Earth's Greatest Magus

Long before he became the feared Chimera Sovereign, he had been nothing more than a young man struggling to survive in a savage and forsaken land.

Unlike the civilized planets of the Magus Alliance, where cities were protected by formations and powerful clans maintained order, his world knew only brutality. Villages were built from bone and stone, hidden behind crude walls that could be torn apart overnight.

Every dawn was uncertain. Every night was worse. Children were raised knowing that one careless step beyond the settlement might end with claws around their throat or fangs tearing through their flesh.

Men there did not fear war.

They feared being eaten.

He had not been weak. Even in youth, he possessed sharp instincts, fierce determination, and uncommon talent. But on such a world, strength alone was never enough.

Fortune arrived when he encountered a mysterious hermit shaman living deep within the wilderness, a figure revered as half-man, half-myth. The old shaman saw potential in the desperate youth and accepted him as a disciple.

From that day forward, his life changed.

The shaman taught him the forbidden path of spirit beast cultivation and passed down a divine inheritance.

[The Twelve Spirit Beast Arts]

It was a terrifying technique. Through it, one could not only borrow the technique of powerful spirit beasts, but also enhance cultivation.

With this art, the young man rose rapidly.

He entered the Magus Realm.

Then rose further.

However, when he had only just stepped into the Cosmic Realm, greed had already taken root in his heart.

The more he learned of the The Twelve Spirit Beast Arts, the more he coveted the complete inheritance for himself. He no longer wished to remain a disciple standing beneath another’s shadow. He wanted the technique, the spirit beasts, and the power that came with them.

The legendary hermit who had guided him for years was betrayed and killed by the very student he had raised. From that day onward, he stepped fully into a criminal life, no longer pretending otherwise. In pursuit of stronger spirit beasts and greater transformations, he raided remote worlds, massacred tribes, trafficked forbidden creatures.

Cities burned, rivers ran red, and survivors were chained as bait to lure the remaining creatures from hiding.

Over centuries, he became the Chimera Sovereign.

And in the end—

Karma returned through the same road it came.

He too was betrayed by his own disciple.

“Urghhh!! Get the fuck out of my head!”

The elderly spirit roared in rage, his spectral body trembling violently inside the sealed soul chamber.

Emery stood before him in calm silence.

It had been several days since he captured the Three Cosmos criminal and imprisoned the soul within his personal domain. Only after breaking into the Chimera Sovereign’s aperture and capturing the rare Silver Veil Ape had Emery finally decided to deal with the old monster directly.

Now he was using [Soul Walk], entering the criminal’s consciousness and walking through memories, barriers, and hidden mental layers.

Emery’s tone remained level.

“I already entered your domain. There was little worth taking.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“It seems the only valuable thing left in you is that divine technique. Give it to me, and I may reconsider handing you over to the Magus Alliance.”

The elderly spirit laughed hoarsely.

“Hahaha… you think I’m a fool? Even if I gave it to you, you would never let me go.”

“Maybe,” Emery replied calmly. “I would rather end you here to ensure there are no future problems, but I can promise you this… If you comply with my demand, I will hand you over to the Magus Alliance. It will not be pleasant, but you might still have a chance.”

“Hmph. The only way I would give it to you is if you swear a spirit oath not to harm me…”

Emery cut him off immediately.

“Forget it.”

His voice turned colder.

“There is no chance I let someone like you walk free”

The old man’s face twisted with hatred.

“Hahaha! Even with your profound soul strength, you may imprison me—but you cannot stop me from self-detonating!”

Emery sighed.

“I really wanted that bounty money.”

Then his gaze sharpened.

“But… oh well.”

Emery made his decision without speaking further.

He moved decisively.

With a single motion of his hand, the ground beneath the imprisoned soul rippled and split apart. From the darkness below, dozens of thick roots erupt upward like living spears. They were covered in glowing veins of runic light, and moved with terrifying speed. In an instant they wrapped themselves around the Chimera Sovereign’s spectral limbs.

The elderly spirit’s expression transformed immediately.

“What do you think you are doing?!” he shouted, panic finally breaking through the arrogance he had maintained until now.

Emery did not answer.

Behind him, a vast shadow began to rise.

The chamber darkened as a monstrous silhouette took form from swirling mist and writhing darkness. Countless tentacles unfurled into the air, while clusters of cold, inhuman eyes opened one after another.

It was Chututllu.

The ancient Khaos guardian loomed behind Emery like a nightmare given shape. Waves of Khaos energy rolled from its body and poured into the roots binding the Chimera Sovereign.

The restraints transformed instantly.

Their surfaces darkened further, the runes across them twisting into devouring sigils as they pulsed like veins carrying hungry life. What had begun as simple restraints became something far more dangerous.

An advanced version of [Spirit Devour].

The Chimera Sovereign’s face lost all color.

“You’re insane…” he rasped, then his voice rose into fury. “Bastard! Then let us die together!”

Knowing the inevitable, the old criminal chose destruction. He ignited everything left inside his damaged soul, drawing together the remnants of his Three Cosmos power in preparation for a final self-detonation. Spiritual fire surged through his spectral form, and violent energy gathered so quickly that even the chamber trembled.

But the explosion never came.

Instead, the power within him turned chaotic.

Energy channels twisted shut. Gathered force collided against itself. The carefully formed detonation collapsed inward before it could be completed.

The old man froze in disbelief.

Only then did he realize what Emery had done.

During the long hours of probing memories, questioning him, and pressing his mind for secrets, Emery had not merely been searching for information. He had secretly planted layer after layer of restrictions throughout the weakened soul.

“You tricked me—ARGHHHH!”

The Chimera Sovereign screamed as the roots constricted further.

Still unwilling to surrender, glowing runes began spreading across his spectral body. But Emery’s enhanced mastery in Spirit Devour was merciless.

One defensive layer after another was torn apart as streams of crimson soul force were dragged from the old man’s body and drawn into Emery’s control.

At the same time, the devouring force dug deeper into the most protected corners of his mind.

Memories sealed were dragged into the open and stripped away.

Emery remained calm throughout the process, though his concentration was absolute.

He had considered other options before making this choice.

Tessa had already informed him that the bounty on the Chimera Sovereign alone was worth three billion spirit stones. Even as a soul lacking body and aperture, handing him over would still earn nearly half of that sum.

It was a fortune.

Yet after capturing the rare Silver Veil Ape and learning more of The Twelve Spirit Beast Arts through Varkul’s, Emery had changed his mind.

The value inside this criminal now exceeded mere money.

With his growing mastery over the Law of Devouring, he was confident he could gain far more by absorbing the man’s knowledge and remaining essence before the inevitable collapse.

Minutes passed beneath the sound of endless screaming.

The Chimera Sovereign’s spectral body gradually swelled into a grotesque shape as unstable energies accumulated faster than they could escape. His outline bulged outward in pulses of red and black light, while cracks of spiritual distortion spread across his form.

Emery’s eyes snapped open.

That was the limit.

With one decisive strike, he tore open a spatial gate leading to a prepared wasteland far beyond Neo Terra City. Then, he hurled the bloated soul through the opening.

The gate sealed behind it.

A heartbeat later, the distant horizon erupted.

A catastrophic explosion thundered more than a hundred miles outside the city. Crimson fire rose like a pillar into the heavens, followed by a shockwave that rolled across the wasteland and shook the clouds.

The Chimera Sovereign, feared for centuries across many sectors, had finally meet his end.