Reinventing Magic: An Inventor's Tale-Chapter 82: Fractured Seal and Winged Terrors

Alice barely had time to react.

The Sentinel’s twin Proton Cannons that had just fired in succession, their devastating energy beams slicing towards the flying beast. One of them, however, struck Alice mid-flight. The blast tore through her defenses, sending her spiraling toward the ruined fortress below.

She hadn’t sensed the attack coming. The Sentinel’s advanced stealth system did more than render it invisible—it masked its mana emissions entirely, making it undetectable to even the most sensitive magical perceptions. With no warning signs, Alice had no time to react before impact.

Her form crashed into the debris-strewn battlefield, sending dust and shattered stone flying in all directions. A deep crater marked the point of her impact, her armored body partially embedded into the ground.

"You hit the wrong target, you moron!" Isolde’s furious voice rang through the cockpit of the Sentinel, her hand smacking the back of Lucien’s head with a sharp thud.

"Ahw!" Lucien winced, rubbing the sore spot as he snapped back, "I didn’t mean to! You were the one who told me to attack!"

"I did, but not Alice!"

Lucien groaned, gripping the controls tighter. His analytical mind raced to assess the situation, but frustration clouded his thoughts.

"I’m still not used to flying this thing! The controls are too damn sensitive! If we attack now, we risk drawing that thing’s attention to us!"

Below, Alice’s systems started to recalibrate after the impact. Her mana core flickered erratically as she attempted to rise, but the damage was extensive. The runes across her back pulsed weakly, signaling partial failure in her internal mechanisms. Yet, even in her injured state, her gaze never wavered from the winged beast.

The monstrous creature hovered in the air, its elongated form twisting as it tried to locate the source of the attack. The Sentinel’s stealth capabilities rendered it invisible to the beast’s senses, leaving it disoriented.

However, its predatory instincts quickly sought out a new target. Its glowing eyes locked onto the figure of Astra, who stood atop the fortress wall, his silver-gray hair motionless in the howling winds of battle.

Astra detected the shift in the beast’s attention instantly. His internal systems rapidly calculated possible outcomes, determining the best course of action. His directive was clear: protect the fortress and eliminate threats.

The beast began to charge its breath attack, drawing in ambient mana as its body pulsed with raw energy. A luminous glow coursed from its tail to its chest, signaling imminent devastation.

Astra’s processors analyzed the incoming threat. The data was conclusive—if the attack landed, the fortress wall would collapse, and with it, the remaining dwarven defenders would be annihilated. He had to act immediately.

Summoning his energy reserves, Astra raised his arm, his arcane weaponry shifting seamlessly into position. Without hesitation, he began charging his Arcane Blaster, the same devastating spell he had once used against the Sentinel during their previous skirmish.

The beast unleashed its breath attack, a searing beam of concentrated energy aimed directly at Astra.

At the same time, Astra fired his Arcane Blaster.

The two attacks met in midair, colliding with a deafening explosion. The battlefield was engulfed in a blinding light as the opposing forces clashed. Yet, Astra’s calculations had failed to account for one crucial factor—the sheer overwhelming power of the beast’s breath attack. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

The energy blast tore through Astra’s Arcane Blaster, overpowering his offensive attack. The remnants of the attack surged toward him, threatening to consume him in an instant. Realizing the danger, Astra blinked away at the last second, teleporting to the nearest cluster of dwarves. The moment he reappeared, he grabbed the nearest warriors and moved them out of harm’s way just as the destructive energy struck the wall.

Stone shattered. Debris rained down. The section of the fortress wall where Astra had stood moments before was reduced to molten slag, the structure barely holding together.

The dwarves, momentarily stunned by their near demise, gaped at Astra.

"By th’ stone, that were too bloody close!" one o’ them gasped.

Another dwarf, clutchin’ his axe with white-knuckled hands, glanced at Astra. "Ye saved our hides, lad... but that beast’s still lurkin’ up there!"

Astra’s cold, emotionless gaze remained fixed on the beast above. His internal systems recalibrated, analyzing alternative methods to neutralize the threat.

Meanwhile, high above, Alice struggled to regain altitude. Her internal repairs were underway, restoring function to her damaged systems. The Sentinel’s errant attack had taken its toll, but she was far from defeated. Summoning her remaining energy, she propelled herself back into the air, her silver-gray hair whipping wildly in the wind.

She locked onto the beast once more.

"Re-engaging target," Alice murmured, her voice devoid of pain or hesitation.

The battlefield was a cacophony of steel, magic, and roars of the monstrous horde. The crumbled walls of the dwarven stronghold lay in ruin, offering an open gateway for the invading beasts. Yet, the dwarves did not falter.

"Hold the bloody line!" a dwarven officer bellowed, his thick beard matted with dust and sweat. "Drive ’em back to the abyss!"

A hulking dwarf wielding a massive axe let out a guttural war cry before cleaving a charging beast in two.

"Taste me axe, ye filthy spawn!"

Every dwarf that still stood fought with the fury of their ancestors. The clashing of blades against hardened scales and the sickening squelch of axes meeting flesh filled the air.

Blood splattered against the stone, and yet they did not give an inch. The fortress had stood for centuries, and they would not see it fall this day.

From atop the crumbling battlements, Astra continued his unrelenting assault. His back-mounted cannon fired precise bursts of arcane energy, each shot incinerating a monster attempting to breach the defenses.

He moved with cold efficiency, his calculations ensuring maximum effectiveness with minimal movement. To him, this was merely an equation—a problem with only one acceptable solution: eliminate all threats.

Meanwhile, high above the sky, Alice steadied herself mid-air. Her artificial body swiftly adapted to the damage inflicted by the Sentinel’s stray blast. Though the impact had momentarily disrupted her mana flow, her spirit crystal had already begun rerouting energy to restore full functionality. Her mission remained unchanged: lure the winged beast away from the fortress.

Her glowing gray eyes locked onto the creature as she raised her arm. Arcane circuits ignited along her limb, channeling power into her fingertips. With calculated precision, she released a barrage of arcane projectiles. Each shot streaked through the air, glowing with raw magical energy before slamming into the beast’s armored hide.

The first few attacks barely made the creature flinch, but as the rapid succession of strikes continued, the beast let out a deafening screech.

Its massive wings flared, redirecting its attention away from the fortress.

Alice’s aether core pulsed as she prepared for what came next. The moment the beast twisted its serpentine form and lunged toward her, she engaged her mobility thrusters, swiftly retreating into the sky. The monster roared, flapping its enormous wings as it pursued her, its predatory instincts now fully engaged.

Her plan was working.

At the same time, below the rift, Kael knelt before the damaged seal, his mind racing as he deciphered the complex enchantments. Zarathor’s sabotage had disrupted the mana flow, destabilizing the entire structure of the seal. Every second that passed brought the world closer to calamity.

Beads of sweat trickled down Kael’s forehead as he analyzed the runes. Twenty minutes of intense scrutiny had led him to a conclusion—he could fix it.

"I think I got it," he muttered to himself.

Gripping his twin daggers, Shadowfangs, he channeled his mana into the enchanted blades. The obsidian edges glowed faintly as he etched precise counter-runes into the stone.

The act of rewriting the enchantment demanded unwavering concentration. One mistake could unravel the entire structure, making things worse than before.

His breathing slowed as he synchronized with the mana patterns. He had to stabilize the disrupted flow, reconnect the broken pathways, and ensure the seal could withstand further assaults.

His mind operated with mechanical efficiency, much like when he once programmed complex robotics in his past life. Magic, in its essence, was just another system to be debugged and optimized.

As he worked, his mana sense remained active, scanning for potential threats. He could feel a disturbance—one of the abyssal creatures was closing in on his location. He estimated that it would reach him in twenty-five seconds.

I need to hurry.

His hands moved faster, inscribing the final sequence of runes onto the surface of the seal. The moment the last stroke was complete, the damaged enchantment pulsed, absorbing the corrections and beginning to stabilize. The mana currents that had been thrown into disarray slowly realigned, forming a stable circuit once more.

Kael exhaled sharply.

"It’s holding... for now."

A guttural snarl echoed from behind him. The creature had arrived.

Kael spun on his heel, daggers raised, his mind already calculating his next move. He wasn’t done yet—but neither was the enemy.

Above, Alice continued her aerial maneuvering, ensuring the winged beast remained locked onto her. She adjusted her trajectory, drawing the monster farther away from the battlefield below.

Her mission was clear, and she would see it through to the end.

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