Earth's Greatest Magus

The [Black Hole] was Emery’s most devastating spell—an inheritance he got from Zenonia. It was a power far beyond his control, a volatile force of destruction that Emery only dared to use in the direst of circumstances.

Now was one such moment.

The sky above fractured like splintered glass as an ominous vortex of pure void energy materialized. Darkness spread outward, pulling everything into its merciless maw with the force of a celestial hurricane. Buildings shattered, stone fragments and steel beams flew skyward, drawn into the ever-growing black mass.

Tolaro’s confident smirk faltered slightly as his sharp eyes observed the phenomenon.

“How did a whelp like you learn such a spell?” he hissed, his voice filled with a mix of awe and irritation.

Emery’s face twisted in concentration as he struggled to maintain control over the monstrous power he had unleashed. His body trembled from the immense strain, and veins bulged against his temples as if they might burst.

Yet Tolaro’s initial surprise gave way to amusement. His cold smile returned as he stepped closer, undeterred by the cataclysm unfolding above.

“Interesting spell indeed,” he said with mock admiration. “But do you truly think this will save you? No… If anything, it will only make your end come faster!”

At first, Emery didn’t understand what the dark elf meant. But then it hit him—the mirror world’s unique spatial laws were amplifying the [Black Hole], fueling its growth exponentially. Its gravitational force now threatened to consume everything.

Emery’s grip on the spell slipped, and the black hole expanded violently, leaving him with even less time to find an escape through the chaos.

The very air groaned under the pressure, the citadel shook, and massive rifts spread across the sky. Chututlu and the elder dragon were dragged sideways, tentacles flailing and claws gouging the crumbling stone in a desperate attempt to stay anchored. Even Killgragh roared in agony as his wings strained against the gravitational force pulling him toward oblivion.

Tolaro, in sharp contrast, remained calm, his robes fluttering against the violent winds. He gave Emery a knowing look. “You thought this spell would shatter my mirror world and let you escape, didn’t you?” He shook his head mockingly. “Well… It might destroy this realm, but you’ll die alongside it.”

The edges of Emery’s vision blurred from exhaustion, but his will remained unbroken. He couldn’t let it end like this—not yet. Closing his eyes, he extended his divine sense, probing the fractured sky and chaotic void for any weakness, any exit. But the spatial distortions were so severe that even his senses were muffled, scattered like whispers in a storm.

“VIA!” Emery called out “Analyze the spatial cracks for me!”

[Analyzing… Processing spatial irregularities…]

The mechanical voice of his artificial being filled his mind, but time was slipping away. The vortex was consuming more and more of the battlefield, and Emery had to cast his spatial bending to resist its relentless pull.

Emery heard the dark elf let out a cruel chuckle. “Do you even know where that hole leads, boy? That void has no end. You’ll be lost forever, scattered across eternity.”

Ignoring the dark elf’s taunts, Emery raised his sword, channeling what little spirit energy he had left into the blade. Sparks of light danced along its edge as he unleashed his [Shadow Edge] strikes at the spatial cracks in the sky.

Then a second strike… a third.

Each strike exploded with violent force, sending shockwaves through the fractures. Emery hoped the vibrations from the blasts would provide VIA with enough data to analyze.

[No viable exit detected… Continue analyzing.]

His heart pounded in his chest. Every breath felt like fire in his lungs, but Emery refused to stop. With gritted teeth, he made a decisive move.

Lifting his blade, he severed his own arm with a single swift stroke and summoned his true clone. Without hesitation, he hurled the clone toward the black hole. It vanished into the swirling abyss, consumed in an instant. Emery’s gamble was a desperate hope—that the clone would relay any information about what lay beyond the black hole.

But nothing came back. No signal. No insight.

Tolaro was amused, “Just give up… I am your only way out of here, your only means of survival.”

With a casual flick of his wrist, the dark elf opened a shimmering spatial gate beside him. Beyond the portal, a serene and stable void shimmered with silvery light.

“Kneel. Accept me as your master, and I will spare your life.”

Emery’s response was immediate, his voice resolute despite the tremor of exhaustion. “I’d rather die here than bow to you!”

Tolaro sighed, shaking his head as if in disappointment. “Then die.”

Spatial energy crackled around him as six shimmering wheels of light manifested, spinning violently before launching toward Emery with lethal precision.

Emery summoned every last ounce of strength he had, bending space to dart between the buildings, narrowly avoiding the deadly disks. But the wheels cut through stone and steel as if they were paper, carving deep gashes into the ruins.

His body was weighed down by unbearable fatigue, his spirit reserves dangerously close to empty, and the searing pain from his severed arm combined with the chilling agony in his core tore at him relentlessly.

Just as Tolaro cornered him, the bone saber gleaming menacingly in his grasp, poised for a fatal strike—

A thunderous roar echoed through the chaos, shaking the very air.

From the smoke and destruction, Killgragh emerged, bloodied and scorched, his massive black form cutting through the vortex like a dark force of nature.

With a mighty roar, the black dragon barreled into Tolaro, crashing into him with a force that sent the dark elf skidding across the battlefield. The dragon took the full brunt of Tolaro’s vicious strikes

“Killgragah!”

Before Emery could even brace himself, the dracolich descended from the sky. Its gnarled, bony claws pierced into Killgragh’s exposed back with a sickening crunch, driving deep into the dragon’s flesh.

ROAARR!!!

Killgragh let out a roar that seemed to shatter the air.

The dracolich’s claws pinned Killgragh to the ground, holding him there with unyielding force. The dragon thrashed, but the dracolich’s grip was absolute, its skeletal jaws snapping open with an awful creak as they closed around Killgragh’s neck.

“NO!” Emery screamed as the mighty dragon’s neck snapped.

Emery staggered, his heart breaking as Killgragh’s glowing eyes turned toward him one final time.

The words echoed in his mind, a haunting whisper, as the dragon’s massive form began to flicker and fade, leaving only silence and smoke in its place.