Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein’s arrival immediately drew the attention of every Magus World powerhouse present.

To the two native Rank Four creatures of Eversurge, his overwhelming aura was a clear sign that this was a force they could not hope to withstand.

It did not matter that Sein had only recently advanced to Rank Four.

With the destructive potential of his Ashen Law, the deep reserves he had built up before his breakthrough, and the enhancement provided by the Faceless Mask, Sein was already a serious contender among Rank Four beings.

These two native Rank Four creatures, who had never once left their homeplane, knew nothing about the vastness of the Astral Realm or the terrifying might of the stronger civilizations beyond.

In that sense, this conquest by the Magus Civilization was also a rude awakening.

Once these creatures were captured and sold through the Magus Alliance’s market, they would come to understand just how insignificant they were and just how powerful their conquerors had been.

“Is that the apprentice of your junior you mentioned before? Looks like he’s a bit stronger than the other one in his generation,” Berecca, the grand master of the Order of the Green Bounty, remarked to Bernice via voice transmission.

Berecca had seen Sein once before, back during the Wild Gorilla World War.

But clearly, the high-ranking Rank Four knight had not paid much attention to the then-Rank Two mage. She had forgotten him entirely.

Now, standing before the masked Sein, even someone like her felt a subtle pressure radiating from him.

Since Sein was no longer a demigod on the verge of a breakthrough, the Faceless Mask no longer needed to suppress his energy anymore.

Of course, if Sein wanted to pass for an ordinary mage, he still could.

But this was an interplanar battlefield, there was no reason for him to keep a low profile.

Scorching pyro elemental energy and dazzling lumen elemental energy swirled around him.

With his arrival, yet another supreme figure stepped into the heart of the battlefield.

Each Rank Four or higher powerhouse present had a unique manifestation of their power.

Gregory stood as a flaming elemental giant, and Aelid had taken on the form of a gleaming sword. Bernice stood atop a glowing fire lotus, with Berecca clinging to her side like the branch of a pine.

And then there was Sein—his demonic form far more ominous and menacing than even Gregory’s.

Several Rank Four powerhouses were clearly positioning themselves to gradually box in the two native creatures, shrinking their space to retreat.

Among them, Gregory was by far the most dominant, like a nightmare the two native gods of this plane could not shake off.

Over the years of battle, the Rank Five mage had broken nearly a third of the sea serpent-like creature’s spine.

The coral-like creature had also suffered heavy damage to its roots and tentacles as well.

Gregory’s elemental flames could cut straight through the ocean to strike at their bodies. Water was not even an obstacle for his power.

If he fully unleashed his elemental body, he could boil entire seas and reduce mountains to ashes!

Among Rank Five beings, Gregory was definitely one of the elites.

Of all the Rank Five powerhouses Sein had encountered, only the Tower Master of Dark Flame might be considered Gregory’s equal.

White Stella might be even stronger, but Sein had never seen her fight personally.

Most of the time, she simply issued orders while her sea kings handled the battlefield. It was rare for her to take action herself.

After a quick survey of the area, Sein activated the Faceless Mask’s analytical functions to assess the two native creatures.

The world-class artifact quickly scanned their forms and projected detailed readouts of their strengths, weaknesses, and current injuries.

Gregory and the others had clearly worn them down over the years. According to the mask’s data, the probability of killing them was 96.37%, while the chance of capturing them alive was approximately 71.41%.

In short, these two Rank Four natives had no real hope of turning the tide.

The only countermeasure the simulation flagged was a desperate self-destruction, which carried a 32.58% chance of inflicting serious damage on Aelid.

That probability was largely due to Aelid being the weakest of the Magus World powerhouses present.

With Sein now on the field, however, that number dropped to just 11.73%.

To be honest, looking at the way the two native creatures huddled in the depths of the sea, they did not seem like the kind to die for vengeance.

“This large water tornado magic array can go on for 36,721 sandglasses.[1] We’ve got time to toy with them a little longer,” Gregory said, standing tall at the center of the massive undersea vortex, arms crossed.

His massive elemental body shifted slightly toward Sein, though his booming voice clearly reached all the Magus World powerhouses present, as well as the two native Rank Four creatures as well.

Faced with enemies so overwhelmingly confident they did not even treat them as a threat, the two native beings could only seethe in silence.

The large magic array was continuously drawing pure hydro elemental energy from the waters of the sea’s eye and channeling it upward into the sky.

It was quite a spectacle, but to the two native Rank Four creatures, though, it was a slow death sentence.

That said, Sein had a different suggestion.

“I have a way to take these two Rank Four creatures down more quickly—and increase the odds of capturing them alive by another 17%,” he said, turning to the others.

When Gregory and the rest looked at him with interest, Sein added, “But I need a Rank Four with control over dendro elemental laws to help me.”

“No problem. Do what you need to, these two won’t be giving us any trouble anyway,” Bernice replied, nodding as she motioned toward Berecca.

Perhaps out of habit, and without much thought for the setting, her hand landed squarely on Berecca’s armor-clad rear.

CLANG!

A loud metallic noise echoed through the air.

As expected of a Rank Four knight, even with armor on, it was easy to imagine how perky Berecca’s rear was.

Thankfully, everyone remained focused on Sein, sparing Berecca any further embarrassment.

Wearing the Faceless Mask and gripping his Radiant Heart Rod, Sein flew straight toward the largest sea tornado dominating the battlefield.

It loomed directly above the Rank Four sea serpent, which still clung to the faint hope of survival.

The creature was drawing on its own power and the energy of the sea’s eye to resist the massive magic array that Gregory and the others had constructed.

A good third of the tornado’s lower section had already ensnared the sea serpent’s long, sinuous body.

As Sein approached, the sea serpent made no move to attack. It remained curled at the base of the sea’s eye, warily watching his every move.

Sein, however, showed no hesitation.

A wave of pyro and lumen elemental beams burst from the Faceless Mask, instantly turning the surrounding ocean into a storm of elemental fury.

At the same time, the Radiant Heart Rod in his hand unleashed two pillars of intertwining elemental light.

Together, the beams and light pillars formed a distinct pattern.

“Is that a magic array...?” Bernice murmured. As someone with a solid foundation in magic arrays, she seemed to have realized something.

1. Translator’s Note: 36,721 sandglasses/minutes = 25.5 days! ☜