Blow Up

Amidst the chaos, Hagen's mind remained calm and composed.

"Just one attack." He thought to himself. All he had to do was one big charge attack, and push them back enough, for the archery division to give them hell, and get him a ticket out of there.

He just prayed that Astonos had his back. "Please help me, Astonos." He whispered to himself.

Hagen's mind drifted back to the day he was appointed as the Commander of the First Legion. He remembered the pride in the eyes of his comrades and the thunderous applause that had echoed through the grand hall.

He recalled the voices of his fellow soldiers, saying things like, "As long as we have Hagen by our side, we are safe!" 

"With Hagen at the helm, victory is assured!"

"His courage is unmatched, and his tactical genius unrivaled!"

"As long as Hagen leads us, we fear no enemy!"

These voices echoed in his head, empowering Hagen. They had entrusted him with their lives and believed in his leadership without hesitation.

"I will not let everyone down." He murmured to himself as he met the charge by the soldiers head on with an attack of his own.

"Archers! Take position!" Astonos screamed as he continued to monitor what was happening down there. HIs hand reached for the handle of his sword as he watched with anticipation. 

Should Hagen's position become endangered, he shall leap in to protect Prince Hagen's life. To him, Hagen's life mattered more than anything else.

For a brief moment, Hagen's aura outshone everything else in the battlefield with a brilliant blue aura.

"Maximum power: Echelon Resonance." Hagen's eyes and sword lit up too, as he channeled all the power he had into his sword, extending it at the same time like a whip.

At the same time, Sierra had finished the incantation for her spell, inferno.

"Fly, inferno." She whispered, as the flames leapt and danced around her in an otherworldly sight.

The magic circle quickly dissipated, and the orb launched itself at Hagen with great speed.

"Ugh! What is this power!?" One of the soldiers in the front groaned from the pressure of Hagen's attack, before the brilliant blue light engulfed him.

The entire line of soldiers were halted by this one attack, and pushed backward.

Just at that moment, one of the soldiers at the back of the initial press felt something hot approaching them, and to their horror he saw a beam of fire headed at speed for them.

"Move!" He screamed, but it was already too late as the beam just vaporized all the soldiers standing, and Hagen met it with an attack of his own, splitting the beam in half, and barely avoiding taking damage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Sierra!?" Olivier shouted, in disbelief that she had just eviscerated perfectly fine soldiers.

"I didn't tell them to charge in, Olivier. They did that on their own accord, and they paid the price." She smirked, as she readjusted her position to cast a second attack.

Astonos, watching everything unfold from above, was in awe at the power displayed by Hagen. The attack had scorched the wall behind Hagen, leaving a giant mark in it's wake, but Hagen was still standing, having deflected the attack with his sword.

"Still, I'm surprised that Hagen managed to take that attack on the face and still survive." She commended Hagen, as some of his armor had streaks of scorching, but it didn't seem like he had taken a lot of damage.

With the soldiers pushed back and seeming to stand at a standstill, Hagen started to retreat back to the castle doors, which were opening.

"Don't let him get away!" Olivier screamed, as Selene fired off another beam of fire, trying to block off his path to the huge doors that were now opened.

"Dammit! He's getting away, get him! Give chase!" Selene shouted in despair.

Her troops started to go after Hagen, who at this point had gotten in, and the massive doors were shutting on Olivier and Selene's forces.

Just then, as Selene and Olivier rallied their troops to pursue Hagen into the Imperial Nexus, a sudden, ominous sound filled the air. It was the sound of hundreds of bowstrings being drawn taut and arrows being nocked.

Astonos turned to either side, looking solemnly at the eyes of all the archers who were standing by him, and all of them gave a synchronized nod.

"Let it rain, soldiers."

"Brace yourselves!" Olivier shouted to his troops. "Protect the archers! Shields up!"

The army quickly formed a shield wall, with their shields raised high to intercept the incoming barrage of arrows.

Selene though, without uttering a word, put up a massive wall of fire in front of them, and most of the arrows were burned into nothingness passing through it.

Despite her efforts, some arrows still made it through and found their mark in the gaps in between the shields. Men fell, and the disarray caused disruption in the entire force's movement.

This little mishap gave Hagen enough time to get in, and the massive doors of the Imperial Nexus shut upon their forces.

As everyone came to a standstill, Olivier found himself staring at the doors. He was wondering what he should do.

As he turned to Selene, he found her charging a second beam of powered inferno, the same attack that she had first fired off against Hagen.

"Hagen may be durable, but the door isn't." She said with malice dripping in her voice.

"No, wait Selene, we had orders not to-" Olivier tried to stop Selene from charging up her attack, but it was too late.

The air around her crackled with intense heat and power. Her determination to capture Hagen and her anger at the trap that had been set for them fueled her magic.

With a deafening roar, she released the fiery torrent towards the massive castle doors. The concentrated blast of fire struck the ancient doors with devastating force. Wood splintered, and metal groaned as the flames tore through the imposing barrier.

As the smoke began to clear, Olivier could see the stunned and charred remnants of Hagen's soldiers who had been guarding the entrance. They had been caught off guard by the sheer ferocity of Selene's attack.

Olivier, still in awe of Selene's power, knew that they had to press their advantage. Sighing, he pulled out a conch out of his pocket "Guess we will go all in now." and blew the conch

From hidden positions in the trees, the fifth legion's archers unleashed a volley of arrows so numerous that they seemed to blot out the sky.

Hagen, who had undoubtedly felt the immense power of Selene's magic, stood at the center of the chaos, his expression a mixture of shock and desperation. Things had taken a very dire turn.

"Oh, fuck," Hagen muttered in disbelief, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of battle, as he saw a bunch of soldiers charging at him.

"Ed, I hope you get here soon." Hagen thought to himself.