Sovereign of the Ashes

The Penetrating Eye forbidden spell was finally about to take shape!

One could say Sein had succeeded—but also that he had failed because this version of the forbidden spell was not fully mature.

Its destructive power had yet to reach the level of a true single-target forbidden spell.

Still, it far surpassed the limits of most demigod-level spells.

A big part of what made it “immature” was that Sein could not fully control it.

This kind of spell was supposed to be Sein’s major research focus for the next few hundred years of his life.

He never expected to be forced into using it so soon.

Without perfecting the spell, even locking it onto the God of Smithing was nearly impossible.

At his current level, just being able to unleash a forbidden spell was already pushing the limit.

Besides, Furey was still in great condition; he had not even activated his defensive divine artifact yet.

After only a few seconds of thought, Sein decided that he would aim at the crystal barrier in front of him instead.

Thanks to Yuri and Gondrath’s desperate efforts to buy time, he managed to finish the incantation.

However, the price of casting an imperfect forbidden spell came quickly.

The moment the spell launched, the raw elemental backlash sent Sein flying diagonally across the battlefield.

It was pretty rare for a mage to be injured or knocked back by their own magic.

Fortunately, the Penetrating Eye spell had been aimed at the crystal barrier ahead, so the overflow of elemental force did not hit him full-on.

The moment the beam pierced through the barrier, Sein did not waste a second checking his injuries.

Instead, he quickly called out to Yuri to fall back.

The terrifying beam not only tore through the crystal barrier created by Furey’s cubic divine artifact, but the leftover surge of elemental energy shot straight into the sky.

Red and white rays intertwined and streaked upward, leaving a blinding trail across the sky above the San Jose Kingdom.

Not only the people of the San Jose Kingdom but creatures in the surrounding regions also witnessed the brilliant flash overhead.

In some ways, this Penetrating Eye spell had already surpassed what Faeloria knew of saint-level creatures.

This was the kind of power that belonged to deities.

In fact, the chaos erupting across the San Jose Kingdom now could rightfully be described as a battle between gods.

***

When the colorful energy rays lit up the sky above the San Jose Kingdom, more than a few deities took notice of the anomaly.

In a remote forest thousands of miles east of San Jose Kingdom, a woman in a flowing purple dress glanced westward. There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

The forbidden spell unleashed by Sein was unlike the techniques commonly used by Faeloria’s deities.

It was a pure manifestation of elemental power drawn forth through knowledge and truth.

To the untrained eye, it might have seemed like just another display of divine power—something only deities could wield.

Yet to experts or deities, the difference was obvious.

“Is it the same source as the lingering elemental energy I found in those ashes last time? Maybe I should go take a look...” the woman murmured, gently biting her lip as she fell into thought.

The chaos erupting in the San Jose Kingdom was not just the result of Sein and the God of Craft.

Nearly ten deities had converged there, turning the region into one of the fiercest battlefields of gods in all of Faeloria.

To make matters worse, the San Jose Kingdom was also within the God of Justice’s sphere of faith.

Though rumors claimed the God of Justice had long since entered deep seclusion, fighting within his territory was still considered extremely risky.

After all, the two unlucky gods who had fallen not long ago had merely trespassed the territories of greater sea gods.

The God of Justice, by contrast, was a supreme deity!

Still, curiosity won out over hesitation.

The woman in purple reasoned that even if she did run into the God of Justice, she was strong enough to protect herself.

The battles there might be chaotic, but not to the extent that they would threaten her.

With that, she turned into a streak of purple light and flew westward.

Across Faeloria, other gods had also noticed the strange event unfolding in the San Jose Kingdom.

Some continued to watch from the sidelines, while others had already entered the fray.

***

As the effects of the powerful Penetrating Eye spell faded, Sein quickly activated his demon form and dashed through the gap he had carved in the crystal barrier.

Outside, the demigod-level plant giant was already on standby, waiting for him.

Flynn, Ronaldo, and the others had also gathered nearby, having sensed something was wrong the moment the barrier appeared.

When the Penetrating Eye beam tore through the sky, the little ones immediately rushed over with the magic artifacts Sein had entrusted to them.

For this round of god hunt, Sein’s team was far more elite and reliable than the last.

Thanks to the academies’ focus on spiritual and character development, a strong sense of honor and responsibility had been instilled in them. They were no longer just fledglings but a force Sein could rely on.

However, this time, their opponent had changed—from the God of Craft to the God of Smithing, a deity two ranks higher in power.

Even with a demigod-level plant giant on his side, the heavily wounded Sein was not about to risk another fight.

“Get out of here—scatter and flee the San Jose Kingdom in all directions!” Sein shouted at the group.

The command came fast, but the shift in momentum was so sudden that most of the little ones failed to react in time.

As for Ronaldo, Flynn, and Audria—the three who had been by Sein’s side for centuries—they ignored the order completely.

Seeing him bloodied and battered, they rushed toward him without hesitation.

Sein had barely made it ten seconds past the barrier when a loud explosion erupted behind him.

BOOM!

Dust and smoke billowed from the barrier, obscuring everything inside.

From what little could be sensed, it seemed the massive wooden golem controlled by the God of Craft had sealed the gap.

The God of Craft’s escape speed was no less than Sein’s.

His Concealment Boots, a divine artifact, granted him spatial-jump capabilities.

If not for the crystal barrier earlier, he likely would have escaped long ago.

A streak of pale gold burst from the swirling smoke. The God of Craft had abandoned the golem, and now he looked even worse than Sein.

Given how pale and frail he looked, one might wonder if even a Legendary Being could actually finish him off.

Only the faint glow of his divine artifacts remained—proof that this lesser god had not yet lost all power to fight back.