Sovereign of the Ashes

Beatrice, however, held no fondness for Sein.

Beings from Marvelous Plane resonated more deeply with nature and life itself.

Meanwhile, Sein exuded a demonic, sulfuric stench from head to toe and carried the menacing auras of Verdant Flame and Ashen Flame!

Had Lorianne been here, or any other dendromancers or hydromancers from Magus World, Beatrice probably would have gotten along with them just fine.

Even the gentler planes of the Magus Alliance, like the Grand Elven World or Activator Fairy World, would have had a much easier time building ties with someone from Marvelous Plane.

Beatrice did not respond to Sein.

She was not good with research; she simply felt sorry for the Klytheran boy. He was still so young, yet already burdened with so much physical suffering.

At this point, she had not yet realized that all lower-ranking Klytherans were this frail and prone to physical defects because their environment lacked inert crystals.

While Beatrice remained silent, Sein continued on his own.

“Klytherans are without a doubt among the most gifted and promising species I’ve seen in the Astral Realm.”

“Even an intermediate initiate from the Magus World could not fly at that stage. Yet that boy can already harness the power in his Klytherite to lift himself into the air. Truly remarkable,” he marveled.

With a sigh, he continued, “But for Klytherans, the Klytherite is both a blessing and a curse. With enough inert crystals, they can grow faster than creatures from most planes. But if their environment lacks that essential element... it spells disaster for the entire race.”

“I wonder if we could develop an inert crystal to replace this Gray Quartz,” he mused, stroking his chin.

That, however, was an entirely different research, one far beyond his current capability.

Even with years of studying the Gray Quartz mined from Blue Star, he still found it difficult to extract its inert energy. It was even harder to study the deeper properties hidden within the crystal.

If research and application were already this difficult, then trying to replicate or mass-produce it would be no different from trying to ascend to the heavens!

Inert crystals were a specialized form of condensed energy used by only a handful of races and civilizations across the Astral Realm. They were far from a mainstream energy source.

“Mage Sein, is power and slaughter all you ever think about? If you spent more time considering how to make the world a better place, you could bring happiness to countless beings,” Beatrice shot back immediately.

Sein was not at all bothered by Beatrice’s disapproving remark or her subtle disgust.

People had different ambitions. Among the Magus World mages he had met, many disliked combat and instead threw themselves into research for everyday life.

Some dendromancers specialized in developing high-yield magic seeds to improve crops, flooding the Magus Alliance market with them, while the alchemists devoted most of their time to researching and forging specialized magic alloys.

Many of Magus World’s space fortresses, war airships, and other platforms relied on the innovations of these researchers.

Mages like Lorianne possessed apothecary talent that, if fully developed, could improve countless lives across Magus World and the Magus Alliance.

It was exactly this diversity of mages that built the flourishing magic civilization Magus World enjoyed today.

Sein was just an ordinary man. As Beatrice pointed out, most of his pursuits had been revolved around increasing the lethality of his magic and weapons.

Even his venture into alchemy was driven by the desire to make more destructive magic artifacts.

After thinking for a while, Sein finally said, “Chasing ultimate destructive power was the path I chose the moment I became a magic initiate. Maybe someday, when I reach the very peak of power and nothing in this world can threaten me anymore, I might consider doing something that benefits all of Magus World, or even the entire Astral Realm.”

“Hmph. With your current strength, who could possibly threaten you, Mage Sein?” Beatrice asked.

“You think I’m strong only because you haven’t met anyone stronger. The strongest warriors in your Marvelous Plane are probably Rank Five at most, right? And in the nearby star domains, there haven’t been any major wars involving medium-sized planes or larger for years,” Sein said.

He sighed and went on, “Once you see more worlds and civilizations, you’ll realize that Rank Four and Rank Five beings like us aren’t that impressive. Only those Rank Four beings from ignorant, isolated planes are foolish enough to call themselves gods.”

“I would not presume to call myself a goddess, but you have definitely piqued my interest in those worlds and civilizations you mentioned,” Beatrice said. “I hope traveling with you into Magus Civilization territory won’t disappoint me.”

“The war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation is still ongoing. I doubt you will be disappointed. You might even get a good scare when the time comes,” Sein replied with a smile.

Beatrice rolled her eyes and walked off.

As Sein watched the female warrior leave, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “What kind of power system do the beings of Marvelous Plane follow, anyway? I would love to strap her to an experimental table and study her properly...”

***

The migration of the Klytheran survivors from this crimson planet to the region near Blue Star was a monumental undertaking.

Fortunately, the Blue Star natives held no grudges toward them and were kind to a degree that bordered on astonishing.

The relocation of forty million Klytheran survivors received massive support from Blue Star’s inhabitants.

Countless technologically advanced vessels were dispatched to the outskirts of the crimson planet during this time.

As the Klytheran survivors boarded the ships, Kram, who was standing next to Sein, suddenly let out a sigh.

“I think I understand Karl now. If I had to fight these Blue Star creatures right this moment, I doubt I could bring myself to do it either,” she said.

She was not the only one feeling this way. Sein noticed that most of the Klytheran fighters now looked at these seemingly frail Blue Star natives with conflicted emotions buried deep beneath the surface.

These Blue Star beings clearly had their own ways of surviving—enough to evolve this far while still maintaining friendly ties with so many civilizations.

Not to mention, Sein himself had once told the Blue Star Chairman that after joining the Magus Alliance, they might even receive some of the technological secrets the Magus Civilization had seized from the Gallant Federation.

Without even realizing it, Sein, too, had fallen under the spell of these Blue Star natives!

He simply could not summon any sense of hostility or wariness toward such gentle, helpful beings. If anything, he found himself thinking of them first whenever opportunities arose.

“A civilization like Blue Star’s must be incredibly rare across the entire Astral Realm,” Sein murmured.