Sovereign of the Ashes

Being unable to plunder Faeloria for long-term war gains did not mean Lorthisra’s investments had to go to waste.

She had already poured significant resources into this endeavor—she needed something in return.

With so many deities in that world and a special phenomenon like the Avatar Crisis, she was already considering her next move.

“The divine abilities and divinities of this world’s deities don’t seem to be stripped from them during the Avatar Crisis. Once cast down to the mortal world, they were merely enhanced versions of demigods...”

Lorthisra brushed her fingers against the altar and continued, “If I can send a Rank Four clone there...”

If she could not reap the war profits of the entire world, then the next best thing was to hunt down a few native Rank Four deities, scavenging their divine relics and divine blood for her own gain.

As Lorthisra calculated how many gods she would need to eliminate before she could break even on this venture, Nergal shook his head.

“Given the nature of that world, if this ‘Avatar Crisis’ truly erupts, even their native deities won’t be able to interfere too much. How exactly do you plan to sneak a clone through?”

His voice carried both amusement and warning.

“I’d say that your best move would be to lie low and establish a foothold in that world. Cultivate believers, and when the time is right... use them as blood sacrifices to help us open a direct portal into that plane. If we can really conquer that foreign world, the Magus Civilization will surely give you a significant share of the spoils.

“You should also consider using the Godslayers and the demons in that world to your advantage. I don’t think I need to teach you the rest, do I?”

He let out a low, sinister chuckle.

As expected of the Magus World’s most powerful and ruthless black mage.

Nergal had spent centuries executing the dirtiest work for the Magus Civilization. Everything that came out of his mouth was steeped in violence and schemes.

Yet Lorthisra was no different. She nodded in agreement, unfazed by his suggestions.

“Then what about the Rank Three mage I sent over? He isn’t my follower, and if I leave him there too long, the deities of that world might pry into the Magus Civilization through him,” she said.

“Bring him back here. Besides, I’m rather interested in that stone slab in his possession. If I’m not mistaken, that slab that suddenly appeared in our Magus World... It must be one of the Tablets of Fate from that world.”

A slow grin spread across the old man’s face as he added, “How unfortunate for them... that it ended up in our world.”

As the Spider Queen poured her divine power into the space-time altar, the entire structure began to glow.

Yet, something was wrong.

The space-time passage that should have formed did not appear.

Clearly, the other side of the passage was completely blocked!

The Avatar Crisis had begun ahead of schedule, and Faeloria had become even more closed off.

Even with her Rank Six mastery, she could not break through Faeloria’s barrier and pull Sein back here, just as Nergal had predicted.

Upon seeing the Spider Queen struggle for hours without progress, Nergal finally stepped forward.

He raised one dry, withered palm and pressed it against the altar’s heart.

A surge of power erupted—more than a hundred times stronger than the Spider Queen’s own divine power output.

Under the overwhelming might of a Rank Eight black mage, the space-time passage finally began to crack open.

A blurred image gradually materialized before them.

It was Sein... on the run.

Behind him, at least a dozen Epic-level creatures pursued relentlessly, with an even greater number of Rank One and Rank Two hunters joining the chase.

Beyond them, an endless horde of ordinary pursuers stretched as far as the eye could see. This was clearly an army hunting Sein.

Yet Nergal was utterly uninterested in Sein’s impending demise.

With another pulse of power, he zoomed in—not on Sein, but into the Silver Spider Ring adorning his finger.

There it was... the Tablet of Fate...

The gray, ancient stone slab immediately caught Nergal’s attention.

The God of Brute Force’s corpse floated silently beside the Tablet of Fate.

In Nergal’s eyes, it was nothing more than a piece of trash.

Although this was the first time he had laid eyes on the Tablet of Fate, Nergal immediately noticed clues on a corner of the stone slab.

“Hehe... Strong lingering traces of death and darkness... And residual frost factors as well...”

For a moment, his hunched frame seemed to straighten slightly.

“I see now... why this tablet ended up in the Magus World.”

“Wasn’t it the pull of fate itself that brought it here?” the Spider Queen asked curiously.

“How could this tablet have ended up in the Magus World for no reason when it clearly has an owner? Someone else must have been responsible for this. She must have severely injured the tablet’s owner and then cast this fragment back into Magus World,” Nergal mused aloud, his eyes narrowing as he considered the possibilities.

“Who could it be? One of our Magus World powerhouses? Didn’t you say that Dio of that world most likely already possesses Rank Eight strength?”

The Spider Queen pressed further, her sharp mind quickly piecing things together.

“Besides you, is there anyone else from Magus World who could wound him so badly? Isn’t that person in Sky City unable to leave our world?”

She fired off questions one after another, but Nergal merely scoffed.

“The true power of our world is far greater than what a little girl like you has seen. But to think that she’s already come this far... Her potential is truly terrifying. I even suspect she has long since surpassed me and has begun stepping toward the supreme realm...

“Well, I expected no less from someone who once journeyed through the World of Despair alongside the Supreme Knight Overlord.”

The Spider Queen’s curiosity surged, burning through her like an unshakable itch.

“Who exactly are you talking about?!” she demanded, her voice sharp with frustration.

Yet Nergal merely pursed his lips, brushing off the question.

Being surpassed by someone younger than him was not a topic he wished to dwell on.

The Spider Queen was no fool either; she quickly caught onto the hidden meaning behind her adoptive father’s words.

“You said that the stone slab carries traces of death and darkness... Does that mean there’s a mage in Magus World who has surpassed even you in umbra elemental magic and necromancy?”

She paused, then pushed further.

“And what exactly are these frost factors that you mentioned?”

A series of possibilities raced through her mind.

“I know! It must be that fatty from the Marmett Union Alliance—the one who recently claimed to have broken through Rank Eight! He has always been so elusive...”

But just as the words left her lips, her expression shifted, and she quickly corrected herself.

“No—wait! That Necromancer with a soul tower in the Marmett Union Alliance...!”

Her voice turned shrilly with realization as she turned to her adoptive father.

This time, Nergal did not reply. Instead, he let out a deep, contemplative sigh.

“How terrifying. I wonder where she has gone now, after leaving the Magus World a hundred thousand years ago. To think she could have ties to a big world so far beyond time and space...” he murmured.