Sovereign of the Ashes

The information about Blackhaven provided by the three soul slaves was regionally limited, given their low life levels and the fact that they had never left the island they lived on.

However, by piecing together their accounts, Sein was able to form a rough idea of the situation in Blackhaven.

Combining the information Sein had been continuously collecting on Blackhaven over the years with the details extracted from the three soul slaves left him visibly grave.

No one could understand the depth of Sein’s somber mood.

After a lengthy pause, Sein looked out at the darkening sky and suddenly said, “We get going.”

Sev hooted softly before returning to perch quietly on Sein’s shoulder.

Yuri, detecting the shift in the atmosphere, summoned her mecha and positioned herself behind Sein.

“Master, will you take me with you? I’ll do whatever you want me to, and I have some knowledge of alchemy!” the female black magic initiate pleaded. She was still on the experimental table, in her tattered clothes that ironically enhanced her appeal.

As a senior initiate who was likely no older than thirty, she could be considered gifted by the standards of the divine tower.

Over two-thirds of the information Sein had obtained about Blackhaven came from her.

The female initiate appeared to know how to leverage her assets and was adept at reading Sein’s mood.

Had Sein been a black mage, or perhaps an ordinary mage with weaker resolve, he might have done something to her.

Sein merely cast a cold and detached glance at the female initiate lying on the experiment table. She had served her purpose to Sein after divulging all she knew of Blackhaven.

Sein was unmoved by the other woman’s appealing figure and looks. To him, she was no different than a slab of white meat.

Now in his fifties and having all sorts of experience, Sein was no longer impulsive.

For him, physical attraction alone was insufficient; emotional connection played a crucial role too, just like his fleeting encounter with his old friend, Marie, during his visit to the Divine Tower of Dawn.

Sein promptly gathered the experimental equipment inside the cave before stepping outside without even looking back.

By then, night had fallen, enveloping the area in darkness.

Inside, the three soul slaves remained securely bound by Aero Chains.

These chains, applied by Sev, a ranked magic beast, were robust enough that not even a Quasi Mage, let alone mere intermediate or senior initiates, could break free.

“Do it,” Sein commanded Yuri, who was standing by his side.

A seven to eight-meter-tall grayish-white mecha hovered behind Yuri, its surface marked with numerous obvious patches.

Unlike the Burning Flame Unit, the overall strength of the grayish-white mecha was only comparable to that of a Quasi Mage. However, thanks to Yuri’s upgrades to its shoulder cannon, it could achieve short-term bursts of power that approached that of a Rank One mage.

However, its speed, vitality, endurance, and other aspects remained far inferior to that of a Rank One creature.

For standard mecha units like these, Yuri could operate them entirely through remote control via mental focus without the need to physically enter them.

Sein had extensively studied the creatures from the Neisse Civilization, including Yuri, whom he had carefully analyzed multiple times.

He learned that their unique abilities were closely linked to the oval-shaped bump on their foreheads.

At Sein’s command, the black cannon mounted on the shoulder of the grayish-white mecha began flashing with white light.

After a three-second energy charge, a white beam shot out, engulfing a small portion of the mountain in front of him.

A loud boom was heard, followed by the sound of boulders tumbling and the mountain shifting.

The extraordinary power of a Rank One being was unimaginably formidable to those below Rank One.

The life level disparity was simply too vast for most creatures to contend with.

The shifting of the mountain indicated that everything that had transpired here would soon be erased.

The cave was completely buried, leaving no trace of its existence.

After confirming through a detection spell that all three souls inside had been extinguished, Sein turned around to leave.

Throughout the entire process, Sev perched silently on Sein’s shoulder. Coming from the underground world himself, Sev’s understanding of black mages was more profound than that of a typical divine tower mage.

After storing away her mecha, Yuri followed quietly behind Sein.

Yuri furrowed her brow slightly and seemed to have something on her mind. After hesitating for a moment, she finally mustered enough courage to ask in a soft voice, “Master, I’m also your soul slave. Are you going to abandon me in the future too?”

This answer to this question clearly mattered to Yuri.

She was rather afraid of Sein, not due to the effect of the soul magic, but the aloofness and detachment he often projected in her presence.

Turning to face Yuri’s apprehensive expression, Sein simply replied, “No.”

He offered no further explanation for his response, leaving one to wonder whether his answer was merely a dismissive assurance.

Yet, Yuri exhaled deeply, seemingly convinced and relieved by his response.

The mage, engineer, and magic beast continued their journey westward, flying beyond the jungle, under the night sky filled with twinkling stars.

Just as they were about to leave the jungle behind, Sein added, “Because you are still useful to me.”

It sounded both like a casual remark and an explanation to Yuri.

Surprisingly, Sein’s statement which revealed the cold, calculated demeanor of a rational mage, caused a slight blush to appear on Yuri’s face.

She firmly believed that Sein would not abandon her.

Determined to remain by his side longer, Yuri knew she must continually prove her worth and strive for growth.

***

The Jagem Plains was indeed vast. Even though Sein was already at the edge of the Divine Tower of Dawn’s influence, it still took them nearly a month to leave this territory and enter the area controlled by the Divine Tower of Crimson in the west.

The southern coast of the Magus World, more prosperous than the Viridescent Land, owed much to its favorable geography.

Dominated by plains and low hills, the region supported a larger population with higher reproductive capacity among the human inhabitants compared to the Viridescent Land.

Sein had long held the belief that the prosperity and strength of any societal superstructure were inseparably linked to the foundation provided by the lower social classes.

After all, ranked knights and full-fledged mages evolved from ordinary humans.