Earth's Greatest Magus

Silence fell over the battlefield.

Not the quiet of peace, but the kind that followed overwhelming destruction- the kind that pressed heavily against the ears, as though even the world itself needed a moment to recover.

But it lasted only a heartbeat.

Then a streak of crimson light was revealed, tearing through the air as it escaped the epicenter of the blast.

The Chimera Sovereign’s soul.

Stripped of its monstrous body, it had reverted to the form of the elderly man once more, its spectral figure unstable and flickering. Yet despite that, it moved with desperate urgency, fleeing the battlefield with everything it had left.

“I’ll get him!” Typhon said without hesitation.

Before the words had even fully left his lips, his body blurred, dissolving into shifting mist as he surged forward. The air twisted around him as his movement technique activated at full capacity.

The gap closed in seconds.

Ahead, the fleeing soul flickered violently, attempting to accelerate, but its condition was far too poor. It could not escape.

Typhon’s figure reformed directly in its path.

The spectral elderly figure recoiled instinctively, its expression twisting in panic as it attempted to change direction, but the space around it had already been sealed.

He did not surrender without a fight.

Multiple explosions followed as the two exchanged spells, bursts of energy colliding in midair. The Chimera Sovereign had built its power upon its physical form-its cultivation deeply rooted in flesh and transformation. Without that body, its spirit retained only a fraction of its former strength.

Barely a fifth.

Perhaps even less.

Within seconds, Typhon completely overpowered the exchange. He then produced a wooden gourd, its surface inscribed with faintly glowing runes that pulsed with sealing power.

The moment it was revealed, a force surged outward-silent, invisible, yet absolute-locking onto the fleeing soul like a chain. The Chimera Sovereign struggled violently, its spectral body distorting as it tried to break free-

But the power gap was too great.

The pull intensified.

In an instant, the soul was dragged inward, its form collapsing into a streak of crimson light before being absorbed completely into the gourd.

The runes flared once.

Then dimmed.

Silence.

The Chimera Sovereign-

Was sealed.

Moments later, Typhon returned, his figure reforming beside Emery as naturally as drifting smoke gathering into shape. He held the gourd lightly in his hand, a faint smile playing across his lips, as if the entire pursuit had required little effort.

“I wonder how much we can get from this criminal,” he said casually.

Emery’s divine sense brushed against the sealed gourd, sensing the furious presence of the elderly Chimera Sovereign struggling within. A faint smile appeared on his face as well. As a highly notorious criminal, the Chimera would undoubtedly yield a substantial bounty.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the other members of the

Midnight Brotherhood. Their bodies and souls had been devoured or completely erased during the battle, leaving nothing behind to recover.

Without tangible proof-

Claiming any bounty tied to them would be difficult.

Emery slowly turned, his gaze sweeping across what remained of the battlefield, taking in the full extent of the destruction.

The swamp-

Was gone.

What had once been a stretch of uneven terrain filled with murky waters and dense vegetation had been completely erased. In its place lay a broken wasteland. The ground had been torn apart layer by layer, exposing jagged fractures of earth and stone. Massive craters scarred the land, while entire ridges had collapsed into uneven slopes of rubble. Thin streams of smoke drifted lazily through the air, carrying the scent of scorched earth, and here and there, faint flames still flickered stubbornly among the debris.

Amid the destruction, remnants of value remained scattered across the terrain. Skylark’s weapons-his whip-like chains and concealed needles-lay partially buried beneath cracked earth. There was also Madam Butcher’s massive knife. Despite the battle they had endured, their surfaces still faintly glowed with residual energy, clearly top-tier artifacts.

Not far from them, Maldrin’s storage ring had also survived.

Emery swept through its contents. A large quantity of spirit stones was stored within, alongside various resources and treasures collected over time. As the leader of the Brotherhood, it seemed Maldrin had carried a significant portion of their accumulated wealth-an even greater amount than what Emery had found within Kronos.

But what truly caught Emery’s attention-

Was something else.

The Chimera Sovereign’s aperture.

Considering its realm and infamy, whatever it left behind within its domain

would likely be extremely valuable.

A faint smile formed on Emery’s lips.

Without wasting time, he began moving across the battlefield, collecting each item of value with calm efficiency and storing them away one after another.

Then-

He paused.

Something brushed against his perception.

Faint.

Subtle.

Carefully concealed beneath layers of debris and lingering residual energy, so well hidden that even the aftermath of the battle nearly masked it completely.

Emery’s eyes sharpened.

Without hesitation, he shot forward, arriving in an instant at one of the

collapsed hills. His presence alone disturbed the scattered dust, and with a flick of his hand, the rubble shifted aside. Stones raised and scattered as though pushed away by an unseen force, revealing what had been deliberately buried

beneath layers of destruction.

Revealed beneath-

A small black dagger.

At first glance, it appeared ordinary, its surface dull and unremarkable, as if it were nothing more than a discarded weapon. But the faint aura surrounding it

told a different story.

Emery’s gaze grew colder.

“How long are you planning to hide in there?” he said quietly.

No response came.

Only silence.

The dagger remained still, as if it truly were lifeless.

A few seconds passed.

Emery’s expression did not change as he slowly raised his hand, a faint current

of energy gathering at his fingertips

“Alright,” he said calmly, “then I’ll destroy it.”

The dagger trembled.

A faint glow seeped from its surface, barely visible at first, then growing

stronger as if something within could no longer maintain its concealment.

Suddenly-

A spectral figure burst outward, drifting into the air before him.

It was Varkul.

The Phantom Blade.

Or rather-

What remained of him.

His form flickered erratically, edges unstable as though they might collapse at

any moment.

“Please… have mercy…” he begged, his voice shaking as his spectral body

trembled.

Under Emery’s gaze, the once-feared second-in-command of the Midnight Brotherhood was nothing more than a fragile remnant. The composure and

arrogance he once carried had completely vanished, replaced by raw

fear, desperation clinging to survival.

With a single move-

Emery could erase him.

But he did not.

Instead, his eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of calculation passing through them.

Without another word, Emery stretched his hand. A restraining seal formed

instantly, lines of energy weaving together as they wrapped around the spectral figure, binding it in place. Varkul struggled instinctively, but the effort was meaningless. Within moments, his movements slowed, then stopped entirely as

the seal suppressed him completely.

There was still value in him.

Not only for extracting information about the Midnight Brotherhood, but also

for uncovering the truth behind the Chimera Sovereign’s sudden loss of

control.

With that final task completed, Emery exhaled slowly, the tension finally casing from his body. It was time to leave.