Fire Mage

Marcus met her charge calmly, raised his wrinkled hand, and summoned a spatial blade at his fingertip.

Invisible yet deadly, the Rank-5 [Dimensional Blade] flew at Jessie at incredible speed.

"Jessie, leave this to me!" Rhea called out, sensing a thread of fate and glimpsing Jessie's near future.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand, locked eyes on one of the seven robed men, and activated her subclass skill.

"Fate Swift!"

In a blink, Jessie's form blurred and vanished.

A black-robed figure appeared where she had stood, wearing a confused expression, then was sliced cleanly in half, tumbling down with blood spraying everywhere.

His scream echoed in vain.

The other six robed men retreated from the center, where Jessie reappeared, spear poised to strike.

The battle erupted in the physical realm.

…

Titus said nothing as he released his wisdom power, raised an eerie black scythe, and slashed through space, creating a rift.

Stepping forward, he entered the Astral Realm—startling Marcus's soul form.

The sight of a towering Grim Reaper approaching chilled Marcus's soul.

He halted his chanting, lifted his foggy hands, and cast a spell.

Tens of gray chains erupted from his soul, slithering swiftly to bind Titus's limbs and body.

Astral Chains Soul—an exclusive Death Mage spell.

Titus blinked, then sliced through the chains effortlessly with his scythe's wisdom power.

"Damn it!" Marcus snarled, casting [Consciousness Cut].

An invisible ripple surged from his soul, slipping into Titus's undead body to assault his consciousness.

Pain tore from deep within, forcing Titus to stagger.

Still, those flickering blue flames burned fiercely in his eye sockets—no hesitation there.

A crackling sound escaped his lips as he advanced closer to Marcus's soul form.

Before Marcus could retreat, Titus's bony left hand shot out, grasping the neck of the soul.

"Disappear!" he commanded in the Nether tongue, activating his subclass skill, Reaper's Grasp.

This skill could pull souls back from the Physical or Astral Realm to their original bodies.

Grim Reapers didn't just collect the dead—they maintained cosmic order.

When wandering souls were found in the Astral Realm, Grim Reapers checked whether their souls remained linked to their bodies.

If still attached, they pushed the souls back, restoring balance.

Breaking this bond was a crime against the Underworld—and the cycle of death itself.

Titus hadn't attacked Charles in the Astral Realm because Charles was his teacher's grandson.

And he's not someone I dare fight.

A dark death energy seeped from Titus's hand, enveloping Marcus's soul and forcing it out of the Astral Realm.

Moments later, Marcus's soul shimmered, then vanished, returning to its original body.

At that moment, Rhea faced off against two towering humanoids, each with horns jutting from their foreheads, and a robed human. The two creatures stood close to two meters tall, gripping strange red whips. Their bulky, muscular frames gave them the savage appearance of barbarian warriors.

A bizarre, pulsating heart-like organ throbbed visibly outside their chests, wildly beating as if alive. What caught Rhea's attention most was the invisible, cocoon-like shield that wrapped around each heart, protecting it from harm.

They're turning into some kind of abomination, Rhea thought, frowning slightly as she shifted her gaze toward the robed figure.

He looked to be around thirty years old, his face mottled with reddish patches, hood pulled low to shadow his features. Apart from those strange marks, he seemed almost ordinary.

But whenever Rhea looked directly at him, he seemed to fade into the background, concealing his presence so well he nearly vanished.

Why isn't he joining the fight? A prickling unease grew in her chest.

She felt the gaze of a lurking predator—silent, patient, deadly—like a python waiting to strike. Though quiet, he was the most dangerous of the three.

All three were Rank-5 Mystics, needing outside aid just to survive this fight. Yet, Rhea shook her head firmly. I can't always depend on them. I have to learn more about these creatures.

As she mulled over this, she summoned a sphere of water in her palm and spoke sharply, "Help me stall them for a while, Ancestor."

The water orb began to twist and flow, molding into the shape of an owl before solidifying into a shimmering ice sculpture.

From the owl's mouth came an old man's voice: "I'll hold them for a few seconds. Use this chance to find their weaknesses with all you've learned."

With a sudden flap of wings, the ice owl darted toward the monstrous beings. Upon nearing them, it exploded, encasing all three in a massive block of ice, freezing them solid.

Meanwhile, Rhea closed her eyes and slipped into her Inner World, relinquishing control of her body to another part of her consciousness. Though not as stable as Charles's or Jessie's, her inner self could still act on her behalf.

She arrived in a serene realm beneath a clear blue sky—an endless ocean surrounding a tiny island with a grand mansion by the shore.

This was her sanctuary.

Without hesitation, she vanished from the island and reappeared in a vast hall lined with countless bookshelves. Closing her eyes, she let waves of knowledge about demons, devils, and planar wars flow through her mind, slowly organizing themselves.

A smile tugged at her lips.

From what I've gathered, those two are [Lunatic] Class Mystics, she mused. Only evil cult worshippers walk this path—dangerous and twisted. No one like them has appeared in the Iron Kingdom or the surrounding lands for centuries.

Her eyes narrowed. They're Rank-5 [Chaos Man], outer-class Gem Mystics who follow the path of chaos and destruction. Essentially, bloodline descendants of the Devil Lord called Maddevil, able to transform into abominations of pure chaos.

They last appeared during the previous planar war, leaving destruction in their wake. Known as subordinates of the wicked 'Red Devil,' their skills include:

Chaos Heart – Temporarily boosts physique, driving them into berserk fury.Chaos Whip – Creates a whip from their own blood, inflicting a deadly curse that causes dizziness and mental corruption.Wicked Thought – Their eyes can manipulate the opponent's thoughts, bending them to their will.Consciousness Invade...Madness Descend...

The more she read, the darker her expression grew.

Then she glanced at the robed man's profile, her face hardening.

As expected, he's a Rank-5 [Twilight Whisper], a member of the Divine Order cult. His skills aren't as overtly dangerous—if I stay alert for his sneaky attacks, I can win.

"Lass, they're about to break the Sealed Ice!" A familiar male voice thundered from above, snapping her back to reality.

She opened her eyes to see cracks spiderwebbing across the ice block. Within moments, it shattered into shards.

The two demonic beasts roared, their bodies wreathed in sinister dark auras as they charged at her with terrifying speed.

Rhea raised her hand calmly, sweeping it through the air as she cast her first spell: Ice Mirage.

In an instant, her body shimmered, blurred, then vanished.

The beasts growled, snarling in confusion as they swung their whips wildly at empty air.

From the shattered ice, the black-robed man emerged slowly, coughing harshly. Spotting her disappearance, he scowled.

"Invisible skill or illusion? That girl's ice powers are troublesome. I must kill her before she uncovers my weakness. Hmph—looks like I'll have to act as bait and draw her out."

With that, he activated Devil's Clone, conjuring a perfect replica of himself.

Though the clone was only ten percent as strong, it was enough to deceive their foe briefly.

He then cloaked himself in darkness, merging seamlessly with his clone's shadow.

Meanwhile, Rhea dodged the whipping strikes of the demonic beasts, biding her time patiently.

Just as she predicted, an opening appeared: the robed man strode toward the two demons, shouting something.

Without hesitation, Rhea dashed between the beasts, moving swiftly toward the robed figure.

She conjured two massive water spheres, shaping them into shields which she floated on either side, controlled by her wisdom energy.

A cruel grin spread across the robed man's face. "Now! Kill her!"

The demons swung their whips in unison.

One lash hissed like an arrow, piercing straight through the watery shield toward Rhea.

The other slithered like a snake, coiling tightly around her neck.

The third whip stabbed through her chest, emerging from her back.

But then the robed man's face froze in shock.

Instead of blood, a clear, transparent liquid seeped from Rhea's wounds.

Before any of them could react, Rhea's form melted away into a puddle on the ground, soaking the dry earth.

"A clone?" The robed man's eyes went wide.

"Indeed." A calm voice spoke behind him, freezing him to the core.

A chill swept over him, and ice rapidly crept up his body.

Rhea appeared behind the frozen man, drawing a crystal dagger from her space ring.

She plunged it into his chest.

Unlike any ordinary blade, the dagger passed through the ice as if it were water, slicing deep into flesh and heart.

Blood welled out, tinting the ice a dark red.

Without hesitation, she pulled the dagger free and slashed across his neck, ice and flesh cleaving apart.

As she spun to face the two rushing demons, her vision blurred momentarily.

She touched the robed man's blood, whispering under her breath, "Fate Change."

From the shadows, the hidden robed man lunged at her with a gleaming longsword.

But Rhea only smirked, unshaken.

Though confident, a flicker of fear shuddered through the attacker's heart.

Just as his sword's tip neared her neck, her form blurred and vanished.

It was the Fate Swap skill.

In her place stood one of the demonic beasts.

The sword plunged into the demon's chest.

Meanwhile, Rhea reappeared beside the other demon, meeting its clawed fist with a fierce gaze.

The beast snarled and swung a massive punch.

A shockwave burst through the air as the blow slammed into her, tossing her high.

Her body felt as though crushed beneath a mountain; chest bones shattered into countless fragments.

Falling like a corpse, she opened her mouth and spoke.

Pain and wounds vanished as if they had never existed.

Behind her, the robed man collapsed, his body breaking down from Fate Change—unable to comprehend what had undone him.

The enraged demon lifted its colossal foot and crushed the robed man's head like an insect.