a hole in it, with fractures protruding from it like a broken piece of glass. Some people still thought this was part of the show—but they soon realized their mistake as several screams could be heard in the distance, directly underneath the gaping hole in the artificial sky of Fragment.

And what was also in that direction was…

“…!” Zhao Xiuying suddenly rushed on forward, surprising both me and the other girls.

“Hey, where are you- tch!”

Gritting my teeth, we followed after her. Since using magic in Fragment was strictly prohibited and doing so would require immense effort, I decided to conserve my energy/mana.

After all, there was no telling what awaited us. And I didn’t have a good feeling.

*****

As the girls and I arrived at the source of the screams, we were dumbfounded. In front of us, five figures stood, surrounded by a full platoon of soldiers led by five other figures. The first five’s attire mainly consisted of black, while the other five’s outfits mainly consisted of white. All ten were immensely powerful figures.

“What’s going on…” Feng Mian whispered from beside me, but none of us could answer. We hid behind some bushes, watching the conflict before us unfold.

“… The Midnight Syndicate. After going quiet for months, you have returned,” one of the white-outfitted figures said, voice deep and stern.

My eyes widened. That voice… I recognized it.

“… Tian Lin…?”

“You know him…?” Ling Xin turned to me in surprise. I gave a firm nod, but there was no time to explain anything to her now. If Tian Lin was here, that would mean the other four were also Council members.

Just as expected, Ling Xin moved up and tried exiting the bushes, but I shook my head.

Not yet, I implied with my eyes. We need to assess their power first.

After some thought, she nodded, agreeing with my plan, and laid back down, patiently observing the scene.

“And not just that…” A short and stout man wearing an white outfit chuckled. “After so many years of hiding… you’ve finally come back out, huh, X?”

The man wearing black standing in the center of the four others by his side, whose name was presumably X, didn’t even react to his question. He may have, in actuality, but his midnight black knight-like helmet covered his entire head. So, instead, he spoke quietly yet threateningly, voice dispassionate yet menacing.

“… Succumb. I do not wish to fight you.”

The stout man’s expression tightened, and he took a gulp out of the jar of wine he held in his hand.

“… Heh. Awfully confident you’ve gotten over the past years, eh? Have ya forgotten the last time ya ‘nvaded us like this, ya got your ass handed to ya on a damn silver platter?”

On the other side, a man with wolf ears and silver hair rolled his eyes impatiently.

“Oi, boss, just let me take care of these guys already. That fat one especially… looks like he’ll have lots of meat, heheh…”

“I ask that you grant me the opportunity to serve you, Master X,” another man said, kneeling down on one knee before X, who was their leader. “I shall eliminate these… hindrances.”

This one had ash-grey skin and glowing red pupils and black sclerae instead of the usual white. Two red scars ran down his face on either side, but none were longer than the length of about a finger. It was clear that he was a Demon in his demonic form rather than his human one.

“… Very well,” X said after a long silence. “I gave you a warning, and you did not listen. Then, face the wrath of my men. I will leave you two to it.”

“Yessir!” 

“My thanks, Master X.”

The wolf demihuman grinned like a carnivore and cracked his knuckles while the demon rose from his knees and turned to face the Council of Arcanity members along with their soldiers, and X turned away. Together, with his two other subordinates, he vanished into thin air.

“Hold it! Where do you think you ar-” The Elven Council Member began moving forward, but the wolf demihuman stepped up, blocking his path.

“Woah there… where do you think you’re going? Your opponent is right here in front of you.”

“Tch… how despicable. Tian Lin, Strovem, Sayuri, and Phobia, let us work together to take down this foe!”

“Alrighty!” Strovem—the dwarf—yelled and prepared to toss his wine into the air, but—

“ROARRRR!”

Suddenly, the demon unleashed a deafening bellow, and even the girls and I who were watching far away had to plug our ears tightly. Two wings sprouted from its back, great and ominous, sending out a ripple of Demon energy all around him.

“Ngh-!” The Council of Arcanity members backed away slightly, but were otherwise unharmed. The platoon of soldiers, however, weren’t as lucky. They were all blown away in an instant by the wind generated from the demon’s powerful wings, then killed by the Demon energy. The few soldiers among them from the Demon race managed to survive, but even among those, most were unconscious. All were in no condition to fight.

“You four deal with the demon!” Sayuri, the tiger demihuman girl, yelled, then turned to the wolfish young man. “… I’ll take on this one.”

A fatal mistake.

“Oh? Think Nael over there is more dangerous than me?” The wolf demihuman laughed devilishly. “… That pisses me off, little girl. Oh, how it so pisses me off… how it… oh, I’m mad now.“

Suddenly, his body was engulfed in white light, and a beam of raw power shot out of him, piercing the skies. His pupils disappeared, eyes turning into nothing but pure white, and his fangs grew sharper. His two elbows tore apart to reveal sharp arm blades, and his originally silver-gray hair turned into a divine white.

“W-What is this…?” Sayuri breathed, eyes widened in terror and voice trembling at the glowing entity in front of her, still surrounded by a white fire-like aura. 

The powered-up wolfman, sensing her fear, smirked widely and revealed all of his sharp teeth.

“Now… you pay the price.”