Legacy of the Dark Sage

SCREEEEEECH!

An ear-splitting sound, like a metal scraping on a metal surface, reverberated through the vicinity, shattering the peace and plunging everyone into chaos.

The Blade Dancer Clan executives did not go unscathed as well. Unlike the low-leveled Sovereigns, they managed to protect themselves from the sound's effect. Nonetheless, they barely stayed afloat while covering their ears.

Tap!

CRACKLE!

With a suddenness that left everyone breathless, The Emperor vanished, only to materialize directly in front of the black mage.

The Emperor's movement was so quick that even the black mage failed to react when he appeared and unleashed a fist, which was covered with concentrated Light magic energy.

BOOM!

Lucian's fist connected with the black mage's torso with a force that could be felt in the air. The impact sent the black mage hurtling through the sky, a mere speck in the distance within seconds.

Lucian did not simply watch the black mage; he dashed forward, following the path where the latter was traversing, and raised his hand. A golden orb resembling a small sun appeared above the palm of his hand. Small rune writings swirled around the orb and hundreds of shards made of Light magic appeared around him.

With a graceful flick of his hand, the light shards flew toward the black mage, who had yet to regain his balance after getting hit and thrown.

Before the light shards hit the black mage, he somersaulted in midair and stepped on an invisible wall, breaking the momentum of when he was hurled back. After which, the air sizzled around him as the space around him distorted.

Crackle! Crackle!

KRSSHHK!

Deep red concentrated magic energies emerged from the distortions and collided with the light shards like bolts of lightning.

The collision of the red lightning and the light shards formed a spectacle in the sky, like fireworks at midday.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Following this, the Blade Dancer Clan executives also made their move.

They exploded with powerful auras as they used Weapon magic.

Several weapons that signify the Blade Houses filled the sky and also attacked the black mage.

"Extras should stay back and watch."

The black mage did not say those words aloud. However, his voice resounded in the air and was heard loud and clear by everyone within the vicinity.

Following his words, red light spread outward within the black mage's body. The moment this red light touched the weapons flying towards him, they turned red and crumbled into clouds of dust.

"Guah!"

The executives whose summoned weapons were destroyed spat out a mouthful of blood. They suffered the repercussions of their weapons' destruction. Those weapons were not simply molded into weapons after all; they were manifestations of their core.

"YOU!"

Lucian's voice boomed like thunder as he saw the red light coming spreading out from the black mage's body. The black mage before him was not his prey. Rather, it was someone he believed would never step foot in the Higher Realm ever again. After all, that someone's clan had been destroyed. This included the path they could enter to leave or return to the Higher Realm from the Lower Realm.

"AZAZEL!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

The black mage, who was, in fact, Ruin, burst out in manic laughter as he lowered the hood of his coat. His red eyes flashed as he gazed with such murderous intent at Lucian.

"Did my presence confuse you just now? Your expression when you first saw me looks so much better~. Did I look like someone you know?"

Ruin paused, his eyes glinted malevolently and turned his slight smile into a wicked grin.

"...Say...like the human with the Void core, perhaps?"

Instead of responding to Ruin's provocation, Lucian's magic pressure exploded, bringing not only the citizens below to their knees but every living being in the plane.

"Y-Your Majesty! P-Please— s-stay your hand!" Geir and the other Blade House leaders pleaded as they barely summoned a protective barrier to shield the executives and the citizens below from The Emperor's pressure.

The array formation on the City of Blade Chakram was also activated upon Geir's will. As a matter of fact, all array formations all over the plane that protected the cities activated.

Ruin's expression remained unfazed in front of Lucian's overwhelming magic pressure. However, that did not mean he was completely unaffected. His complexion had slightly turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down his back. There were a few beads of sweat around the side of his face, but they were barely visible because of his long hair.

"You have made the wrong decision to come here."

"Yeah~? I don't agree, though—."

BOOOM!

A flash of golden light erupted from above, following which several pillars of golden light fell down, forming a circular wall as if to imprison Ruin.

Ruin did not stay idle. He responded in kind as the space right next to where the golden pillars of light fell from distorted. Similar pillars fell on the golden ones. The only difference was that they emitted a blood-red glow that collided with the golden pillars.

Sizzle! Crackle!

"I am no longer the ignorant little mage you used for your own benefit, Lucian—!"

SCREEEEEECH!

Lucian's eyes flashed as another ear-splitting sound shook the sky. This time around, the sound was far louder and powerful, and everyone nearby would have their eardrums shattered. It would have been the case if they were humans.

But since the citizens and visitors alike below and the executives of the Blade Dancer Clan only changed their appearances to look human-like for better movement, the effect of the sound almost shattered their disguises.

For a few split seconds, their bodies distorted, and their true form fleeted in between the distortions.

Obviously, Lucian created that sound to filter or even make them forget Ruin speaking his true name. To be honest, he could have just ignored it since no one would actually dare challenge him just because they discovered his real name. However, there were still crazy mages out there who did not know better and would really dare.

Just like Ruin.

The sky continued to crackle with a frightening amount of magic fluctuation as Ruin's red pillars and Lucian's golden ones clashed.

Lucian was not one to stay idle. He raised his hand, holding the golden orb, and summoned what appeared to be a miniature sun.

If Kyran were there, he would find them similar to the one Zuri used when she fought against Styx back in a friendly competition in the Human plane. However, there were several differences between the two, and they were all huge.

For one, Zuri only managed to summon one miniature sun. Lucian, on the other hand, summoned several miniature suns at a time. Second, the amount of magic energy coming from Lucian's miniature suns was incomparable to Zuri's. As a matter of fact, the magic energy in Zuri's miniature sun was akin to a small fire that could be extinguished at any moment.

In comparison, Lucian's were that of the flame from the sun itself.

Ruin's expression faltered for a brief moment upon seeing Lucian's miniature suns.

He was not the only one, as the Blade Dancer Clan executives, Geir, and the house leaders also paled.

"Y-Your Majesty!"

Obviously, they knew what would happen if Lucian released those miniature suns. It would destroy not only the array formations protecting the cities below but also the plane itself. That was how powerful those miniature suns were.

"I should not have allowed the Demon plane to fall that day. I should have obliterated it when it was still part of the Higher Realm."

"Hot-tempered as always~," Ruin said with a playful smirk. Nonetheless, it was starting to show that he was not as confident as he appeared earlier.

To be honest, he was barely countering the golden pillars with his magic. If not, he would have already made a move to stop Lucian from summoning those miniature suns.

Still, that did not mean the situation was hopeless.

There was a reason Ruin came there, and it was not because of Lucian.

Lucian might be the object of his revenge, but he would not risk his life by showing up there like that.

Right. He was not really risking his life, as he was not in his real body.

If Ruin had come with his body, he would not have been able to fool Lucian.

'Right... this is not my body... which means... he would not stand idle and allow it to be destroyed...'

"I don't really care what happened to this plane~ but if you unleashed that spell, you will regret it~."

Lucian ignored Ruin's warning and raised his hands.

"P-Please, Your Majesty! Don't do this!"

Lucian heard Geir plead from somewhere behind but also ignored him. After seeing Alta's memories from the soul thread, he had been contemplating how to get rid of the Blade Dancer Clan. However, he felt it would raise such a huge commotion if he dealt with them himself; thus, he planned on using them first by sending them to the Lower Realm before reducing them one after another.

But now that an opportunity for him to obliterate the whole Blade Dancer Clan presented itself, there was nothing stopping him from taking advantage of it.

He would get rid of Azazel and the ungrateful Blade Dancer Clan altogether.

"Just think about it~," Ruin continued with a teasing tone. "Would I really appear here in my real body?"

Upon Ruin's question, Lucian's raised hand faltered slightly.

"Or did you already forget the presence you felt that made you mistake me for someone else~?"

Before Lucian or anyone else could fully process what Ruin had said, the sky crackled as a huge distortion appeared overhead.

Moreover, the magic fluctuation that filled the surroundings emitted an ominous sensation akin to a calamity about to happen.

'This presence—!'

FOOOOM!

A faint purple veil covered the whole space in the blink of an eye, removing all forms of sound. In fact, it seemed to have stopped the flow of magic energy in the surroundings as well.

Void Dimension.