Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1449: Necrotic Energy

In the underground chamber beneath Count Ward’s residence, the Magi remained motionless long after the battle had ended.

Gillian York turned to Marlow, who was looking at the book in his hands with a complicated look on his face, and couldn’t help but ask:

”My Prince, that... that man, Nilrem... I mean, Lord Nilrem, he was truly a Mana Core Magus?”

Marlow closed his eyes and thought back to the conversation he’d once had with the wandering Magus in the palace courtyard, and all the times he had spoken ill of him within closed doors.

To think that a person, whom he had found so annoying, would actually turn out to be the one to save his life. And not just that, Nilrem had effectively saved the entire city from bloody destruction.

If a Mana Core-level undead existence had wreaked havoc in the capital, no one could tell for certain how much chaos would ensue. This was especially so given that both Maximillian and Bunosilo were away from the city.

There would have been no one to stop the undead knight from slaughtering the entire capital.

The red-haired prince opened his eyes and exhaled a heavy sigh. ”He saved us. He saved Amberfall...”

Naturally, Gillian and the rest of the Magi were aware of the consequences of having a Rank 4 undead knight loose in the city above. As a result, they were even more grateful for Nilrem’s actions.

”And he’s no ordinary Mana Core Magus either,” Marlow continued, his tone laced with respect and awe.

Nilrem had taken care of the undead knight with just a few moves. How many Mana Core Magi could claim to do the same while battling an unkillable abomination?

”Moreover,” Marlow added, recalling the finesse with which Nilrem had exiled that monster. ”He possesses extremely high attainments in the School of Summoning!”

The Magi in the basement found themselves subconsciously nodding.

”My Prince,” Gillian called out, slight hesitation in his voice. ”How do we report this incident to His Majesty?”

Marlow knew what he was talking about.

Nilrem had explicitly mentioned not to reveal his involvement in this battle. The Prince and the rest didn’t know his reasoning behind it, but they wished to honor it regardless.

Marlow rose to his feet, safely putting away the book in his ring. He turned to Gillian and all the Magi in the basement and solemnly said:

”Nilrem was never here. We were the ones to deal with the undead knight. I happened to have an artifact with me, capable of teleporting targets into the spirit world.”

His gaze sharpened, and he added, ”Understood?”

”Yes, My Prince!” Everyone simultaneously replied.

To be safe, Marlow had everyone swear a mana oath. Afterward, they thoroughly searched the basement for any other items Count Ward might have hidden.

Once that was done, they all departed.

***

High above the city, the dark sky churned as Maximillian and Bunosilo fought in perfect coordination against Osbert.

Bunosilo stood at the center of the assault, spell after spell tearing free from his hands in rapid succession. Magic circles flared and collapsed, and bolts of mana came crashing down on the necromancer without pause. The air itself seemed to fracture under the weight of his spell-casting.

Meanwhile, Maximillian moved like a blazing comet beside him. His flaming sword carved through the sky, cutting off Osbert’s escape routes with sweeping arcs of flames. Each swing forced the necromancer to reposition, each burst of flame herding him back into Bunoilo’s killing zones.

They had the advantage. Osbert was constantly on the defensive, driven back again and again, unable to weave hand seals to summon his undead.

And yet... he would not fall.

Bone shields reformed as fast as they were shattered. Dark necrotic mists swallowed lethal blows. Every time it seemed they had him cornered, Osbert slipped away through deathly techniques, all the while displaying a cunning gleam in his eyes.

Though the necromancer said nothing, Maximillian and Bunosilo couldn’t help but feel a dark foreboding feeling gnaw at their hearts.

It was as if... the necromancer was glad with keeping the battle in a stalemate.

Despite the pair’s dominance, the truth became clear that although they were pressuring Osbert, they could not finish him.

A Mana Core Magus was not so easily killed.

And then there was the other unsettling feeling that everything unfolding was well within Osbert’s machinations.

Until it wasn’t...

After deflecting a spell and evading a sword strike, Osbert’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

The link... it’s gone, he screamed inwardly.

After the undead knight had been exiled into the depths of the spirit world, naturally, the link connecting it to its master had been severed.

Someone killed it already?!

How is that possible?!!

It had only been a few minutes since he had activated the undead knight to come alive, yet it had already been dealt with. The thought bewildered him, causing him to momentarily lose sense of his surroundings.

And that lapse of judgment was all that was needed to defeat him.

Maximillian flashed before the cultist and swung his flaming sword in a vicious arc, carving a deep, burning gash across Osbert’s torso.

Before the necromancer could recover, Bunosillo arrived in a blur and unleashed a beam of high-pressure wind. Osbert’s pupils constricted as he twisted his body at the last moment to shield himself from certain death. But the blast tore through, severing his arm as it sent him reeling across the night sky.

Maximillian and Bunosilo closed in on him, knowing that they wouldn’t get a better chance at finishing off the enemy.

However, before they could finish him, Osbert made a final, desperate move.

He crushed an artifact in his remaining hand, and a violent explosion of necrotic energy erupted outward, swallowing the sky in rolling black miasma.

”Watch out!” Bunosilo promptly warned Maximillian, and together, they quickly retreated before the necrotic energy could reach them.

When the darkness finally dispersed, Osbert was gone.

All that remained was the fading residue of deathly mana, a clear proof that the necromancer had fled, retreating with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.

”What... just happened?” Maximillian couldn’t help but frown.

Bunosilo had a dark look on his face. A long time later, he finally answered, ”I’ll deal with the necrotic energy in the air. We cannot allow it to touch the land below.”

He then turned to Maximillian and said in a grave voice, ”You return to the capital immediately. Something about the way he acted doesn’t sit right with him. I’ll return shortly.”

”Very well.” The King, too, felt the same way.

He nodded at Bunosilo and then flew back to Amberfall, thinking to himself with a grim look on his face:

Everyone... please be all right!