Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 76: Survive

Sein narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on Hobrien and two other intermediate initiates.

The pressing concern, however, was the growing number of intermediate initiates who now saw Sein and Leena as easy targets.

If Hobrien and the others were not dealt with swiftly, he and Leena would find themselves in bigger trouble.

Sein began to chant the incantation of an intermediate magic spell, conjuring a fiery hand that slowly took form.

Before Sein could complete his incantation, Leena had conjured a dark blue fireball in her hand.

Leena’s fireball had already proven its incredible might during the battle on Black Street, but Sein recognized that its true power lay in its explosive potential, breaking apart into over twenty smaller fireballs upon detonation.

Over a decade of companionship enabled Sein to instantly grasp Leena’s intent. He activated his invisibility cloak while carrying her, causing their figures to vanish from the sight of the three initiates blocking their path.

As Sein and Leena disappeared from view, the massive fiery hand and the blazing fireball, with its remarkable area-of-effect, ignited the yellow sand all around them.

Miserable screams quickly pierced the air.

The invisibility cloak allowed Sein and Leena to escape from Hobrien and his companions with their geo elemental shield still intact.

The fate of the three initiates engulfed in flames remained uncertain, but Sein had no time to dwell on it.

Losing Hobrien’s group did not mark the end of their crisis.

No one really concerned themselves with the fate awaiting Hobrien and the others either.

Four more intermediate initiates, driven by their survival instinct, closed in on Sein and Leena from different directions.

An Acid Wand silently materialized in Sein’s hand, while a Hurricane Rod appeared in Leena’s hand.

Before they could unleash the advanced magic spells stored in those magic items, a gruff voice erupted from the side.

“Out of the way!” A massive, black shadow, moving faster than the majority of magic initiates, sprinted toward the spatial passage.

This towering figure was none other than senior initiate, Stenson, who had assumed his beastly form through his bloodline magic. He appeared even more formidable than when Sein had first seen him in the desert months earlier.

Standing at a towering three meters in height, Stenson sent an intermediate initiate obstructing his path hurtling through the air with a slap.

Another intermediate initiate who happened to block his way, received a fatal blow to the head from Marlon, who rode on Stenson’s back and unleashed a brutal Ice Strike spell.

The two initiates who were chasing Sein and Leena, did not expect Marlon and Stenson would intervene.

Sein had no time to express gratitude to the two who had come to their aid. He immediately activated the Acid Wand in his grasp, while Leena did the same with her Hurricane Rod.

The other two intermediate initiates fell onto the yellow sand.

When Sein was in invisibility mode earlier, a stray elemental projectile struck him out of nowhere.

Although the geo elemental shield protected Sein and Leena from sustaining more injuries, this stray projectile slowed their progress toward their destination.

Faye had already arrived at the spatial passage before them. Seeing Sein, who was still some distance away, she called out anxiously, “Hurry, Sein!”

She unleashed an advanced magic spell, Flame Blade, from the tip of her rod.

To provide cover for Sein, she unleashed the intermediate magic spells stored in four or five of her magic items.

Faye’s support, along with the assistance of Marlon and Stenson, allowed Sein to finally reach the vicinity of the spatial passage after a final burst of effort.

He hastily raised the elemental beads held in his hand and infused them with mana. Almost instantly, he felt a powerful magical force pulling him.

Faye, Marlon and Stenson were quicker to activate their beads.

With a flash of red light, they disappeared one by one.

Interestingly, over the few months that had passed since Sein took Marlon and Stenson’s elemental beads, the two had managed to amass enough for them to escape. It was unclear whether they had defeated numerous intermediate initiates or one of the senior initiates.

The appearance of the red energy column brought a sigh of relief to Sein, who had expended considerable focus and mana.

However, his relief was short-lived as a violent tremor shook the area.

“Hmph, trying to prevent me from entering that broken plane? Then there's no need for the coordinates and space-time rift of this world to exist! If I can’t have what I want, you won’t have it either!” An old and enraged voice echoed.

A wave of powerful elemental turbulence rippled through the world.

This time, even the Sand World resonated with that immense energy.

On the distant horizon, a colossal sandstorm advanced menacingly.

It was not heading toward the spatial passage, but was instead redirected by the power of a peak Rank Three grand mage.

This approaching sandstorm was only a secondary concern.

What truly alarmed Sein and Leena was that the red light on their bodies had dimmed considerably following the elemental turbulence earlier, resulting in the gradual weakening of the pulling force.

“I can only take one of you with me. It shall be you then, apprentice of Morsidor,” the cold female voice appeared again.

When Vice Dean Jeanne’s voice entered the minds of Sein and Leena, their reactions were different.

Sein appeared incredulous, while Leena remained composed, almost contemplative.

Only the subtle flutter of her eyelashes hinted at her inner turmoil.

Upon hearing that Sein was the one to be saved, Leena did not utter a word throughout.

Leena’s silence did not go unnoticed by Sein. Unable to contain his emotions, he shouted, "NO!"

In a brief span of time, Sein made a decision that would profoundly impact his future.

He swiftly shoved all of the elemental beads in his hand to Leena’s hands.

Looking at Leena's stunned expression, Sein spoke rapidly, “Twelve years ago, without you, I would have never grown into the person I am today. And six years ago, that night... It was our first time, and I’ll never forget it. Let me do something for you!”

With the surrender of his elemental beads, Sein noticed the red light on him fading.

In contrast, the pulling force on Leena slowly stabilized after she received Sein’s elemental beads.

Leena appeared as if she wanted to say something, but as the red light flashed and her figure vanished. Sein was not able to hear her final words.

Only a black crystal bracelet remained at the spot where Leena had disappeared.

Sein quickly retrieved it.

The bracelet was a cherished magic item passed down to Leena by her late mentor.

Despite the coldness of the black crystal bracelet, Sein could somehow feel Leena’s warmth through it.

“You must survive,” Sein whispered to himself.

The other side of the spatial passage was evidently no safer. The aftermath of the clash between two peak Rank Three grand mages and an unknown number of full-fledged black mages could easily claim the life of any weak initiate.

Nevertheless, Sein’s situation was even more precarious than Leena’s.

The moment the red light vanished, a sandstorm rapidly descended, engulfing Sein and the remaining black magic initiates who were either fighting or struggling.

In the midst of the relentless sandstorm, Sein relied on his geo elemental shield. Within the chaos, he caught sight of a flash of black light.