Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein descended onto the airship, partially transformed into his Flame Demon form, and regarded the chubby man before him with a composed expression.[1]

The situation was progressing more smoothly than he had anticipated. The mages aboard the airship could not even mount a proper resistance.

Pure academy mages and seasoned war mages hardened by interplanar conflicts were truly two extremes.

Of course, the airship’s swift compliance was largely due to the personality of Bousse, the Rank One mage who was in charge of everything on the airship.

“Your name is Bousse?” Sein asked again curiously.

Sein’s demeanor and mannerisms were far from what one might expect of a black mage. Once he realized that the airship had no intention of resisting, he refrained from any brash or unreasonable actions.

“Y-Yes, Master...” Bousse stammered, his voice laced with deference.

Sein was far stronger than Bousse. Due to being an ordinary Rank One mage, Bousse was unable to discern Sein’s true life level.

As a result, Bousse mistakenly assumed that Sein was a Rank Three grand mage.

It was no surprise, as Sein’s formidable aura eclipsed that of the two Rank Three deans Bousse had met during the opening ceremony of Francina City’s second-best public magic academy.

Faced with such a powerful opponent, Bousse did not even entertain the thought of resistance.

If this had been an encounter with the infamous black mages, he would have no choice but to surrender.

Bousse, ever pragmatic and aware of his limitations, was an unmotivated man.

This lack of resistance pleased Sein.

What intrigued him even more, however, was the man’s name and appearance.

During Sein’s time as a magic initiate at the black magic academy of Mystralora City, he had two close friends.

One was Marie, a Rank One mage currently at the Divine Tower of Dawn on the South Coast.

The other was a chubby, money-loving boy named Bousse.

After the events in the Yellow Sand World, Sein had never seen Bousse again.

The destruction of Mystralora City by divine towers on the surface had displaced countless lives.

Countless full-fledged black mages perished in that chaotic conflict. For an initiate like Bousse, survival seemed almost impossible.

Although there was no definitive evidence, both Sein and Marie had long suspected that their old friend had died, likely buried in an unknown underground crevice.

Sein observed the Rank One mage named Bousse closely several times but found that his appearance bore little resemblance to the friend he remembered.

He also discovered that Bousse was only 120 years old, less than half of his own age.

If Sein’s old friend were still alive, he would have been around three hundred years old, like Sein himself.

The dead had passed on, and most of Sein’s old friends now existed only in memory. The pursuit of truth was indeed a lonely journey.

Yet, Sein found himself rather fond of this mage named Bousse—perhaps due to his round face and chubbiness.

Even if this Bousse was not the same as the one he once knew, Sein could not help but see a shadow of his old friend in him.

Recalling Bousse’s greed for money from back then, Sein smirked as he casually asked, “If I intercepted this batch of magic initiates, what would you do?”

The immense disparity in strength between them, coupled with Sein’s mild fondness for the mage, led him to pose the question in a joking tone rather than seizing the airship outright.

The seemingly meaningless question actually served a purpose. By gauging Bousse’s reaction, Sein could gather valuable insights that might make his subsequent operation easier.

Two hundred magic initiates were far from enough. To restore the Divine Tower of Dark Flame Academy to its former glory, he would need at least four thousand initiates.

Bousse visibly paled at Sein’s question.

“Are you... really a black mage?” Bousse asked, his voice trembling as though he were on the verge of tears.

Sein’s cold gaze silenced any further questions, forcing Bousse to answer honestly.

“If you took the initiates, the magic academy wouldn’t let me off the hook. I’d probably have to work for the academy until I’m eight hundred years old to make up for the loss.”

Bousse was not exaggerating because he believed that if Sein intercepted the initiates, he would also take the airship with him, compounding the loss.

Such a disaster would likely extend Bousse’s contractual service to the academy by another four centuries, ensuring he paid off the debt.

“And beyond that? What would you tell the academy if I only took the initiates and left you with the airship?” Sein pressed.

It was rare to encounter a timid Rank One academy mage, so Sein was not about to let this opportunity slip away. Without hesitation, he pressed Bousse for more information.

Bousse glanced at Sein nervously and softly replied, “I would report the truth. The top brass in the academy would understand that I’m no match for you.”

“Perhaps the academy won’t punish me too harshly, but they’ll undoubtedly place part of the penalties and losses on me,” he added.

“And? From the look in your eyes, it seems like you have a backup plan,” Sein continued pressing, his smile remaining unwavering.

The chubby mage before him was either inexperienced or had been sheltered for too long within the academy that he had yet to learn how to mask his emotions.

“Nerdy” spellcasters like them were common among academy mages.

When Rank One mages like Bousse joined an interplanar war, even with their considerable elemental powers, they often performed no better than Quasi Knights who had plenty of battlefield experience.

Every year, countless newly promoted Rank One knights and mages lost their lives in interplanar wars, especially those participating for the first time.

To be considered a qualified war mage or war knight, one needed to survive at least one interplanar war.

Challenging stronger opponents was not exclusive to the Magus World’s knights and mages.

Plenty of inexperienced or careless Magus World combatants fell to native creatures far weaker than themselves.

In war, anything could happen.

Faced with Sein’s question, Bousse did not dare to hide anything from him and confessed the plan he had in mind.

“If it’s just a matter of losing one batch of initiates...” Bousse grinned nervously and glanced at Sein. Lowering his voice, he continued, “I could go back to those cities and recruit another group of initiates.”

“These initiates haven’t been officially enrolled by the academy yet. As long as I match the numbers, the academy shouldn’t notice anything amiss. But the quality of the initiates won’t be as good as this batch,” Bousse added honestly.

It was the best solution he could come up with to avoid the academy’s penalties.

Bousse’s response made Sein’s eyes gleam with interest.

Grinning, Sein cut straight to the point. “How about we make a deal, little guy?”

1. Please take note that there is a term change for ”Demon” and ”Devil”. For more information, please visit the footnote of Chapter 910. ☜