"Escape?!"
Moriel sneered coldly, completely ignoring Ronan's orders. After landing, she pushed off the ground with all her might and ran recklessly toward the direction of the swirling gray clouds.
Along the way, she knocked over one passerby after another, her hood falling away to reveal a mane of fiery red hair that danced like flames in the wind.
Even from her back, one could sense her madness at this moment.
"Hmph!"
Ronan snorted coldly, a dense aura of the extraordinary law domain surged from his body, and the spell fluctuations spread out.
From beneath his Wizard Robe, the activated Ithium alloy, made of living steel, quickly emerged, transforming into a two-meter-tall metallic humanoid.
In the blink of an eye, it caught up with Moriel, then wrapped its arms around her from behind, embedding her deeply within the flowing metallic liquid.
"Let go of me! Damn it, you filthy little bug!"
Moriel struggled incessantly, her feet kicking wildly, and the deer leather boots she had just put on were kicked off.
But now, with no strength left, she had no ability to resist against the activated Ithium humanoid. In less than a second, she was firmly wrapped up, and then it charged toward the other end of Homer Blue Town.
The terrifying might of the Dawn Tier Wizard loomed like countless mountains, and the vast sea crashed down from the sky with a thunderous roar.
In an instant, the entire Homer Blue Town was engulfed in immense panic. No one knew what was happening; only a thick haze of death quickly gathered.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
An ancient and evil aura emanated from Ronan as he swiftly entered the state of "Ancient Ice," his figure rising sharply, dark blue hair billowing, and the originally loose Wizard Robe was stretched tight.
Just as he was about to further utilize the power of "Crimson Ice" to fully awaken the "Taboo Gate" deep within his bloodline.
Suddenly, "Boom!"
A burst of intense golden-red flames exploded in his vision. In a daze, Ronan seemed to see the fleeting shadow of a flame giant bird with a crown of flames, coldly staring at him.
"Bang—"
An inexplicable sense of unease surged within him, and the frost surrounding Ronan suddenly exploded. He staggered back a few steps, as if someone had pushed him hard in the chest.
"What is this..."
Ronan's expression changed as he realized that six percent of his Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline was firmly "locked" by some force.
Even if he was willing to bear the risk of being controlled by the ancient will of "Hekalto," he still couldn't enter the state of "Crimson Ice."
"Is it because of the 'symbiosis' with Moriel's soul that our two opposing bloodlines are mutually restraining each other, preventing them from being fully activated?!"
Ronan's face turned extremely grim.
He had always thought that Moriel's current "powerless" state was due to her failed "Nirvana" secret technique, her injuries not healing, compounded by some backlash from the secret technique.
Now he realized that a significant part of the reason was that his own Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline was firmly suppressing the awakening of her "Phoenix Bloodline" power.
Their relationship was too complicated now; they were both shackled by layer upon layer of constraints, and the number of these "shackles" was so great that even now, Ronan had not fully grasped how many hidden limitations there were.
"Without being able to use 'Taboo. Crimson Ice,' my only means to counter the Level Four Dawn is 'Taboo. Black Hole.'"
Ronan stood amidst the escalating chaos, his gaze heavy as he looked at the pale, bone-armored, purple-haired middle-aged wizard who was drawing closer in the sky.
However, the energy accumulated in the "Herams' Armored Ring" had long been exhausted during his last use, and he had no confidence in being able to cast "Taboo. Black Hole" again.
Moreover, even if he could barely cast it, whether it would successfully repel the opponent was uncertain. He had fought this purple-haired wizard from the Resurrection Society before, and at that time, he couldn't even face him head-on in the "Crimson Ice" state, relying instead on Serena's opportunistic support. Not to mention, behind this purple-haired middle-aged wizard stood an incredibly terrifying Level Five wizard!
"Going head-to-head with Moriel as a burden, the chance of survival might be less than ten percent."
"But if I escape now... can I really get away?"
Ronan stared intently at the apocalyptic gray clouds sweeping in, his eyes flickering rapidly.
After a moment, it seemed he finally made a decision. His aura suddenly retracted, and he turned around, unhesitatingly running toward Moriel, who was being taken away by the Ithium humanoid.
At that moment, in the sky, the purple-haired middle-aged figure, standing as if in a blazing sun, slowly extended his right hand down with an indifferent expression.
In an instant, a terrifying force, like a collapsing dome, suddenly descended. In a moment, the rune array above Homer Blue Town shattered with a loud crash.
Countless terrified wizards flew out, trying to escape in all directions, but in the next moment, they were crushed to dust by this invisible force.
"Rumble—"
Starting from one side, the ground of Homer Blue began to shake, the streets and buildings were destroyed and overturned like paper, continuously moving toward a predetermined location.
"Let go of me!! Get your filthy hands off me! Ah—"
Moriel struggled wildly, like a frantic beast, continuously biting at Ronan's arm.
But Ronan forcefully "suppressed" her.
He held Moriel in one arm, her small frame almost completely embraced by him from behind.
At the same time, Ronan took out a pale finger bone exuding a strong ancient aura, the mysterious bone that Evaque had given him, his eyes flashing with a determined and resolute light, then he squeezed it hard.
"Let's take a gamble!"
"Crack—"
The first segment of the finger bone shattered with a sound, turning into white bone powder. Then, an inexplicable aura emanated, forming an invisible black cloak in the void, slowly draping over Ronan. Meanwhile, the Ithium metallic humanoid spread its limbs, forming a large character shape to completely envelop Ronan.
Almost at the moment everything was completed.
"Boom!"
The invisible force that had been sweeping straight toward Ronan's position violently swept over, turning an entire long street into dust in an instant.
"Huh?!"
In the sky, the indifferent purple-haired middle-aged man suddenly changed his expression.
In his perception, the trace of the target he had barely captured suddenly vanished without a trace.
The purple-haired middle-aged man frowned slightly, continuing to manipulate the spell's power, plowing through the vast Homer Blue Town like a farmer plowing a field.
During this time, countless desperate wizards let out painful screams, and some even rushed at him recklessly, but he didn't even lift an eyelid, as innocent lives perished tragically in despair beneath him.
"Really disappeared?"
The purple-haired middle-aged man's frown deepened, his lips moving in frustration as he muttered a short incantation.
In the next moment, a piece of evil flame, as white as bone, materialized out of thin air, cascading down onto the ruins of Homer Blue Town.
"Rumble—"
The pale Spell bone fire turned the entire Homer Blue Town into a sea of flames.
The fire burned for three whole days and nights, and the once prosperous Homer Blue was completely obliterated, leaving no living soul behind.
The purple-haired middle-aged man searched repeatedly, finally casting a deep glance below before turning to leave.
Days and nights passed, and the remaining pale bone fire silently burned on the plains.
The ruins of Homer Blue Town were nearly burned to ashes, leaving only a large area of blackened scorched earth that had sunk deep.
When the last wisp of bone fire extinguished, a cold consciousness that had loomed over the entire Homer Blue Town finally chose to give up and retreated indifferently.
Another three days passed.
A merchant fleet composed of Spell airships arrived at the site, and from a distance, they saw the tragedy of the area, feeling the lingering terrifying Spell might and the almost palpable resentment of the dead souls on the land. The members of the merchant fleet fell silent, quietly taking a detour to leave.
Time passed, and suddenly, a heavy rain fell.
Amidst the dense dark clouds, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, torrential rain poured down, washing everything below.
The rainwater mixed with the scorched earth, forming murky streams, and at that moment, a patch of damp soil suddenly bulged upward, as if the ground was giving birth to a bump.
The bump grew larger and finally "bang" exploded.
A figure, emaciated and skeletal, quietly stood up from the soil.
More than seventy percent of its flesh had been burned away, revealing large patches of charred bones, half of its facial bones completely exposed, and the remaining single eye, filled with blood vessels, still emitted a faint blue light.
"Crack, crack—"
This charred corpse, as if crawling out from a fiery grave, struggled to prop itself up, slowly opening its arms to reveal a petite and delicate girl nestled within.
Soaked by the rain, her long, rose-red hair cascaded down like a waterfall, seemingly the only bright color in the world at that moment.
The girl stood under the protection of the charred corpse, watching as streams of black metallic liquid flowed down from the charred corpse like pus from a festering wound.
She let the cold rainwater drip onto her face, tilting her head back, staring blankly at the man's face, which was almost unrecognizable and horrifying.
Suddenly, two trails of tears silently slipped from the corners of her eyes.
The girl seemed to recall something, painfully closing her eyes, whispering a sorrowful murmur.
"Vivian."
Hearing the girl's lament, the charred corpse, with small pink flesh buds slowly growing on its body, emitted a hoarse and grating voice.
"Did the Level Five wizard beside you die for you in the same way?"
"Cough, cough!"
After just a few words, the charred corpse began to cough violently, directly expelling some charred fragments from its mouth.
After a moment, it seemed to feel a bit better, finally managing to slowly move its body.
"Let's go."
"I didn't expect that the pain I endured couldn't be shared with you."
"But that's fine. I was almost worried you would die from the pain."
"Level Four. The Resurrection Society. I will eventually take everything back one by one."
Accompanied by the weak murmurs of someone, in the heavy rain, two figures, one tall and one short, supported each other, slowly disappearing from this place.
Seven days later.
At a southern port, a large ship, bulky and resembling a giant fat-bellied sea fish, slowly ascended into the air amidst the shimmering light of the Rune Array, heading toward the vast sea.
On the deck, several young boys and girls looked at the increasingly distant dock, silent for a moment, until someone suddenly began to sob softly.
"I don't want to go back like this!"
"Accept your fate, Harry. This isn't our world... Our talents are too poor; even if we spend decades here, we won't have a chance to truly step through that door."
"In two years, we've tried every possible method. What we've learned in these two years is enough for us to gain a certain status in our respective family kingdoms when we return."
"Good days are still ahead, folks!"
"Yeah, some unrealistic dreams have come time to wake up."
The young people comforted and encouraged each other on the deck, soon emerging from their sadness and disappointment, chatting and laughing as they headed toward the cabin.
Their topics of conversation had shifted from various matters related to wizards to titles, territories, food, and women.
These young boys and girls, dressed in the simplest wizard robes, with mental energy fluctuations not exceeding Level Three apprentices, did not notice that on the highest deck of the ship, a tall figure clad in a black robe and wearing a metal mask was quietly watching them.
"Tap, tap."
The crisp and light footsteps sounded as a slender, petite figure walked up to the black-robed person.
Gently lifting the hood from her head, a stunningly beautiful girl with an elfin grace casually tossed her hair, letting it fall like red silk.
Sensing the strong herbal scent emanating from the black-robed figure, the girl wrinkled her nose, then glanced down at the young people below, speaking lightly, "What, are you reminded of your former self?"
"Yes."
A low, hoarse voice emerged from beneath the black robe, sounding as if the vocal cords had been scorched by fire.
Beneath the silver metal mask, a pair of sapphire-blue eyes, strikingly different from the voice, fell upon the girl as he calmly said, "Don't you feel anything? Every wizard starts as an apprentice."
"Heh."
The girl let out a scoff, casting a disdainful glance at the black-robed figure beside her, answering with a hint of pride, "Don't compare me to people like you. I became a formal wizard the moment I finished my first meditation."
"..."
The black-robed figure seemed momentarily taken aback by the girl's words, falling silent as he turned to gaze at the distant sea surface.
The girl smiled triumphantly, humming a tune as she turned and walked toward the cabin with a light and proud step.
"If there's nothing, don't bother me!"
She tossed out the words and vanished in an instant.
Watching the girl's retreating figure, Ronan couldn't help but murmur to himself.
"It seems everything is heading in a good direction."
Suddenly, as if something had been pulled, he reached for his chest, coughing violently.
The silver metal mask slipped off accidentally, clattering to the deck and revealing a terrifying face that was slowly healing from severe burns.
To evade the pursuit of the Level Four wizard from the Resurrection Society, Ronan had been gravely injured this time.
(End of Chapter)