Chapter 542: Departure

"Mm!"

The Brilliant Moon Wizard nodded, the unease in his heart suddenly easing considerably. "Indeed! No matter what bizarre power that brat might possess, a bloodline shackle is more than enough to lock down everything he has! A Komoan warlock tops out at Fourth Grade — he'll never have room to advance any further..."

"Heh... Indeed! A little fellow confined to the Morning Star realm — would you still trouble yourself over him?"

The mysterious voice suddenly turned melodic, shifting into a soft woman's voice: "Your true enemy is..."

"Silence!" The Brilliant Moon Wizard, who had been sitting upright, shot to his feet, his expression turning faintly savage. "Shut your mouth at once! Don't you know that even an inadvertent mention of that person's name could be sensed? The power of the Supreme Throne is not something you can afford to disdain in your current state..."

"I understand... It's just a Sixth Grade Solar, isn't it?"

The woman's voice answered somewhat reluctantly, while a few bizarre, inexplicable feelings flickered through her mind. It was as though every casual remark she had made today had been subject to some unfathomable miscalculation. This was the mysterious intuition left behind by her unfathomable original self.

"I don't care who you were before, but right now, you are nothing but a tattered wisp of a soul..."

The Brilliant Moon Wizard's voice turned cold and sharp, carrying with it a tremendous oppressive force.

"But our interests are aligned right now, aren't they? I help you, and you can bring me..."

The woman's voice gradually faded into silence...

Of course, Leilin had no way of knowing that the Brilliant Moon Wizard of Jupiter's Lightning had already set a task specifically aimed at him, but even the slightest thought would have been enough to piece it together — and so he was currently making preparations for his departure.

A massive satellite floated in midair, looking as though it could plummet at any moment, surrounded by nebulae and the vast expanse of the cosmos.

"Take a look at this treaty. If there are no objections, sign it!"

Leilin had assumed his true form — something he rarely did — and was conversing with the three Morning Star warlocks seated across from him. On the table lay a pre-drafted agreement.

"While I'm away, I need you to watch over the Ouroboros Ring in my stead. And when my wife Frey or the Tower Spirit requests your aid, you must treat it as your highest priority. Any objections?"

Leilin picked up a cup of coffee and raised it toward the warlocks across from him.

Seated opposite him were Paul, Philip, and another Morning Star warlock he did not recognize.

If he needed guardians, his existing allies were naturally the more reliable choice. Philip went without saying — bearing the ancient Storm Wolf bloodline, he was the very picture of hot-blooded devotion. As for Paul, ever since Leilin had played a small trick on him last time, the man had actually grown even more admiring of Leilin. According to him, when it came to beings of supreme intelligence, they always liked to show their respect — which immediately reminded Leilin of the rumors about intellect devourers and their fondness for brains, sending a chill down his spine. Still, since the contract had already been signed, there was no problem.

The last Morning Star warlock was Mas, a good friend Leilin had made during this period. With these three keeping each other in check, along with the power of the contract and the oversight of the Morning Star Space, Leilin felt fairly confident about the safety of the Ouroboros Ring after his departure.

They were all acquaintances, and Leilin's conditions were exceedingly generous. Although the contract was extremely harsh, the three Morning Star warlocks signed without hesitation.

"Good luck!" Philip clapped Leilin on the shoulder. Among the three, he was probably the one who most wanted Leilin to succeed.

"Thanks!" Leilin gave him a reassuring punch on the arm. Ever since the Crimson Arc Moon incident, the Storm Wolf Den had suffered devastating losses — not only had they lost a Morning Star warlock, Belis, but their most important combatant, Hebrew, had been stripped of his Morning Star rank and forced into retirement.

All the pressure suddenly fell upon Philip, and Leilin had given him considerable assistance at the time. This had earned Philip's gratitude, to the point where he treated Leilin like family.

Those were Philip's own words, of course, and Leilin didn't really believe them — he rolled his eyes inwardly.

Still, the fact that their relationship kept growing closer, eventually even surpassing the bond between the Storm Wolf Den and the Psychic Circle, was undeniable.

……

Phosphorescent Marsh, inside the Morning Star Wizard Tower.

After sending everyone away, Leilin stood alone before the Astral Gate.

"Tower Spirit! The moment I leave, seal the entire Wizard Tower immediately. No one is to enter or exit — wait for my message!"

Leilin issued his orders. He had prepared extensively for this journey.

Moreover, unlike his previous Soul Seed projection experiments, rescuing the others this time required him to go in person! This was extremely dangerous — he could even be completely lost in an alien world. The security of the Astral Gate was of paramount importance!

He couldn't trust this task to anyone; it could only be entrusted to the Tower Spirit, which was devoid of human emotions.

In fact, beyond this measure, Leilin had prepared an additional failsafe. Even if the Tower Spirit failed, he would not be stranded in an alien world. This was, of course, his deepest secret, one he had to keep from everyone.

Boom! At Leilin's command, the entire Wizard Tower slammed shut. Numerous Rune Chains and defensive light barriers sealed every corridor, while swarms of puppets and Void Assassins, their eyes glowing red, began conducting rigorous patrols.

"Leilin! You have to succeed — you have to come back safely!" Outside the Wizard Tower, Frey clutched the fabric of her white dress, praying silently.

She was not alone — Pike, Sluby, and several other high-ranking warlocks stood nearby, watching the sealed Wizard Tower with complicated, indescribable expressions on their faces.

Leilin had no attention to spare for any of them. Every ounce of his focus was now devoted to the Astral Gate before him.

He had long since calculated the world coordinates that Duke Gilbert and the other two had lost. But for his own sake, he had kept this information secret — he had even secretly interfered with Sart's efforts, dragging things out for a full five years.

And now, the time had come when he had no choice but to go rescue the two Dukes.

Setting Emma aside for the moment, Gilbert was his teacher after all, and had taught him quite a lot. Simply for the sake of their past ties and the bond between them, Leylin was prepared to make this journey.

Besides — it was an entirely different world over there!

"Even if it's a trap, it's worth the price of a world's coordinates!" Leylin felt a stir of excitement in his heart. Even the most lowly world was bound to surpass a plane in value! The rich resources contained within would be enough to make even Morning Stars or Brilliant Moons envious.

"You went through all that trouble — revealing a world's coordinates just to set up Teacher and the others. I wonder what your expression will look like once we've completely taken over this world?"

A faint smile traced across Leylin's lips. He could already envision the scene of that Brilliant Moon Wizard of Jupiter's Thunder flying into an impotent rage.

A mote of light, brilliant as a star, drifted from Leylin's hand and melted into the Astral Gate.

Boom!

Through the Astral Gate's connection, Leylin's spiritual power touched upon an extraordinarily complex and vast world.

At the world's border, dense emanations of sulfur and flame poured outward in torrents.

The reserve energy within the Astral Stone — the core power source — plummeted at a frightening rate, nearly crashing past the warning threshold.

Through his senses, Leylin could confirm that this world lay at an immense distance from the Wizard World, and the sheer cost of opening the Astral Gate just once would likely be a staggering figure.

"An atmosphere saturated with fire and sulfur?" Leylin startled, then relaxed somewhat. "No wonder Teacher and the others took it for a Hell world. If not for my ancient memories, I might have made the same mistake…"

"Tower Spirit! After I leave, maintain the necessary energy reserves for the Astral Gate and stand by to activate the retrieval procedure at any moment!"

Leylin's voice was low and steady.

"Understood!" The tower spirit — a small, sprite-like figure of green light — nodded immediately in acknowledgment.

"Initiating physical traversal!" Leylin drew a deep breath. Though he had experience with teleportation through Morning Star spaces, a transfer across such an extraordinary distance still sent a thread of tension through his heart.

"Ping! Beginning data collection. Establishing database files!" The Chip responded promptly as well. Such an experience was exceedingly rare — even the Chip lacked first-hand research material on this, and now was the perfect time to fill that gap.

"But this feeling of using yourself as the test subject… it's really a bit…"

Leylin silently rolled his eyes as the radiance blazing atop the Astral Gate grew ever brighter, until at last it swallowed him whole…

Boom! A blue star band resembling an aurora manifested at the peak of Leylin's Wizard Tower, slicing through the dark curtain of the sky like a brilliant shooting star.

"It's started!" Frey's heart clenched.

"It's started! Initiate the interference protocol! Just like last time — sever his connection and cast him adrift!"

Meanwhile, in a dark crevice between worlds, Collins — whom Leylin had encountered a few times before — was leading a team of technicians as they worked over some kind of instrument. Streams of light and data cascaded across its surface.

"Energy interference array complete!"

"Distortion Field framework in position — ready to deploy interference at any moment!"

"Proton stream formed. Begin tracking the target's trajectory — initiating the cutting sequence..." A number of high-ranking Wizards operated their instruments with the precision of the most meticulous scientists, calling out data as they worked.

"Excellent! Begin immediately!" Collins's hand slashed downward with savage force, as though he could already see Leylin's face twisted in terror. A savage thrill of revenge flooded through his entire being, and he could not help but laugh aloud.

"Here it comes!"

Even within the spatial transit of the Astral Gate, Leylin had maintained full awareness — and now the Chip delivered its warning.

"Unidentified Field response detected — classified as interference particle wave stream!"

"I've been waiting for you!" A sharp glint flashed through Leylin's eyes.