Sovereign of the Ashes

While the Purgatory demons kept a low profile in this iteration of the Avatar Crisis, it was the Godslayers, the dragons, and the rival deities of various factions whose clashes stirred the greatest commotion.

This was quite unexpected.

The God of Justice remained in seclusion, and the Dark Lady had long vanished from the world.

Though the Elemental God appeared intent on restoring order to the chaotic continent, its efforts had proven largely ineffective.

As a result, this Avatar Crisis, triggered by the three Tablets of Fate, had instead become a playground for opportunists.

Sein, however, did not concern himself with the turmoil in Faeloria. His time was far too valuable.

Inside the laboratory...

Sein, having already extracted the God of First Light’s divine relic, was now using his microscope to observe the pale golden energy crystal before him.

Unlike the God of Brute Force’s relic and the Verdant Wilderness God’s relic fragment in his possession, the God of First Light’s relic had a layer of strange energy particles coating its surface.

Though it was essentially a Rank Four creature’s relic, it appeared similar to a demigod-level creature’s heart core.

“This must be the unique power of laws that limit the divine relics’ true potential and suppress the gods’ strength during the Avatar Crisis,” Sein speculated, peering into his microscope.

Based on what he had gathered from the previous Avatar Crisis, along with feedback from the Succubus Queen and others, these “sealed” divine relics would only radiate their former brilliance after the crisis concluded.

Since the God of Brute Force’s divine relic had been extracted before the current crisis began, it remained unaffected by this suppression.

For native deities like the God of First Light, such suppression was both an inconvenience and an unacceptable loss.

For Sein, a suppressed divine relic offered a perfect opportunity to delve deeper into the underlying truths.

As his research progressed, Sein not only began formulating new ideas for lumen elemental spell models, but also found inspiration to integrate his understanding of lumen elemental truths into the Demon Mask—an artifact in which he had already achieved significant breakthroughs.

A mask that fused demonic power with the power of light... Only Sein of the Magus World could have conceived such a thing!

No Purgatory demon had ever mastered the power of light. The very nature of their existence was fundamentally opposed to it.

To them, light was a repulsive force.

“Let’s see what secrets lie within you...” Sein murmured in excitement as he once again immersed himself in his experimental research.

***

While Sein was focused on his experiments, Flynn, Ronaldo, and the others—having somewhat recovered from their last god hunt—resumed classes at their academies.

Arnold’s death and the actions he took in his final moments still weighed heavily on them.

Betrayal was not unfamiliar among the Godslayers.

Though the group had always stood united—supporting one another through the sieges of major camps and factions to reach where they were today—the true test came when the temptation of godhood presented itself before them.

How many could truly resist?

In this iteration of the Avatar Crisis, two wielders of weak divine power had already been slain in a frenzied assault by the Godslayers.

Strangely, after their deaths, several of the Godslayers who had participated in the siege also vanished without a trace.

Their families and descendants were later sent into Purgatory, yet these missing Godslayers refused all contact with others.

On the surface, it could be seen as a desire to protect their loved ones. But in truth... suspicions had begun to take root in many hearts.

The human heart, after all, was the most fragile thing when tested.

After the incident, Flynn—who had inherited Sein’s ideals regarding spellcasters—did not dwell on it for long.

Spellcasters, by nature, leaned toward rationality.

Under Sein’s influence, Flynn had steadily embraced that mindset, gradually shedding the remnants of emotional impulse.

On the contrary, Ronaldo, who had always been magnanimous and carefree, could not move on from the incident.

Arnold was a hundred years his junior. Ronaldo had practically watched the boy grow up.

With Sein’s help, Ronaldo had acquired the bloodline of the dragons. Yet despite his union with Audria, who bore the demon bloodline, the two had never produced an heir.

High-ranking beings had always struggled to reproduce, and the stark contrast between their bloodlines only made it more difficult.

In many ways, Arnold had been like a son to Ronaldo.

No—perhaps all the young warriors in the academy were children he had come to see as his own.

Arnold’s betrayal and death left Ronaldo listless for a long time.

Hoping to help his friend, Flynn turned to Sein for guidance.

To Flynn, the erudite Master Sein was an all-knowing existence who could answer any question and a master of all truths.

If Sein ever chose to walk the path of godhood, Flynn—who had followed him for nearly two centuries—would undoubtedly become his most devout believer.

After hearing Flynn’s concerns about Ronaldo, Sein took time to consider the matter. Eventually, he offered an answer.

During a rare break from his experimental work, he sat down to speak with Ronaldo.

“The Warrior, Ranger, Archer, and Thief academies that you and Audria founded all emphasize proper cultivation methods, with god-slaying as the ultimate goal. But something is missing... like spiritual development.”

“Spiritual development?” Ronaldo scratched his bald head—his new hairstyle. Perhaps it was stress that had cost him his hair, but now his shiny scalp gleamed even more than Flynn’s.

Unfortunately, his comprehension skill was barely a tenth of Flynn’s.

This “spiritual development” that Master Sein spoke of was far too abstract for him to grasp.

When Ronaldo turned to his old friend for help, Flynn was already deep in thought with a contemplative look on his face.

“Maybe you could start teaching more than just combat techniques and cultivation methods. Things like justice, fairness, compassion, freedom, devotion... that sort of thing,” Sein clarified.

These were not Sein’s original ideas.

During his travels through the Magus World, he had visited countless knight academies. Many of them instilled such principles as part of their foundational teachings for new students.

“These things sound a lot like what the temples and churches on the Prime Materia Plane preach,” Ronaldo said, scratching his head.

In Faeloria, temples and churches did more than demand devotion to their deities when recruiting followers—they often promoted ideals such as honesty, compassion, and fairness.

The Justice League, in particular, was fond of doing so.

To Sein, the motive behind it was clear: sheep were easier to harvest for faith than starving wolves.

Shaking his head, Sein replied, “There’s a big difference. For one, we don’t ask the young ones to believe in anything.”

“We show them what real power is. We reveal the true nature of the world. The so-called deities are nothing more than higher-level lifeforms—they’re not worthy of worship. When our interests are threatened, we should rise against them. Lesser beings don’t deserve to be exploited or plundered by these deities.

“In that regard, your homeland is actually ahead of most planes and civilizations in the Astral Realm. At least Faeloria has the Avatar Crisis. In most other planes, Rank Four and above beings stay forever aloof, perched high in the clouds, never descending—unless pushed by some external force.”

Sein spoke in a steady stream, seemingly indifferent to whether Ronaldo could understand him.

Then he turned to Flynn and added, “You can begin introducing a proper worldview in the other academies. Truth isn’t something reserved for mages alone. The Magus World has produced many successful dual cultivators who’ve walked both paths.”

“Yes, Master Sein,” Flynn replied respectfully.