Sovereign of the Ashes

Although it had clearly been a malicious scheme targeting a Rank Four being, after several heated discussions between Sein and the Rank Four centaur god, the matter was conveniently reframed as a case of "oversight" and "misunderstanding".

It was not that the world was dark—this was just how reality worked.

Besides, Hephaes had not actually died because his allies turned a blind eye to his plight, nor had he been slain in some desperate counterattack by extraplanar creatures.

He had died by his own hand.

Drunk on arrogance and sudden wealth, his end was neither tragic nor worth pitying.

The centaur god sent to handle this matter was named Hecam.

He had long, pure white hair, as well as strength and presence that far outclassed those of the late Hephaes.

Sein saw potential in him.

Hecam had quickly realized that neither Sein nor Lorianne was truly fixated on the inconsistencies surrounding Hephaes's death.

He probably knew exactly what they were after, which was why fighting would benefit no one.

As for the reorganization of the Maya Tribe and the disposition of Hephaes' remaining assets, those responsibilities were naturally left to the incompetent fools who had mishandled them in the first place.

Hecam had no interest in shouldering their mess.

Just as he was about to leave, Sein suddenly called out to him.

"I am about to establish my Divine Tower of Ashes," he said. "Once I begin launching interplanar wars, I may be short on lower-tier support legions. Would you be interested in joining me when the time comes?"

Hecam paused, then broke into a wide smile.

"Of course. It would be my honor."

After the Rank Four centaur god departed, Sein turned to Maya and Luna.

"That guy's a lot more reliable than Hephaes ever was. When you rebuild your tribe and start purchasing slave legions back in Centaurworld, you should consider getting in touch with him," he said.

"Yes, I've heard of the Divine Snowwalker before," Maya replied.

"Oh? That's his divine title?" Sein asked.

***

When one was overwhelmed, the only way forward was to tackle things one step at a time.

With the Maya Tribe issue finally settled, Tesdor returned with the Magus Alliance's response to Sein's application.

Whether it was because of the looming civilization war or the upcoming 25th Magus Alliance Conference, the alliance's overall efficiency had reached a level unseen in millennia.

The Magus Alliance had approved Sein's request to establish his divine tower in the Darwell Region.

And with that approval came a basic loan of 12 million magicoins to help build the Divine Tower of Ashes!

Twelve million magicoins...! It was an astonishing sum!

With that kind of funding, Sein could finally begin the construction of his divine tower in Darwell.

Darwell was an old name, passed down since the ancient era.

But a new era called for a new atmosphere.

As the Divine Tower of Ashes gradually took shape on this land, Sein planned to rename the region to the "Ashenreach".

With more than sixty percent of Darwell consisting of grayish, heavy-metal-rich soil, the new name fit perfectly.

Aside from the loan approval, Tesdor also brought with him Magus World's most elite divine tower construction team.

After all, Sein was primarily a Pyromancer who had dabbled in lumen and a handful of other elemental magic.

But when it came to geo magic, he had never achieved much, and he certainly had no experience building a divine tower.

In fact, he had never even constructed a magic tower. During previous interplanar wars, he had always relied on pre-existing structures.

Within the Verdant Flame Faction, Selphy was actually an expert in magic tower construction.

All Sein had to do now was explain his vision and requirements to the specialized construction team sent by the Magus Alliance.

That loan of over ten million magicoins was intended precisely for this purpose—from labor costs to the vast array of materials needed.

Many aspects of divine tower construction were far too complex for the average spellcaster to handle alone, especially when it came to the integration of law and planar nodes.

There was no need to worry about Sein being taken advantage of by anyone, at least not during the construction of his divine tower.

As far as records show, there had been no reports of shady dealings during this stage in Magus World's history.

The professional team assigned to build the Divine Tower of Ashes consists of nearly a thousand people.

Among them were mages, knights, and even a few demi-humans.

The team was led by a Rank Five Geomancer clad in a gray robe, who could also wield pyro elemental energy to a certain extent.

After meeting him, Sein learned from Lorianne that this Rank Five mage was actually a friend of Grandmaster Feylis.

Feylis' influence had likely played a part in this mage traveling all the way to the Darwell Region to assist with the construction.

But building a divine tower did not mean handing everything over to the professionals.

Since Sein would be the one using it, the entire team would follow his preferences throughout the process.

Sein exchanged a few polite words with the Rank Five mage, who introduced himself as Wenger, before jumping straight to the point and laying out his vision for the Divine Tower of Ashes.

"The Divine Tower of Ashes will be built in two parts," Sein explained. "The upper part will be constructed above ground, serving as the main structure for development and operations. The lower part will extend underground. That's where I'll need your expertise, Master Wenger. Help me tap into the pyro, lumen, and umbra elemental laws deep within the ground."

Wenger and his team entered the underground site that Sein had selected and gave the area a rough preliminary inspection.

The fact that Feylis' grand-apprentice had managed to find such an unusual and promising primal planar node was impressive in itself.

A primal planar node was formed entirely through natural processes, untouched and unshaped by any external forces.

Grandmaster Feylis' Divine Tower of Verdant Flame was built on a planar node with top-tier qualities in nearly every aspect.

But even that node had been cultivated and refined over a long period of time to reach such a level.

By contrast, the node Sein had chosen for the Divine Tower of Ashes, currently ranked only somewhere in the mid-to-low tier from Wenger's expert perspective.

But its initial attributes were excellent, and its potential for future development was outstanding.

"Are you planning to construct the foundations for both the upper and lower sections of the divine tower at the same time? The materials needed for such a project would be quite substantial... The twelve million magicoins you borrowed from the Magus Alliance may not be enough."

Wenger, the Rank Five mage, stroked his white beard as he spoke to Sein.

"Money isn't a problem!" Sein waved his hand dismissively.

When it came to spending money, Sein knew better than to cut corners.

Wenger had likely heard a few good things about her grand-apprentice by now.

Nodding thoughtfully, Wenger suggested, "Instead of just building an upper and lower section, why not go all out and add a middle section as well?"

He continued, "I can tell from this location that the pyro elemental laws run deep. Since you are a Pyromancer, expanding the structure further underground would greatly benefit your long-term growth."

"However..." Master Wenger gave a light chuckle. "You may have to pay a bit more magicoins for that."