Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2026 A Thousand Birds

From above, the blazing trails of [Fireballs] formed a massive circle, and the dark fortress stood directly at its center.

Every vampire inside had now realized that something was terribly wrong. Not only had they failed to detect the enemy, but they had also miserably failed to prevent him from attacking them.

Ghoul servants screeched as they were ordered into defensive positions. Vampires appeared along the walls, their crimson eyes searching through the vicinity with panicked hostility.

Yet they still could not find the enemy.

Only the owners of the fortress, the twins, had been able to locate Adamʼs true location, and this was with him already being under the concealment of illusion magic.

”How intriguing,” Echo Leroux muttered as she took a sip of blood from the goblet while she stared at Adam in the distance.

Janet Leroux looked toward the sky and noticed the dark clouds reverberating in anticipation. Her eyes narrowed, and she murmured, ”Intriguing indeed.”

Meanwhile, standing on the treetop, Adam was slightly surprised.

They can see through my invisibility spell?

He couldnʼt help but smile wryly. But not because his opponents could see through his illusion. It was because he had just expended the last of the material components to cast fire magic.

As the last of the [Fireballs] shot toward the sky and plunged into the dark clouds above, Adam thought to himself:

Oh, what a conundrum to be trapped inside a secret plane and run out of spellcasting materials.

But, oh well…

At least, the next part of the spell didnʼt require any material components. He only needed to weave the hand seals and guide his mana that had already been accumulated in the sky.

As he wove hand seals, he kept his gaze on the two vampires who were casually sipping on blood and staring back at him.

The vampire twins didnʼt even try to stop him.

Looks like they have means to protect their fortress, he thought.

But it doesnʼt matter. That wasnʼt my objective in the first place.

Adam weaved the final hand seal and pointed his finger to the sky.

The [Fireballs] he had launched earlier had been preparations. They released tremendous amounts of heat into the cold atmosphere above. The sudden temperature difference caused the air currents to churn violently, drawing moisture and dark clouds toward the center of the formation.

Clouds began to twist. The heat rising from below collided with the cold masses of air above, creating violent instability within the sky. As dark clouds rapidly gathered overhead, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Another followed. And then dozens more.

It was as if the heavens had erupted!

With exceptional control over mana, Adam guided every bolt, bent their paths, and gathered the raging lightning together.

From the fortress, the vampires watched in growing horror as countless bolts converged within the dark clouds.

[Bird of Prey]

A massive pair of wings tore through the sky.

SKREEEE!!!

The cry pierced through the atmosphere. It sounded like the combined shrieks of a thousand birds. They were sharp and deafening, and enough to make the very air tremble.

A giant eagle made entirely of blue lightning burst through the clouds. Its enormous wings spread across the stormy sky as arcs of lightning danced across its body. Its eyes burned with blinding radiance as it descended from the heavens.

Like divine judgment itself, the [Bird of Prey] came crashing down toward the dark fortress.

The Leroux sisters finally displayed a change in expression. Their hands rapidly moved to form complex seals as the entire fortress seemingly responded to their actions.

And then, the land erupted in lightning as blinding blue light covered the world.

BOOOM!!

***

Dozens of kilometers away from where Adam had unleashed his spell, Luca and the others waited inside the hidden cave.

They rested quietly, making their final preparations for the journey ahead.

Suddenly, Luca felt faint goosebumps rise along his arm. He opened his eyes and watched the change with a strange reaction.

A moment later, a brief flash of light erupted across the northern horizon.

Leah and her party inside the cave looked up, their eyes widening in shock.

Several seconds later…

The cry of a thousand birds, followed by an explosion, reverberated across the sky in the distance.

A distant rumble of thunder rolled through the skies.

Lucaʼs eyes instantly narrowed. Meanwhile, Leah, Michael, and the others stared toward the northern horizon in stunned silence.

The sound had been faint, but that was only because it had come from incredibly far away.

Adam had sent the signal!

Leah gulped subconsciously and stared at Luca. ”Is it time?”

Michael and the others turned to him with nervous expressions.

Though they had already planned extensively for this moment, they couldnʼt help but grow uneasy when the time had finally come to put the plan into action.

Adam had completed the initial phase.

Now it was up to them to complete the second. They had to reach the location marked with an X without drawing attention.

Luca, however, did not move.

”No,” he said calmly. ”We wait for another thirty minutes.”

He paused for a moment, then explained, ”We need to make sure the eyes and ears in the vicinity have been drawn north.”

Leah and the rest understood immediately.

Adamʼs attack had been designed to attract attention, but rushing out too soon would defeat the purpose. If even a handful of ravens remained nearby and noticed them leaving the mountains, their entire plan could be exposed.

So they waited.

Then, exactly as Adam and Luca had predicted, shadows began moving through the skies.

At first, there were only a few ravens. Then came dozens. Soon, countless black shapes could be seen flying toward the northern horizon, their harsh cries echoing across the mountains.

Meanwhile, monsters began moving through the forests below. Ghouls, twisted creatures, and other abominations were drawn toward the distant commotion.

All of them headed north. Toward Adam.

The area around the southern side of the pass, along the mountains, gradually became quieter. Luca spread his senses and silently observed the surroundings for several more minutes.

Finally, he got to his feet. His gaze swept across the party of adventurers, and he nodded.

”Letʼs roll.”