The old witch returned far faster and far more unnaturally than either Lucian or Adam had anticipated. Before he began infiltrating the Control Crystal Sphere, Lucian had carefully checked whether the arcane tower's core contained an internal teleportation circle — he wanted to make sure the old witch hadn't incorporated the underground ruins into the tower's range, which would allow her to teleport straight back. The results had been reassuring: none of the countermeasures he feared were in place. Who could have guessed that the old witch had cast "Position Exchange" on her own "illusion"?
If Lucian and the others didn't destroy the illusion, she could sense the tower being invaded and swap back instantly. If they did destroy it, she'd be warned of the intrusion in advance, giving her plenty of time to return by other means. Strip away her frequent bouts of madness, and the old witch was actually a remarkably clever high-ranking mage!
Right now, Lucian was attempting to erase the mark inside the Control Crystal Sphere and simply couldn't afford to be distracted — nor would he allow himself to be. If he temporarily abandoned seizing control of the core to dodge the old witch's magic, there would never be another chance. A high-ranking mage of at least seventh-circle standing, backed by her own arcane tower — how could a fourth-circle mage who'd lost every piece of his equipment possibly stand against that? He probably wouldn't even be able to block a single spell!
"Everything else can wait — pour everything into seizing the Control Crystal Sphere!" Lucian didn't so much as glance at the old witch. His spiritual energy surged at full force toward the mark at the core. He wouldn't worry about whether Adam might betray him, whether Adam might flee at the critical moment, or whether Adam might buy him any time at all. He wouldn't dwell on whether the "Spell Absorption Wall," "Stone Skin," "Flame Shield," "Mechanical Mind," and "Ghost Armor" on his body could withstand even a single spell from the old witch once she freed her hands. And he certainly wouldn't calculate how many spells she could cast in ten seconds. He focused with absolute intensity on grasping that one slender chance, refusing to give up however slim the hope.
When the old witch initiated her Position Exchange, years of accumulated fear caused Adam to involuntarily take a step backward. His body trembled slightly, as though he might at any moment turn and flee or drop to his knees begging for mercy. But sensing Lucian's calm and unwavering focus through the Lesser Mental Link, his fists clenched tight and his deep blue pupils darkened to fathomless depths.
They had already come this far. Advancing meant death; retreating meant death. So why not fight with everything they had? Was he supposed to pin his hopes on groveling and flattering his way to a few wretched extra breaths? He'd rather die splendidly, die with honor! To have become a fifth-rank Great Knight — regardless of madness, killing, perversion, or corruption — one never lacked the will to fight. That was the very foundation of a knight!
A low growl, like that of a wild beast, rumbled from Adam's throat. He dissolved into a mass of deep darkness and lunged toward the desk just a few paces behind the old witch, who had just completed her position exchange. Dark ripples shimmered through the air. If he could block even one round of her attacks and force her into casting recovery, it would buy Lucian several precious seconds — their only hope!
Seeing the darkness descend like a curtain over her, the old witch let out a piercing, terrifying shriek. Invisible magical ripples flared outward, and then the darkness suddenly solidified and turned transparent, like a sheet of freshly blown glass. The Dark Assimilation ripples spreading outward vanished swiftly. This "black glass" plummeted to the ground with a crashing sound, shattering into shards across the floor.
Adam materialized, but more than half his body was gone. The remnants — his head and part of his left chest — were still locked in a glass-like state.
Sixth-circle spell: "Durag's Glass Transmutation." Capable of transforming a living creature or an object of a certain size into glass!
In a single spell, Adam had lost all combat capability. Only the formidable life force of a Great Knight kept him from passing out.
Seizing the two seconds the old witch had spent dealing with Adam, Lucian's spiritual energy that had infiltrated the core of the Crystal Sphere suddenly expanded and began to oscillate with strange vibrations. Invisible waves propagated outward, setting the entire core space shaking violently.
"Spirit Resonance Technique" — a technical achievement of the Arcane Council within the last fifty years. It could effectively assist mid- and low-rank mages in erasing spiritual marks from magical items, and was particularly potent against ancient magical artifacts that lacked safeguards against such measures. This was one of the main reasons Lucian was confident he could seize control of the arcane tower!
At the core, the old witch's spiritual mark began to resonate with the vibrations, swaying, fragmenting bit by bit. But it was the mark of a high-ranking mage, its quality far surpassing that of a mid-rank one, and Lucian couldn't erase it within two seconds.
This was a desperate battle between centuries of rapidly advancing magical knowledge and the ancients — a fight to the death between new and old!
After dispatching Adam, the old witch raised her left hand. Two rings adorned her fingers: one set with a large pale-purple gemstone, dreamlike and beautiful — none other than Lucian's Hallam Crown Ring "Elemental." The other was a deep-blue band studded with tiny, rice-grain-sized gems arranged in a peculiar pattern.
Strangely, she chose not to use the Elemental Vortex against Lucian. Perhaps at this close range, she feared the vortex would harm her and destroy the surrounding desk, the carved stone beauty, and other "cherished" items.
The deep-blue ring blazed to life, and an eerie chain forged from countless pieces of writhing flesh — trailing wails that shook and rattled the soul — lashed toward Lucian.
Sixth-circle spell: "Wailing Chains." A spell focused primarily on binding, cursing, and disrupting spellcasting, with damage as secondary effect!
Both the audible and inaudible wails erupted around Lucian, trying to bore into his soul and shatter his concentration, preventing him from erasing the Crystal Sphere's spiritual imprint.
But the "Spell Absorption Wall," improved by Arcane Council President Douglas, was no longer limited to handling spells below the fourth circle. It could absorb spells of any level, so long as they didn't exceed the upper threshold — the energy output of a standard fifth-circle spell.
The Wailing Chains coiled around Lucian. The Flame Shield was snuffed out instantly. The Spell Absorption Wall sucked in part of the chain and the countless wailing voices, rapidly swelling and expanding. Those mysterious arcane runes seemed to mature from infancy to adulthood in the span of a single second.
Then, without a sound, the Spell Absorption Wall shattered completely, dissolving into a flurry of light butterflies that fluttered up and down.
This bought Lucian another precious second. His Spirit Resonance grew even more violent. More and more cracks appeared on the old witch's spiritual mark.
The Spell Absorption Wall was gone. The Stone Skin was gone. The chains bound Lucian's body. The curses corroded his flesh. The wailing assaulted his brain and soul.
His brain's hormonal secretions and the like had been replaced by Mechanical Mind, neutralizing one of the primary avenues of influence. No matter how low a spell's rank, it could produce remarkable results if applied with precision. However, the Ghost Armor was rapidly shattered by the wailing. Lucian's soul felt as though it were surrounded and torn at by countless shrieking spirits — piercing pain, shock, and numbness all surged forward at once.
But the Lucian of now, his soul having reached fifth-rank standards under the old witch's "electroshock therapy," and with the Wailing Chains progressively weakened at every layer, managed to maintain the cool focus required for sustained spellcasting even amid the pain and numbness. His Spirit Resonance surged to its absolute peak — and the old witch's spiritual mark disintegrated into nothing!
The old witch's own experiments had ultimately brought about her downfall!
Seizing the opportunity, Lucian's spiritual energy condensed in a flash, and he inscribed his own imprint at the core. The Crystal Sphere erupted with brilliant, searing light and rose majestically from the desk, reflecting the Magic Circle, arcane patterns, and every detail of the arcane tower's core within its depths.
Bound by the Wailing Chains, Lucian spoke a simple incantation at the Crystal Sphere. Instantly, a beam of dark, rune-entwined mysterious light shot from the left wall and struck the Wailing Chains dead on. Both vanished simultaneously.
Sixth-circle spell: "Greater Dispel Magic!"
The moment the blood-red chains disappeared, Lucian uttered another harsh, complex incantation. A beam of deep, ominous ray fired from the right wall, striking directly at the old witch.
Seventh-circle spell: "Anti-Magic Ray." It cancelled magical effects on the target and generated a small anti-magic field, preventing the target from casting any spells within its area of effect!
Though he could only wield the Magic Circles already deployed within the tower, Lucian truly felt for the first time the overwhelming power of a high-ranking mage.
The old witch had just emerged from her casting recovery when she saw the Anti-Magic Ray heading toward her. She screamed in fury, and a mirror covered in countless mysterious symbols materialized around her. The Anti-Magic Ray struck the mirror — and impossibly, at the very instant the mirror shattered, it reflected the beam straight back, hitting Lucian directly.
Mechanical Mind vanished. Every layered magical effect on his body vanished. All magical fluctuations in his vicinity vanished. Not a single trace of magic remained.
Seventh-circle spell: "Spell Reflection." Depending on one's rank, spiritual energy level, and understanding of each individual spell, it could reflect spells up to the ninth circle at maximum!
Lucian tried to extend his spiritual energy, but it had no effect. Fortunately, he wasn't relying on his own spellcasting at this moment — he was controlling the entire arcane tower through the Crystal Sphere, which extended beyond the range of the small anti-magic field, leaving it unaffected.
The Crystal Sphere, brilliant as the sun, floated above Lucian's right palm. As he chanted, invisible force-field walls crashed down around the old witch, trapping her inside.
Seventh-circle spell: "Mana Prison." It could only be opened by a handful of special spells, such as Disintegration.
Unlike a mage, an arcane tower didn't suffer from casting recovery!
As Lucian continued chanting, the old witch — still locked in her casting recovery — sensed mortal danger. Without bothering to conceal anything further, her left eye suddenly swelled and bulged outward, transforming into a squirming yellowish-brown sphere. The sphere resembled a newborn mammal, caked in blood, with a single grotesque yellowish-brown eye at its center. Around the sphere, tentacle-like eye-stalks extended outward, connecting to the blood vessels around the old witch's eye socket, each tipped with a small eye the size of a thumb!
This was the appearance of one of the most infamous and terrifying monsters of the Dark Mountains — a Beholder!
A seventh-circle spell existed that could transform one's own body into a Beholder, but the old witch had directly modified her left eye into one. This was the forte of ancient mages!
And this way, she wouldn't need to wait through casting recovery.
Several pale-green "Disintegration" rays fired simultaneously from the small eyes, while the grotesque yellowish-brown central eye unleashed a dark Anti-Magic Ray.