Sovereign of the Ashes

The incident at the divine tower academy was a trivial one, yet word of it eventually reached many ears, including the tower master.

Sein heard about it from Dean Marie.

After Marie finished reporting on the academy’s quarterly progress and training programs, she casually brought up the incident.

“Initiates have weaker abilities and poor tolerance for the conditions of foreign planes. If they were sent to those battlefields, even interplanar suppression alone would crush them,” Sein said.

“Magus World’s initiates aren’t like the enslaved or extraplanar creatures we use as cannon fodder. It’s unlikely the divine towers and the Magus Alliance would ever send them to the frontlines. Only those who’ve advanced to full-fledged mages are qualified to become battle mages.

“That Rank One mage, Farke... His approach to teaching is commendable. Give him a bonus later,” Sein instructed.

“Understood,” Marie replied with a nod.

After she left his office, Sein let out a quiet sigh and made his way toward his laboratory.

The Spider Queen’s divine clone had failed to resolve the issue of Natalya’s fading consciousness.

Instead, Lorthisra had grown deeply fascinated by Lorianne’s method of preserving soul fragments in her desperate attempt to stop Natalya from succumbing completely to death.

If Natalya had not been Sein’s wife, Lorthisra would likely have claimed that uniquely preserved body as a specimen for her own studies.

Though she had ascended to godhood through faith, Lorthisra’s upbringing under both her adoptive and biological fathers, as well as her many years spent in Magus World, had ingrained in her the mindset of a Magus World mage.

From another perspective, she was a blend of a Rank Six evil goddess and a Rank Six black mage, which explained her terrifying power.

When Lorthisra later expressed her desire to “get acquainted” with Lorianne, Sein immediately refused without a moment’s hesitation.

There was no way he would introduce his mentor to Lorthisra.

To him, Lorianne embodied purity, kindness, fairness, and generosity.

Putting her in contact with someone as cunning and manipulative as Lorthisra could only lead to disaster.

Sein still could not help but worry his mentor might somehow be corrupted...

Upon arriving at the underground laboratory beneath the Divine Tower of Ashes, he once again immersed himself in researching the higher laws of flame.

He had mostly figured out the key to merging the Azure Flame with the lumen elemental law during the Grand Eye Demon World War, and now, it was time to verify and refine it.

At the same time, Sein also needed to find a way to convert that knowledge into tangible power.

During the pursuit of truth, time always seemed to slip away unnoticed.

***

Two years later...

In the laboratory, Sein raised his right hand. An elemental array diagram with intricate star patterns appeared before him.

A torrent of azure energy beams burst from the array, firing in rapid succession with extreme precision and intensity.

Before him stood several targets for destructive testing: the alloy plating from a federal frigate, the wreckage of a Rank Five mobile suit, and a standard Magus World test stone used to measure spell power.

The results were promising.

Integrating the Azure Flame with the lumen element law as a hybrid attack boosted both its power and its efficiency.

“Based on the data, this spell doesn’t just pierce federation alloys easily; it’s also highly effective against those DF energy barriers their fleets love to deploy. Next time I run into one of their fleets or mobile suits, I’ll be better prepared,” Sein murmured, stroking his chin.

With that experiment done, Sein decided to turn his focus to the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique.

Breaking out of the Gallant Federation’s star domain and defending Radbow World had proven that a Rank Four mage with a strong constitution stood a far better chance of surviving on the battlefield.

Even the slightest increase in his chances of survival was worth chasing, and Sein pushed himself relentlessly to temper his body.

As usual, Yuri assisted him with his body tempering sessions.

After that, she would also be assisting Sein with his alchemy technique and mecha development research.

Sein’s schedule was packed; his days were a cycle of experiments, meditation, and research.

Now that he thought about it, it had been ages since he had last been intimate with any of the women back home.

***

More than ten years later...

Sia stepped out of the training chamber, wiping the sweat from her body with a towel.

She had been cultivating battle qi through her family’s secret technique while enduring the harsh body tempering regimens Sein had designed for her over the years.

Sia could feel it... she was close to a breakthrough.

It was an indescribably profound sensation, one that she could hardly put into words as a knight.

Having already reached the demigod level, she wondered what realm could possibly lie beyond this?

As a demigod-level knight, the power Sia wielded still fell short of Reina’s, who was infamously nicknamed the “Meat Grinder,” “Female T-Rex”, and “Hammer-Wielding Meat Mountain” on the battlefield.

Then again, Reina had received far more support from Sein.

After all, she was his woman.

Sein had crafted many divine artifact-grade pieces of equipment for Reina, and the body-tempering regimen he tailored for her was far stricter and more meticulous than anything Sia went through.

Some of the more advanced tempering methods were reserved exclusively for Reina.

Yet life had its strange twists.

Despite Reina’s superior potential, strength, and the resources poured into her, she still failed to reach Rank Four before Sia did.

The difference, it seemed, lay in insight and understanding.

Reina was not exactly the thoughtful type.

Sia might have been the same way once, but over the years, she had grown wiser. Now, she thought far more deeply than most knights.

Demigod-level knights could touch upon the power of laws, while those who reached Rank Four controlled them fully.

The power of laws was mysterious, profound, and nearly impossible to describe.

When Sein was working toward Rank Four back then, he had struggled to even find the doorway to that path.

Without the knowledge he had inherited from the Faceless Mask and the personal guidance of Grandmaster Feylis, he might never have made it.

For Sia to reach this stage without guidance from a higher-ranking knight spoke volumes about her insight.

Still, she had been debating whether to bring the matter up with Sein.

With his deep knowledge and experience as a Rank Four mage, he could no doubt provide invaluable help.

And, truth be told, she admired her son-in-law greatly now.

There was nothing shameful about respecting strength.

After all, when her family had fallen into ruin and her loved ones perished, it was Sein who had stood firm.

He had led his divine tower legions against the Grand Eye Demon World and slain millions of Eye Demons!

But lately, Sein had been impossibly busy. Sia had not seen him in quite some time, leaving her no chance to discuss her struggles.