Sovereign of the Ashes

The Dawn Empire knew very little about these demons.

That was mainly because there was barely any activity from their kind near its star domains. Instead, the surrounding regions were populated by many savage species unfamiliar even to Sein.

Their lack of understanding of demons, combined with the gruesome scenes spread across the battlefield, kept the Dawn Empire’s vanguard legions on high alert.

Sein himself, however, did not feel particularly disturbed. The demonic bloodline within him gave him a natural affinity toward demonkind.

Moreover, after so many dealings with the Spider Queen and even extensive interactions with Faeloria’s purgatory demons, Sein had long suspected that the Magus Civilization maintained some deep, hidden connection with demons and devils alike.

No one had ever told him this directly. Everything had been pieced together through his own observations and deductions.

Even Lorthisra herself had never openly admitted anything.

Eventually, near the wreckage of a shattered warship still coated in foul-smelling green slime, Sein and the others discovered a severed palm.

“This belonged to a Rank Four creature. Judging by the condition of the wound, it probably died not long ago. Most likely, it was devoured alive,” Sein said calmly.

Then, with practiced precision, he quickly turned the severed hand into a specimen and stored it away.

After all, Sein had never encountered creatures from Divine Descendants World before.

This was an excellent addition to his collection.

At the same time, the newly arrived Dawn Empire forces were carefully sweeping through the battlefield, checking for hidden dangers.

As Sein looked around at the Dawn Empire troops, he even wondered whether he could ask them to collect a few low-level Divine Descendants World specimens for him as well.

“Grand General, Lord Gong Shuye says he can still track the scent of the creatures that left earlier. Should we pursue them?” a Rank Five commander stepped forward and asked Gongsun Wudi.

Besides martial cultivators, the Dawn Empire also possessed various lesser-known professions, though none were considered mainstream.

Gong Shuye was one such special case. He specialized in tracking, divination, ritual arts, and similar fields. While his direct combat prowess was limited, his value in other areas was beyond question.

As Gongsun Wudi fell into thought, Sein noticed her hesitation.

Just as he was about to suggest leaving the demons alone, the Dawn Emperor’s decree echoed from deep within the main army.

“Continue the march.”

Clearly, he had also been observing the situation ahead.

As an overlord-level being, the Emperor had probably sensed the abnormalities far earlier than everyone else, and his perception was naturally far sharper.

Since the Emperor had spoken, the Dawn Empire commanders at the front raised no objections.

The army continued onward along its predetermined star chart route.

After returning to the imperial chariot, the first thought that crossed Sein’s mind was that the Dawn Emperor did not seem particularly concerned about those demons.

***

Not long after resuming their march, Sein and the others finally encountered their first real battle on the outskirts of the Magus Civilization’s war zone.

The native creatures of Divine Descendants World were generally short and stocky in appearance, with tough gray skin.

After establishing their faith-based system, the powerhouses of Divine Descendants World had not limited their followers to members of their own race alone.

Ignorant creatures from countless other planes—beings completely unrelated to them—had also become primary targets for Divine Descendants World’s deities to spread their faith.

This was likely tied to the extremely low birth rate of the civilization’s dominant species.

These dominant natives referred to themselves as the “Divine Descendants”.

Those who reached Rank Four and above naturally became gods, bearing various divine titles.

Although beings below Rank Four had yet to attain true divinity, they were still called “Divine Children” or “Divine Descendants”.

Thanks to the unique cultivation systems developed by their civilization, even these lower-ranking beings could wield a portion of faith power to strengthen themselves.

The first force to intercept the Dawn Empire Army was a Divine Descendants World legion led by dozens of gods.

With the Dawn Empire openly marching across nearly a third of Divine Descendants World’s territory, there was no way they could simply ignore it.

Truthfully, they probably wanted to. Unfortunately, the Gallant Federation would never allow it—otherwise a few of their ruling deities might have already been replaced.

Judging from the forces Divine Descendants World deployed, however, trying to block the Dawn Empire’s massive army was clearly a hopeless effort.

Divine Descendants World’s overgod had not appeared yet either.

Their resistance felt more like a delaying tactic, relying on wave after wave of defensive skirmishes.

On the Dawn Empire’s side, the Emperor also did not personally enter battle right away.

After all, the strongest enemy present was only a late-stage Rank Six deity.

Gongsun Wudi thrust her halberd forward, and the Dawn Empire’s vanguard legions surged ahead like a tidal wave.

Not long after, Sein also entered the battlefield. He wanted to test some of his latest magic research in actual combat.

As a foreign civilization that had risen through the power of faith, Divine Descendants World was particularly interesting because its armies were heavily integrated with the Gallant Federation’s technology.

With his sharp eyes and quick judgment, Sein quickly locked onto a Rank Five Divine Descendants World creature wielding storm power—the Hurricane God.

Behind him, Fermera appeared.

A deep blue flash of law power rippled outward, followed by a series of strange distortions. Then, a layer of flowing silver metal spread across Sein’s body.

Eight silver wings unfurled behind his back. Though they still carried the sacred radiance and holy aura of an angel, the sharp barbs along their lower edges and the flesh-like veins connecting them together lent them a distinctly demonic air of brutality and savagery.

These wings combined the traits of both angels and demons, and the sharp contrast between their opposing auras left an especially striking impression.

An outer layer of armor, resembling a Gallant Federation mobile suit, was fitted directly over Sein’s body.

In terms of apperance, Sein had indeed borrowed certain design concepts from federal mobile suits.

After taking apart and studying so many of them, he naturally knew that the Gallant Federation had already optimized their models to an incredible degree in areas like mobility, energy efficiency, and combat performance.

That said, the overall design still came from the optimal calculations provided by the Magic Cube.

Fermera had also contributed plenty of suggestions during the development process, and Sein ended up adopting many of them.

A lightsaber emitting unique energy fluctuations extended from Sein’s mechanically enhanced right hand.

At the same time, his left hand transformed into a sharp demonic claw.

In terms of size and appearance, Sein’s fully integrated form was not all that different from his usual Ashen Demon form.

However, beneath the armor, his true form was still that of a human mage from Magus World.

“Uh... how are you feeling?” Sein asked, a slight headache forming as he looked at the countless elemental interfaces and glowing data screens surrounding him inside the angel mobile suit.

As expected, being a mage and piloting a mobile suit were completely different experiences.

Although Sein had already conducted countless experiments and performed several test runs in partial-armament mode, actually entering the battlefield in a deeply synchronized state felt different.

“It feels... a little strange...” Fermera’s voice echoed beside his ears.

Sein’s current form was the culmination of one of his main research projects in recent years.

In truth, he had already begun conceptualizing this project back during the war at the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization ruins.

Only recently had he finally managed to turn some of his more outrageous ideas into reality.

Fermera possessed combat strength comparable to a Rank Six being, and with the Magic Cube acting as a bridge between them, Sein’s hybrid mechanical system theoretically allowed him to draw directly upon her power.

The development of this idea was also closely tied to his later encounters with the Rank Six mechanic named Welks and his heavily modified Molten Steel T-Rex King.

And if Welks could perform such deep modifications along with further mechanical enhancements to the Molten Steel T-Rex King, then there was no reason Sein could not do the same!

“Maybe I should ask Yuri about her experience piloting the Burning Flame Unit later,” Sein mused.

A blinding flash burst from the lightsaber in his hand as he charged straight toward the enemy ahead.

The Rank Five Hurricane God, Alaga, was initially alarmed by the Rank Six energy fluctuations radiating from Fermera.

But the moment Arraga saw Fermera merge directly with Sein, the bizarre sight left him momentarily stunned.

After the fusion, Sein and Fermera’s combined aura became somewhat unstable and chaotic. This was likely because the merging process was still incomplete and their synchronization level remained low.

At times, the energy they emitted seemed to belong to a Rank Five being. At other moments, it clearly surged to Rank Six.

Since Sein retained the dominant consciousness after the fusion, the core aura naturally reflected his own Rank Five strength.

The Rank Six fluctuations, meanwhile, came from Fermera. Now functioning as an integrated extension of Sein’s combat system, Fermera could channel her own Rank Six strength into him, temporarily elevating his combat power to that level.

This was one of Sein’s newly developed power—a way that might allow him to fight beyond his own rank.

The core concept behind this fusion was actually derived from Magus World’s mechanics arts and had little to do with the Gallant Federation’s mobile suits themselves.

Of course, the world-class secret treasure known as the Magic Cube had also played a crucial role in making this possible.

As Sein entered the battlefield in this fused state, Gongsun Wudi observed him from the distant starry void with clear interest in her eyes.

The sense of novelty this Magus World mage brought her had never faded over time. If anything, he constantly found new ways to surprise her.

Gongsun Wudi did not know whether this was unique to Sein alone or simply a trait shared by all Magus World mages.

Innovation, experimentation, and the endless pursuit of the truths of the universe were the very foundation of a mage’s power.

Clad in white-gold armor, Gongsun Wudi could not help but comment, “What a strange fighting style. Next time, I’ll have him spar with me in that form instead.”