In the hidden void from before, across from the owner of the blood-red eyes, a screen made entirely of crystal displayed the scenes of Saber's death in full.
Once the singularity was seized by the black hand, a small bar immediately rose in the energy gauge area on the side of the screen.
"..."
The light within the blood-red eyes flared bright for an instant, then quickly dimmed again.
The entire secret chamber sank into dead silence once more. The black figure sat mechanically in its seat, releasing no aura whatsoever.
And Saber's death notice swept through the entire ruins like a storm.
"This feeling?"
The very instant Saber died and the Astral Realm opened automatically, Leilin's expression changed drastically as he instantly felt the fluctuations of the Astral Realm and the singularity.
He had experienced this once before—when he killed the monster hunter Ganlier—and he would never mistake it.
"A Morning Star has fallen? The singularity returning to the Astral Realm?" Leilin murmured in disbelief.
Then he let out a long sigh. "As expected, the ancient ruins aren't as simple as they seem. Even this core control room is probably nothing more than a surface cover—there must be a hidden core somewhere, and that's the real control center!"
Leilin had already harbored suspicions. Even though the old man hadn't obtained core control authority, the defenses here were still far too thin. Now it seemed he was right—this was merely an overt control room capable of managing only the simplest magical arrays.
The truly terrifying magical arrays capable of restraining a Morning Star wizard, powerful enough to cause one to fall, were all hidden away in some secret location.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at the old man on the ground with a hint of pity.
His ancestor clearly hadn't been an important figure during the Crimson Arc Moon—even such a matter hadn't reached him as a scrap of information.
"But none of that matters to me. I've got what matters most—it's time to leave..."
Leilin smiled and opened the pale yellow notebook in his hand.
Though the old man's ancestor hadn't been a great figure, he had been remarkably thorough in planning for his descendants—he had even recorded a hidden passage. One that could lead directly out of the Crimson Arc Moon ruins without having to retrace the dangerous route, drastically reducing the risk to Leilin.
"If that's the case, then this trip has been absolutely perfect!"
Leilin stroked his chin. "Everyone knows I was the first to enter the ruins, but no one knows what I actually obtained. There's plenty of room to maneuver."
Moreover, hidden in his heart was a scheme to break through the bloodline limitation—a gift from the Wisdom Ancient Tree. This was truly priceless intelligence for a bloodline warlock.
It was precisely because of this that Leilin needed to keep everything absolutely secret. Otherwise, he would likely face resistance and even persecution from the entire bloodline warlock community.
"Perfect—I know Saber has already fallen! But the other Morning Stars don't know yet. I can make him the scapegoat!"
Leilin recalled the images he had seen in the core control room, and a cold smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
The other Morning Star wizards didn't have access to arrays that monitored the entire ruins or the core surveillance. At most, they would know that a Morning Star had fallen—but not which one.
In that case, impersonating Saber became entirely possible. After all, the dead couldn't speak up.
"Mimicry Spell! Shadow Projection Secret Art!" At this thought, Leilin's aura immediately shifted, becoming similar to Saber's.
But this was far from enough. Any Morning Star wizard using soul power to probe would instantly detect the flaw.
"I never thought that what I'd prepared for research or sale would need to be used right now!"
Leilin flipped his palm, and a translucent test tube immediately appeared, containing a small amount of blood that radiated an azure glow.
This was the blood he had obtained from Saber during their earlier confrontation.
"The concealment of bloodlines! It will eliminate all radiance and resist all detection..." Leilin spoke in a tone that was half incantation, half chant.
These were several secret techniques compiled by the Chip after inheriting ancient bloodline memories.
They could use the bloodline of a target to mask one's own aura and even simulate the target's original energy fluctuations—undetectable even by soul power scans.
Furthermore, these were long-lost bloodline secret arts that only Leilin had encountered when awakening his own Komoin bloodline inheritance. No other wizard would ever think to look in this direction.
As Leilin chanted, amid the resonance of the spoken formula, the test tube's cap opened on its own. The blue blood floated out, transforming into a hazy halo of light that enveloped Leilin's entire body.
In an instant, he appeared to become an entirely different person—not only did his appearance become identical to Saber's, but even the aura of the Ocean Race emanated from him.
Even the domain fluctuations that were distinct from those of a Morning Star warlock—and were exclusive to an ordinary Morning Star wizard—slowly diffused from his body.
Under these circumstances, even if that Level 5 Radiant Moon Great
"S-Sir?"
The old man on the ground, watching Leilin transform completely into someone else, stammered in shock.
But when Leilin turned to look at him, a flash of malice passed through his eyes...
Roar!
Massive golden flames melted through the void, carving out a path of molten rock.
The golden-haired middle-aged wizard from before walked slowly toward this location with his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, the enormous phantom of a golden lion flickered in and out of visibility.
"This is it! Where the Morning Star fluctuations first appeared—there must be a core control room or something similar!"
He frowned as he scanned the surroundings, taking in the massive depression and the residual seawater within it.
"Could I be too late?"
BOOM! At that very moment, the nearby core control room suddenly erupted in an explosion, and fierce flames devoured everything within.
"Hmph!" The golden-haired middle-aged wizard snorted coldly. The massive flames were immediately absorbed by the phantom behind him. A sweep of his powerful soul power instantly revealed a blue figure.
"Still trying to run?"
He sneered, and a bolt of golden lightning shot out from the massive phantom behind him, hurtling toward the blue figure.
"Secret Art—Ten Thousand Waves!"
A blue ocean-phantom domain spread from the opponent's body, followed by massive white waves forming an enormous wall of water to block the attack.
CRACK! The waves were torn apart in an instant. The golden lightning struck true without pause, causing the figure's body to shudder and reveal its true form.
This was a giant several meters tall, with blue skin throughout and a distinctly alien aura.
"The ocean giant Saber? Indeed, he was stationed in this area and was one of the first to enter the ruins..."
The middle-aged wizard nodded, but then he saw Saber's figure sway before darting away at tremendous speed.
"You can't escape!" The Level 5 Radiant Moon wizard Wede immediately gave chase. The opponent had reached the core control room first and undoubtedly possessed enormous gains—even a single map of the ruins' structure would be enough to make him covetous.
"Hand over everything you have, and I may still allow your true soul to return to the Astral Realm!"
Wede's expression remained indifferent, but the golden lion phantom behind him was already stirring restlessly.
"Only a fool wouldn't run!" Leilin's body was already severely charred on one side as he fled at high speed through the ruins. Thanks to the map he had obtained earlier, though the situation was perilous, Wede hadn't caught up with him yet.
For this impersonation of Saber, Leilin had truly gone all out—not only using the bloodline secret art to completely transform his aura into Saber's, but also deploying the Chip to emit the domain fluctuations he had previously recorded, creating a perfect illusion.
His aura, his domain, even his face—all matched perfectly. Even if Leilin now declared he wasn't Saber, Wede wouldn't believe it.
What's more, Leilin had spent considerable effort concealing his killing techniques. In the haste of the moment, Wede would never be able to discern anything.
As for the core control room and the old man, Leilin had destroyed them both.
He would naturally never allow a wizard who knew everything about him to remain alive. If the old man fell into anyone else's hands, all his disguises would instantly unravel.
"I just didn't expect them to come this quickly—and of all people, a Level 5 wizard who specializes in lightning!"
Leilin smiled bitterly. To impersonate Saber, he had to use even his magic to match the other's style, and he couldn't afford to show any discrepancy. Knowing full well that lightning countered water, he had still been forced to fight back with water magic, which had left him with significant injuries.
Moreover, the other had arrived so fast it had nearly caught him completely off guard.
But it was all worth it.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Leilin's lips as he used the vast number of magical arrays within the ruins to wear down Wede's patience from behind. The blue light in his eyes flickered continuously.
Finally, seeing the Morning Star ahead of him so slippery—refusing to even stop for a test of strength—Wede flew into a rage.
"Void Devour!" He thrust both hands forward, and the lion phantom behind him opened its massive maw in a devouring motion.
Hmmm!
A massive black hole seemed to appear in the void. Everything warped and twisted, pouring into the golden lion's gaping mouth.
"This is exactly what I've been waiting for!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Leilin's eyes as he hid behind another enormous clock tower.
CRACK! The clock tower was torn free by the suction, its very foundations ripped from the ground.
Hmmm! Massive energy fluctuations surged upward, revealing a complex magical formation beneath the surface.
"Hmm? This is... the energy nexus?" Wede frowned, only to be engulfed by a blood-red magical array that materialized from thin air.
"Intruder detected. Identified as a Level 5 Radiant Moon Wizard!" A cold, mechanical voice echoed through the chamber.