Heir of Synthesis: The World Mage

Priam appeared in front of the girl in a fraction of a second, the air around him cracking under the pressure of his speed. Landing firmly on the surface of the lake, he stared at her with a heavy, stern gaze.

”What happened?”

The woman nodded vigorously, her voice broken by exhaustion and extreme urgency:

”Sir Priam! A group of your friends is surrounded and being attacked mercilessly! They need your help immediately!”

Priam frowned, his gaze darkening instantly. ”What’s the exact situation?”

Panting heavily, her chest rising and falling violently, she reported without wasting any time:

”In a gorge 360 kilometers south of here... a crowd has surrounded a large contingent of the 11th Branch. I clearly identified three faction leaders in command; all three of them are Level 9 Mage Disciples!”

”I was ordered by the leader of my own branch to simply observe the area. When I saw them, your allies were being cornered and forced to retreat again and again. Among that group, there was someone who saved me from death months ago. He spotted me in the crowd and begged me to run to this lake, hoping you would be here.”

”They were trying to march toward this place before they were intercepted and chased by that horde,” the girl concluded. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and she was trembling from head to toe, clearly on the verge of physical collapse. It was obvious she’d burned through every last drop of her energy to cover that distance in time.

Priam clenched his teeth so hard that a sharp crack echoed from his jaw. Three faction leaders who were Mage Disciples? They could only be those three young Mages.

”What’s your name?” he asked, turning his sharp gaze toward her.

”My name is Ultand, Sir!” she replied promptly.

”I owe you one, Ultand. If you want, you can stay on our island—I personally guarantee your safety. If you’d rather leave, I’ll make sure to repay this favor properly in the future.”

Without waiting for an answer, Priam turned and shot back toward the center of the island.

Entering the main tent, he picked up Mirra, who was immersed in deep meditation. When he came out, he found Dandara, Shione, Lumiere, and Flaris waiting for him.

”Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” Priam declared, looking at his generals. ”If those insects outside dare take advantage of my absence and try anything, you have free rein. Kill anyone who dares set foot on this island.”

”Boss, take me with you! I can help!” Dandara suddenly asked, stepping forward.

Priam didn’t hesitate. Without a second thought, he nodded and took a large step forward.

He wrapped an arm around Dandara’s waist in a surprisingly intimate gesture. Likewise, Dandara grabbed onto him without the slightest bit of shyness, pressing her body against his as if that physical contact were the most natural and familiar thing in the world.

The next millisecond, Priam shot into the sky with the power of the winds, taking her with him and disappearing from sight.

On the ground, Shione and Flaris widened their eyes, completely stunned.

Priam definitely wasn’t the kind of person who maintained physical closeness with just anyone... quite the opposite! He had always avoided unnecessary physical contact with extreme strictness.

The two looked at each other and silently nodded.

It seemed that something deep and transformative had happened between those two; the trust and intimacy they now displayed were simply unshakable.

At that same moment, Lumiere walked over to Ultand, who had just crossed the lake toward the island. The girl had decided to accept the offer and stay, knowing perfectly well that the leader of her own branch might retaliate against her for helping the 11th Branch.

Meanwhile, outside the lake...

”Priam left the island!”

The information spread like wildfire among the hundreds of scouts hiding along the shores.

”He must have had some serious emergency! Hehe, now that he’s gone, all that’s left are those weaklings who only know how to fire long-range attacks. If we charge in with everything we’ve got now, it’ll be easy to crush them.”

”The leader ordered everyone to gather and prepare the assault! Those vermin are traitors to the sect, and we have a moral duty to eradicate them!” that person said with conviction, genuinely believing the lies they’d been told.

Some Mages really believed that Priam and the others were deliberately robbing and killing people from the sect. Priam had even suspected as much, but... he didn’t care.

Blindly believing a lie without a shred of proof was inexcusable. People like that weren’t innocent.

As soon as they confirmed Priam’s departure, the most powerful Mages from the rival branches finally moved.

...

...

...

Minutes later.

No one knew exactly what promises or rewards the leaders of the 8th Branch had offered, but nearly two hundred and fifty Mage Masters from six different branches marched toward the lake shore, carrying an overwhelming thirst for blood.

There were around 250 Level 9 Mage Masters!

On the other hand, the vast majority of the little over a thousand disciples sheltering on the island belonged to the lower rank. Even if they were three times their current number, the gap of an entire rank was something that, in theory, should have been an insurmountable barrier.

Those two hundred and fifty were more than enough to defeat them on their own. That’s why they were so confident.

It was the first time Ultand had witnessed such a terrifying military force assembled for a massacre. Her face immediately paled with terror, and her grip on the sword in her hand trembled.

She was quite young, probably not even 17 years old. For someone so young to already be a beginner Mage Master, her talent was truly incredible.

Although she specialized in speed, her direct combat abilities were only average. Yet, even in the face of such an overwhelming horde of enemies, she didn’t take a single step back. That alone proved her immense courage.

Since she’d chosen to stay, she wasn’t going to run away like a coward now.

”Miss, you don’t need to do anything. We’ll handle this,” Lumiere said, appearing beside her with a calm, reassuring smile that left Ultand momentarily stunned. ”Don’t worry, we’ll make sure there’s no danger at all. Just step back and watch.”

”I’ll be the first line of defense, and you, Shione, will be the second,” Flaris instructed, stepping forward with a firm voice. ”Call all our soldiers. They may not have had time to absorb all the knowledge Priam gave them, but life doesn’t wait for anyone.”

Shione and Lumiere nodded, wearing an almost unsettling calm.

In fact, there was no need to even call the soldiers. Sensing the drastic change in the atmosphere and the killing intent coming from outside, the members of Priam’s faction began emerging from their tents.

Moments later, the horde of 250 enemy Mage Masters joined forces and shot across the surface of the lake, charging toward the island at full speed.

Then...

*BOOM!*

A magic arrow exploded right in the middle of the enemy formation.

The Mage Masters were caught off guard. The shot came without the slightest warning, and one of the warriors in the vanguard was hit head-on, stumbling several steps backward while violently spitting blood.

When they turned their eyes toward the island, they saw dozens of archers holding drawn bows. Beside them, dozens of Arcanists radiated a suffocating aura of power, ready to unleash an elemental storm.

”Spread out! Once we reach the island, we’ll crush these insects!” ordered some of the Mage Masters at the front.

However, the millisecond they began spreading in all directions, a flaming sphere shot toward the leader of the advance at an incomparably fast speed.

With a cold grunt, the Mage Master pulled out a colossal crimson shield covered in glowing runes. Judging by the gravitational pressure emanating from the artifact, it was undeniably an extremely durable barrier.

*BOOM!*

The impact left the man’s arm completely numb, and the shield nearly flew from his hands, but he still managed to block the explosion.

”Hahaha! Die!”

Suddenly, several attackers broke through the distance and reached within just a few meters of Flaris.

She was the front line, with all the soldiers positioned in formation behind her.

A broad sword covered in furious, explosive flames appeared in the hand of that same Mage Master.

He swung it down with all his strength in a deadly descending arc.

A half-demon Mage Disciple daring to act as a shield? He laughed with blatant arrogance.

*CLANG!*

Incandescent sparks erupted as the Mage Master’s broadsword violently collided with Flaris’s blade.

”What?!” The man widened his eyes as a tearing pain paralyzed his wrists.

His flames surged toward her like a starving beast, but Flaris didn’t even blink, keeping her stance firm and unshaken.

At that moment, Flaris’s eyes pulsed with a deep, hypnotic, and deadly blue light.

”IGNIS POSSESSION!”

*WOOOOOSH!*

The air around them seemed to freeze in the invaders’ lungs.

Flaris’s figure transformed into a vision of pure demonic majesty. Her black hair fluttered like a cascade of shadows, while her slender body, shaped with striking feminine curves, was covered in living armor made of Yin flames.

Her two horns pulsed with an overwhelming demonic aura, giving her the sovereign majesty of a Demon Queen. The flames covering her didn’t burn with furious red fire; they were calm, bright, and blue like ancient ice, flowing over her skin like incandescent silk. Flaris radiated a cold, sublime, and terrifying pressure that made the souls of every Mage present tremble with an instinctive shiver.

*BOOM!*

With a subtle shockwave released by her aura, the Mage Master’s bones cracked. He vomited a spray of blood and was hurled backward like a rag.

”Tch. Is that all a Mage Master is? What trash.”

The Demoness mocked him in a frigid voice.

That was the highest-level technique of the Fem-Ignis race’s Ancestral Art, executed in perfect synergy with the soul power inherited from the Vanculari race.

Flaris’s demonic bloodline wasn’t historically famous for raw power. Her people’s ultimate technique consisted of possessing their own body with Yin flames, which was a type of fusion between energy and the physical body.

Its effects were simple, granting immunity to malicious energies such as poisons and curses. It was a purely defensive ability, like an impenetrable shield covering the entire body.

And it was terrifyingly effective. So much so that Flaris had fought several Calamity Beasts in that world, and the deadly poison of every single one of them had been completely useless against her.

Flaris was a nemesis against this kind of thing, comparable to Priam’s mastery over System energies in this regard.

However, Flaris had recreated that defensive technique. She merged her partner’s spiritual energy with her Yin flames, fusing everything into her flesh as a new armor.

The result was this absolute ice-blue attire. In practice, any external offensive energy directed at her was either nullified or simply extinguished the moment it touched her flames. The power of the Mage Master who had struck her moments ago was snuffed out like a candle flame blown out by the wind.

However, maintaining this state consumed a colossal amount of energy. Still, in terms of direct combat, the one-rank difference had become completely irrelevant to her.

”DIE!”

Another Mage roared, appearing behind Flaris like a deadly bolt of lightning.

Without even turning around, Flaris spun on her heels with hypnotic grace, delivering a devastating spinning kick.

The perfect curve of her foot, covered in blue flames, slammed directly into the attacker’s blade.

She kicked a blade? That Mage Master smiled sinisterly at such stupidity.

But...

*CRASH!*

With a single impact, the steel sword shattered like glass. The Mage Master coughed up blood as his body was violently hurled backward, leaving the crowd in stunned shock.

Without energy to reinforce the blade and increase its offensive power, that weapon was nothing more than a piece of metal to Flaris.

”Just die already!”

Without the slightest hesitation, Flaris took a fluid step forward at blinding speed, tracing a graceful arc with her sword.

*SLASH!*

With a clean, sharp, and brutal cut, the Mage Master was split in two in midair, painting the ground with a mist of blood before his body even touched the earth.