Sovereign of the Ashes

A powerful hurricane began to swirl and howl around the earl’s castle, gathering ominous dark clouds in the once serene and azure sky.

Aero Hymn, while not an offensive magic, fell under the category of a rare and ranked functional support magic.

Powerful aero-type mages of Rank One and above often cast this spell at the start of the battle to increase the concentration of the aero element in the surrounding environment, thereby indirectly amplifying the potency of their magic spells.

This provided an artificially induced innate advantage.

Sein’s mentor had incorporated the Aero Hymn spell into his rod, recognizing the synergy between aero and pyro magic spell.

Wind was known for spreading fires. Within the augmented environment of Aero Hymn, any pyro magic spells Sein unleashed would experience a significant boost.

It was undeniable that Morsidor’s expertise in the utilization and creation of alchemy items had nearly reached the peak of a Rank One mage.

With the release of Aero Hymn spell, Sein’s robe began to flutter in the wind.

His body gradually lifted from the ground and ascended into the air.

This was a stroke of luck as Sein had not mastered “Levitate”, an advanced magic spell.

Nevertheless, he gained the temporary ability to fly by harnessing the wind’s power through the Aero Hymn in his rod.

Sein’s first attempt at flight showcased his lack of adaptation to this newfound ability.

It was through his resilient focus and prior mental rehearsals he prevented any mishaps during his initial flight.

The sudden manifestation of elemental fluctuations and Sein’s ascent into the sky—rising more than ten meters above ground—left Earl Grantt utterly astonished.

Amidst his shock, Earl Grantt momentarily forgot to pull Sein back to the ground using his horsewhip.

Given Earl Grantt’s powerful battle qi, he could still easily bring Sein down.

Although the sudden surge of elemental power and Sein’s unexpected levitation puzzled him, his attention quickly shifted to the black magic rod in Sein’s hands.

The familiarity struck Earl Grantt profoundly, reminiscent of the red sword housed in a secret chamber in the castle.

Both were artifacts exclusively wielded by beings of the Rank One and above.

In the Lysian Alliance and other ordinary human-dominated regions in the Magus World, stringent regulations restricted the use of such powerful artifacts.

These restrictions were enforced by the formidable Divine Towers and the Orders of the Knights, aimed to prevent highly ranked beings from indiscriminately aggressing against those of lower life levels.

Only the black mages of Mystralora City back then would display aggression toward ordinary humans of native to this plane and recklessly experiment on them.

While Earl Grantt was still in shock, Sein had already set his escape plan into motion.

Despite being a ranked magic spell, Aero Hymn was not overly powerful.

This functional magic spell was only effective in a radius of a thousand meters. Escaping Earl Grantt’s attack range was only one part of the plan. Sein would still have to rely on other ways to escape.

A hoot pierced through the air as a grayish-black figure emerged from the spatial piccolo.

Seven, a quasi-ranked magic beast, reappeared in the sky, once again catching Earl Grantt off guard.

Quasi-ranked magic beasts were common in the large forests within the Lysian Alliance, but their presence in human cities was unheard of.

A half-human tall owl materialized in mid-air, its claws firmly gripping Sein’s shoulders.

As it spread its wings, it soared amidst the strong winds conjured by the Aero Hymn spell, swiftly carrying Sein several hundred meters away at a speed that surpassed its usual pace.

Sein, now just a black dot in the sky, finally brought Earl Grantt back to his senses.

His expression showed a mix of annoyance and shock in response to Sein’s strategies and methods.

“What exactly has this kid been through all these years?!”—was all he could think of.

CRACK!

The horsewhip, imbued with his battle qi, mercilessly struck the warhorse’s hindquarter.

This warhorse, possessing a trace of magic beast bloodline, carried Earl Grantt and rapidly pursued Sein in the direction he had flown.

One was in the sky, and the other was on the ground.

If the flying speed of the quasi-ranked magic beast Seven could not surpass that of a warhorse, which could barely be considered only a magic creature, Sein might have to consider making it his dinner.

The distance between Sein and Earl Grantt continued to widen.

Faced with this situation, Earl Grantt gathered his battle qi and attempted to convey a message to Sein.

However, Sein neither slowed down nor turned his head.

Earl Grantt gradually reduced his speed.

Just when everyone thought Sein’s departure was inevitable, an accident occurred.

“Huh? Why is there a quasi-ranked magic beast here? And what’s with that fluctuation of a ranked magic just now?” The transmission of a somewhat aged voice through mental focus emerged.

Immediately afterward, a translucent missile launched from somewhere below, directly hitting Seven, who was in flight.

HOOT!

With a shriek of surprise, Sein and the quasi-ranked magic beast plummeted from mid-air simultaneously.

Seeing this, Earl Grantt, who was thankfully not too far away, hastily swung his horsewhip again and chased after them.

***

In the Grantt Castle that evening, a lively noble banquet was underway.

Apart from Sein, the supposed star of the night who appeared less than enthusiastic, the attention of most guests was on Earl Grantt and an old man in white robe in the middle of the banquet hall.

“Elder Domvall, I apologize for what happened earlier today.” Earl Grantt raised his wine glass, offering an apologetic smile to the old man.

Domvall, a Quasi Mage affiliated with a mage council known as the Pyro Emblem, was no ordinary individual.

He was a grand mage, on the brink of reaching Rank One. His specialization lay in his mastery over the rare air-type magic.

Air magic, often seen as a less potent branch of aero magic, was generally disregarded in combat due to its perceived lack of strength. As a result, very few mages delved into its study.

Today turned out to be a bad day for Seven.

Had it encountered an ordinary Quasi Mage or even a Rank One mage, there would have been a high chance of successfully carrying Sein away, especially given it was already flying at a high altitude.

However, its misfortune was sealed when it was sniped by an old man proficient in rare air-type magic.

The Vacuum Blast spell proved highly effective against Seven, who was unprepared for such an assault, causing it to tumble from the sky due to sudden oxygen deprivation.

This incident proved that a magic spell’s effectiveness depended not just on its power.

The Vacuum Blast was merely an intermediate magic spell, and the fact that it successfully hit Seven was the result of the old man’s impeccable timing and accuracy in releasing the spell.

If a spell like that were to hit a high-ranking mage in the midst of casting a spell, they would likely struggle to breathe and could potentially suffer a severe magic backlash.

This old man exemplified true mastery of magic.

As revealed from his conversation with Earl Grantt, the elderly mage was more than a hundred and twenty years old and had a distinguished history of service in the Lysian Military.