Sovereign of the Ashes

I had previously accelerated my body’s adaptation to the verdant flame’s power and improved the body tempering process by applying the verdant flame’s elemental energy to burn and stimulate my skin’s surface.

Looking back, that method now seems overly cautious.

Perhaps I could apply it externally as well as ingest it, tempering my body from both inside and out...?

Consuming verdant flame syrup directly won’t work since my internal organs can’t withstand such intense heat yet.

I suppose I must wait until I become a Rank Two mage and possess an elemental body before pursuing this further.

In the meantime, should I consider ingesting poison to stimulate and fortify my internal organs and muscles?

Sein rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

His considerations extended beyond toxins and corrosive agents to include radiation magic, and both umbra and cryo elemental magic.

However, he decisively rejected necromancy, as he had no desire to look like a skeleton or lich.

Even amidst the chaos of battle, Sein found moments to ponder his own path of truth.

Was he underestimating Daelis, the Rank One black mage? Or did he believe his own path of truth to be superior to all others?

It was likely a mix of both!

Sein’s brief distraction might have gone unnoticed by the onlookers at a distance, but Daelis, who was closest to him, saw everything.

The female black mage, with holes riddled across her body, descended into madness!

The shrill, pointless shrieks that emanated from her lips served as both a challenge and a cry of defiance.

Daelis had indeed succumbed to madness, rendering the continuation of the fight pointless.

Despite her derangement, she was still powerless against Sein.

The hidden toxin on which she had pinned her hopes failed to affect him in the slightest.

Sein even boldly reached out to touch the toxins Daelis had secretly mixed into her hydro elemental spell.

“Did you defeat my mentor with this kind of spell?” Sein asked, rubbing the water vapor between his fingers. The potent toxins it contained merely numbed his fingertips slightly, failing to penetrate his body.

The glaze on Sein’s skin was sufficient to neutralize over ninety percent of the toxins.

Perhaps toxins could only work on him if he directly ingested them.

“I find your knowledge of apothecary and poison intriguing. Still, it’s time to end this!” Sein declared, waving his right hand to disperse the wall of white vapor.

With a swift motion, he closed the distance between himself and Daelis, his hand ablaze with verdant flames.

Strangely, this time, despite her remaining focus and mana reserves, Daelis made no move to resist Sein’s advance with his verdant flames.

This woman had not completely lost her sanity; she merely recognized that she no longer had any means to contend with Sein.

She had resigned herself to death.

With no energy shield to protect her, the disheveled woman let out an inexplicable, raspy chuckle as Sein drew nearer.

Perhaps for her, death was a preferable escape from a life of degradation.

Observers outside the arena were quick to notice the shift in the dynamics of the battle.

”Stop!” A deep shout pierced the air.

As one of the most valuable assets under his command, Gandra could not simply watch Daelis fall.

Although Daelis was ready to die, Gandra was determined to keep her alive—even if only as a puppet devoid of any meaningful consciousness!

Gandra would preserve her until she had completely lost her value.

Even in death, her body would not be spared, likely to be repurposed into an undead chimera.

Such were the harsh survival laws of Blackhaven—cold, cruel, and merciless.

The elemental projection of the demigod-level black mage named Gypson was merely overseeing the battle.

Although he had determined that the winner of this duel was Sein, there was nothing he could do about Gandra’s intervention to save Daelis since the duel had commenced without a binding magic contract.

Besides, Gypson’s presence was only a projection with the power of a Rank Two mage, significantly limited in this context.

A massive deathly hand reached toward the center of the battlefield, with Gandra himself swiftly approaching.

The massive hand was reaching for Daelis, ostensibly to save her, yet it could also be interpreted as an offensive move against Sein.

During the brief exchange between Sein and Daelis, Gandra quickly grasped the entire situation.

The presence of Gypson’s elemental projection, requested by Martin and a Rank One black mage named Leena, indicated a bias toward Martin’s faction.

Should the Black Tower of Cinderbones extend its influence here, Martin would benefit the most. Gandra, as a rival force, would naturally suffer.

Under these circumstances, Gandra’s respect toward Gypson was irrelevant.

Black mages, after all, were known for their cold pragmatism.

Gandra did not need to ingratiate himself; prioritizing his own interests was the wisest choice.

A powerful deathly aura radiated in all directions from Gandra as the center.

While Rank Two mages might possess elemental bodies, Rank Three mages were significantly more formidable, having delved deeper into the elemental truths of the world.

Their mastery over magic elements rendered Rank Three mages supremely knowledgeable, placing them closest to “gods” among those below Rank Four.

This was evidenced by the fact that deans of the magic academies within Magus World’s major divine towers were all Rank Three grand mages.

As soon as Gandra made a move, a shadowy pressure enveloped the skies.

Despite Sein’s proximity to Daelis, Gandra’s interference left him uncertain if he could successfully eliminate her.

At that moment, a deathly hand and the verdant flame manifested simultaneously above Daelis’ head. Even so, Daelis showed no hint of panic.

Her dry, wrinkled skin formed into an inexplicable smile.

Her body, which had swollen to three meters tall, shrank back to just over a meter tall in moments.

If not for the metallic mask on her face, still emitting a special gray ethereal glow, she would have looked no different from an old woman on death’s doorstep.

Daelis’ smirk seemed to taunt Sein as if mocking him for his inability to end her life.

Her mockery further fueled Sein’s rage, who was still in his verdant flame form. The verdant flame in his hand burned even more fiercely and visibly.

Sein’s Verdant Flame Heart Rod appeared in his other hand.

“DIE!” he yelled as the blazing verdant flame descended upon Daelis with greater speed.

Meanwhile, a pillar of green light shot out from the Verdant Flame Heart Rod. It pierced the sky, aiming straight for Gandra, who was swiftly approaching the battlefield!