Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein found his way into the academy from the western side.

A sizable hole in the academy’s walls had spared Sein from using the main entrance.

The full-fledged black mages had always resided in this part of the academy, but it was now strangely silent.

The distant clashes in the city stood in stark contrast to the serene atmosphere within this part of the academy

Sein was not familiar with this area as he seldom ventured beyond Master Morsidor’s residence in the past years.

He was never bold enough to trespass the territory of other full-fledged mages.

Despite the potential allure of valuable items left behind by the fleeing black mages, Sein resisted the temptation, choosing instead to press forward toward Master Morsidor’s residence.

Upon reaching Master Morsidor’s residence, the door was tightly shut, as usual.

As he gazed at the white door, memories of him diligently attempting his mentor’s experimental homework flooded back to his mind.

Sein retrieved the identity medal from his space ring and pressed it against the door. He felt the flow of elemental energy before the door quietly swung open.

It was a mess inside and the rooms were empty, devoid of any traces of Master Morsidor, Zorro or Faye.

The once cluttered experimental tables and the alchemy instruments on them were conspicuously absent, as was the alchemical puppet responsible for cleaning the residence.

Sein, seated on a white chair on the second floor, mused to himself, “It seems Master Morsidor and the others have departed. However, I sense no trace of him amidst the battles in the city. Could he have joined Lord Martin?”

This was where he used to dine with his mentor, Zorro and Faye. Now, he found himself alone in this space.

BOOM!

Another explosion and elemental fluctuation from the city interrupted Sein’s thoughts, compelling him to move on to the next location.

Having found nothing of significance in Master Morsidor’s residence, Sein swiftly navigated the main buildings of the Black Magic Academy, heading toward the dormitory buildings.

Although he did not find any useful information in Master Morsidor’s residence, Sein was confident that Leena, if alive, would have left him useful information at their home.

Despite the prevailing silence in the Black Magic Academy, Sein stumbled upon several corpses on his way to the dormitory.

Most of them were the initiates, along with some dark creatures and demihumans.

Given that the intermediate and senior initiates had previously been dispatched to the Sand World by the full-fledged black mages, Sein observed that most of the corpses were junior initiates.

A few buildings away from the dormitory, Sein noticed a female corpse lying in the grass by the roadside.

He was able to identify her as Cindy, the junior initiate who occasionally pestered him.

Half of Cindy’s body bore burn marks, likely caused by pyro magic spells.

The sight of Cindy’s lifeless form reminded Sein of his friends Marie and Bousse, who were also junior initiates.

Anxiety gripped Sein’s heart as he hurried back to the dormitory.

Instead of providing the warmth of home, the once familiar dormitory building now held a chilling atmosphere with its dark and silent hallways.

Sein was not afraid of potential threats in the darkness. He feared the harsh truth he might uncover there.

He eventually made his way to his quarters, and pushed open the door. The sight of a pink letter in the room immediately sparked his excitement.

While pink items were a rarity in Leena’s possession, Sein knew her well enough to recognize a sweet side of her that differed from her outward appearance.

He quickly picked up the letter and read it.

It seemed like Leena had penned it quite recently. Besides assuring him of her safety, she also expressed her care and deep concern for Sein.

Leena firmly believed that Sein was still alive, and she disclosed the existence of a well-hidden secret passageway in the northern part of Mystralora City.

This was the information Leena’s mentor, Fareena, had shared with her. She was going to leave the city through that passageway with her mentor.

“Northern part of the city?!” Sein glanced outside.

Mystralora City was an underground city, with three of its sides hollowed out. Only the northern part of the city remained connected to a stone wall, with a massive lumenstone vein above it.

Slipping the letter into his chest pocket and taking a final look at the room, Sein turned around and left the room.

He exited the dormitory building and instead of retracing his steps, he chose a different route.

The chaos in Mystralora City appeared to be subsiding, with the resistance from the black mages weakening, though meteorites continued to rain from above.

A few knights and mages from the surface were making their way to the Black Magic Academy, seemingly intent on eliminating the remaining resistance and possibly looting the area.

Sein could not guarantee that every knight and mage from the surface would be as agreeable as Baldor and Medich.

Furthermore, explaining his presence in the academy would be challenging.

Walking directly west across the entire academy from the dormitory building would take too much time and likely lead to an encounter with those knights and mages from the surface.

Memory of Cindy’s lifeless body flashed across Sein’s mind.

Just then, a distant thud from the White Raven Forest, not far from the dormitory, reached Sein’s ears.

It sounded like a massive stone falling from mid-air, fortunately without causing a widespread fire in the forest.

Sein glanced in the direction of the White Raven Forest and decided to head into the forest.

The White Raven Forest appeared mostly unchanged from Sein’s memories. Despite signs of war, fallen trees and craters, it retained its lush greenery.

The chaos of war had left no corners untouched in Mystralora City.

Reaching the eastern end of the White Raven Forest, where the canopy met the academy’s wall, Sein encountered a massive irregular boulder obstructing his path.

After swiftly assessing his ability to scale it, Sein cast a Lightfoot spell on himself, preparing to climb on it.

It was at this moment, a faint “hoot” from behind the giant canopy of trees drew his attention.

With a slight frown, Sein moved to investigate.

There, he discovered a wounded owl lying in a pool of blood.

The owl’s beak moved slightly, indicating it was still alive.

“Seven?” Sein could not help but inquire.