Fire Mage

His attention then shifted to the black-robed men, unease settling in. Unlike the holy aura that surrounded the woman in divine armor, the seven men exuded chaotic energy.

Their faces were hidden behind white masks, each radiating a dense, murderous aura. But what caught Marcus's eye were the headbands they wore, each engraved with a goat skull symbol.

Goat symbol? He thought. Are they from that evil group—the Divine Order? He knew them to be ruthless fanatics intent on wiping out every human in this realm, and a flicker of shock passed through him.

But why are they taking orders from Sasha? Who is she, really? Shaking his head, Marcus pushed the questions aside and focused on the task at hand.

With a swift leap, he landed atop the battlement before Sasha.

"Greetings, Your Excellency," he said politely.

"You're right on time," Sasha replied with a nod. She pointed to the mystics beside her. "These are the mystics I've personally trained for today. All are around Rank-5 and should be useful in battle. Don't disappoint me."

With that, Sasha slowly ascended into the air, her gaze fixed on the distant sky.

Marcus and the others followed quietly, hovering behind her.

Within minutes, six of them flew toward Dreamforge City, landing on the grassland over 800 meters from the city gates.

They were Charles and his team.

Sasha released her wisdom power, locking her golden eyes on Charles. Light shone within them as she analyzed him with the power of fate.

Though a consciousness of a divine being, her instincts warned her not to underestimate the man before her.

"He has far surpassed the realm of Legends..." Her voice trailed off, fading into silence. Two seconds later, she finished analyzing the battle through the power of fate, her expression flickering with disbelief and shock.

"Haa, this guy might be the strongest in the Edhen World right now. Still, I have a few tricks left. Marcus, I'm betting everything on you. When the moment comes, I'll activate the array I set up ahead and pull Charles into a separate dimension. While I do my best to keep him from interfering in your fight, you must claim the legacy within ten minutes." Her tone was dead serious.

"Once you get the legacy, crush this crystal to summon me back forcefully." She produced a bluish crystal etched with mysterious runes and handed it to him.

"I'll do as you say, Your Excellency," Marcus bowed respectfully.

Meanwhile, Sasha manipulated her wisdom power and surged forward to confront Charles.

Charles noticed her approach and released his own wisdom power.

A stream of information about Sasha appeared before his eyes:

…

[Name: Sasha

Health Status: Normal

Race: Human/????

Main Class: Rank-5 Thought Creator [Pseudo-Legend Rank]

Sub-class: Rank-6 Conspirator [Legend Rank]

Title: Avatar of ?????

Attributes:

Strength – 40.0

Dexterity – 39.0

Constitution – 41.5

Wisdom – 340

Charisma – 18

Class skills:

Consciousness Pull

Illusionary Realm

Fool's Gaze

Truth Finder

Swift Thoughts

Control of Words

Sub-class skills:

Fate Rewind

Mental Shackle

Absolute Stratagem

Unique skills:

Spearsmanship – Master Aura

Midas Touch

Eye of Truth and Destiny

...]

…

Oh? So many mental-related skills. One wrong move and even I could end up in a bad spot. Though she's already Legend Rank and can hold her own against Destiny Conqueror members, she's not someone I need to fear yet.

Still, Charles was cautious.

But if I start fighting here, things could get messy. First, I need to break her confidence.

Using the [Eye of Faceless], he glimpsed possible futures and decided to play along.

"Take care of them, old man," Charles said as he ascended slowly into the air, calmly fixing his gaze on Sasha.

Sasha darted toward him at incredible speed, arriving before him in a blink.

"You're more like a cockroach, Charles. I'm really curious how you evade the love curse." Her brow furrowed as she sensed a familiar divine energy radiating from his heart.

"Strange... why does the love curse still linger within you?" Confusion crossed her face.

Just as she prepared to activate the love curse to distract him, Charles calmly raised his hand, placing it over his chest, and cast [Cleansing Fire].

In an instant, a dense bluish-green flame erupted from his palm, seeping into his heart and purifying the soul curse buried deep inside.

Though the curse's essence fought back, Charles's cleansing fire burned through every trace of negativity, erasing the curse within seconds.

Sasha dared not hesitate. She summoned a strange magic circle in midair, surrounding them both with dense spatial energy.

A large portal appeared above their heads, pulling them like a black hole.

It was a forceful teleportation spell array.

But just as the portal stabilized, a powerful wisdom aura burst from below, analyzing the entire array in a heartbeat.

Runeth threw a strange metal disc that fused with the active array.

Suddenly, the entire array darkened to an eerie shade and began cracking, unstable.

"Don't try to be a hero and drag the fight out. I'll watch over the kids," Runeth said with a smile.

Sasha barely glanced at him before realizing he had tampered with the array. Her plan was ruined.

She tried to escape the array's grasp.

"Fate Shif—" She began to activate the spell, but a strange fire invaded her consciousness, wiping away her thoughts.

Simultaneously, a purple seed took root deep within her mind.

Charles's Eternal Flame Seed spell.

When Sasha regained her senses, she stood alone in a desert filled with swirling sandstorms and jagged rocky hills.

"Hmm, what now?" Charles asked coldly, hovering tens of meters above her.

Sasha's expression darkened.

She recalled the brown-haired old man throwing the strange disc at the array—Runeth, the Holem's Crown.

She had known of the artifact but never considered it a threat. Records described it as a miracle-working relic that stole luck but had no battle power.

I thought Charles used a cloning technique to let the artifact possess a body as his guardian. But I was wrong. That was no artifact's soul, but a person's.

What filled her with despair was the wisdom aura surrounding the man.

"A Rank-7 Existence!" She exhaled sharply.

Just as she prepared to activate her [Psychologist] class skill, the strange purple fire flared again, wiping her thoughts and disrupting the activation.

A tense expression settled over Sasha's face.

Without hesitation, she touched her space ring, pulling out a two-meter-long spear.

Gripping it with both hands, she shrouded the spear's edges in a greenish aura.

At the same moment, Sasha seemed to sense the immediate future. She activated [Swift Thought] and [Absolute Stratagem] on herself.

In the blink of an eye, a flawless plan for the next twenty steps formed in her mind—and she moved accordingly. It might have seemed absurd, but she analyzed the strange cooldown on the thought-erasing spell, the danger posed by the sword at Charles's waist, and even the amount of wisdom power radiating from his body.

Like a bustling beehive, thousands of pieces of information about Charles appeared before her eyes and began to rearrange themselves.

I can beat him!

She looked up, flapped her metallic wings with force, and shot into the air without hesitation.

As she launched the spear toward Charles, she suddenly blanked again, slipping into that strange, vacant state.

But this time, [Swift Thought] activated on its own, replacing her uncertainty with the pre-planned strategy.

No delay followed. Her mind calmed instantly, and she surged upward at incredible speed.

Meanwhile, Charles cast [Rebirth Domain], transforming the surroundings into a sea of crimson fire and molten lava. Desert sand melted into liquid rock; stones glowed like embers. The air thickened, suffused with volcanic heat and choking smoke.

Charles's speed increased tenfold, allowing him to deftly evade her spear thrust.

Just as he relaxed, Sasha's silvery boots glowed golden, wrapping her body in divine energy.

Once more, she flapped her wings and charged toward him with a thrust.

Something was different this time.

She's faster than before, Charles thought, frowning. He dodged sideways.

Simultaneously, he cast [Overlord of Domination]—targeting her mind—and then activated [Crimson Steps], vanishing only to reappear more than twenty meters away.

Fear flickered across Sasha's face as black flames enveloped her, poisoning her emotions.

No good! He has too many troublesome abilities!

Still, she steadied herself and cast [Mental Shackle] on her own mind—a skill designed to purge curses and mental instability.

A heartbeat later, the creeping dread vanished, her thoughts clearing like a calm lake.

"Don't move!" Sasha shouted, launching herself forward.

"Why shouldn't I?" Charles scoffed, preparing to dodge her reckless assault—then suddenly froze.

No, it wasn't just a pause. His entire body hung motionless in midair, like a statue caught in time.

It was her main-class skill: [Control of Words].

Sasha's speed surged until she nearly matched Charles's pace.

Her Master Aura cloaked the spear as it aimed for his chest.

But then, from deep within her Consciousness, the [Eternal Flame Seed] flared, erasing her current thought.

Thanks to that, [Control of Words] lost its grip. Charles could move again.

What kind of power was that? he wondered, feeling as if something contaminated his deepest thoughts, locking his body.

That's terrifying!