The void shattered, and a crimson figure materialized right beside Joanna.
Countless flames danced upon his body with docile submission, radiating a deep crimson glow — he was clearly a peak Fifth Level
With an expressionless face, he reached out toward Joanna. Crimson-gold flame formed into razor-sharp claws, cracking her innate defensive layer bit by bit.
"Flame Throne."
Clark roared in fury, stepping in front of Joanna. The flame claws tore into him without mercy, shattering his steel armor and scorching the flesh beneath to charred black, exposing gleaming silver metallic bones.
Within the Alannol Labyrinth, the only wizard who could move freely was none other than the master himself — the Flame Throne.
Blood sprayed from Clark's mouth as he and Joanna were sent hurtling backward.
"Brother~ ah, brother!"
Joanna shrieked, her eyes instantly turning blood-red. "You dare hurt my brother — I'll kill you..."
Semi-transparent threads materialized from Joanna's hands, slicing through the void with ease as they swept toward the crimson figure hovering in midair.
A burst of crimson-gold flame erupted, colliding with the translucent threads. Under the blaze's scorching heat, the threads began to slowly melt away.
Not far away, Joanna's face drained of color.
"Joanna, stay behind me!" At that moment, Clark rose to his feet once more, as if the mortal wound on his chest had caused him no harm at all.
"Flame Throne — I've been waiting for this day for a very long time."
With a deep hum, the massive black greatsword in Clark's hand erupted with the terrifying fluctuation of a high-grade magical weapon. Its razor-sharp brilliance was dazzling, even shattering the void itself.
"Sorrow of the Earth!" Clark roared as an illusion of barren, empty land materialized behind him.
An aura of decay surged and condensed around him, forming a terrifying sword beam.
"The flavor of decay and death — that is not within the grasp of living beings."
The crimson figure in midair spoke slowly, and a crimson flame sword materialized in his hand as well.
"In the name of flame, your only destination is eternal silence."
The entire world seemed to tremble and cheer as countless fire element particles spontaneously wound themselves around the flame sword.
Two terrifying swords that transcended the limits of space clashed violently in the next instant. The ashen green power of withering and the crimson energy of flame intertwined ceaselessly, ultimately forming an all-consuming storm.
With a deafening rumble, a flash of red sword light cut through the storm, and Clark's entire body was sent flying out.
No — "half a person" would be more accurate. At this point, everything below Clark's abdomen was gone, as though he had been cut in half at the waist, revealing a mechanical spine and translucent cultivation fluid.
The energy storm dissipated, revealing the crimson figure of the Flame Throne. He looked at Clark's wound, and a sudden smile crossed his face.
"Not mechanical augmentation, but a soul servant's puppet. In truth, the real Clark perished long ago, didn't he?"
He turned his head, gazing at Joanna, whose eyes were already glistening with tears.
"An impressive soul-splitting technique. No wonder you two were never truly separated — because you were never two people to begin with. Was Clark your courage, your longing, and your hatred? After splitting those qualities away, all that remained in your true self was weakness."
"No — my brother isn't dead!"
Joanna cried out like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, tears spilling from her eyes.
"Don't... cry... sister..."
On the ground, Clark — now nothing more than half a body — smiled reassuringly. But his expression had become painfully stiff, his voice growing more and more fragmented until it turned into a mechanical monotone.
"Oh, let me think... It seems that among the slaughter back then, only a single little girl survived. That wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
A peculiar grin spread across the Flame Throne's face. "To entrust your dreams to someone else — even after advancing to the Fifth Level, you're still nothing but trash."
Words sharp as blades struck Joanna, turning her face deathly pale in an instant.
"No — I'm not... ah..."
She clutched her head, teetering on the edge of a complete breakdown.
The Flame Throne wore a look of smug satisfaction, about to push her further, when his expression suddenly changed.
Wisps of black air seeped from Joanna's trembling form, carrying a dangerous aura so potent that even he entertained thoughts of retreat.
"What's going on? Wait — she's a descendant of that Remnant Bloodline... could it be..."
The Flame Throne's pupils contracted sharply. Countless flame chains materialized and shot toward Joanna, but it was already too late.
Joanna raised her head and let out a piercing scream.
An ear-splitting shriek erupted, and waves of terrifying power instantly engulfed the entire area...
With a crash, the Fifth Level Fire Monarch — a terrifying fire elemental whose form resembled that of a crocodile humanoid — collapsed to the ground, the flames on its body extinguishing inch by inch.
Two wisps of soul-fire in its eye sockets faded into complete darkness.
Grains of soul-light scattered ceaselessly from its body, carrying dense fire element particles like fireflies, before quickly vanishing into the empty air.
A sharp cry rang out as a massive black phoenix descended from the sky. The flames receded, revealing Leilin within.
"A Fifth Level Fire Monarch — what a nuisance. I nearly had to resort to my killing move..."
Leilin stood at the edge of the lava lake. After the Fire Monarch's complete demise, on the other side of the lake, the black labyrinth walls had stacked themselves like building blocks, revealing a dark passage.
"How many trials this labyrinth holds is impossible to count, unless..." Leilin touched the ring on his hand.
The labyrinth formation laid down by a Sixth Level Dawn Wizard — they, as Fifth Level Moonlit, could only attempt to unravel it through conventional means, unless a power of equal Sixth Level intervened, or some other special circumstance arose.
The shriek continued.
The piercing roar carried over directly, the resentment and terrifying energy fluctuations contained within causing Leilin's expression to shift slightly.
"That direction... has something happened?"
With the sound of explosive pressure, one of the walls began to slowly crack apart, and large amounts of black dust rained down.
"The labyrinth has actually started to collapse? This power... it seems related to the legendary ancient special constitution..."
A cold gleam flashed in Leilin's eyes.
Suddenly, in the instant his attention was caught by those fluctuations, the space shattered, and a crimson figure identical to the previous one materialized.
In its hand, scorching flames seemed to have breached some kind of threshold, reaching a terrifying temperature that made all other energy particles retreat.
Within its domain, there was only flame.
"So it was you watching from the sidelines the whole time — the Fire of Rules." Leilin sneered, his right hand activating the silver ring without hesitation.
Wisps of mist emanated outward, instantly coalescing into a world of grey fog.
With a thunderous roar, the phantom of a four-armed, single-eyed giant with hard, rugged skin materialized.
"The Grey Fog
Using the blood obtained from Beavis as a foundation, combined with the Chip's deep processing capabilities, Leilin had successfully created a bloodline imprint of the Ancient Mist Giant and sealed it into the ring.
Because the spell was triggered by the power contained within the bloodline itself, the Mist Giant bloodline imprint Leilin released reached the power of the Sixth Level.
"Is this... the Rule of Mist?"
Within the mist world, Leilin deeply sensed a power — the Rule of Mist. Through the connection of the bloodline imprint, he could barely manipulate it.
Masses of grey mist flowed like the most docile waters, giving Leilin the feeling of total control.
"Crush!" With Leilin's will, the vast grey mist hardened as if instantly turning to stone, carrying the will of the entire world as it bore down upon the crimson figure.
"This isn't your power — this is an ancient Sixth Level wizardry!"
The immense pressure forced a cry of alarm from the crimson figure.
Then, it was engulfed by the massive fog. Crimson light kept seeping through the mist, growing dimmer and dimmer.
"Now this is the true Ancient Grey Fog Space. If Beavis had used this spell last time, I probably would have been defeated — or even perished..."
Leilin sighed.
Although Beavis also carried the Mist Giant bloodline, he had no Chip, nor could he afford to permanently sacrifice his own bloodline to cast such a spell.
Leilin was different. The Mist Giant blood, purified by the Chip, showed its opponent the true might of antiquity.
"Damn it — another one!"
The final words drifted out from within the fog, followed by utter silence.
The grey fog world dissipated, returning to the lava lake scene from before.
"Another one?" A flash of light in the void, and Leilin's figure materialized.
"It seems this isn't the first time he's taken a loss. And moreover..."
Leilin looked at where the crimson figure had stood. There was nothing there now — not a trace remained.
"Just a Fifth Level clone? It seems the Flame Throne has no more helpers nearby. He'll have to step in himself..."
"Perfect. While I have the chance."
Leilin waved his hand, and the remaining mist immediately spread outward, corroding the labyrinth walls.
With sharp cracking sounds, the labyrinth walls — already weakened by the earlier shockwave — finally gave way, cracking inch by inch.
Large sections of wall crumbled directly into powder, and the trend showed no signs of stopping — it continued spreading outward.