Sovereign of the Ashes

The battle had turned out to be even easier than Sein expected.

The gray-robed man, who had been the focus of Sein’s attention, crumpled after a single spell.

Despite possessing a Rank One life level, the man’s techniques were surprisingly basic—especially compared to the Magus World mages, whose arsenal of elemental spells was practically endless.

From start to finish, Sein had only seen his opponent unleash a rapid volley of bone spears.

Although the execution of the spell was rough, the firing speed and destructive power were quite impressive, to be fair.

The gray-robed man had cast the spell without much visible preparation or chanting.

The sheer reflex and precision of the counterattack in such a sudden ambush were commendable.

By all rights, he should have been a decent opponent.

Yet strangely, his abilities seemed limited to fast attacks with short bursts of power—nothing else.

After being struck by Sein’s Firebird Explosion spell, the man crumpled like a hunched prawn, rendered completely incapable of continuing the fight.

It seemed like the frailty of elemental users was a universal weakness.

Mages who, like Sein, combined rigorous intellectual pursuits with constitution training were uncommon.

As for why that skinny thief had been spared by Sein’s elemental firebird...

He was simply the weakest among the group, and Sein had not even considered him a threat.

The thief’s instinct to remain perfectly still had served him well—especially since Sein needed a native to gather some information.

The battle had been brief, but the sudden bursts of elemental energy and the commotion might have attracted unwanted attention.

The nearby Mora Village remained silent, and in the distance, Blackwater City loomed faintly—a hazy silhouette against the night sky.

Although it was unlikely anyone else was nearby, Sein preferred caution and conjured a soundproofing and isolation barrier with a flick of his fingers.

Sein’s action once again caused the only conscious thief present to flinch.

He had just used another spell or technique the thief had never seen or even heard of before.

“Could he be... an Epic Being?” The thief tilted his head slightly, glancing toward the dark night sky where bright stars peeked through scattered clouds.

According to legend, the gods resided beyond those distant stars.

For a fleeting moment, the thief felt the urge to pray to the Bone Lord or the God of Thieves.

Bone Lord was the deity of the church he currently served.

However, over sixty percent of the continent’s thieves worshipped the God of Thieves, as many of their abilities were said to originate from that temple.

Unfortunately, his faith was weak, so neither the Bone Lord nor the God of Thieves responded.

Meanwhile, Sein turned his attention to his “prize”.

The pyro elemental chains he had conjured were strong enough to restrain a Rank Two Magus World knight with ease.

Naturally, binding the weak, gray-robed figure was no challenge.

Besides, the chains were made of Sein’s origin pyro elemental energy—the Ashen Flame.

For most creatures, mere contact with this rare type of fire was enough to induce excruciating pain.

The power Sein wielded was nothing like the abilities of this world’s Rank Two creatures, which were known as “Legendary Beings”.

“Who are you? How dare you attack members of the Church of Bones?! Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?!”

Despite being bound by Sein, the gray-robed man—the only Rank One creature present—clenched his teeth, endured the pain, and demanded answers.

Although he spoke in the common tongue of this world, Sein had already absorbed enough linguistic knowledge from the local fishermen to understand it.

The Ashen Flames had reduced the man’s hood and half his robe to ashes, revealing his true appearance.

It was only now that Sein understood why the priest had hidden himself beneath an oversized robe.

The man was nearly bald, and his skin was dry and creased with deep wrinkles.

His few remaining teeth were stained black and his bulging, fish-like eyes stared forward with raw hostility.

Despite their shared nature as elemental power users, Sein saw no glimmer of wisdom or insight in the man’s eyes—only hatred and malice.

Sometimes, one’s gaze and temperament could reveal far more than words could.

Blackhaven’s black mages—vicious as they were—possessed genuine knowledge and skill.

However, this old man in front of him...

If Sein had not detected his considerable mental focus and witnessed the rapid release of that bone spear attack, he might have mistaken him for an ordinary Rank One creature.

Sein cast a lingering glance at the old priest and the templar who had fallen from his warhorse.

He did not do anything to them immediately, though.

After all, the best meals should always be saved for last.

Besides, Sein detected a faint, familiar trace of energy on them—divine power.

Years ago, he had briefly studied this type of power in his laboratory.

His test subjects had been a pair of Ice Gorillas—creatures that had once been blessed with divine power, only to have that blessing fade over time.

Unfortunately, due to the high-order nature of divine power and its connection to the power of laws, Sein had gleaned little practical knowledge from his experiments.

Still... Even if he had not eaten Craghog meat, he had certainly seen a Craghog run.

That past research had sharpened his sensitivity to divine energy, allowing him to detect the same lingering aura on these two captives.

Could all the knights and mages of this world be devout believers of gods?

Of course, these individuals were fundamentally different from the knights and mages of the Magus World.

The knights here were more accurately known as templars, while the mages were often priests or clerics aligned with places of worship.

There were also so-called “pure mages”, but even they pledged themselves to the Goddess of Magic, Eluvira—which made them anything but pure.

A true mage should be like the spellcasters of the Magus World—those who relentlessly explore the unknown, unraveling the mysteries of truth through reason and experimentation.

By relying on their own wisdom, they learn to rearrange elemental patterns and, in doing so, harness formidable combat power instead of praying for divine blessings like humble supplicants, groveling for the so-called “power” bestowed by gods and goddesses.

Such unearned power like divine blessings were frowned upon by every Magus World spellcaster.