Chapter 315: Humanity’s Most Formidable Archmage

"Wouldn’t that make everything far more entertaining?"

Before Mamveth’s words had even faded, a streak of light suddenly shot toward him from below and to his right. However, just as the attack was about to strike him, the light abruptly vanished, as though it had been subsumed by his body.

The amusement on his face immediately faded, his expression twisting into visible irritation as his gaze slowly shifted downward. (+500PP)

Turning toward the source of the attack, he saw a scholar standing calmly on the ground below, draped in a dark cloak with one hand still raised toward him.

Despite the immense presence of him, there was not even the slightest trace of fear on the scholar’s face.

"How about no? Your definition of entertainment is quite twisted. So get lost and return to whatever hole you’ve been hiding in."

A brief silence followed.

Mamveth stared at him with cold contempt, seemingly more offended by the scholar’s audacity than by the attack itself.

"Now... why are you still here?"

He let out a weary sigh before slowly raising one hand.

"What an insolent little pest. If only you hadn’t done anything, I might have forgotten about you entirely. You could’ve lived..."

His gaze darkened.

"But not anymore."

Ruvian simply smiled.

Honestly, he knew well that his earlier attack wouldn’t do anything to a Primordial Demon, but he hadn’t been planning on harming him in the first place.

His real intention was something else entirely.

Mamveth slowly extended his hand.

In the next instant, an enormous surge of crimson and black energy erupted from his palm, tearing through the air as it barreled straight toward Ruvian with terrifying force.

The sheer pressure emanating from the attack warped the surroundings, causing the ground beneath Ruvian’s feet splintering before it had even reached him.

Yet despite the incoming torrent of destructive energy, Ruvian wasn’t even fazed.

He simply remained where he was, watching it approach without making any attempt to defend himself.

Because there was no need to.

A moment later, just as the attack was about to engulf him, Ophelia suddenly appeared directly in front of him using [Warped].

Without uttering a single word, she raised one hand. Immediately, the space before her rippled and distorted.

[Gate of Oblivion]

A pitch-black sphere manifested in front of her palm, resembling a miniature void that seemed to devour even the light surrounding it.

The moment Mamveth’s crimson-black attack collided with it, the entire torrent was violently drawn inward, swallowed into the sphere without leaving so much as a single spark behind.

For a brief moment, everything became eerily silent. The black sphere lingered for another second before quietly collapsing in on itself.

Not a second later, far beyond the island, somewhere above the open ocean, the sky suddenly erupted.

BOOM!

A colossal crimson-black explosion detonated in the distance, sending a violent shockwave rippling across the sea. The ocean beneath it was blasted apart as towering waves surged outward, while powerful gusts swept across the island moments later.

The ground trembled beneath Ruvian’s feet. Even the surrounding trees bent violently beneath the force, thrashing wildly as leaves and debris scattered through the air.

Ruvian narrowed his eyes slightly, instinctively raising one hand to shield his face from the violent gusts.

Through his half-lidded gaze, he caught sight of the Chancellor standing directly before him, her back facing him as though the attack she had just redirected had been nothing of consequence.

Then, without even turning around, her cold voice reached him.

"Scholar Ruvian... a moment ago, your bracelet seemed perfectly fine. What happened to it?"

Finally, now that she was close enough, Ruvian could hear her voice clearly.

Faced with that question, Ruvian simply smiled. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of guilt on his face as he answered without hesitation.

"I broke it." (+500PP)

Hearing that, Ophelia’s composure seemed to crack slightly.

"What!?"

"I have my reasons for staying..." Ruvian replied calmly, briefly glancing past her toward Mamveth in the distance.

There was far too much to explain, and with a Primordial Demon standing right in front of them, this was hardly the place to waste time talking aloud.

"But before any of that, connect me through your [Telepathy] spell. It’ll be much easier to explain everything that way."

Perplexed by the sudden request, and even more so by how he knew she possessed such a spell, Ophelia hesitated for a moment.

Still, if Ruvian truly knew something important, then communicating through [Telepathy] was indeed the wiser choice, especially with Mamveth still nearby.

With that in mind, Ophelia cast [Telepathy].

Almost immediately, an invisible connection formed between the two of them, allowing her voice to resonate directly inside Ruvian’s mind.

—"So, what is it? Make it quick. After this, I’ll send you back to the ship with my spell. I don’t care what your reasons are for staying. It’s far too dangerous for you to linger here any longer."

Even while speaking to him, Ophelia’s attention remained fixed on Mamveth, not allowing the demon out of her sight for even a moment.

—"No. Take me with you. You’re planning to drag that demon into your realm, right? And once he’s there, you’re planning to kill him."

There was a brief pause before Ruvian continued, his expression turning slightly more serious.

—"However, killing him here won’t accomplish anything. That demon merely possessed Julian’s body and is using it as a vessel. If you kill him now, all you’ll achieve is killing Julian. The demon itself will simply return to wherever it came from."

For a brief moment, Ophelia fell silent.

The information clearly caught her off guard. Until now, she had seemingly assumed that whatever stood before her was the demon itself, merely disguised beneath Julian’s appearance.

—"So you’re saying Scholar Julian was possessed... and that he was never a demon in disguise?"

—"Exactly."

Another short silence followed.

Ophelia didn’t immediately accept his words. Given the circumstances, there was no reason for her to blindly trust the claims of a scholar who somehow knew far more than he reasonably should.

—"And how am I supposed to trust you?"

Ruvian smiled faintly, almost as though he had already expected that question.

—"Simple. Allow me to prove it to you." (+1,000PP)

While at it, Ruvian also activated [Character Sheet] on the Chancellor.

*****

[Mamveth’s POV]

"Tch..."

Clicking his tongue, Mamveth’s expression contorted into a dark scowl as his attack was effortlessly nullified by the Archmage.

Not even a trace of it had managed to reach the scholar standing behind her.

He was painfully aware of just how formidable Ophelia Dumblelore was. Among humanity’s Archmages, she was undoubtedly one of the worst individuals he could have encountered in his current state.

And honestly, he hadn’t expected her to be here at all.

’I thought that human reported that the Chancellor wouldn’t be supervising the test. Did he lie to me?’

Mamveth’s eyes narrowed.

A slow, simmering anger began crawling through him as that possibility settled into his mind.

The excitement he had felt at the thought of toying with the scholars on this island vanished almost instantly. What was supposed to have been nothing more than a little amusement had now turned into something considerably more troublesome.

And now that Ophelia was here, there was no way in hell he could defeat her with the limited strength he could currently wield through this vessel.

Mamveth remained silent for a moment before the severity in his expression gradually receded.

’Well, it won’t be a complete waste anyway...’

Although this wasn’t what he had originally intended, it was still acceptable. If anything, this unforeseen encounter presented him with a different kind of opportunity.

He could use this chance to learn more about one of humanity’s strongest Archmages — to observe her spells, her tendencies, and the true extent of the power she possessed.

Information like that could prove invaluable later. And if, by some unlikely stroke of fortune, he managed to eliminate her in the process...

Mamveth’s lips slowly curled into a sinister smile.

That would simply be an added bonus.

However, after several seconds passed without either of them making a move, the smile on his face gradually faded.

"Anyway, what the hell are they doing?"

He knew Ophelia had cast some kind of spell to communicate with the boy in secret. Judging by the faint fluctuations of mana around them, they were clearly exchanging something without allowing him to hear.

But even so, even if they intended to coordinate and work together...

What could a mere Second-Class Magus possibly do?

Mamveth found the very idea almost laughable.

Ignoring the absurdity of it, he decided there was no point in waiting any longer and prepared to make the first move.

But just as he was about to attack, the atmosphere abruptly grew heavy.

The air began to tremble.

Mamveth immediately halted.

Ophelia had drawn out her staff, and an enormous amount of mana suddenly surged around her, spreading outward in violent waves. It was so dense that the surrounding space itself seemed to distort beneath its weight.

The ground below began to shudder. Even the mana lingering throughout the area seemed to be dragged toward her.

Mamveth’s expression stiffened.

He knew the amount of mana required to cast high-level spells, and even before this one had fully taken shape, he could already sense just how much she was pouring into it.

It was an obscene amount of mana!

For the first time since her arrival, a faint sense of apprehension crept into him. Every instinct within him turned wary.

’Haha, now what the hell is she casting...?’

Intrigued, Mamveth narrowed his eyes at the lone Magus.

The mana gathering around Ophelia continued to swell, even the air itself seemed to groan beneath the pressure.

Then, something seemed to click in Mamveth’s mind.

’Ah... this spell. She hasn’t reached the realm of the Paragons yet, and she can already wield magic of this grade?’

For a brief moment, the unease in his expression receded as he let out a low chuckle.

’Truly, she was...’

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[Chapter 315: Humanity’s Most Formidable Archmage]

Plot Points= 81,000 PP