With Morvayne guiding the flow of [Fly], Ruvian’s body suddenly shifted through the air. She did all the navigation and control of the spell that Ruvian barely needed to do anything.
Within seconds, he was already moving toward one of Ophelia’s clones fighting far from Mamveth. The clone hovered several dozen meters away, repeatedly launching spells while keeping enough distance from the demon.
Ruvian slowed as he approached, carefully keeping himself outside the path of the attacks flashing across the sky.
Once he was close enough, he immediately tried to cast a single spell.
[Telepathy].
Ruvian had never cast the spell himself before, but strangely enough, he was far from unfamiliar with it. Irene had used it on him before, and Ophelia had done the same several times, so he already knew exactly what it felt like to receive someone else’s voice directly inside his head.
Remembering those moments now, Ruvian slowly narrowed his eyes. He thought back to the strange sensation that always came before the voice appeared.
There had been a faint pressure inside his head, almost like something had briefly touched his awareness, then the meaning of the message had simply formed inside his thoughts.
If he had to guess, Psionic Mana was somehow skipping the normal path used by sound and directly interacting with the part of the mind responsible for understanding language.
In normal speech, a voice created vibrations in the air, those vibrations entered the ear, and the brain turned those signals into words.
But [Telepathy] seemed to cut away everything in between, sending a prepared pattern straight toward the mind instead.
The target’s brain, or perhaps something deeper connected to consciousness itself, then rebuilt that pattern into something the receiver understood as a voice.
’Something like creating a signal. Or more like I need to send it through giving it a meaning.’
Ruvian raised one hand slightly as Psionic Mana began gathering around his fingers.
If he could reproduce even part of that pattern in reverse, then perhaps he could force the spell to work.
Ruvian focused instead on a simple sentence inside his mind, then he tried to wrap that thought inside the thin layer of Psionic Mana gathering around his consciousness.
Slowly, the unstable Psionic Mana began matching the rhythm of that thought.
Ruvian’s eyes sharpened.
There was a barrier blocking it for a moment, but after that, he managed to break through and a sudden surprised voice echoed inside his head.
—"Scholar Ruvian... is that you?"
Hearing that, the corner of Ruvian’s lips slowly curled upward.
The spell had worked, though it was a bit weird... because he hadn’t executed the final part yet. So he deduced that Ophelia had completed it for him.
—"Yes, it’s me."
*****
[Ophelia’s POV]
Far from Mamveth, Ophelia’s real body suddenly sensed Scholar Ruvian moving toward one of her clones.
Her eyes narrowed for a brief moment, many questions from before immediately rising inside her mind again.
Why did he carry the scent of a demon, how could he use Dark Mana, and why did the way he spoke earlier sound nothing like him?
It almost felt as though someone else was residing inside his body. For a moment, Ophelia even considered the possibility that a demon had taken control of him.
Yet if that were true, then why was he clearly hostile toward Mamveth?
’Let’s leave that for now and ask him later.’
Ophelia’s attention returned to Mamveth as another wave of magic exploded across the domain.
’He must have an explanation for it.’
Still, Scholar Ruvian was clearly approaching her clone because he wanted something. Ophelia was just about to have the clone establish [Telepathy] with him when she suddenly felt something brush against its consciousness.
Her brows immediately rose.
Someone was trying to reach her clone.
The attempt was rough, almost like someone knocking against a locked door without knowing how to open it. Yet Ophelia recognized the Psionic pattern almost instantly, and even more strangely, she realized it was coming from Scholar Ruvian.
’He... can use [Telepathy]?’ (+300PP)
His execution was poor, but the basic structure was there. Ophelia loosened the mental barrier around her clone, allowing his Psionic Mana to slip through before guiding the unstable connection herself.
Once the link settled, her voice entered his mind.
—"Scholar Ruvian... is that you?"
A moment later, his answer came through.
—"Yes, it’s me."
—"Is it really you this time? Scholar Ruvian, I would prefer a clear answer."
Ophelia asked, her voice carrying a trace of doubt despite its calm tone.
—"Erm, yes?"
Ruvian paused for a moment, already realizing why she was asking.
—"Ah, yes, it’s me, but about that... we can talk later."
Ophelia’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she said nothing. Another explosion tore through the air as Mamveth shattered several spells aimed at her.
Ruvian quickly continued.
—"First, I managed to bring Julian back to the surface, or more accurately, he’s awake now. Next is I need you to hold him completely still long enough for me to get close, can you do that?"
—"Hold him in place, huh?"
Ophelia’s gaze shifted toward Mamveth as several magic circles appeared around her.
—"That, I can do."
After fighting him for this long, she had already noticed something about that strange curse of his. It could absorb spells, but there seemed to be a limit to how much magical output it could consume within a certain amount of time. She did not know the exact limit, but she did not necessarily need to know it.
If there was a limit, then she simply had to overpower it.
—"There’s something else..."
Ruvian continued, causing Ophelia’s attention to return to him.
—"...Once I get close, I’m going to use a Psionic spell to suppress the demon’s soul and force it away from Julian’s body."
Ophelia’s expression changed slightly. That alone was already far more dangerous than simply restraining Mamveth.
Yet Ruvian was not finished.
—"I don’t know if I can pull it off alone, so I need you to watch the spell when I cast it."
Ruvian hesitated for only a second before continuing.
—"If possible, I want you to understand its structure and replicate it immediately, then use it together with me." (+500PP)
Ophelia’s brows rose.
’He wants me to learn an unknown Psionic spell... on the spot?’
Even for an Archmage, that was an absurd request to make in the middle of a battle.
She would have to observe an unfamiliar spell, understand its mana structure, reproduce it correctly, and then cast it on a possessed soul without knowing what would happen if she made a mistake.
Yet as another violent blast shook the domain, her eyes hardened.
Even so, desperate times called for desperate measures.
Besides, Ruvian was one of her scholars. She certainly wasn’t going to admit she couldn’t do it before even attempting it.
Ophelia lifted her chin slightly as her voice returned through the connection.
—"Very well, Scholar Ruvian."
Her tone was calm and firm, without the slightest trace of hesitation.
—"Cast the spell when you are ready, and I will do my best to replicate it."
──────── ✦ ────────
[Chapter 327: Telepathy]
Plot Points= 68,500 PP
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