Leylin walked through the quiet corridors of the Astral Castle. The walls were lined with cold, grey basalt, polished to a mirror finish and inlaid with silver tracery that pulsed with the castle's internal mana.
Magnificent tapestries, depicting the ancient wars of winged serpents and astral warriors, hung between pillars of obsidian. The air was cool, carrying the faint, metallic scent of high-grade defensive formations.
He descended a spiral staircase that seemed to twist into the very bowels of the earth, eventually reaching the entrance to the Acheron Oubliette.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The luxury of the upper floors was replaced by a heavy, damp pressure.
Bloodline Knights in full runic armor stood like statues at every intersection. As Leylin passed, they snapped into a crisp knight's salute, their armor clattering in unison. Among the guards, several official Magi moved with specialized detection artifacts.
At the heart of the prison stood a man with a clinical, detached aura. This was Reglus, a semi-converted Magus and the Chief Warden.
Reglus bowed in deep reverence. To him and many others in the castle, Leylin was a figure of terrifying mystery.
Some whispered he was an old hermit monster who had emerged to claim the South Coast; others thought he was the representative of a Rank 3 colossal.
Reglus himself believed Leylin was the "Right Hand" of a hidden Rank 3 boss. Regardless of the speculation, the power Leylin radiated was undeniable.
"My Lord," Reglus began, his voice echoing in the vaulted hall. "The interrogations have yielded much. The frictions between the Light and Dark factions are reaching a boiling point. Specifically, the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy you asked to kept an eye on, is showing signs of agitation."
Leylin's eyes flickered, that was his former academy. Despite suffering in the war years ago, the three great families backing it, led by the Lilytell Family were struggling to regain their dominance.
Each family boasted a Peak Rank 1 expert, but the strongest among them was the patriarch of the Lilytells.
"We have one of them here, My Lord," Reglus continued, leading Leylin toward the highest-security block. "The reinforcement team, aided by the Lord Emissary, managed to capture the leader of Lilytell family, Marb Lilytell."
Leylin was genuinely surprised. Marb Lilytell was a name that carried weight throughout the southern continent. In the original timeline, their animosity had been fueled by the death of Marb's grandson, Bosain. But here, Leylin had never touched the boy.
Marb's attack was purely a probe or a desperate grab for resources to fuel his own advancement to Rank 2, hoping to overpower his academy's chairman, Siley.
Leylin stopped before a cell reinforced with heavy gravitational runes and black-iron chains. Inside sat an old man with a nose bent like an eagle's beak and metallic ornaments dangling from his ears and chin. He was a ruin of a man; one arm and one leg were missing, replaced by jagged, cauterized stumps. He looked at Leylin with a gaze of cold, impotent fury and a primal fear of death.
"A.I. Chip," Leylin muttered. "Scan."
[Target: Marb Lilytell. Peak Rank 1 Magus. Strength: 10.7 | Agility: 9.5 | Vitality: 23 | Spiritual Force: 79 | Magic Power: 79. Elemental Conversion (Metal): 78% – 85%. Innate Talent: Metallic Life — Passive. Grants near-immunity to fatal physical strikes; increases metal magic damage; Side effect: Loss of sense of touch.]
[A.I. Note: Gravitational Spell Formation detected (56% recorded). Ability to manipulate gravity up to 25x normal.]
Leylin sighed softly. He had been merciful toward the Abyssal Bone Forest, choosing other targets to avoid unnecessary sentiment. But Marb had chosen to dig his own grave.
"Warden, open the other gates," Leylin commanded. "All guards and personnel... leave us."
Reglus bowed and gestured to the guards. The heavy cell walls slid open with a grinding sound.
Inside the surrounding cells, nineteen other prisoners, newly advanced Magi and seven semi-converted ones watched with hollow eyes.
Their mouths were sealed by "Teeth Chains," leaving them only able to plead or glare in silence.
The Teeth Chain is a brutal silencing artifact that physically staples a Magus's mouth shut. it's enchanted cold-iron needles pierce directly through the upper maxillary, pass through the tongue, and exit the mandible, locking the jaws together. It prevents all vocal incantations and tongue movements while Silence Runes disrupt the victim's spiritual focus, ensuring they cannot even attempt silent casting
Once the hall was empty, Leylin's expression went cold. He didn't need their words nor any wanted to boast about himself; he needed their essence.
"Rank 2 Innate Spell—Toxic Bile."
An odorless, invisible vapor began to seep from Leylin's pores, filling the hall. The effect was horrific.
Even with "Metallic Life," Marb Lilytell began to liquefy. The weakened prisoners' eyes melted into their sockets; their skin sloughed off in wet sheets as their internal organs turned to mush. Within minutes, the once powerful Magi were reduced to puddles of organic sludge.
"A.I. Chip. Activate Soulbound Devourer."
The shadows in the room rose like hungry ghosts, lashing out to grab the escaping souls of the twenty dead Magi. Leylin stood at the center of the spiritual vortex, his sea of consciousness expanding as he devoured the life's work of his enemies.
[Devouring Process Initiated...]
[11 Newly Advanced Magi Devoured! Avg stats from each is calculated as below. Str +0.08, Agi +0.09, Vit +0.05, SF +0.1]
[7 Semi-Converted Magi Devoured: Avg stats from each is calculated as below: Str +0.2, Agi +0.18, Vit +0.21, SF +1.0]
[2 Peak Rank 1 Magi Devoured: Str +1.7, Agi +1.0, Vit +0.9, SF +5.0]
The massive influx of spiritual force and elemental essence surged through Leylin's body, hammering against the walls of his bottleneck. The Giant Kemoyin Serpent within his soul roared, swallowing the refined energy.
[Beep! Breakthrough achieved. Host has reached Rank 2: Elemental Obedience stage.]
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock (Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent) / Saint Knight. Summon—Black Horrall Snake, Dragon Crown Nighthawk, Vanguard Of The Requiem. Strength: 38.1 | Agility: 30.2 | Vitality: 39.8 | Spiritual Force: 154.6 | Magic Power: 154]
Leylin opened his eyes, the ruby glow within them now carrying a faint, terrifying golden tint. He felt the world around him with newfound clarity, the elements no longer just responded to him; they obeyed him. He looked down at the empty cells and the lingering scent of decay.
"One step closer," he whispered, his voice echoing in the dead silence of the Acheron Oubliette.
.....
The North-West Swamps of the Eternal River Plains were a place of stagnant water and poisonous miasma, usually silent save for the bubbling of the mire. Today, however, that silence was shattered by the screech of a Venom Wyvern cutting through the thick fog.
High above the Raven Claw Academy stronghold, Lancey Evans stood atop the leathery back of her mount, her blue hair whipping in the wind like a frozen banner. Her eyes, cold and devoid of mercy, looked down at the sprawling fortifications below.
"Rain of Ice Lance!"
Her voice, gentle yet carrying a terrifying magical resonance, drifted down like a death knell. In an instant, the sky above the stronghold groaned.
Huge, jagged lances of translucent blue ice materialized out of thin air, hovering for a heartbeat before plunging downward.
*BOOM!*
Upon impact with the stronghold's outer wards, the lances didn't just shatter; they exploded into a fine, crystalline mist of icy droplets that blanketed the entire courtyard.
*Sssii!*
An unfortunate acolyte, caught in the open, felt a single droplet brush his shoulder. Before a scream could even form in his throat, a flash of blue frost raced across his skin. In less than a second, he had been reduced to a macabre ice sculpture, his internal pressure causing the frozen remains to explode into a glittering mist of red-tinted ice.
"Ru—Run!" a voice wavered from the battlements, cracked with absolute terror.
*Shua Shua Shua!* The acolytes who had been milling about the courtyard scattered like rats, their faces pale as they watched their comrades turn into frozen dust. To them, the sky was no longer falling; it was hunting.
"Who dares to attack the territory of the Raven Claw Academy?"
A roar erupted from the central spire as several black figures dashed out, their robes billowing. One of them, a Magus with sunken cheeks, rapidly chanted an incantation. A shimmering dome emitting sickly green rays expanded into the sky, desperately trying to shield the stronghold from the descending blue rain.
*Drip! Drip! Drip!*
The droplets splashed against the green barrier, but instead of sliding off, they clung to it, spreading like a frigid virus. The green light began to dim, replaced by a creeping layer of frost.
The Magus who cast the protection spell paled, his hands trembling. "The might of this icy spell is immense! My spiritual force is being drained at an impossible rate! Who will help me?"
"Me!" A nearby Magus stepped forward, his eyes bloodshot as he spat out a series of jagged syllables. A layer of cursed black fire surged upward, coating the underside of the green dome.
The collision of elements was catastrophic. Green, blue, and black rays of light intertwined, spiraling into the sky before descending as a massive, howling tornado.
Lancey's icy rain, influenced by the black fire, transformed into a paradoxical Icy-Flame Tornado, a vortex of freezing heat that ground against the stronghold's defenses.
When the winds finally died down, the two Magi stood gasping, their faces ghostly white and their robes tattered. They had survived, but they were spiritually hollowed out.
"Icy flames that are astoundingly strong... and that Four Seasons Garden robe!" The leader of the group, a Magus with a silver-etched staff, narrowed his eyes as he recognized the figure on the wyvern. "You must be the 'Frost-Fire Witch' Lancey Evans!"
"What? It's her!"
"Lancey!"
"That genius from our academy who was banished?"
Clamors of disbelief and fear broke out from the survivors in the courtyard.
Lancey clasped her hands in front of her chest, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "You... is that you, Trevor? I remember you. You used to wag your tail behind me like a loyal dog when my grandfather was the Principal. It seems the little boy has grown up. You must have married into the main Evans family branch by now, right?"
She leaned forward, her voice dripping with venom. "Don't deny it! Even from this distance, I can smell that putrid, cloying stench of Fiona on your body. Is that whore here as well? I would love to rip her to pieces and see if her blood is as black as her heart! Hahahahaha..."
"So what if she is?" A silver-haired Magus stepped forward from the back, his voice cold. "Your grandfather got exactly what he deserved. He keep secrets away from Lord Louis and cheated his own flesh and blood. I've already sent the emergency signal, Lancey. Lord Louis is coming. Just wait here and prepare to be punished for your family's crimes!"
"You've told him? Good! That's truly great!"
Lancey's reaction caught the silver-haired Magus off guard. Instead of fleeing, she looked genuinely delighted.
"Since you've already alerted the old backstabber," she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried across the wind, "there's no longer any point in keeping any of you alive to witness the reunion."
A sense of bone-chilling foreboding gripped the hearts of every Magus present.
"Freeze Domain!"
Lancey didn't wait. She leaped from the Wyvern's back. As her boots touched the ground, countless jagged icicles erupted from beneath her feet, spreading across the horizon like a crystalline forest. The sheer density of the ice blocked the sunlight, plunging the stronghold into a blue, frozen twilight.
"Be careful!" the leader screeched, but his warning was cut short. A red flash, a set of enchanted knives streaked through the air. They tore through his innate defensive spells as if they were wet parchment, carving him into bloody ribbons before he could even raise his staff.
"She—she killed the Leader in one strike!"
One Magus looked at Lancey as if she were the Devil incarnate. He let out a primal yell of despair, turned tail, and bolted toward the swamp.
"Kurt, come back!" the others shouted, but it was useless.
*Rumble!*
A lick of blue-white icy flame caught Kurt's heel. Within two steps, the flame surged upward, consuming him. The official Magus didn't even have time to scream before he was turned into a statue of frosted ash, crumbling into the mud. Regular Rank 1 Magi were nothing more than children before Lancey's current strength.
*Zoom!*
Lancey suddenly paused, her head snapping toward the horizon. Far in the distance, an azure ray of light was cutting through the miasma like a sharp sword, heading straight for the stronghold.
"The backstabber has arrived!" Lancey grinned. She raised her arms, her fingers curling into claws.
The storm that had engulfed the region suddenly inverted, the freezing energy withdrawing into her palm. It condensed into a sphere of swirling darkness and white frost that hovered in the air, emitting violent energy waves that stripped the very top layer of soil from the ground.
"HALT!" the azure ray roared from afar, the voice booming with the power of a peak Rank 1 Magus.
Lancey ignored the command. With a casual flick of her wrist, she launched the sphere. It moved soundlessly, a silent orb of absolute zero. Under the terrified gazes of the remaining Magi, the sphere advanced steadily, devouring their frantic spells and defensive barriers as if eating a meal.
Several Magi were simply run over by the sphere's path, leaving nothing behind but frozen, flattened tracks on the earth.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
With a furious growl, the azure ray slammed into the courtyard. As the light dissipated, it revealed an old man. He had a grotesque raven's claw where his right hand should be, and his hair and eyes were a piercing, icy blue, the exact same shade as Lancey's.
"Nice to meet you, Granduncle!" Lancey gave a light, elegant smile and bowed her head with mock grace, her eyes burning with a murderous light.