Sovereign of the Ashes

Natalya remained in the recuperation center, focusing on healing her body.

Meanwhile, Sein and Reina, who had only recently emerged from a perilous zone, were granted a reprieve by the fortress command.

The months spent enduring the harsh conditions of the underground magma river had taken a heavy toll on their bodies. However, they had since recovered significantly, and the ordeal had strengthened them, building upon their original foundations.

Sein, never one to remain idle for long, was eager to return to his experiments.

The experiences in the underground world, Reina’s near-perfect evolutionary form, and his own state—teetering on the brink of Rank Three—all provided invaluable opportunities for further study and research.

Sein had a feeling that even without unlocking the full mysteries of Dark Flame’s embers, his current spells, techniques, and knowledge were sufficient to trigger the elemental transformation necessary to reach Rank Three.

In other words, Sein could advance to Rank Three at any moment.

***

The decisive battle that unfolded in the Akre Plains had come to an end, but the war across the entire Gumo Plane was not exactly over.

The Rank Four Goul Groundworm King remained at large, and the Magus World Army still needed to establish control over the remaining territories—especially the vast underground world, which rivaled the surface in size.

Sein had received a message from the command center shortly after his return to the main fortress base: Rank Five Tower Master of Dark Flame wished to meet with him.

However, the meeting could not take place until the war concluded.

The Gumo Plane War dragged on for nearly three more years after that decisive battle on the Akre Plains.

The Gumo Plane was a huge world, with an even spacious underground space.

Despite the dwindling resistance against the invading Magus Civilization, conquering and occupying such a vast world was no simple task.

Sein and his group had signed a five-year war contract for their service in the Gumo Plane.

By the fourth year, however, combat missions had become scarce.

Many of the hired knights and mages were gradually withdrawn from the Gumo Plane and sent back to the Magus World.

By this point, the remaining mages stationed in the Gumo Plane were primarily those registered with the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

Even so, their numbers were pretty small.

Although Sein was an outsider, he was still able to gather many secrets of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame over the years due to his involvement in the Gumo Plane War.

It seemed like the Divine Tower of Dark Flame was grappling with a mass exodus of its registered mages.

This trend was not limited to the combat legions in the Gumo Plane; even within the Magus World, many academy mages affiliated with the Divine Tower of Dark Flame also began quitting.

The root cause could be traced back to the decisive battle in the Akre Plains, where the Rank Five tower master had exploited a loophole in the Magus World’s laws and “accidentally” injured many of the divine tower’s registered mages.

Over time, news of this incident began to spread, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.

In recent years, the Tower Master of Dark Flame had been too preoccupied to meet Sein.

Beyond the ongoing pursuit of the Goul Groundworm King, it was likely that the growing crisis within the divine tower had also consumed much of the Rank Five mage’s attention.

Typically, registered mages of the divine tower would sign magic contracts binding them to service for a set period.

After all, divine towers were not public restrooms where people could come and go as they pleased.

Master Archimedes had managed to take a group of direct apprentices and grand apprentices with him when he departed from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

This was largely because Lorianne, in recognition of Archimedes’ years of dedicated service to the tower, chose not to pursue legal action against those who had broken their contracts to follow him.

Normally, anyone who broke away from a divine tower without valid cause would be required to compensate the tower for breach of contract.

In the current mass exodus from the Divine Tower of Dark Flame, Sein could not be certain whether all the registered mages had paid any penalties.

From what he had observed, the number of registered mages in the Divine Tower of Dark Flame had plummeted by an astonishing sixty percent—and it was still rising.

Faced with such large-scale departures, Sein doubted the tower master had enforced compensation from the mages.

After all, the tower master’s actions during the war had been deeply questionable.

If he had demanded compensation from all the departing mages, it might have temporarily slowed the exodus, but it would have utterly destroyed what remained of his reputation.

Even though the tower master had exploited loopholes in the Magus Civilization’s laws and avoided punishment, it was unlikely anyone would willingly join his divine tower in the future.

Without new full-fledged mages willing to join its ranks, how could the divine tower continue to operate?

By refraining from enforcing penalties on the departing mages, the Tower Master of Dark Flame was likely attempting to salvage what little reputation he still had.

***

Six months earlier, a major battle had taken place in the southern region of the plane, and rumors had spread that the Tower Master of Dark Flame had captured the Goul Groundworm King alive.

Seeing the war drawing to a close and his employment with the Divine Tower of Dark Flame nearing its expiration date, Sein was preparing to return to the Magus World with Natalya and Reina.

Just when he was about to leave this low-level plane, the Tower Master of Dark Flame suddenly summoned him.

The meeting was to take place aboard the giant space fortress hovering high above the Gumo Plane.

With most of the divine tower’s registered mages leaving and the majority of knights and mage legions having already departed from this plane, the colossal fortress felt eerily silent when Sein arrived.

Sein met the powerful Rank Five mage in the main control room.

Apart from the tower master, only a handful of low-ranking mages were present, overseeing basic operations and maintenance in the vast room.

The emptiness of the main control room mirrored the decline of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

Yet, the tower master himself showed no signs of despair.

Something stirred within Sein the moment he met the tower master in person.

Previously, on the battlefield, Sein had not felt anything—distance had dulled any impression.

But now, standing face-to-face with this Rank Five mage, an unmistakable sense of familiarity washed over him.

It was not that he knew the tower master personally. Rather, Sein sensed something familiar in him—a certain aura reminiscent of the black mages.

Beneath the tower master’s calm exterior and the shadow of his black hood, Sein could feel an untamed spirit, indifferent to life and death.

Having spent considerable time among the black mages and traveled through the Blackhaven, Sein was familiar with their temperament.

The Tower Master of Dark Flame exuded the same aura, though with one notable difference: his arrogance and defiance were not openly displayed but carefully restrained, hidden beneath his magic robes.

He was definitely a formidable grand mage, one that no one could afford to cross!

Although Master Gregory possessed an equally intense and violent aura, it stood in stark contrast to the icy, twisted demeanor often associated with black mages.

Sein believed that Tower Master of Dark Flame was not a black mage—the Magus World’s rigid and highly regulated system would never permit a black mage to openly establish a divine tower on the Magus Continent.

Nevertheless, Sein saw no reason to assume he was dealing with an unpredictable black mage solely because of the tower master’s aura.

“Heh, you’re quite an interesting one, boy. Hmm... yes... you’re different from the others I’ve met over the years,” Tower Master of Dark Flame remarked as soon as his eyes fell on Sein.

His deep chuckles shattered the cold, oppressive silence in the room.

“I was abducted by black mages during my initiate years but was fortunate enough to be rescued by a divine tower. I am now the Tower Master of Verdant Spring’s apprentice,” Sein replied respectfully, making his backer clear.

Despite his polite demeanor, Sein remained wary of the Tower Master of Dark Flame.

The fact that this man had once ordered the firing upon his own mage legions told Sein that this was not someone bound by conventional rules or common sense.

The Tower Master of Dark Flame clearly shared traits with black mages. At the same time, the tower master seemed to have noticed something unusual about Sein as well.

Sein’s early experiences in Mystralora City during his teenage years left a lasting mark on him.

Though time had reshaped him, certain core aspects of his character remained unchanged.

Hence, he understood why the Tower Master of Dark Flame found him intriguing.

The Rank Five mage paused for a moment, visibly taken aback by Sein’s reply. Then, in a voice steeped in cold detachment, he said, “Ah, I see. What a coincidence! I, too, was an initiate rescued from black mages back then. At the time, I was only a Quasi Mage.”

“If I’d already advanced to Rank One, I’m certain the law enforcement knights and mages would have erased me on the spot. I’d have become just another tally in their mission records!” The Tower Master of Dark Flame chuckled darkly.

Upon hearing the Rank Five mage’s revelation, it was Sein’s turn to be taken aback.