Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein recognized not only Jenny but also Harris and Jackson, who were standing on the airship’s deck.

During his first two years as the academy’s dean, Sein’s primary responsibility had been reaching out to these Divine Tower mages and having heart-to-heart conversations with them.

After understanding their needs and challenges, he did his best to address their requests, leveraging the authority of his position as dean.

In doing so, he also secured their loyalty and successfully extended their contracts with the Divine Tower of Dark Flame for up to a hundred years.

Sein had become familiar with nearly all the mages serving the Divine Tower of Dark Flame—except for those who had joined or advanced to full-fledged mages during his four years of seclusion.

For those he had met, Sein had a clear understanding of their situations.

Unlike Harris, who was injured, or Jackson, who timidly shrank back, Jenny, with her bold and lively personality, was unquestionably the center of attention.

Even the Rank Two mage from the Divine Tower of Astral Sun watched her with a mix of admiration and frustration.

They could not silence this young woman with force, but letting her continue hurling insults would leave no room for dignity.

The Rank Two mage, known as Flayman, was clearly exasperated.

However, the moment Sein, in his silver meteor form, appeared above the forest, the focus of the scene shifted entirely.

Both Harris and Jackson were well-acquainted with Sein and recognized his aura instantly.

Even Jenny, who had been “holding off” seven opponents at once at the bow of the airship, stuck out her tongue before backing down to the deck, where she joined Jackson in calming the frightened initiates hiding in the lower deck.

“Whew, that’s Dean Sein? How did his aura change so drastically?” Jenny mumbled to herself.

Before Sein’s breakthrough, his aura had been like a gently flowing river. Despite its profound depths, its calm and approachable surface naturally drew people in.

After advancing to Rank Three, Sein had no time to stabilize his newfound power. As a result, his aura now resembled a roaring, mighty river.

His overwhelming presence was far surpassed that of a typical Rank Three grand mage.

After all, even before his breakthrough, Sein had possessed the strength to face Rank Three creatures head-on.

Now, with his focus and mana exceeding critical thresholds, coupled with the Ashen Flame born from the qualitative change of his elemental energy, Sein had transcended beyond the realm of ordinary Rank Three beings.

His arrival undeniably reinvigorated the morale of Jenny, Harris, and the other mages, while casting a shadow over the seven mages of the Divine Tower of Astral Sun, led by Rank Two mage Flayman.

While it was true that the gap between Rank Two and Rank Three mages could sometimes be bridged with sheer numbers, the seven mages before him were far from capable of such a feat.

Dressed in a pristine white magic robe, Flayman stood tall at the forefront of the Divine Tower of Astral Sun mages.

Despite the unease caused by Sein’s overwhelming display of power, he refused to show weakness at this critical juncture.

In the Magus World, disputes between mages rarely escalated to life-and-death scenarios unless black mages were involved.

Thus, Flayman was confident that, at the very least, their lives were not in jeopardy. They might have to endure some pain, but that was a minor concern.

Flayman and his team’s interception of Jenny’s group outside the Petrified Forest had objectives beyond merely engaging the three of them.

In addition to capturing the Divine Tower of Dark Flame’s magic initiates, their other goal was to isolate and neutralize the supportive forces of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

This strategy was not new for the Divine Tower of Astral Sun.

They had deployed similar tactics repeatedly, and the frequent injuries sustained by registered mages of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame in recent years were a direct result of Astral Sun’s deliberate targeting.

Now, with Sein’s formidable aura rushing toward the Petrified Forest, it was certain that the other Divine Tower of Astral Sun mages lurking nearby had already noticed. Among them were several powerful Rank Three grand mages.

In other words, if Flayman and his team could stall for just a little longer, it would become nearly impossible for the Divine Tower of Dark Flame mages present to escape.

“Ah, esteemed—”

As soon as Flayman began speaking, he was mercilessly interrupted by Sein.

A massive, white-gold elemental hand descended upon Flayman and his comrades.

The hand was a masterful fusion of pure lumen and pyro elemental energy, with a subtle hint of geo elemental magic woven in.

This spell showed Sein’s unparalleled mastery of elemental energy manipulation.

It also proved that his efforts in researching various elemental magic at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, prior to his Rank Three advancement, had not been in vain.

All paths of elemental magic seemed to converge toward a common, ultimate destination—this insight struck Sein after his promotion to Rank Three.

Yet, it remained to be verified through experiments.

The sheer refinement and purity of the elemental energy embodied in the enormous hand exceeded anything a Rank One or Rank Two mage like Flayman could even hope to achieve.

Except for Flayman, who activated his elemental body and transformed into a translucent cryo elemental giant, managing to withstand the attack for a brief moment, all the other Rank One mages were defeated with a single blow.

Holding back was not part of Sein’s vocabulary.

While he did not intend to kill the Divine Tower of Astral Sun mages outright, he was determined to teach them a painful lesson.

The power behind Sein’s elemental hand inflicted injuries only slightly more severe than those Harris had already endured.

Flayman, the Rank Two mage, was the unluckiest of them all.

His cryo elemental body was rapidly melted under the assault of Sein’s lumen and pyro energies, before being shattered into countless fragments by the geo elemental force woven into Sein’s strike.

With a single blow, the seven mages of the Divine Tower of Astral Sun were left severely injured.

Was this the true might of a Rank Three grand mage?

Sein recalled feeling just as despairing during his Rank One days when he had faced powerful Rank Two black mages.

While Sein’s overwhelming display of power dealt a crushing blow to the Divine Tower of Astral Sun mages, it also significantly boosted the morale of Harris and the other mages from the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

Jenny, the bold and outspoken Rank One mage who had dominated the scene earlier, now had a peculiar gleam in her eyes as she stared up at Sein, who was hovering in mid-air.

Meanwhile, the initiates hiding in the lower deck erupted into cheers and applause.

These young, inexperienced mages had no understanding of the reasons behind the battle, nor could they comprehend the extent of Sein’s power.

They had been escorted and protected by Jenny and the others over the past few months and already considered themselves part of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

Watching a formidable mage from their divine tower triumph over the “bad guys” filled them with genuine happiness.

Children’s emotions were the most heartfelt of all, and their cheers drew Sein’s attention to the airship.

He turned toward Harris, Jenny, and the others on the deck and said, “Get the airship out of here. Head back to the Divine Tower of Dark Flame immediately.”

“I’ll cover the rear. It seems we have more company coming,” he added, glancing at the western and southern parts of the Petrified Forest.