*Rumble*

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had just struck. It was one of many side effects after the foundation of the land beneath them had completely collapsed.

The center of Altea was once a competitor for the crowning jewel of the continent. A majestic tower, the hub of all magic research and development, once gave the city state theoretical power equal to a member of the Western Kingdom Union. Now, the striking image had been replaced with another: a massive, bottomless crater.

Priscilla looked down at the hole with mixed feelings.

Her face was pale and lips were blue. Her legs had lost all strength and she could only keep herself upright by leaning against nearby rubble.

But she had survived.

She won against the greatest magician on the continent.

It was really a close call. If there was only a little bit more magical power in that attack, she would have been wiped away, just like the tower that once stood before her.

A slight difference ended up dictating the outcome.

Priscilla turned her eyes toward her tightly-held hand.

As she gently stretched her hand, there was a heap of silver powder on her palm. It was the only remnant of the artifact Choir’s Chorus, which once took the form of a set of silver bells. Priscilla looked at it for a moment and closed her eyes.

At that moment, a swarm of light appeared in the air and began to blow through the powder. The power then began to move and within a few moments, regained their original form of bells.

Just as the set of bells was half formed, the light swarm suddenly dimmed and disappeared.

The bells that had been forming returned to powder again.

A gust of wind came at the worst possible time, and the silver powder was irrevocably scattered throughout the battleground.

Priscilla looked at it and her expression gradually hardened, something clearly bothering her. Suddenly, there was a noise behind her.

“We succeeded in neutralizing the rest of Altea, Holy Saint.”

It was a sly voice. As Priscilla turned her head, behind her stood a man with a pierrot mask.

In his hands was someone’s head. Though she didn’t recognize it, she presumed it was the head of Altea’s commander.

“Things here don’t seem to have gone as planned.”

As Pierrot Mask said, the plan itself had failed. Far from achieving its purpose, she lost her secret artifact, and even her personal entourage had died.

Nevertheless, Priscilla looked calm. “We’re lucky to have won.”

The purpose of their attack was to exterminate Desir and Zod, who would become the biggest obstacles in her plan. Though the cost was high, they had accomplished half of their objectives.

Priscilla decided not to be greedy. However, there was one thing that bothered her. ‘The last spell he developed… ’

Priscilla shook her head. No matter how much she assumed, it would be meaningless. Zod was already dead, and there was no way to go back and see what he invoked.

*Rumble*

The ground screamed. The magic that Zod had invoked had dealt a serious blow to the ground that the city was built on. Even though massive damage had been dealt, it was strange that it had not collapsed further.

The center of magic engineering, the Magic Tower, and the city state of Altea would disappear today, fated to become part of the annals of history.

Priscilla turned around. “Prepare for retreat.” “We’re already ready.” *Woo-Woong*

As soon as Pierrot Mask stopped talking, she heard a deafening ringing.

Dozens of large airships floated above them, surrounding Priscilla. No alarm filled her face; this was the Artemis fleet.

“My entourage died. What about your losses?” “None.”

“Some good news, at least.”

Priscilla’s mouth curved into a slight smile. It was simply tremendous that they had not suffered any major losses against Altea.

Of course, they had assumed victory from the start, but they did not expect to take the city so easily.

“As soon as that’s ready, no army will be able to stop us.”

Their plan was only half-completed, but they had already eliminated one of the two biggest obstacles. Victory was beyond feasible.

Their business here was done. The flagship, Brigant, landed, ready for its passengers to board. *Rumble*

“… … !”

Flames erupted everywhere with a tremendous roar. A heat wave of several thousand degrees melted the ground, and the surrounding rubble began to glow red hot. The soaring flame became a tidal wave and washed over the Artemis Church’s forces. To be exact, it flooded towards Priscilla, burning everything in its path.

The Paladins of the Artemis Church responded quickly. Hundreds of paladins responded and a curtain of brilliant light quickly materialized and covered the ship.

*Crash*

But the curtain broke in a flash, unable to hold out for even a moment. The right side of the flagship, swept away by the tidal waves of flames, completely melted and disappeared.

“No, that’s ridiculous!”

Screams came from all over the place.

Such reactions were usual. Each of the Holy Paladins gathered were incredibly talented people. It would have been hard for them to understand how their combined defenses had been instantaneously crushed, unable to hold out for even a moment.

Priscilla looked up at the sky. An airship was barreling towards Altea at a tremendous speed. And she recognized the face of the one boy standing on the deck.

Priscilla’s face was distorted with embarrassment. “Desir… ”

Desir stood on deck and looked down. His expression was chilled to the bone.

As he continued to accelerate the airship’s engine, a gale struck Desir’s face. His hair and the hem of his clothes fluttered like mad, their magically reinforced fibers threatening to rip. Desir’s gaze remained fixed in one place. He was locked on to Priscilla.

The moment Desir saw her standing with Pierrot Mask, the slightest hesitation he had harbored vanished without a trace.

With each passing moment, the airship continued to gain speed, locked in a collision course with Priscilla.

Dozens of Artemis Church ships vibrated as they revved their magic engines in unison. “Protect the Holy Saint!”

“Keep him away from here!”

The Holy Paladins did everything within their power to stop the uninvited guest. They re-deployed their abilities and set up their defenses once more.

A brilliant golden shield began to appear. The remaining half of Brigant was concealed by a wall of pure gold.

But they knew from the previous attack that it would not be enough. That was why they began to deploy other defensive measures on the fleet at the same time.

That was a mistake. Desir’s eyes were wide open when he saw the translucent shield that enveloped each ship.

It was the Aurora System.

It was the first noteworthy project Desir and Zod had worked on in this world. Together they studied, developed, and perfected the system. These murderers, these bastards, dared to use their research against him after what had happened without the slightest bit of hesitation. Sanity was a concept that Desir had long forgone.

Something snapped. Desir could feel something erupting like a volcano inside him, and he fully surrendered himself to the feeling. Normally, anger would cause emotional agitation, which was fatal to any magician’s spell casting, but this was irrelevant to Desir, who had a genius level of computing power. If anything, perhaps the anger would spike his adrenaline, and allow him to eclipse his normal limits.

He stared forward with bloodshot eyes. The only thing he could think about was toppling the enemy that stood before him.

As Desir firmly grabbed his cane, mana began to flow and the airship was perfectly cloaked. *Rumble*

A large chunk of the pulsating ground was torn off and soared into the sky. It began to collapse in on itself, compressing into a massive sphere nearly one hundred feet in diameter. “That’s… !”

All of the Paladins of the Church of Artemis knew what this spell combination was. It was because the magic techniques of Desir, who had been designated as a dangerous person, had been deeply engraved in their mind.

“Spatial Manipulation Unit, forward!”

“Respond to the debris by covering the shield with aura!”

The commanders of the fleet began to respond in a hurry. The paladins moved hurriedly to follow their orders. They were somewhat nervous, but outwardly showed no signs of fear. Planning to counter a well-documented attack was easy.

The magic had already been thoroughly analyzed and they had prepared countermeasures in advance. These people would not have come ready to kill Desir Arman without preparation. Before they could finish preparing, something changed. Several more large chunks of ground shot into the sky.

Gasps of astonishment spread amongst the Holy Paladins. They were all caught off guard, their minds caught in a panic of disarray.

They stared up at the sky blankly, having completely forgotten the need to defend, before someone broke the silence.

“It’s different… ”

Something was different. The magic that was unfolding before their eyes was on a whole different level from what they had prepared for.

*Rumble*

As the number of spheres exceeded ten, the sun was obscured and the sky itself darkened. Some tried to figure out the situation belatedly and make a move, but it was too late.

At the moment the last phrase was completed, Desir pointed before him with his cane. [Meteor Strike]

“Fire.”

It was only a simple act, but the aftermath was anything but simple. *Duwang*

A heavy sound rang out in the sky. With countless meteors showering down, the golden walls, which were many times stronger than their first shield, were torn apart. The defenses, the Aurora Systems, and the battleships themselves, were all swept away.

There was only a huge void left in front of Desir.