Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s icy words and taunts shook Daelis.

Deep down, she despised Gandra, who had enslaved her, and she equally loathed Sein and Morsidor.

Why didn’t Morsidor die right away back then?

Why had Sein grown so rapidly?

Originally, Daelis had planned to secretly assassinate Morsidor and then blame the Divine Tower of Dawn for his death.

However, her failure to kill Morsidor herself, or even to prevent him from escaping with serious injuries, left Daelis frozen with indecision and unable to rejoin Martin and the others after she had managed to escape back to Blackhaven.

After all, the black mage community still adhered to certain ethical standards and boundaries.

Morsidor was highly respected in the southeastern part of the Western Archipelago.

Rank Three black mage Martin and Rank Two black mage Jeanne, among others, would undoubtedly seek justice for him.

Consequently, this forced Daelis to align with Gandra, marking the beginning of a decades-long period of torment and suffering.

Sein’s ascent to Rank One and his aggressive demeanor only heightened Daelis’ fear.

Furthermore, she had learned that Faye had also been promoted to a full-fledged mage.

Now, with all three of Morsidor’s remaining apprentices having reached Rank One, being targeted by three mages of equal rank was certainly not a pleasant situation.

Gandra could provide her with protection, but it would not last forever.

Moreover, Daelis herself was actively trying to escape Gandra’s control. With adversaries on all sides, Sein’s description of her as “pitiful” had deeply struck a nerve.

“What do you know?! So you want to avenge Morsidor? Gwahahaha, so the old man really is dead, right?” Daelis cackled.

“I guess I don’t even need to ask. If he were still alive, he surely would have returned to the Western Archipelago by now. I can’t believe he still causes me so much trouble even though he’s dead! I’ll kill you all, one by one!” Daelis laughed hysterically, pointing at Sein, then at Zorro and the others watching the battle from a distance.

Decades of being exploited as a potion-making machine by Rank Three black mage Gandra, and having her soul ensnared had pushed Daelis to the brink of insanity.

Under such oppressive and suffocating conditions, even a Rank One black mage like her was teetering on the edge of mental collapse.

Sein and Zorro’s quest for revenge was the final straw.

After all, black mages were still human, with human emotions.

At this point, Daelis had nothing left. She had lost everything.

In that sense, this woman was indeed pitiful.

More than half of the reason Daelis found herself in this predicament was due to her actions over fifty years ago when she agreed to collaborate with Morsidor.

Greed had led to her downfall.

Had Daelis been less greedy, she would not have had to betray those like Martin, who had been kind to her.

Morsidor would still be her ally, and his apprentices would have treated her with respect.

Daelis could only imagine where she would be now if that were the case.

Perhaps she would be attempting a breakthrough to Rank Two, instead of facing imminent death at Sein’s hands.

***

The duel on the outskirts of the public waters drew a significant crowd today.

In addition to two Rank Three black mages overseeing the battle, over twenty Rank One and Rank Two black mages, with time on their hands, joined in to watch the spectacle.

Among the onlookers, the most striking was a goatee-bearded old man flanked by two Rank Three black mages.

This unassuming old man was actually the elemental projection of Dean Gypson from the Black Tower of Cinderbones.

While his main body possessed demigod-level strength, this projection could wield, at most, the power of a peak Rank Two black mage.

Despite the projection’s limited strength, what truly captivated everyone was his identity and the prestigious Black Tower of Cinderbones he represented.

Unlike the insincerely smiling Martin or the intimidating Gandra, Gypson was an extremely approachable old man.

Upon arriving at the dueling area, Gypson maintained his friendly demeanor.

He conversed briefly with Leena in a relaxed tone—probably discussing her experience in the Knight Continent’s trial.

Unbeknownst to the onlookers, except for Gypson, the Black Tower Master of Cinderbones had expended considerable resources to secure a trialist position for Leena.

After speaking with Leena, Gypson chatted briefly with both Martin and Gandra.

It was evident that Gypson had no interest in conversing deeply with the two Rank Three black mages who hailed from the edges of Blackhaven.

After all, this area lay beyond the Black Tower of Cinderbones’ influential sphere and lacked the resources that interested them.

However, Martin and Gandra were keen to ingratiate themselves with Gypson.

Gaining favor with the Black Tower of Cinderbones could significantly facilitate their ambitions to expand their influence on the outskirts of Blackhaven.

Given that Blackhaven was isolated by major divine towers and orders of the knights in the Magus World, accessing high-level resources was beyond reach for black mages without the right connections.

High-level resources, usable by entities above the demigod level and involving the power of laws, were considered premium assets in the Astral Realm.

Hundreds of years ago, Martin’s mentor, a Rank Three black mage named Jemal, embarked on a journey to Gloomhaven to establish Mystralora City.

His objective was to secure the broken divine relic, containing the power of geo-elemental laws, within the remains of a Rank Four creature—a plan he had meticulously prepared for a long time.

Given the vast expanse of the Magus World and the dominant influence of the Magus Civilization across the surrounding star domains, even living beings of Rank Four and above had been auctioned off in the Magus World, let alone a divine relic or the remains of any Rank Four creatures.

Such feats are often accomplished by individuals capable of capturing powerful creatures, like Grandmaster Feylis who recently captured the Rank Five creature, Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, in the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Rank Three black mages Martin and Gandra were not greedy.

They dared not covet broken relics or the remains of Rank Four creatures.

They would be content with just obtaining the limb or blood of a demigod-level creature.

In Blackhaven, only the major black towers possessed high-level materials imbued with significant power of laws in them.

Even interplanar wars could only be initiated by these black towers.

In essence, the black towers were the dominant forces in Blackhaven.

Ordinary black mages of Rank One and Rank Two might not perceive the full extent of this dominance.

The Rank Three black mages, however, could acutely feel the oppression from the major black towers.

These institutions loomed over them like an insurmountable mountain, denying these mages any chance to ascend to higher levels until they had been thoroughly exploited.