Chapter 317: Domain Creation

[Ophelia’s POV]

Ophelia stared at the figure before her, her eyes slowly narrowing as she wondered if she could even call him a person anymore.

He still had Scholar Julian’s white hair, crimson eyes, and the same youthful features, but nearly everything else about him had already begun to twist.

Two black horns curved from his head, dark veins bulged across parts of his face and neck, while his left arm had turned pitch black, covered in thick scales that ended in long, sharp claws.

Her gaze lingered on those changes for several seconds, especially the dark scales slowly spreading farther up his arm.

To be fair, she still found it difficult to believe that Scholar Julian remained somewhere inside that body.

All she could sense from the figure before her was the overwhelming presence of a demon, with not even the slightest trace of the young scholar she knew.

Looking at him, Ophelia suddenly recalled the short conversation she had with Scholar Ruvian before bringing them into her domain.

His words had sounded reckless then, and even now, she was still not certain whether his plan could truly work. Still, she had agreed to give him the chance he asked for.

—"Listen, there is one method I want to try first to bring Julian back," Ruvian had told her through [Telepathy], his voice unusually serious.

—"I’m going to throw myself into his mind and bring back his consciousness, though... I don’t know if it will work." He paused briefly before adding, "But we have to try it first, and if it doesn’t work, then you’re free to do whatever you want."

Ophelia had remained silent for a moment after hearing that, her eyes fixed on the possessed Julian in the distance.

—"How long do you need?" she finally asked, already considering how long she could keep such an enemy occupied.

—"As long as you can hold yourself against him." Ruvian answered almost immediately.

Her brows had drawn together at those words, and her attention shifted back toward Ruvian.

—"But what about you, Scholar Ruvian?" Ophelia asked, "I cannot guarantee your protection if I have to bring you inside my domain spell while fighting him, it will be dangerous."

Ruvian, however, had shown no sign of changing his mind, and his expression remained strangely calm.

—"Worry about me last, Chancellor," he replied, before glancing toward Julian once more. "I have a way to protect myself."(+1,000PP)

Remembering those words, Ophelia’s [Clairvoyance] briefly shifted toward the distant reaches of her domain where she had left Ruvian.

’Hmm... is it because of his courage? Or perhaps there is something more to it? Even so, one thing is certain... he is cut from a different cloth.’

Ophelia mused inwardly.

It had already been impressive watching him move throughout the island test from afar, but seeing him this closely was entirely different. Ophelia was beginning to see him in a different light.

’I can only hope that whatever you are trying to do... is the right choice, Scholar Ruvian. Because, indeed, it would be a great shame if we were to lose Scholar Julian here. As the Chancellor of this academy, that is an outcome I would very much like to avoid.’

Still watching through her [Clairvoyance], she saw that Ruvian was moving swiftly from one boulder to another, almost getting closer to where she was from below.

She had also cast a powerful [Concealment] spell over him beforehand, masking his presence to keep the demon from detecting him.

It seemed that whatever he intended to do had yet to begin. Until then, her task was simple, she only needed to make certain that the demon never reached him.

Ophelia sighed grimly.

Her fingers tightened around her dark magenta staff as she turned her attention back toward the creature wearing Julian’s body.

The demon’s crimson eyes were already locked onto her, while thick waves of Dark Mana slowly coiled from his body.

Ophelia raised her staff slightly. Immediately, the countless floating boulders scattered throughout the domain abruptly stopped hovering.

Then, for some unknown reason, Mamveth suddenly brought his hands together and began clapping, a delighted grin spreading across his twisted face.

"HAHAHAHA!! Marvellous... truly marvellous. In all the ages I have endured, I never thought I would witness a human of this era wield [Domain Creation] so cleanly."

His grin widened as his crimson eyes slowly moved across the vast realm around them.

"Your command over mana is truly without equal, and for one born to such a fleeting mortal life, to have climbed this far is no small feat."

Ophelia stared at him coldly, her expression unchanged.

"You said your name is Mamveth, right, so if I had to make a guess, the Seven Primordial Supreme Demons are still alive and have never truly been purged."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she added.

"You bastards truly did well at hiding yourselves."

Mamveth’s lips curled upward before he suddenly broke into laughter, the sound spreading through the silent domain.

"To speak plainly, your kind would have been swept from this world long ago, had that pretentious Oracle of yours not sealed away our Lord."

His expression twisted with contempt as he continued. "Of all those who stood against us, none reeked of cowardice more than he did!"

Hearing that, Ophelia’s lips slowly curved into a faint smile. "No, you were the cowards, hiding yourselves for hundreds of years and waiting until he was truly gone before slowly revealing yourselves again."

She tilted her head slightly before adding:

"But honestly, I never expected one of you to show yourself while I was still alive, I thought you would hide for another few decades."

"Oh, we certainly intended to," Mamveth replied, his laughter slowly fading while that grin remained.

"But once we saw how fractured your kind had become, and how greatly humanity had weakened since the old days, there was little reason left for us to remain hidden."

He slowly flexed his claws.

"At long last... the age of our return has come."

Ophelia’s gaze sharpened at those words.

"Do you not worry about revealing yourselves this early to me, because if humanity prepares for your return, whatever plan you have could easily fall apart. All those years you spent hiding could end up being for nothing."

Mamveth went silent for a moment, then the corner of his mouth rose.

"No, thanks to me, our plans have already advanced far beyond what was intended, and most of what needed to be done is already nearing completion."

His crimson eyes gleamed as he spread his arms wide and laughed. "So in fact, Chancellor, I want you to tell everyone to herald our return."

Raising her dark magenta staff, Ophelia watched as the crimson orb slowly began to glow, causing the mana throughout the entire realm to stir.

"Unfortunately, there is no need for me to do that." Her eyes remained cold as she added, "Your hundreds of years of waiting will end here, by my hand, inside this realm."

Mamveth’s smile only widened, even as his body shuddered beneath the crushing mana pressure pressing down on him.

"Ah... so this is why you brought me here, you intend to use [Mana Zone]. I had nearly forgotten that humans were blessed with the ability to wield such a ridiculous spell."

[Mana Zone] was another high-tier spell that only certain Magi could use, those who had already reached the higher heights of magic.

Ophelia had long since reached the level where she could use the spell at full mastery, with her Tier 6 Spellcore, S-Rank Magic Abilities, and more than enough Mana Essence to sustain it. For someone at her level, maintaining such a spell was no longer beyond her reach.

Mamveth slowly rolled his shoulder as the pressure around him continued to grow heavier. Even then, there was still no fear on his face.

"Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a little, using something like [Mana Zone] against me when my true strength is already being suppressed?"

"Why not?" Ophelia replied without hesitation. Her mana continued spreading farther through the realm as she added, "After all, I’m planning to kill you here."

Mamveth’s grin faded just a little as his crimson eyes narrowed at her.

"Even if that means killing your academy’s top first-year scholar along with me?" His words carried a clear hint of mockery, as though he wanted to see whether she would hesitate.

Ophelia’s expression did not change in the slightest.

"Yes. Even if it means doing so."

In truth, it wasn’t an empty boast, she really can kill Mamveth here. With [Mana Zone] active, Ophelia now held the clear advantage inside this realm.

The spell weakened any enemy caught within her territory while strengthening her own abilities, and when combined with [Domain Creation], the entire realm itself became part of her zone. So no matter where Mamveth tried to move, he would still remain inside the range of that spell.

Mamveth let out a low chuckle as he glanced around the endless maroon realm. "Heh... this is exactly why I hate fighting Spatial Magus, that combination of spells is nothing but a damned nuisance."

His grin only widened as the pressure around him continued to rise. "Still, I have to admit... seeing someone wield it this well is rather impressive."

Rising higher into the maroon sky, Ophelia floated far above Mamveth before raising her glowing staff and casting [Spatial Multiplication].

A moment later, her figure multiplied into hundreds of identical copies, spreading across every direction until Mamveth was completely surrounded.

"Try not to die too soon," they all spoke at once, their unified voices echoing throughout the entire realm.

Mamveth simply grinned, then calmly raised both hands and formed a strange gesture with his fingers.

"Supreme Demonic Curse: [Maw of Avarice]," he whispered.

A second later, the darkness behind him suddenly split apart as something enormous began forcing its way through — a colossal nightmarish maw emerged from the black void, its twisted jaws opening impossibly wide as countless jagged teeth formed within the endless darkness of its throat.

"You speak of my death far too easily, Chancellor. Now, I would first like to see whether you can overcome this curse of mine... careful though, even the Paragons almost died from this."

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[Chapter 317: Domain Creation]

Plot Points= 83,000 PP