[Ruvian’s POV]
Countless enormous and terrifying bolts of lightning tore across the crimson skies in fulgurant flashes, illuminating the entire island beneath them.
Some were already beginning to crash into the land one after another and brutally pulverizing anything unfortunate enough to be struck.
The entire Vazrun Island seemed to have descended into complete chaos, with thunder roaring incessantly from every direction, and trembling beneath the relentless bombardment.
Whatever was happening clearly wasn’t something Ruvian could afford to ignore, but before he could think any further about it, his bracelet suddenly vibrated.
He lowered his eyes toward it just as a notification appeared.
[PROTOCOL: FULL RECALL]
Ruvian knew exactly what the message meant.
He had already witnessed this quite a few times before. A few of those instances had occurred throughout OG Ruvian’s countless regressions, so he understood just how severe the situation truly was.
The only difference was that, in those visions, it usually occurred on the ninth or tenth day of the test, and OG Ruvian had either already been eliminated by then or simply wasn’t anywhere near the epicentre of the event.
But now... now was the opposite of it.
Gritting his teeth, Ruvian channeled his mana into [The Endseeker] before bringing the blade down against the bracelet in a single irrevocable strike.
Crack!
The bracelet shattered instantly, its fractured pieces scattering from his wrist before clattering against the ground below. (+1,000PP)
[...]
"We are staying, Morvayne... and this damn demon, we are going to deal with him."
At the same time, Ruvian immediately used [Farscribe] to send a message to Calyra, instructing her to remain where she was and simply follow the [Protocol: Full Recall].
*****
[Silvena’s POV]
After seeing the crimson notification, Silvena immediately packed up her belongings and instructed the others to do the same.
’Looks like things have taken an unexpected turn...’
Not long after, the bracelets around their wrists suddenly activated another enchantment.
Before any of them could react, separate spherical crimson barriers formed around each individual, completely encapsulating them one by one; sealing them safely inside as they waited for the next phase of the recall.
Soon afterward, an instructor descended onto the mountain and appeared before them.
"Listen carefully, the examination has been postponed effective immediately, and all of you are required to return to the Leviathan."
Hearing this, Diel frowned and stepped closer to the edge of his barrier.
"Wait, the examination is being postponed just like that?"
His brows tightened as he asked.
"What exactly is going on, and why are we suddenly being called back?"
The instructor turned toward him, but before he could answer, Silvena’s voice came from the side.
"Look at the sky first, and pay attention to the mana around us." Her eyes remained fixed above the mountain, where the dark clouds had begun twisting violently.
Diel followed her gaze, and his expression immediately changed. Bright flashes of lightning spread across the clouds like glowing cracks.
A moment later, a massive bolt tore through the sky and struck somewhere across the island, but close enough to make the mountain beneath them tremble.
Silvena narrowed her eyes.
"Whatever is happening, it is clearly beyond the examination now, so let’s follow the protocol and save our questions for later."
For a brief moment, the instructor said nothing as his gaze settled on Silvena. He was amazed with her composure.
Diel glanced at Silvena for another second before slowly nodding.
The other three scholars also remained silent, but none of them raised another question. With the sky growing worse by the second, there was little reason to argue.
"Good, then we move now."
The instructor raised one hand, and the crimson barriers around them immediately began glowing brighter as the enchantments within their bracelets responded.
Suddenly, Silvena felt her feet leave the ground as the spell lifted her upward. The same happened to the others, their individual crimson barriers floating into the sky one after another.
With the instructor leading them from the front, all five began moving away from the mountain and toward the distant Leviathan.
Silvena looked back one last time toward where Ruvian was supposed to be.
’I hope you have a backup plan for this, Ruvian... because it seems like the demon’s true strength is far beyond anything we planned for.’
Her gaze then shifted across the island, a multitude of crimson spheres was already rising from the land below, slowly drifting as they, too, headed toward the Leviathan.
*****
[Mamveth’s POV]
How long had he waited for this moment? To finally obtain a vessel capable of enduring even a fraction of his true power?
Countless bodies had fallen under his control, countless vessels had been invaded, broken, and discarded, yet none of them had ever come close to this one.
Even if it could only withstand one-third of his true strength, it was still infinitely better than possessing nothing at all.
Mamveth suddenly erupted into a wicked laugh, spreading both arms wide as though welcoming the world itself. Above him, the heavens seemed to herald his return, violent streaks of lightning tearing across the darkened sky.
"Ah~ this is it... this is the feeling."
It was not merely the satisfaction of finally being able to exert his power upon reality again, but also the sensation of the mana itself trembling around him — restless, distorted, and surging wildly as though recoiling from his presence.
Mamveth slowly raised his gaze toward the fractured heavens, savoring the sight for several moments.
Then, something in the distance caught his attention.
Far above the island, numerous crimson spheres could be seen drifting southward through the air, steadily moving away from the land below.
A cruel grin gradually spread across Mamveth’s face as he immediately realised what they were.
The scholars.
They were already evacuating the island.
"Already leaving?" Mamveth muttered, dark amusement seeping into his voice. "Who exactly do you think you’re running away from...?"
His gaze remained fixed on the distant swarm of crimson spheres as he slowly extended one hand toward them.
The grin on his face never faded.
In the next instant, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from his body, and the clouds above immediately churned in response; dozens of enormous bolts of lightning descended at once, crashing directly into Mamveth with a rending force.
Yet instead of harming him, every bolt was devoured by his body.
The brilliant arcs rapidly darkened into an ominous crimson-black hue, slithering across his arms, chest, and shoulders. Several stray currents spilled from his body and lashed against the surrounding ground.
Completely still and calm, Mamveth remained within the raging storm, allowing more and more lightning to pour into him.
The air grew heavier with every passing second.
Then, slowly, his grin widened.
The enormous mass of crimson-black lightning began converging around his outstretched hand, drawing together from every part of his body. It rapidly condensed into a single point as the surrounding air violently distorted beneath its sheer power.
Mamveth stared at the distant crimson spheres.
"Go... reduce them all to dust."
The gathered lightning erupted forward.
A colossal bolt of crimson-black lightning tore through the sky before abruptly splitting apart, branching into hundreds of smaller streaks.
The violent arcs twisted through the air like hunting serpents, racing toward the fleeing scholars and instructors scattered across the skies.
However, just before the lightning could strike them, every crimson-black arc was suddenly dragged toward a single point in the air.
The hundreds of streaks twisted sharply from their paths, spiraling inward as though caught within the pull of a dark void. Within seconds, all that destructive lightning was compressed into a single crackling sphere.
And there, floating serenely in the air with her white hair billowing behind her, stood a lone Magus, holding the raging sphere effortlessly within one hand.
Her fingers slowly tightened around the raging mass of lightning.
Then, her cold gaze settled upon Mamveth, and with a frigid, authoritative voice, the magus finally spoke.
"Who do you think you’re to harm those under my care?"
With a single snap of her fingers, the compressed sphere shattered apart.
The terrifying crimson-black energy instantly dispersed into countless tiny particles of light, scattering harmlessly across the air.
Still wearing that same grin, Mamveth simply let out a low chuckle.
"Hmm... this level of strength. No wonder I couldn’t sense your presence." His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her face. "Have we met before? Ah, yes... yes! I believe we have."
His grin widened further.
"That stern expression of yours... I remember it now. You’re one of the Five Archmages."
Ophelia stared at him grimly, her gaze never leaving his figure.
"You speak as though you know me rather well."
A horrific grin crept across Mamveth’s face.
"Of course I do." His voice carried a sinister amusement as he continued, "After all, you’re one of the names on the list we intend to eradicate."
Ophelia remained remarkably composed upon hearing those words, her expression barely shifting.
"I see... well, you can try." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But, how peculiar. I wonder why you would suddenly reveal yourself like this?"
She paused before continuing.
"Haven’t you demons spent all this time hiding in the shadows, deceiving the world into believing that your kind had vanished entirely? So that you can eradicate humanity by catching them off guard?"
Her cold gaze remained fixed upon him.
"So what brought about this sudden change?"
Mamveth merely smiled.
"Kukuku~ We always knew we couldn’t remain hidden forever."
His smile gradually widened as he tilted his head.
"Although most of my comrades would rather remain concealed and strike at all of you while you remain ignorant of our existence..."
A low chuckle escaped his lips.
"...But I, Mamveth, the Demon Lord of Greed, find that terribly boring. I have no desire for such tediousness."
His eyes gleamed with twisted amusement as he spread his arms once more. "After all, there is no pleasure in slaughtering prey that doesn’t even know it is being hunted."
Mamveth’s grin grew increasingly deranged.
"So let the world know of our return. Let fear spread once again, and let all of creation descend into pandemonium once more."
He laughed softly.
"Wouldn’t that make everything far more—"
──────── ✦ ────────
[Chapter 314: Entertaining?]
Plot Points= 79,000 PP
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