Sovereign of the Ashes

Days spent buried in experiments made it easy to lose track of time.

Before Sein realized it, he had already been on Marvelous Plane for quite a while.

After the Magus Civilization dispatched Sein and Gregory to the battlefronts surrounding the Shadowbat Civilization, both had achieved decisive victories in their respective engagements.

Since then, however, the two of them had fallen temporarily quiet, showing no intention of pushing further into the surrounding star domains.

Meanwhile, the allied forces of Arid Expanse World and Aquaria were too intimidated by the Magus Civilization to make any rash moves.

Instead, they continued amassing vast legion forces along the frontlines, maintaining a tense standoff with the Magus Civilization.

What once seemed like an imminent, intense confrontation gradually lost momentum.

With no new deployment orders, Sein simply settled into life on Marvelous Plane.

That day, after Sein finished his routine experiments, Tourmaline came to visit him again in his laboratory.

Most of the time, she seemed to arrive at just the right moment.

Tourmaline got along well with Sandy, Sev, and Lou. Now, she even had Azelia feeding her information regarding Sein’s schedules.

After accidentally causing a bit of chaos during her previous visit, Tourmaline had learned to show up only after Sein’s experiments were nearly complete.

Today, she entered the laboratory holding a plate of grilled meat.

It was crocodile meat, and judging by the cut, it was tail meat.

Indeed, this was flesh taken from the Rank Five Sand Crocodile.

After vivisecting and studying the Sand Crocodile, Sein had distributed portions of its prime cuts to those around him.

As knights, Reina and Sia benefited greatly from consuming the flesh of a Rank Five creature, as it significantly strengthened their constitutions.

The grilled meat Tourmaline carried was heavily seasoned with spices, closely matching Reina’s preferred flavor. It was obvious she had obtained it from Reina.

Reina was a true foodie. Even though she had slimmed down tremendously now, eating remained her greatest joy. As a result, her culinary skills were exceptionally refined.

Now a Rank Five mage, Sein rarely needed food anymore.

When he required energy, he could directly draw upon elemental power and convert it far more efficiently than through digestion.

Still, mages were human, not machines. From time to time, Sein indulged in the pleasures of being human, savoring the simple satisfaction that came from good food.

Aside from Azelia and Reina, another skilled cook among Sein’s companions was a female mermaid he had tamed in his youth.

Selina would also occasionally show off her culinary talents.

“What brings you here, Tourmaline?” Sein asked while looking at the experimental specimen he had just finished preparing.

“Nothing much. I was just wandering around,” Tourmaline replied, hopping onto a nearby high stool once she reached his side.

She ate the grilled meat in small, careful bites. The flesh of the sand crocodile contained immense energy.

Even with Tourmaline’s formidable constitution, consuming large amounts in one sitting was difficult.

Besides, Tourmaline never liked wolfing her food down.

Savoring the food itself was part of the enjoyment.

As she watched Sein work on the specimen, she kicked her short legs happily.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sein noticed that she was wearing a new pair of shoes.

They were green cloth shoes, quite different from the boots typically worn by Magus Civilization folk.

Delicate patterns were embroidered across the surface, giving them a refined, almost elegant look.

With Tourmaline, Sein always seemed to notice something new.

On closer inspection, many small details of her attire differed from those worn by Magus Civilization women.

For instance, the delicate dragon horns on her forehead were sometimes adorned with tiny pieces of rare jewelry. The dresses she wore, whether lace or fabric, were styles Sein had never seen before.

As a result, whenever Tourmaline came to see him, Sein inevitably found himself studying her for longer than he intended.

He never minded Tourmaline interrupting his experiments.

The specimen before him now was a heart—a living one.

Its steady, powerful beating showed the intense biological vitality within.

Until he could determine its precise purpose, Sein planned to store it temporarily in his specimen collection room.

Having advanced to Rank Five quite some time ago, the treasures within Sein’s specimen room had grown increasingly abundant.

After he was done with the specimen, Sein headed toward the laboratory exit and asked, “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s still at the Sea Fortress. It’s just too boring there, so I came to find you,” Tourmaline replied.

The Sea Fortress was a space fortress commissioned and funded by the sea races, with specifications that surpassed even Sein’s Ashen Fortress.

In addition to the Sea Fortress, the sea races stationed near Marvelous Plane had also deployed several other fortresses and war forts of slightly smaller sizes.

These structures were exceptionally well-suited to accommodate the sea races, with most of them incorporating vast seawater zones within their interiors.

At present, the Sea Fortress was docked in the starry expanse beyond Marvelous Plane.

Perhaps White Stella had also felt stifled and confined within Marvelous Plane itself.

As a result, once the battle ended, she departed swiftly. Only Tourmaline remained behind on this low-level plane, occasionally coming by to visit Sein and play.

While they were talking, Tourmaline finished the crocodile meat in her hands and let out a satisfied burp.

Her pink lips glistened with grease, making her look even more endearing.

Without thinking much, Sein reached out and took Tourmaline’s hand.

As they walked out of the laboratory together, Sein asked, “Shall I give you another check-up?”

“No, thank you,” Tourmaline replied. There was a trace of reluctance in her voice.

The two figures gradually disappeared from the laboratory.

Along the specimen storage wall beside the laboratory, a lone crocodile head sat silently in place. Its eyes had been removed, and most of its teeth had been shaved down.

This was the head of the Rank Five Sand Crocodile.

Although its body had been completely dismembered, leaving only the head behind, the Sand Crocodile was not dead.

Just as Sein had declared during the battle, he greatly admired that crocodile head and intended to preserve it as a specimen.

He had truly kept his promise.

***

Three years after the end of Marvelous Plane War, Sein formally signed an agreement with the Amazon Queen, marking the plane’s official entry into the Magus Alliance.

From that moment on, Marvelous Plane became a member of the alliance.

In return, Sein immediately fulfilled the treaty’s provisions. He allocated nearly two million magicoins’ worth of assets from the war supplies already transferred to the outskirts of Marvelous Plane and entrusted them to the plane’s natives for recovery and reconstruction.

Only three law-wielding native beings had survived the war, and all of them were severely wounded.

After such devastation, it was impossible to say how long Marvelous Plane would take to recover.

What was certain, however, was that only by firmly relying on the Magus Civilization could they hope to rebuild and rise again.

During the period when the contract was being finalized, Sein received another message.

It came from the empty region of space around Blue Star.