Fire Mage

"I can fight you two without worrying about being assassinated now," Rhea said, slowly rising as her eyes locked onto the demonic being closest to her.

Calmly, she pointed her finger toward the dark, blood-streaked sky and whispered, "Blizzard."

The spell, nearly as powerful as a Rank-6 technique, could even freeze an enemy's thoughts.

In the next moment, a chilling and surreal scene unfolded. A blizzard descended from the dark clouds—but instead of pure, crystalline snowflakes, bloodied ice rain fell relentlessly, tainting the landscape with an eerie crimson hue.

Each icy drop carried the haunting stain of a darker reality, coating the air in a surreal, unsettling atmosphere. The bloodied ice soon encased both demonic beings in thick layers of frozen armor, their movements grinding to a halt.

"What the heck is this?" Rhea murmured, dumbfounded. She glanced up toward the sky where Jessie was locked in battle.

"Is it because of her domain?" She shook her head, then shifted her gaze back to the frozen demon nearby. She summoned over a dozen bloodied ice spears and hurled them fiercely.

As the spears pierced the creature's body, Rhea sprinted forward with incredible speed, arriving before it in seconds. She drew her crystalline dagger and plunged it deep into the heart, protected by a strange forcefield-like barrier.

A furious roar ripped through the air as the demon thrashed, but the dagger shattered the barrier and pierced its heart.

Within moments, the creature froze solid, encased in a reddish layer of ice, dead.

At that instant, the other demon struggled to move, closing in quickly. But by the time it reached her, Rhea had already ended the fight and turned her attention toward it.

Its thoughts were sluggish, barely conscious as the bloodied ice slowed its mind.

Rhea approached calmly and raised her hand, casting the [Glacial Prison] spell. The demon was quickly encased and frozen solid.

"That ended quietly," she breathed a sigh of relief. She withdrew her dagger and, using her wisdom power, pushed it toward the demon's outer heart.

Like before, the crystalline blade passed effortlessly through the ice-cube prison and forcefield. A moment later, it shattered the barrier, appeared before the beating heart, and stabbed deep.

The ice prison trembled violently from within, then stilled.

The humanoid's death brought relief, and Rhea turned her gaze to the left.

A few hundred meters away, another battle raged.

Instead of three, Noel faced only one—a towering humanoid with eerie black skin and a demonic face. Standing four meters tall, it had a long nose, sharp ears, a square face, a wickedly pointed jaw, and claw-like hands.

"A Rank-6 being? No... that demon's close to Legendary Rank," Rhea analyzed quickly. She noticed two robed men lying dead nearby.

What unsettled her most was the strange power enveloping the area—some kind of barrier sealing Noel and the demon inside.

"Time spell?" she frowned, then caught glimpses of Noel's hands moving faintly.

"Dream Domain? Noel's holding his own? What happened to him while I was away?"

She wanted to help but stopped herself.

"Even though I transferred all the damage to that robed man, that blow still affected my soul."

Dragging her worn body toward the barrier, she tried to pass through—only to be stopped completely by the invisible shield.

Meanwhile, inside the Dreamworld, Noel and the demon fought fiercely.

He had ambushed and killed the first two men easily, confident the third would be no different.

But this enemy was a warlock on the peak of his power.

"But I'm not at a disadvantage," Noel thought.

His longsword shimmered with a purplish aura as he gripped it tightly, eyes sharpening on the demon.

He stepped forward, then dashed in close.

"Grandmaster Aura!" the demon growled, eyes flashing.

Creating a Grandmaster Aura required centuries—sometimes millennia—of isolated training.

Yet the demon knew this young human before him was barely a few decades old.

The playful smirk vanished from its face.

"I don't know how you reached this stage, but you're still no threat to me."

The demon's eyes widened as it unleashed a chaotic power to scramble Noel's thoughts.

Noel froze, mind invaded, and stumbled.

"I've never seen a human so arrogant and foolish," the demon sneered, raising its claw to slash vertically.

In a blink, the massive hand cleaved Noel in two, killing him instantly.

"Humph! I don't know how you fools got killed by this weakling," the demon spat blood onto its fallen comrade's corpse, then furrowed its brow.

Suddenly, Noel's body turned transparent and vanished.

Before the demon could react, a purple ray shot from behind, striking its nape.

Seconds later, the world spun wildly as the demon's headless body twitched.

"Consciousness Steal," came a cold voice from above.

The demon saw a firm hand gripping its severed head as panic set in.

Its memories began to fade, absorbed by an invisible force, until nothing remained.

A ripple pulsed from Noel's form, shattering the Dreamworld and returning him to the physical realm.

At the same time, the invisible barrier dissolved, allowing Rhea to step through.

"Thanks for the help, Gramps," Noel muttered, staggering forward toward the dazed demon.

"Why call that demon 'Gramps'?" Rhea asked as she caught up.

Noel froze, then forced a smile.

"I didn't," he said, raising his longsword once more.

Purple aura flared, sharpening into a blade-like form.

Without hesitation, he slashed vertically, sending a powerful purple blade cleaving the demon in two.

"Purple Aura? Last time I saw you, you were only at Advanced Level," Rhea said, curious.

"I got a gift when I entered the Dreamforce Lair. Rhea, I won't be able to move for a while. Take care of me." Noel's face was tired as he slowly sank backward.

Quickly, Rhea caught him, preventing him from falling.

Her eyes flicked upward to the sky, where a fierce showdown had erupted.

Unlike these opponents, she knew the white-haired old man was no Pseudo-Legend but a true Legendary powerhouse.

A few minutes earlier

After Rhea and Noel separated the robed men from Marcus, Jessie confronted him head-on.

She gripped a bloodied spear in her right hand, eyes blazing with fierce hatred.

No words were needed—the hatred in her gaze spoke volumes.

Marcus knew this woman was the reason his descendants had died. He acted swiftly.

Spatial Scythe! he thought, raising his hand to slash at Jessie.

Though invisible, his movements were an open book to her, thanks to her [Mind Reading] skill.

"A spatial spell?" Jessie murmured, conjuring a giant ball of blood out of thin air, forming a unique shield.

The invisible blade sliced through the blood shield, racing toward her head.

In the next instant, the [Spatial Scythe] spell cleaved her vertically in two.

But before the halves could fall, the blood enveloped her, binding her body back together and healing her instantly.

"What kind of absurd ability is this?" Marcus muttered, dazed.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his chest.

He noticed his blood flow had stopped—dizziness washed over him.

The sky suddenly began to snow before Marcus could awaken from the strange state.

Crimson-red snowflakes started falling on his body, restricting his movements.

"Annoying pests—" he muttered, but a sharp pain flared from the depths of his soul, dazing him for a brief moment and completely breaking his concentration.

"Damn it! My soul got attacked!" he hissed, going pale as he felt the connection with the Astral Realm sever abruptly.

"What are you thinking in the middle of a battle, bastard?" a cold voice came from behind.

Before he could react, he realized Jessie had somehow arrived at his back and placed her hand on him. She did something to his back—he couldn't tell what—then immediately backed off and conjured a blood spear.

She hurled it at his chest with incredible speed.

'This brat!' Marcus's face twisted with anger.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand to cast [Space Shield]—

But a mysterious force invaded his mind and altered his thoughts.

Instead of [Space Shield], he cast [Space Lock].

"F*CK!" he shouted as realization struck. He tried to retreat, but it was too late. The blood spear had already pierced his chest.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"This is so embarrassing..." he muttered through gritted teeth. He yanked the spear out and tossed it aside. Blood gushed from the wound, but Marcus ignored it and focused on the book in Dark Space.

"Destiny Life-Heal!" he chanted.

At once, a mysterious force enveloped him, covering his body entirely and healing his wound.

Within seconds, the injury vanished, and his strength returned.

But just as he prepared to focus on Jessie again, a black shadow appeared behind him, startling him.

It was the same skeleton his soul had fought in the Astral Realm!

For a split second, Marcus glimpsed a possible future—himself being split in two. He instantly cast [Space Deflection].

Titus raised his scythe and slashed at him from behind.

But before the scythe could strike, space twisted unnaturally and deflected the attack.

Marcus had no time to catch his breath. He sensed Jessie manipulating the blood flow in his brain, rapidly increasing his blood pressure. His breath shortened, and a sharp headache followed.

"Teleport!" he shouted, manipulating spatial elements and vanishing.

A moment later, he reappeared over a hundred meters away. The headache and breathlessness vanished instantly.

"There's a range to that spell?" he muttered, but before he could finish, a dark figure took shape beside him—

A 2-meter-tall skeleton in a black robe.

"You're not going anywhere," Titus said coldly.

He activated [Death's Embrace] and slashed his scythe toward Marcus's neck, aiming to sever the link between body and soul.

At the same time, Jessie flew toward him with tremendous speed, attempting to control his blood flow again.

Infuriated, Marcus didn't even try to block the scythe attack.

Instead, he cast [Dimensional Cut]—

And simultaneously channeled two more Grimoire spells through the Dark Space.

Jessie, anticipating the attack this time, tapped her spatial ring and pulled out a silver shield.

But before she could raise it, a mysterious force disrupted her thoughts.

By the time she snapped out of it, the invisible [Dimensional Cut] blade had already reached her and cleaved her in two.

At that exact moment, Marcus's world began to spin.

Titus's scythe found its mark and decapitated him from behind.