Sovereign of the Ashes

In less than five seconds, Sein vanished as if he had been completely erased from existence.

Even his presence and energy fluctuations disappeared entirely.

Not even the most advanced spatial magic could achieve such a complete disappearance.

The slab, a fragment of a world-class secret treasure infused with the power of spatial and fate law, had certainly lived up to its reputation.

With the slab as a medium, even the Rank Four astrologers of the Magus World would fail to track him as the slab’s power had already disrupted all future prophecies.

After sending Sein away, the Spider Queen casually adjusted her attire, then ran her long nails through her silky hair, smoothing it into place.

If she had sensed the Spring Guardian’s presence, then there was no doubt the guardian had already noticed her as well.

Luckily, the spider silk she had used to bind Sein had been infused with her divine power, effectively concealing his aura fluctuations.

Now, she could only hope that the Spring Guardian had not noticed her little scheme.

But if she had been discovered... well, that would simply be her rotten luck.

With her abilities, pulling Sein back here would not be too difficult.

The Silver Spider Ring was a perfect spatial marker, and with it, she could use her spider silk to drag Sein back across time and space through the stone slab.

Of course, she had no intention of doing that unless absolutely necessary.

It would consume too much divine power, and besides, both that slab and the world beyond it were enticing forbidden fruits to her.

Blackhaven was simply too poor.

Though the Spider Queen was not the strongest in Blackhaven, her adoptive father was.

She had ascended through a faith-based system, but having grown up in Blackhaven, she still harbored a certain fondness for this region and the Magus World—even if she never openly admitted it.

The world beyond the stone slab was likely a large-sized plane, and she had plans for it.

Her goal was simple—once she obtained the specific coordinates of that plane, she would establish a teleportation array and lead Blackhaven’s army to conquer it.

Blackhaven was indeed a chaotic place, with its black mages and black knights scattered far and wide.

However, if her adoptive father took action himself and joined forces with the strongest black knight, it would not be difficult to mobilize Blackhaven’s entire strength.

With their combined influence as overlords, they could easily launch an invasion of a large plane.

If this came to pass, the Spider Queen’s reputation would skyrocket, not only within Blackhaven but also across the entire Magus Civilization.

More importantly, she would claim the lion’s share of the war spoils, just as the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had when it spearheaded the Wild Gorilla World War.

No matter which black towers or knightly orders joined the invasion, they would have to acknowledge her contribution.

As she waited in silence for the Spring Guardian’s descent, the Spider Queen mulled over her plan.

“I hope that brat won’t let me down. After all, if he can fool me, finding the coordinates of that world shouldn’t be too difficult for him... right?”

Perhaps it was luck that she had Sein for this task.

Marking a foreign plane’s coordinates and planar nodes was not a job for just anyone.

Sending a demigod-level being would be too risky—their inherent law power could immediately alert Rank Four or above creatures and potentially trigger the plane’s rejection.

On the other hand, a Rank Three mage was unlikely to fail outright, as large-sized planes were typically teeming with high-level powerhouses.

Sending Rank Two or One mages was even out of the question. What could they possibly accomplish alone on a plane of that scale?

But Sein—he was different.

Back when he ventured to the Verdant Leaf World, he had successfully marked its planar coordinates and special nodes with the help of his mentor’s clone.

This was a task he was capable of handling!

Also, as a Rank Three grand mage, Sein’s presence was far less likely to trigger rejection from the world connected to the slab.

Originally, the Spider Queen had planned to send a team of powerful Rank Three black mages from Blackhaven to complete the mission.

After all, black mages were more capable than ordinary divine tower mages in terms of personal combat ability and infiltration skills.

However, plans rarely survived reality.

The Spider Queen had not expected to encounter a guardian head-on. She barely had time to compose herself.

Just two minutes later, the Spring Guardian appeared before her.

Unlike the Summer Guardian, who was as fiery and passionate as the sun, the Spring Guardian exuded a gentle warmth, like a soft spring breeze.

She appeared as a young woman with lush green hair, draped in a flowing, light-green gown and holding a verdant scepter.

Despite her youthful appearance, which seemed even younger than the Spider Queen, this guardian was far older.

Unlike the Spider Queen, who wore crystal heels, the Spring Guardian hovered barefoot as if she was one with nature itself, her toes smooth and round.

If the Spider Queen was like a glass of red wine laced with poison, then the Spring Guardian was like a cup of freshly brewed tea.

The Spring Guardian did not demand an explanation for why the Spider Queen had appeared here in her divine clone.

Instead, she regarded her with a gentle expression, her eyes brimming with wisdom as if she could see through every shadow and sin, peeling back the layers of deceit with nothing more than her gaze.

The Spring Guardian was a unique existence among the four guardians of the Magus World.

Unlike the others who believed in milking the allied planes dry to nourish the Magus World, the Spring Guardian stood alone in her belief that the Magus World would thrive through mutual growth rather than exploitation.

Among the many allied planes of the Magus Alliance, she had built strong friendships with several overlords, especially from the Titan World and the Elven World.

It was said that the newest guardian of Titan World, the “Dawn Goddess”, had once served under the Spring Guardian for many years in the Magus World before returning to her homeplane to take up the mantle of a guardian.

Their meeting was entirely coincidental, and the Spring Guardian did not interrogate the Spider Queen upon arrival.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Spring Guardian simply nodded with a soft smile and let her go.

Even the Spider Queen found it hard to believe how easily she had escaped the scrutiny of a guardian.

She had even prepared an excuse for why she had sent a divine clone here.

Of course, the Spring Guardian would know it was nothing more than an excuse.

Yet, true to her gentle nature, the Spring Guardian would never rebuke the Spider Queen over something so trivial—not unless there was clear, undeniable evidence of wrongdoing laid before her.

This temperament made the Spring Guardian not only the most popular among the guardians of the Magus World but also a figure of great respect within the Magus Alliance.

The Spring Guardian had not come to the Western Archipelago for the Spider Queen.

Her purpose was the same as that of the Summer Guardian: a new Magus World overlord was about to emerge in the Western Archipelago.

The individual in question was just a few centuries away from a complete breakthrough.

He was older than even the guardians of the four seasons, and if he succeeded in advancing to Rank Seven, it would be a blessing for the entire Magus World.

Typically, when a new overlord was on the verge of a breakthrough, only one guardian would descend to maintain order and uphold the rules of the Magus World.

However, this time, both the Spring and Summer Guardians had arrived.

It was a sign of profound respect, for this individual’s seniority and contributions to the Magus Civilization were significant that the guardians of the four seasons deemed his ascension worthy of extra vigilance and honor.

After parting ways with the Spring Guardian, another presence approached, prompting the Spider Queen to quickly depart from the scene.

Yet, the Spring Guardian, ever calm and unhurried, made no move to leave.

Her soft gaze drifted toward the sea below, where the waters began to stir.

From beneath the surface, a pair of dragon horns emerged, followed by a majestic dragon head before the massive body of a turtle rose slowly into view.

“Uhm... Honorable Guardian... Did you see Sein just now?”

A childish voice came from the giant dragon turtle’s maw. The creature was visibly nervous, as this was her first time meeting the Spring Guardian.

The Spring Guardian’s expression softened, her lips curling into a gentle smile.

“Oh, you must be Tourmaline, right? I believe this is our first meeting since you hatched. I’ve heard about you from both the Summer Guardian and White Stella,” she said, reaching out to gently stroke the dragon turtle’s smooth head.

“You’re just as adorable as they told me. Now then... who is this Sein you speak of?” she asked.

Tourmaline blinked at her, unsure of how to introduce Sein.