Sovereign of the Ashes

Before his departure from the space fortress, Sein bid farewell to Eileen and Jovian, the two mages whom he was more well-acquainted with.

Eileen’s injuries would probably require at least half a year of recuperation for any chances of recovery.

The fortress accorded severely injured mages like her preferential treatment, exempting them from being assigned to any war missions and allowing them the right to recuperate within its confines.

Eileen, now with fewer bandages around her upper body, appeared visibly hesitant to part with Sein.

Over the past month, Sein had made several visits to Eileen.

Although Eileen was the one who requested his visit most of the time, Sein still complied and showed up.

Their shared experiences in battle on this world had significantly deepened the bond between them.

Upon learning of Sein’s departure the next day, Eileen, after a brief silence, offered, “When you return from this mission, I’ll have a special gift prepared for you.”

“What is it?” Sein asked.

Eileen merely flushed instead of answering his question. “Just make sure you return safely. I’ve lost too many friends already and can’t bear to lose you too,” she emphasized.

“Don’t worry. I still haven’t forgotten about the magicoins you owe me,” Sein assured her.

In contrast to the emotional goodbye with Eileen, Sein’s farewell to Master Jovian was markedly different.

The trials of war in the Viridian Venom Flame World had toughened up Jovian. The aura he exuded now was precisely what one might expect of a war mage.

Given his demeanor, Sein surmised that Jovian had extensive experience in interplanar wars and wondered about his past adventures before joining the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

He speculated that Jovian likely spent a long time along the southern coast of the Magus World, given his association with Medich.

“The fortress’ main base should be safe for now. I suspect the next strategic focus will be the east of the Flame Continent. Do well, my boy. Who knows, we might find ourselves fighting side by side again soon,” Jovian encouraged Sein with a pat on his shoulder.

Having served extensively in the war, Jovian had earned a longer respite to recuperate.

Acknowledging the wisdom of the Rank Two mage who had vouched for his enrollment to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein nodded and took his leave.

***

By the time Sein departed, Sev the owl still had not awakened yet.

Nevertheless, Sein had a feeling that Sev was on the cusp of completing its transformation.

He entrusted the spare key to his room to Eileen, who was still recuperating, to oversee Sev’s care.

Given Eileen’s extended stay in the space fortress, she could help replenish the aero-attribute energy crystals for Sev if needed.

Aside from that, she could also look after the imprisoned engineer from the Neisse Civilization in his laboratory.

Sein did not wish to come back to a messy laboratory or find that the engineer had starved to death.

Eileen had always been curious about Sein’s quarters in the top floor of the fortress.

Since she was also indebted to him financially, she accepted his request without objection.

After organizing his potions, energy crystals, and magic equipment, Sein embarked on his mission.

Six war airships, arranged in an arrow formation, headed northeast across the Flame Continent.

Unlike his initial arrival in the Viridian Venom Flame World, their journey across half of the continent to the Divine Tower of Floating Flame’s space fortress met no significant resistance from the native flying pyro elemental creatures.

This ease of travel suggested a diminished threat from both the mecha armies and native creatures of this world.

Sein’s voyage on the war airship concluded after two weeks.

Upon disembarking from the airship, he was greeted by the sight of a boundless sea of crimson lava.

The largest body of water Sein had encountered was the Jewel Sea, located near the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring in the Magus World.

Unlike the azure waters of the Jewel Sea, where water and sky blended seamlessly, the sea before him shimmered in striking shades of red.

Stepping onto the shores of this molten sea, Sein immediately noticed the temperature was significantly hotter than the heart of the Flame Continent.

“For creatures of Rank One and lower, surviving in this harsh environment, let alone engaging in combat, would be nearly impossible. Since the legions of enslaved creatures under the command of Master Feylis and her other two apprentices are mainly made up of pyro elemental creatures, they are well-suited for such a battlefield,” Sein mused as he scanned the horizon.

During the two weeks of travel to this place, Sein’s arm had healed as much as it possibly could.

He attributed this rapid recovery partly to the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique he had begun to explore.

The red and green patterns on his arm and body were exuding faint traces of verdant flame elemental energy.

As soon as he descended from the war airship and before he was briefed on his mission, Sein received an unexpected message in his mind through mental focus.

“Sein!” A female voice, brimming with excitement, reached Sein telepathically. Following the sound’s origin, he spotted a black dot in the sky that was rapidly approaching from the distance.

It turned out to be Selphy, her senior from the same division.

Since Selphy was also an alchemist, she was one of the people who interacted with Sein the most within the Verdant Flame faction.

Their similar ages and concurrent entry into the faction paved the way for a strong connection between them.

Arriving in this war zone earlier than Sein, Selphy had already spent over half a year near the sea of molten lava.

Through their initial catch-up, Sein gleaned valuable insights about the local conflict from Selphy and understood the fortress’ call for reinforcements.

Formidable pyro elemental creatures known as “Molten Fire Beasts” dwelled in the sea of molten lava.

Known for their massive size, resilience, and a penchant for retreating into the lava sea when outmatched, they were proving troublesome for the invading forces of the Magus World.

Yet, these creatures are not the greatest threat encountered. Over six months ago, a large number of mechas from the Neisse Civilization emerged, with hundreds of thousands of these constructs being deployed in the northeastern war zone.

Bernice, the Rank Four mage from the Divine Tower of Floating Flame, clashed with a silver mecha near the sea of molten lava.

Selphy stopped in front of Sein and transmitted, “Initially, we stumbled upon a rich vein of ‘Verdant Glaze’ in this area, but soon after our discovery, a mecha army from Neisse Civilization emerged. Several mages from our fortress speculated that the Neisse Civilization might have a strategic base hidden beneath this sea of lava.”