Supreme Magus

Chapter 4346: Tezka’s Answer (Part 2)

”That idiot must have used Forbidden Magic to clumsily crawl into the domain of Infinity Magic. Then, they used what they learned from their experiments to create you and cheat their way into Eternity Magic. Your maker did a poor job at both.

”You need Spirit Magic to conjure the simplest of Infinity Magic spells and an entire magical formation fueled by Spirit Artifacts to produce something that barely scratches the surface of Eternity Magic.

”I’m ashamed that someone from my Summoner Clan could have achieved so little despite the rich legacy I left behind and stooped low enough to use Forbidden Magic, but credit where credit is due.

”Your maker may not have understood the first thing about Eternity Magic, kid, but they did reach farther than I ever did. If not for that incompetent fool, you wouldn’t have been born nor entrusted with the means to teach me a priceless lesson.” Tezka paused to let his words sink in.

”Your maker took the wrong and easy path to achieve Eternity Magic, and by studying their success, I was finally able to figure out what I’ve been doing wrong for all this time.” Tezka dispelled the third iteration of Chaos Dimension.

”For that, you and your maker have my thanks, kid.” The dimensional rift in the Suneater’s left hand expanded into something that incorporated both Tezka’s mastery over Infinity Magic and his newfound grasp on Eternity Magic.

The Eternity Seal array pressed on Tezka’s new spell like a rising tide, but the spell stood unflinching like a mountain.

The Chaos Dimension kept growing and expanding, no matter how much energy Salanoth drew from her Spirit devices, stopping only when it reached the limits of the Fylgja’s current strength.

”Allow me to show you how Eternity Magic is truly done as a parting gift, child.” Tezka jumped at the Ring of Space, and this time the Eternity Seal failed to restrict his movements or suppress the power of the Chaos Dimension.

Salanoth’s Forbidden Magical Formation retreated in front of the Chaos spell with the tenacity of a beaten soldier trying to save their life without offering their back to the enemy.

’If Tezka comes too close, I have two seconds tops before Chaos Dimension envelops me. If that happens, the Severed Sky array will crumble, and the Suneater spell will flood him with power.

’Curse you and your obsession with surpassing your ancestor, Taresia. You wasted your life chasing after Tezka, and now I might end up the same way because of you!’

The cursed ring released all the wands she had stored in her pocket dimension and fired them in unison until they had no charge left. The light of the hundreds of elemental spells they released would have dwarfed the sun, and the noise they produced made the entire cave tremble.

Yet not one bolt of ice, fire, lightning, or darkness entered the space encompassed by Chaos Dimension. The spells were all captured by Chaos Dimension’s gravitational pull and thrown back at Salanoth after half an orbit around the Suneater.

The alchemical tools fought against themselves, saving Tezka the little mana he had left to win that fight. The Suneater’s confident act was all a ruse to hide his weakness and buy the time that the Endless Night blade needed to recharge his equipment.

Away from a mana geyser and with no Invigoration, Tezka relied on his Suneater spell to make up for the limits of his Eldritch nature.

He had come to Nalrond’s rescue knowing the risks and with a vague idea of the identity of his mark, but Salanoth’s prowess had far exceeded his most grim expectations.

The Severed Sky formation had deprived him of his best card, and the Armory’s dimensional-sealing and space-compressing arrays had pushed him far back into a corner.

His Blade Spell, Unbreakable Bond, had allowed him to contain the threat of the Upyrs while he tried to figure out his path to victory, but it was no winning move. The special runes of Endless Night allowed it to quickly absorb the world energy, but they were unsuitable for most pieces of his equipment like the Skull or the Maw.

To make matters worse, draining the power from an artifact for too long would decrease the durability of the Davross until it was given enough time to recover. With each spell Tezka cast, his equipment became more brittle, and its enchantments weakened.

When Salanoth had revealed her ability to use both Infinity and Eternity Magic, the Suneater had wondered his odds of victory for the first time in a very long while. Chaos Dimension was supposed to be his unbreakable bastion.

A mobile fortress that, when fueled by the Suneater spell, could bring him close to the level of a Guardian. Yet Severed Sky had defeated it as well, and Eternity Gate had turned Tezka into a multi-tailed fish in a barrel.

If not for his Warg power to parallel think like ten people, the constant data flow and the mental focusing ability of the Skull, the high casting speed of the Maw of Bytra, and his recent breakthrough, Salanoth’s preparations would have spelled his death.

’When I get back home, I must thank Zogar and Bytra. This victory belongs to them as much as me.’ The Suneater thought while sharpening his mind into the deadliest blade.

His eyes darted left and right, expecting an enemy or a deadly spell to jump out of the dust cloud raised by the countless detonations. He listened carefully to the Skull’s data flow, ready to counter any new trick that the Severed Sky array might still hide.

’Now!’ Salanoth ordered via the mind link, and her allies delivered.

The Adamant chain, Snakebite, was whole again, and it wasn’t alone. Swords, polearms, knives, maces, and all sorts of powerful enchanted weapons that the Ring of Space had collected during her long life came at Tezka like a metal swarm.

Salanoth had mastered all of them, and each weapon moved as if she were wielding it instead of being manipulated by her dimensional field. The Ring of Space kept her distance, using the Severed Sky array as both a shield for his allies and a sword pointed at Tezka’s neck.

The pressure that Eternity Seal exerted on Chaos Dimension could no longer stop the Fylgja’s advance, but it slowed him down. Moreover, her allies were free to Blink across the battlefield while he couldn’t step outside his spell without being nailed to the ground like an insect.

Salanoth could have even allowed Jorl and Uragar to use Warp Steps, but she didn’t trust them to fight by her side to the bitter end unless they had to. Useless to say, she was right.

The only reason Jorl shared most of the Life Maelstrom he had left with her was that he was afraid of what would happen if Salanoth died and the power of the Suneater spell flooded Tezka again.

Uragar conjured his best Spirit and Source Magic spells, holding nothing back, only because he was much more afraid of the Suneater than he was of the idea that one of his so-called allies could steal his secrets.

Akhton the Bastet-Upyr was the only one among them who helped the Ring of Space out of his will to fight rather than fear.