"I'd love to go in too! But could you explain why every rune I see in this magic circle is offensive or restraining in nature, without a single rune for isolating energy systems?"
A flash of blue light flickered in Leilin's eyes as he stopped right at the edge of the magic circle, addressing the Black Mist
"I didn't expect you to actually figure it out!"
The Black Mist Wizard let out a bitter laugh, and her voice suddenly softened — it was a young woman's voice.
Hearing this voice, Leilin found it surprisingly familiar.
"It can't be helped, really. After all, I've never been much of a liar!"
The woman laughed bitterly, then dissolved the layer of deceptive black mist surrounding her.
The mist scattered, revealing an ordinary-looking female face. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her eyes were remarkably gentle, as though ripples of water danced within them — the kind of eyes no one who saw them could easily forget.
Around the female wizard's neck hung an enormous necklace made of gemstones and pearls, radiating a dazzling array of colors.
"Jenna?! Is that you?" Leilin immediately recognized the wizard's identity.
As the first wizard he'd met upon arriving in Nightless City, this young woman named Jenna had left him with a fairly favorable impression.
But now it was clear that the seemingly innocent girl from back then had been hiding something from him.
"Finally, we meet again! Leilin!"
This girl — who seemed to come from some great family — flashed Leilin a brilliant smile.
"We can skip the catching up for now. Shouldn't you first explain what's going on with this magic circle?"
Leilin pointed at the magic circle beside them, his expression turning grave.
His itinerary had always been kept strictly secret. He was genuinely wary of a girl who could track him down here and disguise herself so thoroughly. He had no idea what other strange methods she might have up her sleeve.
"About that..."
Jenna lowered her head, looking somewhat ashamed. "It's..."
In an instant, a burst of multicolored light erupted from the necklace around Jenna's neck, enveloping Lei Lin.
The acceleration spells he had already prepared on his legs activated instantly. His figure blurred into several dark shadows and vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
The five-colored light blanketed the ground, coalescing into the shape of a magical symbol. Under its glow, everything—soil, sand, plants—withered rapidly.
"Got you!" A smile appeared on Jenna's face at the sight.
Lei Lin's heart skipped a beat as he moved.
At the same moment, beneath his feet, a faintly glowing magical array suddenly materialized.
Countless white pillars of light rose, forming a cage-like structure that locked Lei Lin inside.
"Prediction??? No! It's something more advanced!"
Inside the cage, Lei Lin flicked his robes, and several black fireballs slammed into the structure. Black flames began to burn fiercely.
But these white pillars seemed incredibly sturdy. Even the flames of the Shadowflame Fireballs could only make them tremble slightly. He was still a fair distance from breaking the magical array.
A Wizard capable of deploying such an array was absolutely no simple character.
Lei Lin stared intently at the female Wizard before him, suddenly feeling he might have underestimated her previously.
Whether it was the ruse of using that obvious rubble array as bait to draw his attention, or the decisive timing of her attack, these were not abilities an ordinary White Wizard should possess.
Especially this final one—the ability to predict Lei Lin's landing spot—which made him even more wary.
If it was a type of Divination ability, for low-level Wizards, it was practically an unsolvable means.
"Why?" Lei Lin asked from within the cage of white pillars.
He and this female Wizard named Jenna had only met a few times before entering the city. Afterwards, they rarely even contacted each other through Secret Imprints. By any measure, there seemed to be no reason for such a life-or-death confrontation.
"I'm sorry. But you are the trigger, foretold in the prophecy, who will bring war and bloodshed to the entire South Coast. To maintain peace on the South Coast, I have no choice but to sacrifice you..."
Large tears rolled down Jenna's cheeks, drop by drop. Even Lei Lin couldn't tell if her sorrow was feigned or genuine.
So what you're saying is, because of some vague, ethereal prophecy that claims I'll pose a threat to the South Coast, you're going to strike first and eliminate me?"
Lei Lin's face darkened instantly. Anyone confronted with such a reason would undoubtedly feel driven to the brink of madness.
He had imagined countless possibilities beforehand — a vendetta, perhaps, or some conflict of interests. But this angle had never once crossed his mind.
Still, this indirectly confirmed that what Jenna had used before was indeed some kind of prophecy-like ability.
"Stop struggling. This is a cage I've prepared specifically for you, constructed from fragments extracted from the future. Not only is it composed entirely of light-element energy particles, but it also incorporates several high-grade fire warding sigils! With your current maximum attack power, you cannot break through it!"
Jenna's eyes suddenly closed, then opened again just as quickly, her pupils a pristine, solid white.
"For the peace of the entire world, please depart quietly!"
Jenna spoke with an air of calm detachment, yet her otherwise ordinary face had taken on an almost sacred quality.
As her words left her lips, the white pillar cage imprisoning Lei Lin immediately began to slowly constrict inward. Countless white threads detached from the light pillars, filling the entire interior of the white prison.
Strand by strand, the thin white threads — like silk spun by silkworms — wound around Lei Lin's body, as though intending to wrap him into a massive cocoon.
"Heh..."
Ignoring the threads coiling around him entirely, Lei Lin suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"What are you laughing at? If you have any last wishes, you may tell me. I swear on the honor of the Guardian family — I will see them fulfilled!"
Jenna placed both hands over her chest and formed a strange hand seal.
"No need! Looking at that expression of yours makes me sick to my stomach!" A powerful wave of nausea churned in Lei Lin's chest.
In his previous life, he had been particularly disgusted by people like this — those who fancied themselves guardians of the world, peacekeepers, so-called idealists who invoked the greater good and the welfare of the masses to demand that individuals sacrifice themselves.
And now, encountering one such person in this other world as well, the killing intent in his heart surged to an unprecedented intensity.
"Someday, the world will understand us — and peace shall endure forever!" Jenna paid no heed to Lei Lin's words at all, instead uttering something resembling an axiom.
Then, she pointed a finger at the cage.
"Purify!!!"
"Sssss!" White light instantly flooded the entire cage. In that instant, Lei Lin felt as though he had been placed inside an oven, his whole body tingling with an illusory sensation as if he were about to melt.
He specialized in dark-attribute energy particles, which were inherently opposed to light-attribute particles. And this woman, Jenna, had somehow obtained this wizard formation — its power was terrifyingly immense, to the point that even Lei Lin could barely endure it.
"I... have one more thing to say!"
Though immense pressure bore down on his body, wisps of black smoke curled up from around Lei Lin, holding off the white light's corrosion — though he looked rather worse for wear.
"Sinner! Speak your final words!"
Jenna stepped forward slowly.
"I..."
Lei Lin's lips moved slightly.
"What? You've already been corroded this badly by light-attribute energy particles?" Jenna took several more steps forward, pressing her ear close to the white pillar cage.
"You... bitch! Do you think this world is your family's property?!"
In that instant, Lei Lin's entire body was enveloped in a layer of fine black scales, and even his eyes transformed into amber-colored vertical slits. He erupted with a thunderous roar.
"Ring of Imprisonment! Detonate!!!"
Boom!!!
A massive, brilliant ring of silver light exploded outward from Lei Lin's arm in an instant.
The metal ring that had been hanging on Lei Lin's left arm all along erupted with a thunderous blast the moment Lei Lin gave the command.
The tremendous shockwave smashed apart a portion of the white cage in front of Lei Lin, and the lingering blast surged directly toward the nearest target — Jenna.
"Ahhh!"
Jenna clutched her face as her entire body was sent flying.
The white threads that had been binding Lei Lin were all blown apart, and even the white pillar cage bore obvious dents.
"Petrifying Gaze!"
Lei Lin's eyes instantly locked onto the dented section of the cage.
Sizzle! A layer of grey-white petrification spread across the surface of the white pillars.
"Shadow Fireball!"
Lei Lin pressed his palms together, and from the gaps in the surrounding shadows, a massive surge of black flames suddenly erupted. He then pulled his hands apart.
The black flames split instantly, distributing evenly across his palms.
"Go!"
Lei Lin clenched both fists and smashed them with full force against the already petrified section of the cage!!!
BOOM!!!
A blinding white light surged upward, rising more than ten meters in an instant, nearly reaching the white clouds in the sky, before rapidly contracting back down, swallowed by the black flames.
From the center of the inferno, Lei Lin slowly emerged — his clothes in tatters, revealing a body covered in fine, dense scales.
"Main body surface has sustained holy-element corrosion damage. Conflict detected with host energy particles, producing a neutralization effect. Damage escalating. Current surface burn coverage: 34% functional damage sustained in the left arm from the detonation of a Magical Item. Immediate treatment recommended!"
The Chip's alert flashed before Lei Lin's eyes.
His current condition was far from good. Beyond the multiple burns across his body, his left arm hung crookedly against his chest, exposing a massive wound — through which pitch-black bone was faintly visible.
Earlier, Lei Lin had detonated a mid-grade Magical Item in a desperate gambit. Since he was inside the cage, he had borne the brunt of the blast head-on. Even with both the