Izparut stood high in the heavens. Beside him, four other figures hovered in the sky.
A red-haired youth with a massive greatsword slung over his shoulder. A green-haired girl holding a short emerald staff.And... a single, remarkably composed rock.
"Yo! Anzheng!"
"Finally couldnât sit still anymore?" Izparut grinned wildly, looking down at the Level 8 mage below.
Anzhengâs body was withered, hollowâhis eyes and mouth nothing but empty voids.
"Izparut."
"Heh... so this is the âprincipleâ you kept preaching about?"
Izparut brushed his long hair back, not the slightest hint of guilt on his faceâonly a faint smile.
"Well, sorry about that. Iâm not the kind of person who sticks rigidly to rules."
He tapped his temple.
"As a mage, the most important thing is flexibility, Anzheng."
Anzheng remained composed. No anger. No sorrow. Only calm.
"Flexibility."
"What I see... is nothing more than a clown who abandoned his bottom line."
Izparut shrugged, utterly unconcerned.
"Heh. Call it whatever you want."
Thudâ
Obadis stepped forward, positioning himself directly between Anzheng and Izparut.
From his center, an invisible domain spread outward.
Clang!
In an instant, a vast region of space was completely sealed.
A Defender didnât just protect alliesâthey also prevented enemies from escaping. If the opponent tried to flee, the Defender would be the first to intercept. And in doing so, they were the least vulnerable to counterattacks.
Barriers rose in all directions.
Anzheng glanced around.If he wanted to escape now, there was only one wayâ
Kill Obadis.
Akasei grinned.
"Yo, old man."
"I usually donât hit kids, the elderly, or women... but since Iz is such a bastard, I guess Iâll make an exception."
"If youâve got someone to blame, blame this guy with no moral bottom line."
Izparut smirked.
"Did you just invent those rules on the spot?"
Kumironi raised her staff.
"Everyone, weâre facing a Level 8 mage. Please take this seriously."
Ding! Ding ding ding dingâ
Layers of emerald light bloomed across the group.
[Instant Recovery Blessing: Immediate Heal]
[Sustained Extension: Extends Burst Effects]
[Wound Reversal Over Time: Rewinds damage taken]
[Anti-Magic Ring: Negates magic damage]
[Internal Vital Armor: Forms regenerative armor within the body]
[Delayed Death: Slows life dissipation]
[Life Essence Condensation: Stores all healing effects for instant restoration upon damage]
Whooshâ
A dense green radiance poured down from the sky like a waterfall, washing over everyone present. At the same time, a raging emerald storm formed across the battlefield. Every breath replenished vitality.
Within the storm, rain fellâgreen droplets like a torrential downpour.
[Revival Gale] + [Rain of Life]
And at that exact momentâ
Anzheng raised his hand.
The ocean rose. The sky descended.
[8th-Tier Earth Magic â Heaven Falls, Earth Converges]
RUMBLEâ
Obadisâ body expanded instantlyâgrowing to the scale of an island.
Arms braced against the sky. Feet planted in the sea.
He split heaven and earth apart.
BOOM!
In the same instant, a red streak shot forwardâ
Akasei had already reached Anzheng.
[6th-Tier Origin Magic â Absolute Law of All Magic]
Ding!
For a fraction of a momentâeverything froze.
But only for that fleeting instant.
The stillness collapsed onto Obadis aloneâlocked in place as he held apart sky and sea.
Meanwhileâ
Akaseiâs greatsword came crashing down.
[Invincible Style â Tenth Form: God-Slaying Infinity]
A strike as if it could cleave open the world itself.
CLANG!
But in that same instantâ
Anzheng vanished.
The sword cleaved empty airâits aftershock crashing downward.
BOOMâ
The sea split apart.
And Anzheng reappeared high above the sky.
With a single motionâ
Countless magic circles ignited.
[8th-Tier Light Magic â Infinite Radiance of Billions]
Ding!
Hundreds of billions of magic circles unfolded across the sky.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOMâ
Every single one locked ontoâ
Obadis.
Not because Anzheng didnât want to target Akaseiâ
But because all targeting was forcibly drawn to that immovable stone.
Obadis was engulfed in endless beams of light.
Each beam carried the full force of a Tier 6 Light Mageâs attack.
Yetâ
Obadis stood unmoved.
Unbreakable.
Unshaken.
"Disgusting rock."
Akasei laughed.
"Yoâtrying to break Stone Broâs defense?"
"Even I canât do that!"
WHOOSH!
He shot upward againâ
Reappearing before Anzheng.
Anzheng raised his staffâ
Akasei suddenly saw countless lines stretching in every direction.
Anzhengâs Origin Magic governed eternityâunchanging permanence.
[8th-Tier Magic â Instant Annihilation Lines]
SHHHâ
In an instantâ
The battlefield filled with countless thin black lines.
They formedâ
And immediately sliced through Akasei.
SLASH!
His body was cut apart instantly.
Butâ
At the same momentâ
He regenerated completely.
"Useless!"
Akasei swung his sword againâ
CLANG!
The blade cut through countless black linesâ
But its power was greatly reduced.
Anzheng raised his staff.
BOOM!
A black-and-white blast eruptedâ
Swallowing Akasei whole.
This wasnât some random enemy.
This was a peak Level 8 mage on the verge of ascending to Level 9.
BOOM!
The blast was cleaved apartâ
But its remnants remainedâ
Lingering in the world.
What should have been a fleeting spellâ
Now existed eternally.
"This is what a Level 8 mage looks like!"
"But just thisâ"
"Isnât enough!"
Anzheng raised layers upon layers of shieldsâ
Tens of thousandsâ
Each forming part of a massive composite structure.
[Eternal Composite Magic]
"By my originâeternal and unchanging."
BOOM!
Akasei charged againâ
Shattering space, breaking through layers of annihilation linesâ
Cutting through ten thousand shieldsâ
Reaching Anzheng once moreâ
Butâ
A second Anzheng appeared behind him.
Front and backâboth raised their staffs.
"Kumironi! Obadis!"
[Invincible Style â Eleventh Form: World-Crushing Ring]
BOOM!
Akasei struck forwardâ
Shattering the attack aheadâ
Destroying the Anzheng before himâ
But the attack behind him still landed.
Black lines surged againâ
Filling the space permanently.
They sliced through him repeatedlyâ
But he continued charging forwardâ
Relentless.
"Oh~"
A delighted voice echoed through space.
Izparut finally raised his staff.
"6th-Tier Origin Magic â Inner Void."
BOOMâ
Reality collapsed.
In an instant, the world dissolved into chaos.
The black lines vanished.
"Iz..."
Anzhengâs voice echoed from everywhere.
Akasei stood within the chaosâ
Blocking attacks from hundreds of directions.
Anzheng had disappeared.
"Youâll become me someday."
"Why resist so desperately?"
Izparut sighed lightly.
"I told you already."
"I will never become you."
"Donât presume to define someone elseâs fate."
The chaotic space shattered againâ
Revealing a pure white world beneath.
And thereâ
Anzheng stood.
But no longer human.
A distorted beingâwrapped in dark, intangible tendrils.
A shadow trailing behind himâ
As if he could fall into another world at any moment.
Akasei looked up.
"Huh. Second phase?"
Izparut spoke calmly.
"Thatâs his true form."
Akasei grinned.
"Figures."
"But... Iâve got one too."
He crouchedâ
Preparing to leapâ
But Izparut raised a hand.
"Hmm?"
"This is a mageâs battle."
"Youâve done enough."
Akasei paused.
"...Seriously?"
"If he escapes, itâs on you."
Izparut replied calmly.
"If he escapes, itâs entirely my responsibility."
He stepped forwardâ
Ascending into the sky.
A towering presenceâ
As if he were about to overthrow a god.
"Izparut."
"Once, I thought you would become the greatest mage in the world."
"I was right."
"My only regret..."
"...is that I didnât kill you back then."
Izparutâs voice was calmâabsolute.
"If only?"
"If âifâ mattered, you wouldnât still be stuck at Level 8."
"Youâd have reached the Origin long ago."
"Your regrets go far beyond that."
"Come."
"At least youâll die at the hands of the worldâs strongest mage."
The space shattered again.
Black.
White.
[8th-Tier Mind Magic â Eternal Soul Fracture][6th-Tier Mind Transcendent Magic â Indestructible Mind Barrier]
BOOM!
A mental explosion echoed.
Magic flooded realityâ
Only to shatter instantly around Izparut.
"Your magic is outdated, Anzheng."
"If you understood modern magic theory..."
"...you might stand a chance in one timeline."
Magic formedâ
Then collapsed.
"Reverse Deconstruction."
"All magic has structure."
"Understand itâand you can dismantle it."
Izparut walked forward slowlyâ
Untouched.
Thenâ
He pointed behind him.
"There are countless layers of space."
"But if you walk with the elements..."
"...you canât hide from me."
BOOM!
Anzhengâs magic reversedâ
Striking himself.
"Youâre too slow."
"So slow Iâve already undone your magic..."
"...before it even completes."
Anzheng trembled.
He hadnât even seen the attack.
A Level 8 mageâ
Unable to perceive what hit him.
Absurd.
"IZPARUT!"
He roared.
Blood burstâ
His body regenerated.
But every spell he castâ
Was turned against him.
"Use another forbidden spell."
"Otherwise..."
"Youâll never beat me."
"...Fine."
"8th Forbidden Magic â Fate."
A strange sensation filled the air.
Fate.
The most supreme magic.
Anzhengâs body trembledâ
PUFF!
Blood sprayed.
The spell failed.
He couldnât cast it.
Izparutâs expression dimmed slightly.
"...You canât even cast it anymore."
"7th Forbidden Magic â Elements."
Izparut raised his staff.
The world trembled.
All elementsâ
Obeyed him.
BOOM.
The battle ended.
...
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