Earth's Greatest Magus

“You… you’re different,” Jinkan said at last. Her eyes scanned him intently. “How?”

She insisted the question, while Eeshoo remained silent beside her, watching with an unreadable gaze.

Emery gave a brief explanation-only that what they had seen was an alternate body. He deliberately withheld the deeper truth. As he spoke, his eyes flicked between the two Nephilim nobles, his expression growing more complex.

He wanted to call them friends. Their shared past, the dangers they had faced together, and the lengths they had gone to in this ancient domain all weighed heavily on him. Yet trust was another matter entirely. They were Nephilim nobility. No matter their personal intentions, their loyalties were bound to their faction. Even if they wished to help him, there would always be limits imposed by blood, duty, and authority.

No-he had to proceed carefully.

“She isn’t here,” Emery said at last. “Let’s go back.”

With the trial completed, the return journey through the domain would have been far easier than the descent. Even so, Emery had no patience left to spare. With his current mastery-and the spatial familiarity granted by his Dark Avatar -it took them only an hour to cross the entirety of the ancient domain and arrive at its outer exit.

Throughout the journey, Emery’s mind churned with questions and plans to find Klea.

They stepped out into the sanctum’s boundary zone.

As they did, Emery’s gaze subtly swept the surroundings. He noted the positioning of the guards, the control points-every detail that might reveal how someone could have entered or exited the domain unnoticed.

Jinkan’s Grand Magus guards visibly relaxed upon seeing their return safely.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t find her,” Jinkan said. “What’s your plan now?”

Emery examined her closely, searching for any trace of deception or complicity. Then, deliberately, he tested her.

“Have you informed the Grand Overseer about this?” he asked.

“No… not yet,” Jinkan replied, hesitating as if weighing her words.

“Do so,” Emery said calmly. “Tell me when you hear anything”

The directness of his tone caught her off guard. Jinkan stared at him, clearly startled by what sounded less like a request and more like an instruction. The grand magus guard bristled visibly at his side.

Emery ignored both reactions.

Instead, he turned to Eeshoo, his gaze sharpening. “I believe we have something to discuss. Lead the way”

Eeshoo did not reply. He simply nodded.

Without another word, the two departed, leaving Jinkan behind with her guard.

They flew across the sanctum toward one of its inner facilities

An arena reserved for sanctioned trials and high-level duels. They descended at its center, landing opposite one another on the frost-marked stone.

It was obvious now.

“Discuss” had never meant conversation.

From the memories carried by his Dark Avatar, Emery understood the tension well. Eeshoo’s awkwardness during their earlier meeting had not been hostility -it had been disappointment.

With Emery’s true Grand Magus realm revealed, it reignited the old rivalry that had never truly faded.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” Eeshoo said, his gaze sharp and unwavering. “But you didn’t lure me here just to fight. What do you want?”

Emery raised a single finger.

“One year,” he said calmly. “If I win, you will assist me in finding Klea for one full year. Even if it means acting against your own faction.”

This was exactly what Emery needed. He could not rely on Jinkan-her position bound her too tightly to Nephilim politics. But Eeshoo was different. His character, his pride, and the very fact that he would even accept such a challenge were proof enough that he could be trusted once his word was given.

To Emery’s surprise, Eeshoo accepted without hesitation.

“And if you lose?” he asked coolly.

Emery rolled his shoulders, his aura rising as he prepared for battle.

“Then you may ask for anything,” he replied. “But I won’t lose.”

“Hah.”

Eeshoo’s lips curved into a rare, genuine smile. “Don’t be so sure.”

The air between them tightened.

A rare smile curved across Eeshoo’s face.

The moment their auras collided, the arena itself seemed to recoil.

Eeshoo did not hesitate in the slightest. The restraint he had shown moments earlier vanished as he released the full extent of his domain. Blazing radiance erupted behind him as majestic wings of solar flame unfurled from his back, each feather composed of condensed cosmic fire. The temperature in the arena skyrocketed, the ground beneath them glazing into molten crystal as divine heat flooded the space.

With a sharp gesture, Eeshoo unleashed his arsenal.

Seventy-two Soaring Shuttles burst forth in perfect synchronization- Nephilim-exclusive flying artifacts forged from sun-gold and cosmic alloys. Each one hummed with autonomous intelligence, orbiting him like a stellar formation. Individually, every shuttle was comparable to a top-grade artifact. Together, their value eclipsed most Tier 7 treasures entirely. They shifted constantly, forming rotating arrays, overlapping attack vectors, and interlocking suppression fields that sealed the sky itself.

Emery answered calmly.

Two artifacts appeared in his hands.

The [Chromacircle Rings] spun into existence around his arms, prismatic arcs of condensed force rotating with razor precision, while the [Fourfield Dawns] unfolded around him as a layered defensive construct-four interwoven light-fields designed to disperse impact, redirect energy, and stabilize space. One was pure offense. The other, absolute defense.

Their first exchange was explosive.

Beams of solar annihilation rained down as the Soaring Shuttles fired in unison, converging into spiraling death patterns. Emery met them head-on. Chromatic blades erupted from his rings, slicing through the incoming fire, but the sheer density of power forced him back. The Fourfield Dawns shuddered violently as mirrored shields fractured under sustained pressure.

These artifacts were never meant to defeat Eeshoo.

They were probes.

“Show me your real strength!” Eeshoo demanded, his voice echoing across the arena as his formation tightened, the shuttles beginning a lethal compression

maneuver.

Emery did not answer with words.

He reached behind him.

Light erupted.

The shining blade of Excalibur emerged, its jeweled hilt blazing as ancient authority flooded the battlefield. This time, Emery did not restrain himself. His aura surged outward-vast, layered, terrifying-carrying the resonance of

cosmic alignments harmonized into a single will.

Every breath drew in heaven and earth.

When Emery swung the sword, the Dao followed.

A single arc of light tore across the sky, infused with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, carrying both creation and annihilation within its edge. The strike detonated through the Soaring Shuttle formation, cleaving multiple of them, scattering them across the arena like dying stars.

Eeshoo stilled for half a heartbeat.

“Two… two Cosmos?” he muttered, disbelief flashing across his face.

Then he laughed.

Not fear.

Excitement.

“So that’s it,” he said, eyes blazing. “That’s what you’ve become.”

Eeshoo abandoned his stationary command stance at once. The wings on his back flared brighter as he launched forward, his formation breaking into high-speed pursuit mode. At the same time, Emery’s Icarus Wings ignited- streams of golden-green light unfurling behind him as he surged into the air to

meet him.

The battle moved to the sky.

They became blurs of light and flame, colliding again and again in midair. Eeshoo’s seventy-two weapons flowed like a living constellation, shifting formations constantly-spear arrays, cage fields, rotating guillotines-each maneuver refined through centuries of Nephilim combat doctrine. Emery answered with overwhelming mobility, his movements bordering on precognition as Excalibur carved through space itself.

Dominance met precision.

Speed met authority.

Below them, the arena began to filled with sanctum members gathered in

stunned silence, drawn by the clash of cosmic powers. Jinkan arrived aswell, her expression tightening as she realized what she was witnessing. Atlas

followed shortly after.

They watched in disbelief.

Emery was not merely enduring.

He was controlling the battle.

Every time Eeshoo pressed forward, Emery countered perfectly-forcing

openings, driving the Nephilim genius further back. And yet, Emery himself was not unscathed. Even with his advantage, Eeshoo’s mastery was terrifying. This

was a man who could rival most two-Cosmos beings while standing at the peak

of one.

But Emery was no longer bound by conventional limits.

After dozens of clashes-each one more violent than the last-the battlefield

finally stilled.

Eeshoo hovered in the air, his formation fractured, several shuttles disabled.

His wings dimmed slightly as he exhaled, eyes locked onto Emery with

something new in them.

Recognition. Respect.

“…You win,” he said at last.

The words carried no bitterness.

Only truth.

The arena fell silent.

X X X X X