"Where are they?" one of the sages demanded, his eyes scanning the crater.
The others jumped to join him, all of them confused when they didn't see anyone.
"Did they teleport sowhere and continue fighting?" another sage suggested, brow furrowed in thought.
"No, that's impossible," ca the quick reply.
"We already activated Eryx's defense runes. If there was a high concentration of energy, the alarm would've gone off."
Just as they were filled with confusion, the ground trembled.
The sages could feel it—the core runes that had protected this place for so many years were shutting down.
It ant that sothing bad happened to Julius.
CRACK!
A loud fragile sound echoed from above, drawing the attention of everyone in the city.
They pointed to the sky, which was cracking, and light began to seep through until it completely collapsed, revealing the sun and the blue sky.
"It's too bright!" The citizens hurriedly covered their eyes and ran inside their hos; they weren't used to this type of light.
Back in the arena,
"T—This is impossible...Does this an the Sorcerer King is really dead?"
The idea was too difficult to believe, but the evidence were pointing in that direction.
Lizana stepped forward, seizing the opportunity to further her cause.
"It's simple—he defeated Julius. By our laws, he should be honored and made the new king of Eryx."
Her words were clear, and her expression showed she was ready for a fight if needed.
She was not afraid, because many would stand with her.
Julius ruled for far too long, and not everyone was pleased with the way he managed things.
"Honor him?" Liara shouted angrily, her voice trembling with rage. "He killed our king! He needs to be captured and executed!"
Her eyes were filled with anger, and her grief was impossible to hide.
"You deserved to die too!" she shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Lizana. "She's in cohorts with that outsider to assassinate our king!"
Lizana only smiled inwardly at the attempt to turn everyone against her.
The elental sage was an idiot if she thought she could win over these egotistical sorcerers with nothing but emotions.
"Kill ?" she let out a sigh, shaking her head in amusent.
"First off, you don't have any proof. And secondly, if I was really his ally, what do you think will happen if you kill ? Do you really think you can take down soone who killed Julius?"
So of the neutral sages paused, considering which side to take.
Right now, all the defense runes in Eryx were unavailable due to the sorcerer's king death, and if Asher returned in his peak form, none of them would stand a chance against him.
"She's lying," Liara snapped, not letting her enemy get a montum "He should be exhausted by now. This is the perfect ti to capture and kill that criminal."
The two won continued their heated argunt, each trying to rally the others to their side. Their voices overlapped, the dispute over the throne threatening to tear apart what little unity remained.
Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
This wasn't just about their personal rivalry—it was about the future leadership of Eryx.
Whoever swayed the majority would hold the power to shape the kingdom's fate.
anwhile, several of the more notable sages moved quietly, their focus fixed on finding Asher. As for their intentions, only ti would tell.
***
***
***
Inside a Barrier.
'Damn it,' Asher groaned, lying on the cold ground while blood pooled around him.
His skin was dry and cracked, as if he had been fried in oil. He wanted to cast a healing spell to ease the pain, but one of the backlash effects was that he couldn't use magic for a while.
He had no choice but to endure the suffering until he regained the ability to heal himself.
'I won't use it again unless necessary,' he added, trying to push through the pain by focusing on other things.
Ti stretched on, and he did his best to stay conscious. If he lost control now, there was a chance he might never wake up.
He needed to check when his magic paths would recover enough for him to cast a healing spell.
It would have been easier if he had soone with him who could heal, but trust was a luxury he couldn't afford in this world—not even with Lucia.
'Speaking of her,' he mumbled, the thought of her bringing a wave of guilt.
The promise he made to her lingered in his mind. He couldn't just leave without at least trying to fulfill it, especially since he has no plans of returning again.
While that thought ran in his mind, his finger suddenly twitch, and a small flow of energy coursed through his fingertips.
Closing his eyes, he focused, carefully restoring his magic pathways, little by little.
After about 15 minutes, he was halfway through the process, and the progress allowed him to cast a healing spell.
The fried skin on his body began to peel away, revealing smoother, healthier skin underneath. Slowly, he started to return to normal.
Though still in a weakened state, he managed to stand up.
Checking his body, it was mostly fine, and even his robe started to repair itself—one of Index's well-thought-out functions that made his life easier.
But just as he was beginning to feel so relief, the barrier concealing him shattered, and he found himself surrounded by dozens of sages.
None of them were part of the nad six, but they were still a powerful group none the least.
Holding the dragon core in his hand, he kept it ready—just in case he needed to teleport out of this place.
"Where is the Sorcerer King?" a man with fox-like features spoke up. He appeared to be around 50 years old, his long nose making him a bit more morable.
"Dead," he answered bluntly, his voice devoid of remorse or guilt.
What happened was just him fighting to survive, and by a close call, it was Julius who died, not him.
User Comments
0 comments from readers