Journey to Become the Zenith

After the Hero’s Victory

Alibaba stared at the frozen mountain.

"...It worked."

"This spell was designed to imprison dragons..."

"...titans..."

"...even legendary monsters."

"I never imagined..."

"...its first true success..."

"...would be against you."

Several long moments passed.

No movement.

No sound.

Nothing.

Alibaba slowly relaxed.

"So..."

"You truly are no longer Demon Lord Anos."

"Like I said..."

"Your pride became your downfall."

"I can’t believe..."

"...I was afraid of someone like you."

He cautiously approached the mountain.

Just as he reached it—

A calm voice echoed behind him.

"That was pretty good."

Alibaba froze.

His emerald flames shook violently.

"A wide-area spell."

"One that leaves no escape."

Victor’s voice remained relaxed.

"Normally..."

"...that would’ve been my end."

"But unfortunately..."

"...you’re far too predictable."

"I knew you’d finish with an ice spell."

"So..."

"...it was the easiest thing to prepare for."

Alibaba slowly turned around.

Victor stood several meters behind him.

Completely unharmed.

His golden eyes shone beneath the fading sunlight.

His Death Scythe rested casually across his shoulder.

During the final instant before Eternal Freeze engulfed him, Victor had reinforced every inch of his body with that mysterious power known only to himself.

The unknown energy slowed the frost’s encroachment just enough.

Using those precious moments, he had cast an illusion, leaving behind a perfect duplicate trapped inside the ice while his real body disappeared beneath layers of darkness.

Ever since then...

He had simply been watching.

Watching to see what Alibaba would do after believing he had won.

Alibaba slowly opened his mouth.

But no words came.

A black flash crossed his vision.

The Death Scythe passed cleanly through his body.

His soul immediately tried to escape.

Yet the Death Scythe existed for one purpose.

To harvest souls.

There was no escape.

No reincarnation.

No second chance.

Alibaba’s soul was severed before it could leave his body.

Victor slowly lowered the Death Scythe.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"That was fun."

"Thank you for the battle."

Those were the last words Alibaba heard...

...before his soul was completely reaped.

-------------------------------

While watching the battle unfold, the two Holy Maidens stood frozen atop the walls of Fantom City.

Neither Ruby nor Natalia realized they had stopped breathing.

Their eyes remained fixed on the battlefield below, where Victor had just ended a battle that should have been impossible for any ordinary human.

Silence lingered.

Not the silence of peace...

But the silence left behind after witnessing something beyond reason.

Ruby slowly tightened her grip on the railing.

Her emerald eyes never left Victor.

The more she replayed every exchange in her mind, the less she understood.

His swordsmanship.

His spellcasting.

His battle instincts.

His composure.

Nothing about him made sense.

As the battle had grown fiercer, Ruby had felt an uncontrollable impulse rising from deep within her soul.

It wasn’t excitement.

It wasn’t admiration.

It was an overwhelming desire to fight.

A desire so intense that it almost drowned out her own thoughts.

For a brief moment, it felt as though the Dragon War Goddess Kia herself was whispering into her heart.

"Go."

"Join that battlefield."

"Cross blades with him."

Every instinct within her screamed to leap from the walls.

To enter that battle.

To experience that clash with her own hands.

Even though her body was exhausted...

Even though she knew she would only become a burden...

The desire only continued growing stronger.

Ruby bit her lower lip.

Her fingers trembled.

"No..."

She forced herself to remain where she stood.

"I can’t..."

Every ounce of her willpower was focused on suppressing that reckless urge.

Joining a battle of that level wasn’t bravery.

It was suicide.

Yet...

The temptation refused to disappear.

Beside her, Natalia noticed Ruby’s trembling hands.

"You felt it too?"

Ruby slowly nodded without taking her eyes off Victor.

"...Yes."

Natalia lowered her gaze.

"So did I."

Neither woman spoke again.

There were no words capable of describing what they had just witnessed.

...

As the battle reached its climax, both Holy Maidens witnessed something even stranger.

Alibaba...

The ancient necromancer who had commanded an army capable of wiping out kingdoms...

Appeared to be retreating.

Even from this distance, it looked as though he was taking step after cautious step backward.

Ruby frowned.

"Is he..."

"...afraid?"

Natalia couldn’t answer.

Necromancers weren’t supposed to fear.

They no longer possessed ordinary emotions.

Yet the figure before them looked exactly like a frightened child standing before an unstoppable predator.

That single image remained engraved in both women’s memories.

It felt surreal.

Throughout the battle, another question had continued bothering Natalia.

Why wasn’t Alibaba using his greatest abilities?

According to every record preserved within the temples...

An Elder Necromancer possessed terrifying powers.

Life Drain.

A single touch could steal away a person’s life.

Mana Drain.

An equally horrifying technique capable of draining every drop of magical energy from an opponent.

There was also...

Death Aura.

A passive ability infamous for filling enemies with instinctive terror before they even drew their weapons.

Yet throughout the battle...

Victor had never shown the slightest sign of being affected.

Natalia couldn’t understand it.

Was Alibaba unable to use them...?

Or...

Did Victor somehow render them useless?

The answer remained a mystery.

...

Before either of them could think further...

Alibaba suddenly gathered an overwhelming amount of mana.

The entire battlefield darkened.

An enormous magic circle illuminated the sky.

Then...

An immense mountain of ice erupted from the earth.

Even from atop Fantom City’s walls, protected by layers of divine blessings, Ruby and Natalia both felt a bone-deep chill spread throughout their bodies.

Their breaths turned white.

Frost formed over the stone beneath their feet.

The air itself seemed ready to freeze.

For one dreadful second...

Everyone believed Victor had died.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Hope disappeared.

Then...

A brilliant black arc flashed across the battlefield.

The colossal mountain of ice split perfectly in half.

A heartbeat later...

Alibaba’s body followed.

The battlefield remained completely silent.

Victor had won.

Not barely.

Not after an exhausting struggle.

He had won with terrifying confidence.

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