Free Web NovelChapter 204: Chapter 199: Wrath
Ian hit the wasteland hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
He lay prone on the ground, gasping for air, his lungs burning as if on fire.
Gaga collapsed beside him, its feathers caked with dust, its small belly heaving violently.
A few seconds later, Ian struggled to sit up and looked back.
The entrance to the Underground Palace was gone.
All that remained was a pile of collapsed rubble and a slowly rotating, shrinking Void vortex.
The vortex flickered one last time and vanished with a soft POP.
In its place, there was only barren Rock and dust.
The Sleeping Underground Palace had completely detached from the Wizard World, drifting away into the unknown Void.
Ian let out a long breath.
He felt inside his robes; both Jade Boxes were there.
The small tree was safe and sound, its Five Fruits arranged in a circle, extending threads to embrace one another.
"Finally... we’re out."
He lay back on the ground, gazing at the dusky sky. For the first time, he found the desolate heavens rather pleasing to the eye.
Gaga shuffled over and nuzzled his face with its head.
"Next time... don’t be so crazy, Gaga..."
Ian smiled but said nothing.
He closed his eyes, sensing the Silver Crystal in his Sea of Spirit, the expanded spiritual sea, and the increased number of faint golden specks of light.
’I’m really not far from Level Two Crystalization.’
’What’s more, I brought out a whole, timid Alchemy Tree, and five living "Physical Transformation" primordials.’
’This trip was a massive win.’
In the distance, at the edge of the wasteland, the faint hum of a Wizard Airship could be heard.
’It must be Shadow Moon Tower, or some other faction, coming to pick people up.’
Ian sat up and patted the dust off his clothes.
"Let’s go, Gaga. Time to head back."
"Go back for a big feast, Gaga?"
"Yeah, a big feast."
The man and his crow didn’t head toward the airship, instead making their own way back to the High Tower.
Behind them, the collapsed ruins gradually receded, eventually disappearing over the horizon.
But Ian knew that the real trouble was likely just beginning.
The Deep Red Royal Court had lost Phoenix and Blood Slaughter, and the Withered Council had lost Samael and the entire Curse of the Dead Squad.
Someone would eventually come to settle this score.
However, that was a problem for the future.
Right now, all he wanted was to go back and get a good night’s sleep.
Then, he would start building the altar and study the crystal of the [Phase Soul Weaving Technique].
’The Otherworld, double the time, double the growth...’
’Just thinking about it is exciting.’
...
「At the collapsed entrance of the Underground Palace」
Three massive Wizard Airships hovered in the sky above the ruins of the Underground Palace entrance.
The Shadow Moon Tower’s airship was silver-gray, its hull emblazoned with the crest of a crescent moon and stars, which shimmered faintly in the dim light.
The Deep Red Royal Court’s airship resembled a crouching behemoth. Its dark red Metal hull was carved with burning crowns and twisted, blood-colored Runes, exuding a thick, sanguine stench.
The Withered Council’s airship was the most sinister of all. Its gray-black wooden hull was shrouded in a thin aura of death, and several strings of dried, bony skulls hung from the bow, their hollow eye sockets flickering with eerie green flames.
The three airships faced off in a triangular formation, each separated by several hundred meters.
On the decks of the three airships, Wizards were boarding one after another.
They were all survivors who had escaped the Underground Palace, each one disheveled, injured, and deathly pale.
Their numbers... were pitifully small.
On the Shadow Moon side, including Hogan and Catherine, a total of twelve people had made it out. Baal, "Dark Language," had died in the Underground Palace.
Deep Red had six survivors, and Withered also had six. Most of them happened to be people who had not gone to the core of the Underground Palace.
The Wizards from the smaller factions fared even worse; all told, there were fewer than five of them.
A century ago, when the Underground Palace last opened, each of the three major factions had sent at least twenty people, and the smaller factions had sent about ten combined.
Now... fewer than thirty remained.
And these were Level One Wizards, not Apprentices.
「Shadow Moon Airship - Command Cabin」
Hogan and Catherine, their faces pale, stood before a white-haired old man.
The old man wore a silver-gray Long Robe, its edges embroidered with intricate Star Orbit patterns.
His face was deeply wrinkled, but his eyes were as bright as two stars, and a galaxy seemed to swirl in their depths.
This was Callum, a Level Two Crystalized Wizard nicknamed "Star Orbit."
"You’re saying..." Callum’s voice was calm, each word spoken slowly.
"...that Ian Marcus, by himself, killed Blood Slaughter of the Deep Red Royal Court, as well as Samael and the entire Curse of the Dead Squad from the Withered Council?"
Hogan’s throat bobbed. He managed a difficult nod.
"And... and he directly wounded... that monster from the depths of the Underground Palace."
Catherine’s voice was faint as she added:
"And Crystal Silk Thread... I saw it with my own eyes. He used Crystal Silk Thread to kill a Liquidation Wizard in a single blow!"
A dead silence fell over the command cabin.
The faces of several Shadow Moon Stewards and Elders all changed.
’Crystal Silk Thread?’
’Is that a technique a Wizard who just recently advanced to Level One should possess?!’
A flicker of light passed through Callum’s eyes.
He walked to a porthole and looked out at the distant airships of the Deep Red Royal Court and the Withered Council. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Interesting. A job well done."
’Ian didn’t board the ship to return to the tower with everyone else. He must have his reasons.’
’With the power he’s shown, I’m afraid even a Crystalized Wizard might not be able to...’
「Deep Red Airship - Blood-Sacrifice Hall」
CRACK!
The armrest of a dark red Metal chair was crushed by a hand with bulging veins.
Shards flew everywhere.
In the center of the hall stood a bald, powerfully built man, two meters tall and covered in dark red Scale Armor.
A hideous scar ran across his forehead, from his left brow bone down to the right corner of his mouth, like a centipede clinging to his face.
This was the Deep Red Royal Court’s Level Two Crystalized Wizard: Bazaar, "Blood Blade."
"Phoenix... is dead?"
His voice was like two pieces of rusty metal grinding together—harsh and cold.
Kneeling below him were six heavily injured Level One Wizards, the survivors who had escaped the Underground Palace.
One of them, a Witch, looked up, trembling, her face still etched with fear.
"Y-Yes, Lord Bazaar... Lord Phoenix was... dragged into the cocoon by that thing... Not even his bones were left..."
"And Blood Slaughter?"
"Lord Blood Slaughter... was killed by Ian Marcus..."
Another Warlock gritted his teeth. "It must have been that terrifying black sphere..."
Bazaar’s eyes slowly turned red.
It wasn’t the red of anger, but a true sanguine light spilling from the depths of his pupils, like two burning, blood-red lanterns.
"Ian... Marcus..."
He repeated the name, each syllable squeezed through his teeth.
"A Level One Wizard... killed the Blood Slaughter Squad... and directly wounded that monster?"
"Y-Yes..." the Witch’s voice grew quieter.
"He... the techniques he used, we’ve never seen them... a purple beam, Ice and Fire Interweaving... and that black sphere that devours everything..."
Bazaar fell silent for a moment.
Only the sound of heavy breathing and the spreading stench of blood filled the hall.
A few seconds later, he spoke slowly, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"Notify the Royal Court Headquarters."
"Shadow Moon Tower has produced a demon."
"He is... unrivaled below the level of Crystalization, hehe."
Bazaar turned, looking in the direction of the Shadow Moon Airship, the bloody light in his eyes surging.
Behind him, a middle-aged Warlock spoke in a low voice.
"My lord, should we make a move now? While that kid hasn’t returned to the High Tower..."
"Idiot."
Bazaar didn’t turn his head, his voice like ice.
"Callum is on that ship. Level Two Star Track Witchcraft... Can you defeat him?"
The middle-aged Warlock froze.
"Then... are we just going to let it go?"
"Let it go? How could we? First, have someone tail him."
Bazaar grinned, revealing bone-white teeth in a hideous smile.
"That kid can’t hide in the High Tower forever... As long as he comes out..."
He clenched his fist, his knuckles emitting a sharp CRACK.
"The moment he leaves Shadow Moon’s sphere of influence... notify me immediately."
「Withered Airship - Chamber of Silence」
The gray-black cabin was dimly lit.
Six gray-robed figures stood in a circle before a silhouette seated on a throne of white bone.
The person on the throne was completely shrouded in a wide gray robe, their face hidden in the shadow of the hood. Only two points of eerie green fire could be seen flickering within.
The Withered Council’s Level Two Crystalized Wizard: Selas, "Wraith Speaker."
"Theodore and Samael... are dead?"
The voice was hoarse and dry, like two withered bones grinding together.
"Yes," the leading gray-robed figure responded in a low voice. "The leader and the entire Curse of the Dead Squad... are all..."
"How did they die?"
"They died at the hands of Ian Marcus... and three others were forced into the Silk Thread Tide by him..."
The eerie flames under Selas’s hood flickered.
"Explain in detail."
The gray-robed man recounted everything that had happened in the Underground Palace, from beginning to end.
From Ian’s entrance, to Theodore’s sudden, grievous injury and death from having his heart torn out by a single punch, to the Ice and Fire Spiral Beam killing two more in succession...
With every sentence spoken, the temperature in the cabin dropped.
By the time he finished, the entire Chamber of Silence was as cold as an icehouse.
"Crystal Silk Thread... Ice and Fire Annihilation Beam... Black Collapse Ball..."
Selas slowly repeated these terms, the eerie flames flickering faster and faster.
"A Level One Alchemist... Gaga."
He suddenly began to laugh, a dry, unpleasant sound like the cry of a night owl.
"Shadow Moon... really found a treasure. I hear he hasn’t even been Level One for a year!"
The laughter stopped abruptly.
He began to communicate with a Crystal Ball on the table. A gray mist filled the orb, and several blurry figures faintly appeared within.
"Ian Marcus... confirmed?"
An old, hoarse voice emanated from the Crystal Ball.
"Yes," Selas rasped.
"A Level One Wizard who has mastered Crystal Silk Thread, the Ice and Fire Annihilation Beam, Gravity Witchcraft, and an unknown black explosive... His physical strength is suspected to have reached the Peak of Liquidation."
There was a moment of silence from the Crystal Ball.
"Is there any possibility of recruiting him?"
"Zero chance." Selas shook his head. "He is pure Shadow Moon, and... he is extremely ruthless."
"Then kill him."
The old voice was cold.
"The Council will dispatch the ’Blade of Decay’... deal with him before he advances to Level Two."
"That was my intention as well."
The gray mist in the Crystal Ball dissipated, and the images vanished.
Selas leaned back on his throne, the eerie flames flickering.
’Ian Marcus...’
He mulled over the name, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes before being overwhelmed by an even thicker killing intent.
’A monster like that cannot be allowed to live.’
Aboard the three airships, the gazes of all the Wizards fell upon the collapsed ruins, then uncontrollably shifted toward the Shadow Moon Airship.
Ian’s name was like a red-hot brand, searing itself into everyone’s mind.
「Shadow Moon Lounge」
Hogan was slumped in a chair, holding a cup of hot tea, his hands still trembling.
Catherine sat across from him, her face pale and her eyes dazed.
"Hogan..." she suddenly said, her voice dry. "What... what level of power do you think Ian has now?"
Hogan was silent for a long time. "I don’t know."
’Perhaps he already has the ability to contend with a Level Two Wizard.’
’Crystalized Wizards... that’s a group of old monsters who can live for a thousand years.’
"The leader from Withered... Peak of Liquidation, specializing in Death Witchcraft and close combat... Ian tore his heart out in a single move."
"And that Ice and Fire Spiral Beam... did you see it? Freezing and incinerating at the same time... That’s not an effect normal Witchcraft should have..."
Catherine nodded, then shook her head.
"I don’t understand... How long has it been since he advanced to Level One? Half a year? A year? How did he do it?"
Hogan gave a bitter smile.
"A demon... is a monster by definition."
The first time he’d heard of Ian was not long ago, when the Wizards of Shadow Moon Tower were discussing him. He hadn’t actually thought much of it.
’A Magic Potion Alchemist gets lucky and kills one gray-robe, and suddenly he’s being praised to the heavens.’
’But how much time has passed since then?’
"The Tower Master... will definitely try to win him over," Catherine said in a low voice.
"Talent like this... combat power like this... Shadow Moon Tower hasn’t seen its like in centuries."
Hogan said nothing.
The three airships rose into the sky one after another, heading off in three different directions.
But everyone knew.
This wasn’t over.
