Sovereign of the Ashes

Inside the Divine Tower of Ashes, a rare duel between knights was happening.

The tower had its own battle arena, originally built to promote healthy competition among initiates and give full-fledged mages a place to settle their personal disputes.

After all, mages were still human, so disagreements and clashes of interest were bound to happen.

The arena was durable enough to handle battles between Rank Three mages at full power, but few ever had reason to use it.

However, the fight today did not take place in the reinforced arena. It broke out right inside the divine tower itself!

Two battle qi barriers, one crimson and one gold, appeared around the battlefield.

To avoid getting caught up in the fight, most of the onlookers had already raised protective magic shields around themselves.

Among the crowd, the outermost ring was packed with initiates!

Naturally, the young ones were the most excited—after all, a fight between two demigod-level knights was something they almost never got to see.

Even those studying in the library had dropped their books and rushed over at the calls of their friends and classmates.

Fortunately, most classes at the academy were still in session, and not every full-fledged mage was idle enough to come watch.

When Sein rose into the air above the battlefield, things had not completely gotten out of hand yet.

Looking down at the combatants, his expression darkened.

It was not just because they had interrupted his experiment, but also...

The duelists were none other than Sia, who had activated her demonic transformation, and Kleist, who had taken on his Hill Giant form.

At least they were holding back a little and not trying to tear down the entire Divine Tower of Ashes.

Sia kept her Baator Demon form close to an average human size, about two meters tall, while Kleist’s Hill Giant form stood at only five meters.

Neither was fighting at full strength.

The Hill Giant was clearly a geo-elemental creature, yet the massive form Kleist had taken had molten crimson lava streaming down each shoulder like glowing tattoos.

Sein’s anger was understandable—someone had dared to start a brawl inside his divine tower.

Even the fact that Sia was his mother-in-law did not mean she could get away without any consequences.

From what he could tell, Sia was the one who had started the fight.

Rather than a “duel”, it looked more like a one-sided beating.

Kleist, having activated his Hill Giant bloodline, simply crossed his massive arms to block Sia’s attacks.

“If you’ve got something to say, then say it! Why resort to violence?” Kleist shouted up at the demonic woman, who was hovering in mid-air.

Sia swung her heavy sword with one hand, bringing it down hard while conjuring molten lava orbs in her other claw to hurl at him in rapid bursts.

Explosions thundered through the air as intense battle qi swept across the battle zone.

Chunks of rock splintered from Kleist’s forearms, and deep cracks now scarred the once-pristine white floor of the divine tower.

Neither of the two demigod-level knights noticed Sein’s arrival above the arena, nor did the mages watching from the sidelines.

Sein’s ability to conceal his presence had reached a frightening level.

By now, most of the mages had already pieced together why the fight had broken out. Their expressions were caught somewhere between amusement and curiosity.

A scuffle like this was a rare source of entertainment amid their otherwise monotonous research, and many of them were clearly enjoying it.

The more Kleist tried to reason with her, the more vicious Sia’s attacks became.

Back in the Order of the Steel Fist, both Natalya and Reina were nicknamed the “Female T-Rex”.

Reina rarely picked fights without reason, but Natalya was different—sometimes she was the one who started them. It was only after marrying Sein that she finally calmed down.

Obviously, Natalya had inherited that fiery temper from her mother, Sia. One could easily imagine what Sia must have been like in her younger days!

Kleist’s pestering had finally pushed her too far today. She might have mellowed after giving birth to her daughter, but she was no pushover!

Already on edge from recent frustrations and teetering on the brink of a breakthrough, Sia finally snapped and assaulted Kleist right inside the Divine Tower of Ashes.

The clash between the two demigod-level knights started out evenly matched.

But as Sia’s attacks intensified and her control over demonic flame grew smoother, Kleist found himself gradually forced back despite his ironclad defense.

Among the gathered mages of the Divine Tower of Ashes, most were just there for the spectacle. Only a few, like Sein, could see beyond the surface of the fight.

He had arrived furious at the disturbance inside his tower, but his anger faltered when his eyes landed on Sia in the midst of the battle and saw the faint, swirling traces of flame law surrounding her.

“Hm?”

When he first appeared, he could have ended the fight in an instant. Yet he held back, watching in silence.

The fury that had burned in his gaze slowly faded, replaced by a glimmer of surprise and a hint of satisfaction.

Sia was showing signs of reaching Rank Four.

Compared to the potential gain of another Rank Four powerhouse, the damage to his tower was a small price to pay.

Once he confirmed what he was seeing, Sein had no intention of letting the fight go on.

His aura surged, blanketing the entire battlefield. A vast curtain of pyro elemental energy descended from above, crashing down between the two combatants like a tidal wave.

Every onlooker froze, their faces paling with awe and reverence at the manifestation of Rank Four power.

Those who had participated in the Radbow World War had only felt this surge of energy from afar before.

“Starting a fight here without permission is a violation of the divine tower’s rules! Get your ass out of my tower and pay for the damage!” Sein’s voice thundered, his mental focus carrying it through every corner of the tower.

The curtain of flames turned into a massive net, wrapping around Kleist like a cocoon before hurling him out of the tower as if tossing out a bag of trash.

Still, Sein had no intention of letting him off easily. Marie and the others would see to it that Kleist compensated for the damage before he lifted the binding spell restraining him.

As for Sia... Sein’s fiery elemental palm closed around her midair, immobilizing her completely.

“Hmph.” Sein let out a cold snort and turned away, leaving the scene.

Sia struggled against the blazing grip but was carried off nonetheless.

Watching her being taken away, the mages whispered among themselves.

Most guessed that the demigod-level female knight who had started the fight would be punished more harshly by the tower master.