Chapter 28: Battle Against The Wyverns

Molly’s figure blurred upward as she propelled herself with the [Flight] formula, ascending through the night sky in a smooth, silent arc. Below her, a Grand Wyvern’s massive jaws snapped shut on empty air, the sound of its teeth clashing together echoing like a stone slab cracking in two. She never looked down, already tilting her body sideways to slip past the rush of displaced wind.

A furious roar tore through the darkness. Her gaze cut sharply to the side where another Grand Wyvern hurtled toward her, its cavernous maw yawning wide. Deep within its throat, the [Blazing Fire Burst] formula was etching itself into reality, burning images arranging themselves with lethal intent, the air around its tongue shimmering from the heat that had yet to be unleashed. Molly rolled her shoulder, dipped her body a handspan lower, and let the creature’s lunge skim past her hood. The rush of its passage tugged at the fabric of her robe, setting it snapping like a banner in a gale.

She flicked her right hand through the air, a quick, precise motion, like a musician plucking an invisible string. The rough white symbols that crowded the night responded without hesitation, obedient to the silent utterance woven into her will. They surged in massive waves, no longer scattered but purposeful, streaming toward one another to take on shapes and meanings. The symbols arranged themselves into intricate patterns, weaving together strand by strand, forming dozens of [Chain of Edict] formulas.

The structure of each formula encapsulated its entire arrangement, sealing Molly’s will into immutable commands. Then, with a low, grinding hum that seemed to vibrate through the bones of the world, the completed spells were suddenly dyed the colour of cold-forged iron laced with searing violet—the colour of a prison in a god’s domain.

From the face of every completed emblem, eleven physical chains of pure, glowing violet-veined metal erupted outward. They lunged in relentless lines, twelve Grand Wyverns finding themselves the targets of those gleaming restraints. The chains tore through the space between them without regard for distance or any obstacle. The moment they reached the creatures, they coiled around each limb and joint with an almost surgical precision, wrapping around powerful legs, cinching against the leathery membrane of massive wings, binding the beasts mid-flight.

Molly flew higher, her eyes sweeping across the twelve Grand Wyverns now tumbling from the sky, their snarls swallowed by the roar of wind. A small, triumphant smile touched the corners of her lips. Then her gaze shifted, tracking the remaining creatures. Some had already wheeled in her direction, their flight paths etched with blind rage.

Four dozen to go.

She halted her ascent, letting herself float calmly in the air. Her right hand lifted, fingers stretching upward as if reaching to brush the underbelly of the heavens themselves. She commanded the rough white symbols with another voiceless utterance, and the entirety of the sky seemed to tremble under an unseen pressure. All the mana in the air shuddered in unison, the white symbols filling the night rushing toward her like iron filings to a lodestone, answering her silent call.

In an instant, a sudden surge of mana enveloped the entire area around her. Formulas began drawing themselves across the heavens above and around her, one after another, multiplying with terrifying speed, surpassing even three dozen. The sheer number of them turned the sky into a canvas of crawling, interlocking light.

Molly controlled the [Tier 11] formulas in the air with painstaking care. Sweat traced cold lines from her temples, dripping down her tightened jaw. Maintaining this many high-tier formulas at once drew heavily on her mental energy, a weight that pressed against the inside of her skull like a steadily tightening band. But she had no choice if she wanted to finish this temporary task quickly. A wistful smile played on her lips as she remembered how Jen would always reprimand her for controlling too many high-tier formulas in one voiceless chant. Her voice echoed in Molly’s memory, patient and stern all at once. Molly would be lying if she said she didn’t miss hearing that reprimanding tone.

The piercing roars of the incoming Grand Wyverns cut her from her thoughts. Her gaze snapped back into focus. She guided the almost-completed [Chain of Edict] formulas in the air, each structure encapsulating its entire root, sealing her will into an immutable command. Then, with that same low, world-grinding hum, the completed spells were suddenly dyed the colour of cold-forged iron laced with searing violet.

From the faces of each completed emblem, the chains shot outward, lunging toward all the remaining four dozen wyverns. They tore through the smoky air with unerring precision, coiling around limbs and joints, cinching tightly around every form until no room for escape remained.

The wyverns that had been flying toward Molly roared in fury as they registered the unexpected chains binding them. Their powerful bodies thrashed against the restraints, scales scraping against the violet-veined metal, muscles bulging with desperate effort. But the chains held firm, impervious to their struggles. Molly watched as each of them fell to the burning forest’s ground below.

Their massive bodies tumbled from the sky, crashing onto the forest floor with thunderous thuds that reverberated through the earth like miniature earthquakes. The impacts sent embers and ash billowing outward in great waves, painting the air with flecks of orange and gray. None of them sustained any serious injury from the fall, but the impact still drove the breath from their lungs in great, heaving gusts.

Without wasting any time, Molly stretched her hands wide apart. Her black robe fluttered wildly from the sudden wind that whipped around her, the fabric snapping against her arms like dark flags in a storm. The rough white symbols in the air began answering her call once more, surging massively into the heavens above as they began taking a giant shape. They moved with a drowsy, hypnotic grace as they bloated the sky itself, spreading across the stars like a slow-motion explosion.

The first symbols gathered together to form the image of a single ‘Z’ shape, gently pulsing as if breathing in a deep sleep. Then, without pause, more symbols arrived, shaping themselves into identical ‘Z’ shapes that layered over the first. They overlapped endlessly, one bleeding into the next in a seamless, dreamlike loop that never quite repeated and never fully separated. The overlapping created a subtle distortion in the air, a faint shimmer like heat rising from sun-warmed stone, except cool and soothing to the mind. This was the root: sleep eternal, consciousness unwinding, the quiet repetition that pulls the waking world away.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The final symbol was the structure. A great circle that encapsulated the entire arrangement, the central ‘Z’ and its infinite, overlapping echoes, binding the drowsy spiral into a flawless, seamless unity. Then, like the first moment of dreaming, the completed formula was suddenly dyed a deep, velvety lavender threaded with strands of silver mist, the colour of twilight folding into night, the colour of a lullaby given form.

From the completed emblem, a wave of absolute calm radiated downward. Molly’s eyes stared toward the forest ground, watching the Grand Wyverns and lesser wyverns alike as they struggled against the chains’ grip. But soon, their thrashing began to weaken. The predatory glow in their eyes grew heavy, lids drooping. Their thoughts softened as sleep claimed them with a gentle, irresistible pull.

Molly’s brows knitted together. A soft wave of pain pulsed through her temples, a consequence of the sheer number of formulas she was keeping active. She ignored it, her eyes scanning the sleeping wyverns and the suddenly quiet burning forest. Her gaze lingered on the flames that still gnawed at the treeline, then shifted beyond the inferno, toward the direction of Sigsug. She noticed how the fire was quickly spreading toward the village. A frown creased her features. Her gaze shifted once more, toward the other direction the forest led.

The village of Yerakot.

Molly squinted, unable to make out what lay in the distance. Recognizing that ordinary sight wouldn’t suffice, she silently commanded the rough white symbols. They began to take shape near her right eye. The first symbol to form resembled a cursor, sharp and precise, and the last to appear was the structure that bound everything together into a complete spell. The formula bled red in an instant.