Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1230: Battle Outcome

Adam lay bruised and battered on the ground, gasping desperately for air. Every fiber of his being screamed with pain and agony. Just because he had forgotten most of his battle with the doppelganger beast didn’t mean it wasn’t real.

The bones in his right forearm lay utterly shattered, and he needed to treat them quickly if he didn’t wish to permanently damage them. Scars, big and small, littered his body. A few of his ribs were broken, and he had severe internal injury.

Fighting the doppelganger beast was like fighting a mirror-image of himself, except this mirror-image wasn’t crazy like he was.

Adam used his disadvantage to gain the victory, however. The doppelganger beast could steal into his physical appearance, but it could not live with the consequences of entering his mind and stealing all his memories.

From the moment it had formed a telepathic link with him, it had become tainted by the ravings of the Faceless Mask, pushing him to the utter brink of madness. There was no returning from that. It wasn’t as mentally resilient as Adam, after all.

”Gege! Gege!” The mimic crawled from underneath him and slowly started chomping on the doppelganger beast’s body that had now reverted back to its grey, ape-like form.

Adam exhaled a deep, heavy sigh. ”Good boy...”

As the weight of the corpse bearing down on him slowly started to lessen, he was able to breathe more clearly. Gritting his teeth, Adam drowned the whispers of the Laughing God and expanded his Sphere of Resonance to its maximum output.

He didn’t know how long his battle with the doppelganger beast lasted. The fight was a blur in his mind.

Once his senses settled on the status of the battle near the crater, his scarred face couldn’t help but turn grim. The battlefield was littered with wolf corpses, and here and there, his senses picked up on the shredded carcasses of griffins.

Adam concentrated on his hearing, his face becoming darker by the moment.

It would seem that the battle between the great beasts was drawing to a close. The giant bear had been the first to perish, killed by the black alpha wolf. Immediately after, the black alpha had been slain by the giant griffin.

Now, only three Mana Core-level beasts remained—the giant griffin, the white alpha, and the grey alpha. The wolf pack had been reduced by a considerable size, whereas griffins still circled the air, looking for opportunities to get rid of the remaining wolves.

From what Adam could surmise, the white alpha would most likely be the next to die. It had been heavily wounded in this battle. In the end, only the grey alpha and the great griffin would remain.

The grey alpha would come out on top because of its impenetrable defensive abilities, whereas the great griffin, thanks to its aerial superiority, would be one of the last ones standing.

The outcome of the battle was already decided. The grey alpha would not be able to defend the ruined city of Feypore all by itself and the help of its pack. It would most likely flee from this place.

As for the great griffin... Adam wasn’t exactly sure what it would do. Griffins preferred to reside in high altitudes. But at the same time, the allure of the mana-rich zone within Feypore was too great an opportunity to miss.

Regardless, Adam had to quickly leave this place. He didn’t know if he would get another chance like this to get so close to the portal. If he was unable to leave now, he didn’t know how long it would take for him to plan his next attack. Time was of the essence.

Grunting in agonizing pain, he rose to his feet. The mimic, having completely devoured the doppelganger beast, climbed Adam’s back and strapped itself to it in its rucksack form.

As blood poured from his wounds, he dragged his broken body to the black cube.

The appearance of the doppelganger beast was quite unexpected. But in the end, Adam was able to come up with an insidious counterattack of his own and clutch the victory.

Now, only one thing remained...

Arriving before the mysterious cube, he traced his fingers across the ancient, jagged surface as he studied the runes.

”Concealment and protection,” he muttered weakly.

The runes meant to serve only those two purposes - conceal the cube from the senses of other beings by permanantly enshrouding the bottom of the crater in shadows, and protecting it from being infiltrated by any means.

But of course, there was a backchannel entrance into the cube. It was meant to be used by the Cult Leader or his people to visit the portal and strengthen the rune magic around it.

And that secret passageway was exactly what Adam was going to use.

With a soft click, a small section of the cube caved in, forming the outline of a door. This was the result of Adam pressing on a sequence of runes and then forming a set of hand seals. It took him about thirty minutes, but he had finally succeeded in finding the secret passageway.

As the passageway appeared before him, the sound of battle gradually died down within the city. The first rays of the rising sun scattered across the blue skies, dyeing it in shades of bright and vibrant colors.

The entire night had taken a toll on Adam—both physically and mentally. The moment he heard the sound of the secret entrance forming, he couldn’t help but reveal a weary smile.

”...At last,” he murmured.

He dragged his bloodied body through the dark tunnel, his fingers tracing the inner walls. Finally, he arrived at the entrance of a chamber, and at the center of it was a black pedastal.

The chamber was filled with traps and other defense mechanisms, so he didn’t dare set foot it yet. Considering his current state, he was sure to set off at least a few dozen traps.

Adam scanned his surroundings out of habit, but found no one there. He then turned around, facing the secret entrance. No one had followed him inside as well.

He then cast another series of complex hand seals. He made mistakes in the first two tries, but finally succeeded in the third attempt.

Finally, with a trembling hand, he pressed a certain section of the wall near him. Following that, the entire tunnel rumbled ever so slightly and the secret passageway concealed itself once again.

After all this was one, Adam finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Exhaustion engulfed him, and he found himself losing control of his body.

Before he knew it, he started falling backward. With a dull thud, he collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.

After months of planning, he had finally succeeded.

But at a great cost...