Ranrok's gaze passed through the shattered doorway and settled upon the space beyond.
The chamber was relatively small, covering only a few dozen square meters.
At its center stood a low stone platform with three steps. Above it, a metallic sphere slowly rotated in midair.
Ranrok couldn't identify the material from which it had been forged.
Countless runes covered the sphere's surface, emitting a gentle radiance as they revolved. It looked as though someone had placed a lamp inside it.
Ranrok stood motionless, irrepressible greed flashing through his eyes.
According to the records in his ancestor's diary, the sphere contained the power he had sought for so long—the power capable of realizing his greatest ambitions.
That power could change everything.
It could reshape the order of the Wizarding World.
It could ensure that Goblins would never again suffer oppression beneath wizards.
And it could allow him—Ranrok—to become the ruler of this land.
His breathing quickened.
Ranrok drew a deep breath, raised his wand, and aimed its tip at the sphere.
Dark-red light gathered at the tip, growing brighter with each passing moment.
A crimson beam erupted from the wand.
It moved with such speed that it seemed to tear through the air, passing over the stone platform and through the rotating runes as it shot directly toward the sphere.
At that moment—
An ice-blue beam entered from the side.
Although it had been fired later, it moved faster and reached the sphere first.
Sssshhh—!
The ice-blue and dark-red energies collided upon the sphere's surface.
Both lights violently consumed and canceled one another.
However, the ice-blue radiance was clearly superior.
It rapidly spread across the sphere from top to bottom and from left to right.
Within the blink of an eye, a thick layer of ice had completely covered the metallic surface.
Ranrok's dark-red beam struck the ice.
The frozen shell trembled violently, and a thin crack appeared across it, but it refused to shatter.
Ranrok's pupils abruptly contracted.
He instinctively turned his head and saw a fist covered in black scales and crackling lightning rapidly enlarging before his eyes.
Ranrok raised his arm to defend himself.
Zzzzt—BOOM!
The tremendous impact numbed his entire arm.
Ranrok forcefully shoved forward, sending Lynn flying backward.
Lynn performed two rotations through the air before landing and looking at Ranrok with mild surprise.
He hadn't expected the Goblin's armor to be so durable.
Even after taking that punch head-on, Ranrok appeared completely unharmed.
Ranrok calmly shook his numbed arm and stared at Lynn.
"Who are you? Why are you interfering with me?"
Lynn released a cold laugh.
"You don't need to know who I am."
His gaze became frigid.
"You only need to know that today is the day you die."
Lynn swept his wand through the air.
An invisible blade sliced through the chamber toward Ranrok's neck.
Faced with the sudden attack, Ranrok merely waved his wand.
A dark-red barrier instantly enveloped him.
The invisible blade struck the shield and was immediately deflected aside.
At the same time, Ranrok repeatedly slashed his wand toward the ground.
Several dark-red shock waves spread toward Lynn in a fan-shaped formation.
Wherever they passed, the stone floor split apart, and scattered rubble was ground into powder.
Lynn remained where he was without moving his feet.
He lightly raised his wand.
Countless crystalline ice spikes erupted from the ground and met the shock waves head-on.
The collision shattered the ice wall, sending fragments flying throughout the chamber.
Before the resulting frozen mist could dissipate, Lynn tapped his wand against the ground.
A thick layer of frost spread toward the stone platform at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ranrok's legs were instantly frozen in place as a bone-chilling cold penetrated his trousers and seeped into his body.
Realizing that the situation was turning against him, Ranrok drove his wand into the floor.
A pillar of black light erupted around him and shattered the ice beneath his feet.
He gathered all his magical power at the tip of his wand before firing a dark-purple beam toward Lynn.
The attack was powerful enough to seemingly tear through space itself.
Lynn stepped aside.
The beam grazed his shoulder and struck the wall behind him, blasting an unfathomably deep hole into the stone.
Before Ranrok could retract his wand, Lynn had already raised his free hand.
Dazzling white lightning danced across his fingertips.
A bolt as thick as a barrel descended and struck Ranrok's wand with perfect accuracy.
CRACK!
The wand snapped in half.
A violent electrical current surged through its remains and entered Ranrok's body.
His entire body convulsed.
The electricity charred his skin black, filling the chamber with a foul, burnt odor.
Ranrok staggered backward several steps before throwing away the broken half of his wand.
Then he waved his empty hand toward Lynn.
Three enormous stone pillars erupted from the floor and hurtled toward him, accompanied by a shrill howl of displaced air.
The corner of Lynn's mouth curved into a cold smile.
He didn't evade.
Instead, he lightly tapped each of the approaching pillars with his wand.
The three pillars instantly transformed into enormous, razor-sharp spears.
They reversed direction in midair and shot toward Ranrok at an even greater speed.
Ranrok's pupils contracted.
The first stone spear grazed his ribs.
The second passed over the top of his head.
The third struck him directly in the chest.
BANG!
Ranrok crashed heavily onto the floor.
He struggled to rise, only to discover that a foot had already pressed down upon his chest.
The overwhelming force left him completely unable to move.
Lynn looked down at him from above.
He raised his wand, and a wisp of golden-red fire ignited at its tip.
The flame appeared weak, yet it released such terrifying heat that the surrounding air visibly distorted.
Under Lynn's control, the tiny flame abruptly surged.
It transformed into an enormous serpent of fire and opened its gaping maw as it lunged toward Ranrok.
Ranrok screamed in terror and desperately raised a barrier with both hands.
The Fiendfyre greedily licked its surface.
Sizzle—!
The barrier rapidly thinned and dimmed beneath the unbearable heat.
Then the fiery serpent slammed into it.
The barrier shattered upon impact.
Golden-red flames instantly engulfed Ranrok.
Lynn stood at the edge of the sea of fire, his robes fluttering as he coldly watched the Goblin struggle within the inferno.
"I... I won't die like this..."
Ranrok forced the words through gritted teeth.
His voice had become completely distorted, overflowing with desperation and madness.
"If I can't have it... neither can you!"
He abruptly stopped struggling.
Ranrok spread his arms and released a piercing roar toward the Ancient Magic Core floating above the platform.
His body began to glow.
His skin cracked like glass, and countless beams of light erupted from the fissures.
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
"Mutual destruction?"
Mockery entered his voice.
"You think you're worthy of that? Who do you think you are—Reanimated Deidara?"
Lynn rapidly retreated and held his wand horizontally before his chest.
An enormous golden barrier expanded around him, completely enveloping his body.
The instant it finished forming, Ranrok exploded.
It was an indescribably violent detonation.
A wave of dark-golden energy erupted from Ranrok and spread in every direction.
Wherever it passed, stone pillars disintegrated into dust, runes were instantly extinguished, and the solid obsidian floor was torn apart like paper.
The entire Repository chamber shook violently.
Fragments of stone rained from the ceiling.
The golden barrier trembled beneath the continuous impact. Countless cracks spread across its surface.
Eventually, the energy wave subsided.
The chamber had been reduced to ruins.
Ranrok had vanished without a trace.
Not even a speck of ash remained.
Then an unexpected change occurred.
Crack—
The crisp sound of something shattering echoed throughout the chamber.
One by one, the sealing runes upon the stone platform went dark.
A massive fissure spread down the wall from top to bottom.
Black energy began flowing slowly from the crack.
It carried an aura of endless destruction and possessed power a hundred times greater than Ranrok's self-detonation.
The temperature inside the Repository chamber instantly plunged below freezing.
Every remaining blue rune was extinguished.
Only the enormous fissure remained, radiating an ominous black light.
Lynn dismissed his barrier and stared at the rapidly expanding crack.
For the first time since entering the Repository, his expression became solemn.
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