Chapter 181. The Roar

In Heidel City, within the pitch-black, spire-topped magic tower that served as the headquarters of the Pale Hand, Fernando and Hathaway followed Begner's astrology to locate the entrance to Congus's demiplane — the "Land of Darkness" — after a trail of destruction carved by Greater Disjunction and Elemental Decomposition.

Another round of repetitive work followed. With no master to command the defenses, the two Grand Archanists and one Diviner spent just over an hour dismantling the vast majority of the wards. All that remained was the sealed chamber where the demigod lich kept his phylactery. Before them sat a black casket inlaid with all manner of rare gemstones, and within it they could sense the flickering flame of a soul.

"That is the Abyss of Despair barrier," Begner warned Fernando and Hathaway, urging caution against the backlash. How could the magical array guarding a demigod lich's phylactery not harbor hidden dangers?

Fernando immediately cast Electromagnetic Storm to warp the surrounding space, severing the final link between the array and its control nexus. Hathaway began forcefully dismantling the barrier with Grand Dispel. They had neither the time nor the patience to slowly analyze and "puzzle out" the most efficient way to break the defenses. To save time and rescue those in danger, sustaining some backlash and serious injuries was within acceptable limits.

Layer after layer of magical arrays was dispelled, shattered. The sealed chamber seemed to transform into an abyss itself, on the verge of erupting with devastating counterforce.

Suddenly, Fernando, Hathaway, and Begner all raised their heads in unison, their gazes piercing through the transparent barrier toward the black phylactery casket.

Above the casket, space warped violently and turned ethereal, projecting a vision of boundless radiance erupting outward. Within that blinding light, a golden skull shrieked in agony as it fractured and dissolved.

That aura of annihilation — even through the Abyss of Despair barrier — Fernando, Hathaway, and the others seemed to feel it in their bones.

As the golden skull rapidly disintegrated, the projected scene grew hazy, the "perspective" receding ever further away.

The three legendary mages watched in stunned silence as, amid the mountains where the light had erupted, a strange orange-red mushroom cloud rose into the sky. It was so vast it seemed to blot out half the heavens.

Shockwave after shockwave radiated outward, churning up clouds of dust and smoke, lending the mushroom a grotesque, top-heavy appearance.

After searing itself into the minds of Fernando, Hathaway, and Begner, the mushroom vanished along with the fading projection, leaving no trace.

"That explosion's power is approaching a full-force strike from the President of the Parliament," Begner judged, recalling what they had witnessed. He turned his gaze to Hathaway, the authority on elemental forces, as if seeking her assessment: "It looks like a straightforward explosive spell. In general, the power of such spells can be amplified further. I wonder whether it could ultimately reach the level of Divine Descent."

Hathaway stared ahead in silence, as though lost in thought — or perhaps gathering her words: "I sense that this explosion is connected to the secrets of the Sun. As for how much further its power could be amplified, I cannot judge without actual Archanist theory and magical configuration."

"Who exactly is Congus fighting?" Fernando's brow furrowed slightly. "The secrets of the Sun — could this still be connected to that kid Lucian? But what could he possibly use to cast magic of this magnitude?"

When the illusory Sun had risen before, Fernando had suspected it might be linked to Lucian. Now that Congus had caught up with Lucian and this same scene appeared again, the connection was obvious. However, he did not believe Lucian could have leapt to the pinnacle of legendary power in one go. Even if his prior research had yielded gains — even if he had glimpsed the secrets of the Sun and obtained the model for a legendary spell — his strength would still need to advance step by step. So he directly suspected that Lucian was borrowing some external power.

On the black phylactery casket, various rare magical gemstones began radiating different hues of light, drawing in surrounding matter as they set about reconstructing a golden skull. Fernando and Hathaway exchanged a glance, then accelerated their efforts to shatter the Abyss of Despair.

Nearly an hour later, the golden skull was fully reformed. Congus awoke from the darkness, the vision of that sun-like eruption of light still burned into his sight.

For an undead being, such radiance was the ultimate harm — and it had been accompanied by terrifying shockwaves and unbelievable temperatures. Congus had nearly failed to endure it, nearly becoming the first lich unable to revive even with a phylactery.

"So the Silver Moon had already awakened, biding its time. I'm fortunate to have survived," Congus thought with lingering dread, his soul still gestating within the golden skull, not yet able to sense the world around him. "And what magic did Lucian Evans actually use? How could it be so terrifying?"

Though he had only caught a fleeting glimpse, his experience told him that the Silver Moon Etna had lent her power to Lucian, enabling him to cast the spell. If the spell had truly belonged to Etna herself, there would have been no need for such roundabout measures.

"How many more secrets is this kid hiding?" The deeper Congus pursued Lucian, the more alarmed he became. But he quickly reined in his thoughts and turned to his next plan. "With the Silver Moon awakened, the hunter is about to become the hunted. What a waste — the main consciousness of that mysterious entity from the Netherworld was annihilated along with my body by Lucian's 'legendary spell.' All that effort for nothing, and I even gave away a ring!"

He was quite satisfied with this legendary ring he had forged, always regarding it as a divine artifact — though to improve the success rate of its creation, he had chosen the Nether domain, in which he was most proficient, and based the configuration on his own legendary class. Many of its abilities thus overlapped with his own, but that did not change the fact that it was the only legendary item he had ever produced — a masterpiece that filled him with pride.

"Lucian and Natasha, those two little mice, are still alive. I can no longer risk remaining at the Parliament. Should I join those fellows from the Netherworld, or hide in the Dark Mountains?"