Sovereign of the Ashes

“What about the rest of you?” the Rank Four Tower Master of Bone asked, his gaze sweeping over the remaining full-fledged mages.

After watching a Rank Three black mage get torn apart moments earlier, everyone knew exactly what the correct choice was.

If they did not surrender, they would die right here and now.

If they did, their souls would be enslaved by the Tower Master of Bone... but at least they might die a little later.

Faced with that reality, these black mages knew what choice to make!

A chorus of voices crying out in surrender and begging for mercy quickly filled the battlefield.

This only made the Rank Four black mage’s cruel, arrogant laughter echo louder and sharper across the mine.

Of course, not everyone gave in.

Sein, for one, stood in front of Leena, unmoving.

And some of the mages from other towers—those who had temporarily allied with the Black Tower of Bone—were looking more than a little uncomfortable.

One younger-looking Rank Two black mage was shoved forward.

“Great Tower Master of Bone, I’m Peter, a Rank Two mage from the Black Tower of Dark Crystal! We’re your ally!”

The poor guy looked like he was about to cry, fully expecting to be crushed on the spot.

The Tower Master of Bone was infamous for his cruelty. His brutality had made the Black Tower of Bone’s name feared throughout the outskirts of Blackhaven for millennia.

Most thought this Rank Two black mage named Peter was doomed. But to everyone’s surprise, the Rank Four tower master actually paused to think... then nodded and waved him off, sparing him and the other allied black mages.

Full-fledged mages were not like initiates, who were seen as expendable and easy to abuse.

The Tower Master of Bone could massacre thousands of initiates without a second thought. But if he started casually killing full-fledged black mages from other towers, he would not be able to walk away without consequences.

Beneath that arrogant and brutal exterior, the Rank Four Tower Master of Bone clearly had a calm, calculating mind.

Plenty of people had been fooled by his ruthless but straightforward demeanor—only to end up ensnared by his schemes in the end.

The Tower Master of the Black Tower of Bone was different from the Tower Master of Cinderbones.

Even though she had kept a relatively low profile over the past tens of thousands of years, her actions had been anything but subtle.

She had hoarded and exploited a ridiculous amount of resources from the southern-central region of Blackhaven, making herself a long-time thorn in everyone’s side.

Worse yet, she had a habit of never giving anyone respect.

In all of southern part of Blackhaven, she was probably the most widely disliked person around.

That was exactly why the Tower Master of Bone had no trouble rallying other black towers and knight orders into a full-on war against the Black Tower of Cinderbones. People genuinely hated her guts, and she had been greedy for far too long.

The Tower Master of Bone could justify stepping in despite being a Rank Four, because frankly, it was the Black Tower of Cinderbones that had broken the agreement first.

Seeing how close Sein and Leena were, the Tower Master of Bone assumed he was one of Cinderbones’ hidden aces.

On top of that, the Ashen Flame’s appearance and nature were uncannily similar to the Cinderbone Flame wielded by the Tower Master of Cinderbones.

He could not help but wonder—was Sein another one of her apprentices?

Of course, he also recognized Leena.

The only reason he had not killed her yet was because he intended to use her as leverage—to pressure the Tower Master of Cinderbones into conceding during certain parts of their negotiations.

His sheer power alone terrified nearly everyone present. But not Sein.

From beginning to end, Sein had not taken his eyes off him.

The Tower Master of Bone’s strength likely surpassed even that of Furey, the intermediate deity, when he descended in avatar form during the Avatar Crisis.

Even though Sein had grown significantly stronger over the centuries, he was not exactly confident about facing someone like this despite his calm facade.

“Try to stay put,” he told Leena quietly, activating both his Demon Mask and magic rod.

Despite being a Rank Four black mage, the Tower Master of Bone was not as perceptive as Master Andy from the Black Tower of Stephen.

The Silver Spider Ring on Sein’s finger began to glow faintly, yet the tower master did not seem to recognize its significance.

Instead, his eyes went straight to Sein’s mask and rod, then flicked briefly to his robe.

As a Rank Four mage, he still had a sharp eye—and it was obvious that Sein’s equipment was far from ordinary.

Seeing Sein so well-equipped only reinforced his assumption: he had to be the Tower Master of Cinderbones’ apprentice.

After all, who else in this poor and barren corner of Blackhaven could be walking around with magic artifacts like that?

“Oh? You want to fight me?” The Tower Master of Bone looked at Sein with a mix of amusement and mild surprise.

His gray robe concealed most of his face, but within the shadows of the hood, two eerie blue orbs glowed like soul flames.

“I only want to get my wife out of here. Let us leave,” Sein said in a low voice.

The entire mine was now shrouded in a gray mist—clearly a manifestation of the tower master’s elemental domain.

“Your wife? Hehehehe!” The Rank Four black mage let out a bone-chilling laugh.

“Offer your souls, and I might consider letting you live. I am merciful, after all. Perhaps the both of you will even be reborn as undead creatures in my lab,” the Tower Master of Bone said, stroking his gray beard.

It seemed like negotiation was not possible.

Sein let out a quiet sigh.

He had not expected to be dragged into a fight with a Rank Four mage right after dealing with a troublesome demigod-level black mage the moment he returned to the Magus World.

A normal mage really had no place in Blackhaven. Everyone here was some kind of monster, including the Spider Queen.

Still, with an opponent this strong, Sein decided to strike first.

Ashen Flame burst to life once again across his body, and his human form swiftly shifted into that of a demon.

This time, the Bone Tower Master finally noticed something.

Sein’s power did not resemble that of the Tower Master of Cinderbones at all.

In fact, Sein’s Ashen Flame appeared to be far more complex than the Cinderbone Flame.

As Sein lunged forward in his demon form, Leena moved as well.

She had never been the kind of woman who needed protecting.

Just like Sein, she activated her elemental body, and a layer of flickering gray flame ignited across her form.

It was not Ashen Flame, but Cinderbone Flame—the Tower Master of Cinderbones’ legacy!

It was a strange fusion of necromantic, umbra, and pyro elemental energies that matched Leena’s affinities perfectly.

Long-range spells were unleashed from the tip of her rod in rapid succession.

Unlike Sein, Leena did not have a fortified physical body that could endure close-quarters combat.

But even in the face of a Rank Four black mage, she showed no fear—not with her dear husband charging headlong into the frontlines.

If worse came to worst, they would just die together!