A light blade, like a crimson crescent moon, slashed through the air, and the enormous black beast wailed as it dissolved into dispersing dark energy.
From within the dark energy came Stewart's apprehensive voice: "A high-grade magical artifact! You actually possess a high-grade magical artifact!"
He stared at the blood-red pendant hanging from Leylin's ear, his eyes filled with both wariness and greed. "Kill you! All of this will be mine!"
"Chip! Begin countering the curse radiation! Locate the source!"
Leylin's expression turned grave as he silently issued his command. Had it been his former self, this sort of ancient curse would have been exceedingly troublesome to deal with. But with the vast repository of knowledge from the Great Library as his trump card, and with the Chip having successfully digitized his soul power into a database, he finally possessed at least a modicum of resistance in this domain.
The Crimson Pendant was no different — before he had thoroughly ascertained its origins and functions, he had never dared use it to its full potential. But this time, within the Great Library, he had found a detailed account of the Crimson Pendant's provenance, including its activation incantations and the like. Naturally, this high-grade magical artifact could now be put to proper use!
Most magical artifacts circulating in the Central Continent were low-grade; mid-grade artifacts were already exceedingly rare, and high-grade artifacts would make even Crescent Moon Wizards green with envy!
Being able to wield the Crimson Pendant represented an enormous boost to Leylin's strength — especially at a time when he was being comprehensively suppressed by curses.
"Ding! Mission established. Initiating soul interference. Locating the curse source!" the Chip reported back immediately.
A layer of pale yellow light particles radiated from Leylin's body, and the multitude of black masks charged toward it like moths hurling themselves into a flame.
"A long-range curse of this magnitude! And such terrifying debilitating power! The opponent is at least a fifth-rank Crescent Moon Wizard! I'm ninety percent certain the target is Jersia! I never expected him to possess such talent in curses…"
A cold glint flashed through Leylin's eyes. This sort of ancient curse was something even his current self could not execute — the technique of crossing spatial boundaries alone exceeded the limits of the fifth rank!
"Or could it be? Someone is assisting him? Perhaps an even more powerful Wizard?"
The moment this thought arose, Leylin's expression grew even more somber. Not only did he now have to contend with the combined assault of two fifth-rank Wizards, but he also had to remain vigilant against the covert surveillance of that high-grade Mystic Wizard.
"I truly underestimated you before!"
Stewart watched the black masks surrounding Leylin diminish in number, and — unexpectedly — chose not to continue the assault. Instead, he let out something of a sigh.
"Methods capable of resisting an ancient curse, the pinnacle of Morning Star strength rivaling that of a Crescent Moon Wizard, and a high-grade magical artifact to boot! Had I known of these capabilities beforehand, I wouldn't have taken action even if Jersia had offered ten times the reward!"
Stewart was, after all, a Wizard — once his fury subsided, rationality reasserted itself upon his face.
But the very matter-of-factness with which he spoke sent a distinctly unpleasant premonition through Leylin.
"Pity... but since the seed of hatred has already been sown, I won't let it take root and sprout!" Stewart fixed Leylin with a deep gaze. "If I can't make you fall today, then once you ascend to a Crescent Moon Wizard, my doom is certain! Even the Sky Throne wouldn't be able to protect me..."
Leylin fell silent and said nothing more. The one who understood you best was, after all, your enemy. If he ever had enough power in the future, he would certainly strike back—even eradicate his foe root and branch. He was no different from Stewart in that regard, and neither side bothered to hide it.
"So! You will die here today, or else I will fall and return to the Astral Plane!"
A look of grim resolution surfaced on Stewart's face. Strange fluctuations rippled across his body, and behind him, the halos of five innate spells flickered erratically—even time and space seemed to grind to a halt.
"A Crescent Moon Wizard's ultimate technique!?" Leylin's expression grew as solemn as it could possibly be.
A Morning Star Wizard could combine four of his innate spells and, driven by the power of his qualitative point, unleash a terrifying fission force—a Morning Star ultimate technique with world-ending destructive power! And what about a Crescent Moon Wizard?
The power of four fused innate spells was already horrifying enough. What would happen if a fifth-tier innate spell were added to the mix?
Leylin had never witnessed a Crescent Moon Wizard's ultimate technique, but he knew full well that if Stewart unleashed it, even the entirety of Sky City would struggle to survive.
Otherwise, Stewart would have deployed the Crescent Moon ultimate technique back when he had suffered that humiliating loss, instead of swallowing his pride out of fear of the Sky Throne—only now was he finally making his move!
They were far from Sky City by now. Even if residual shockwaves reached it, Sky City's own defenses and the Wizards inside would be more than sufficient to weather the blast. That was why Stewart could strike without the slightest restraint!
In that instant, Leylin felt as though he were peering through Stewart's qualitative point into the man's very true spirit! A soul luminous as the full moon, radiating cold, dazzling crescent light!
"The stacking of Morning Star ultimate techniques was never as simple as one plus one—and after fusing a fifth-tier innate spell, the resulting Crescent Moon ultimate technique would multiply in power tenfold! At the very least!"
Leylin watched with dread as the light behind Stewart merged and swelled, rippling outward with a brilliance that could annihilate the world.
"Stewart has truly made up his mind—he actually dares to unleash a Crescent Moon ultimate technique in the Main World!"
Leylin let out a long breath and did not charge forward. While Stewart was channeling his ultimate technique, a terrifying barrier had already formed automatically around him. To rush in now would mean facing the full, devastating blow of a Crescent Moon Wizard's killing strike head-on!
"The gap in power is simply too vast. This level of destructive force is enough to make me fall!" A flush of red crept across Leylin's face. "The only way out is..."