Fire Mage

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[Important Notice from Author AK02]I've rewritten Volume 6, trimming unnecessary scenes and improving the pacing. If you'd like to continue from where I previously left off, you can jump ahead to Chapter 723.But if you have the time, I recommend starting from Volume 6 to enjoy.I'll continue refining the chapters to give you a better reading experience.Thank you for your patience and I'm sorry for the long hiatus.

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Within a moment, the dagger coated with a purplish aura arrived near Kaiser's chest and was about to pierce through.

At that moment, a long sword appeared in Kaiser's hand all of a sudden.

Simultaneously, an eerie black aura appeared around his body and deflected the purplish aura like a protective barrier.

As the silver dagger deflected, Kaiser covered the sword with the black aura and dashed towards Xelyria.

From the shadows, Kirell's voice carried a trace of urgency. "That silver-haired boy... I remember now… his nickname is 'Red Duke.' His real name is Hector, the Holy Son of the Order Church. The last time he revealed himself was during the Planar War. I didn't expect the Order Church to be colluding with demons!"

She turned to Edith and added, "His strength is on par with mine. We should help Kaisar. Even though he's the Emperor of Sword and one of the strongest Legendary Mystics like me, he won't last long against both of them. That demon woman—Xelyria—she's stronger than she looks."

Meanwhile, the battle had begun.

Xelyria stepped back three paces and chanted under her breath. A dark ripple spread beneath Kaisar's feet as she cast her bloodline spell—Curse of the Rippling Chains. Invisible chains surged up from the ground, instantly wrapping around Kaisar and restraining his limbs. He tried to slash at the sides with his sword, but there was nothing tangible to hit. His movement became heavily restricted.

That was only the beginning.

Xelyria whispered again, "Hex of Sensory Eclipse."

A strange darkness consumed Kaisar's vision. His surroundings blurred and then vanished into pitch-blackness.

"Tch." Kaisar clicked his tongue and quickly unleashed his wisdom power, allowing him to perceive the world through invisible threads of perception. Though his eyes failed him, his wisdom power formed a second sense. But even that felt sluggish.

'Damn it, I was careless,' he cursed inwardly. A thick black aura enveloped his body in response, shielding him from unknown threats.

On the other side, Xelyria invoked another spell—Wraithsteps. Her figure turned illusory and vanished into the astral realm.

Even with enhanced perception, Kaisar couldn't track her.

Neither Edith nor Kirell could.

Then, all of a sudden, Xelyria reappeared behind Kaisar.

She was no longer in her battle form. Instead, she wore a black hood. Her body stood over two meters tall, purple-skinned and entirely nude. A long scorpion-like tail curled behind her. Her face bore human-like beauty twisted by malevolence.

The tail lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, aimed straight at Kaisar's abdomen.

The black aura reacted just in time, repelling the stinger.

But Kaisar wasn't idle. The moment he felt a disturbance behind him, his centuries of honed combat instinct roared in warning.

As a Legendary Swordsman, his instincts were capable of predicting the future by one or two seconds.

He pivoted, channeling even more aura to the spot where the tail had struck, and swung his sword in a swift arc behind him.

Xelyria's eyes widened in shock as she attempted to retreat into the astral realm again.

But the sword had already reached her.

Just as the blade was about to slice through her neck, a sudden burst of light flared between her skin and the edge of Kaisar's sword.

The light twisted into a glowing shield-like shape.

It was a Rank-6 Light Spell called the 'Aegis of the Faith!'

A spell capable of blocking any attack!

A dull, thunderous sound echoed in the narrow alleyway, followed by a pressure wave that distorted the very air.

Cracks split through the nearby walls, and the shockwave rippled across the street.

"Light spell? A Lawful church member is colluding with a demon?" Kaiser glared at Hector.

The next moment, Xelyria disappeared into the astral realm using the Wraithsteps spell.

On the other hand, the silver-haired boy—Hector—had already removed the hood covering his head. He stared at Kaisar with calm yet terrifying eyes while holding a long sword in one hand. At the same time, he tossed a strange golden coin into the sky and muttered something under his breath.

The world shifted.

Kaisar narrowed his eyes as the surroundings changed. The cracked walls of Reaper's Alley vanished. In their place appeared a desolate field of slaughter. The ground was soaked in blood. Countless blood-stained corpses littered the area. Some had been crucified, their limbs skewered onto massive crosses, while others lay in broken heaps, mutilated and scattered.

Amidst the carnage stood a single figure.

A silver-haired man clad in golden armor, a long sword gleaming in his grip.

"This is my domain," Hector said in a chilling tone. "All the corpses you see are the ones I have slain personally."

Kaisar's eyes flickered across the bodies. Recognition hit him. A few of the dead were Legendary Mystics—warriors of the highest tier. His brows furrowed.

He raised his sword in a horizontal position and muttered coldly, "Red Duke? I didn't expect to meet such a noble saint in such a pathetic situation."

Even though his vision remained blocked due to the earlier curse, Kaisar could still sense the world through his wisdom power. He could feel Hector's domain pressing in. Time was not on his side.

A dense, eerie black aura wrapped around his sword's edge. With a loud growl, Kaisar swung his sword downward in a vertical slash.

The very fabric of space was distorted.

The domain shimmered—small cracks spread, revealing glimpses of the Reaper's Alley and the broken walls beyond.

At that moment, Hector moved.

He leaped forward, long sword poised. His weapon was enveloped in pure white light.

Unlike Kaisar's dark aura, Hector's sword aura seemed invisible to the untrained eye. When one reached the Legendary Rank in swordsmanship, the aura naturally turned unseen. But to intensify it further, they fused it with their elemental energy—something only true masters could do.

Their blades clashed.

Light and darkness exploded in waves. The strength of their strike was so immense, it caused reality itself to crack—domain and physical space buckling under the weight of their combined power.

…

Reaper's Alley.

A few seconds later, Xelyria reappeared in a quiet corner of the lone street. Her feet touched the ground silently.

She murmured to herself, "With the curse spells I cast on Kaisar, Hector will have a 50% chance of killing him."

If her sneak attack had succeeded earlier, Hector wouldn't have needed to lift a finger. Unfortunately, his instinct was sharper than most mystics.

She shifted back into her human form, her skin less purple now, and picked up the black hood lying nearby.

But as she turned to leave, her body tensed up.

At that moment, she felt a presence.

Leaning casually against a lamp post stood a middle-aged man with blonde hair, staring directly at her with fierce, unwavering eyes.

Xelyria's pupils shrank. "Meledin Vargan of Azure Federation?" Her voice stiffened. Even though she was a demon hiding among humans, she was well aware of the Legendary Mystics.

Meledin—the Legendary Water Mage—was one of the strongest of the Edhen, a match even for Kaisar.

She subtly reached for a dagger hidden under her sleeve.

"How long have you been here?" she asked and prepared for a fight.

"I advise you not to do anything rash."

A cold, firm female voice echoed near her ear.

Xelyria's eyes darted to her left.

Kirell's voice came from the side. Her own shadow twisted and rose into the shape of a woman in her thirties, long black hair flowing like silk. It was Kirell.

"F*ck! Kirell of the Unseen Legend? What the hell is she doing here?"

Xelyria's face turned grim, her expression darkening with panic.

"Never try to negotiate with a demon, Lady Kirell," came a calm voice from behind.

Edith stepped forward, blocking Xelyria's path of escape.

Xelyria's eyes widened in shock.

She instantly recognized the young woman—the same one who had killed her companion just a few weeks ago.

I have to escape— she thought. As she prepared to activate the Wraithsteps spell and slip into the astral realm, something strange happened.

She forgot.

She couldn't remember how to cast the spell—couldn't even remember what she was trying to do. Her thoughts dissolved into silence, and she stood still, dazed, her mind blank.

In that instant, Meledin conjured a swirling blob of water and sent it flying toward her. It wrapped around her neck like a serpent and froze into solid ice.

At the same time, Kirell stepped forward and drove her dagger straight into Xelyria's chest without hesitation.

"Demons usually have two hearts," Edith said coolly. "And even if you kill one, they can shift their soul into a clone and escape."

"Then how do we kill her for good?" Meledin asked, his tone steady.

A smile tugged at the corners of Edith's lips.

"If we kill her now, Asthar, Nedia, and Zegan will realize something's wrong. They'll go into hiding."

She paused, then added, "Instead, I plan to take her identity and wait for the perfect moment to expose all of them."

Meledin frowned. "Why bother dragging it out? If the three of us work together, it wouldn't even take a few seconds to kill them."

Edith smirked.

She cast the [Purple Consciousness] spell on Xelyria, invading her Inner World and beginning to consume her memories.

As her eyes glowed faintly, she looked at Meledin and spoke.

"They're not just powerful Mystics. They're avatars of gods."

She continued, her voice calm and measured.

"Asthar is the avatar of Filo, the God of Order. That's why the Sacred Empire sent someone like Hector to greet him at the airport personally. It wasn't out of respect—it was out of fear."

"Nedia is the avatar of Adis, the Earth Goddess. That's why the Earth Church supports her so secretly and stubbornly."

"And finally, Zegan... he is the avatar of Abus, the God of Death."

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