Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 905 - 842 Past and Future
Lyle swore to the heavens that he was merely trying to boost morale. When his words came true, even he was taken aback.
A scorching white ray connected heaven and earth, sweeping across the ground like a blade, striking the angel amidst startled cries. There was no explosion; the areas touched by the ray turned into bright silver metal, whether it was the black sludge or the blood and flesh covering the corrupted angel. Metallic threads sprouted from these regions, burrowing into nearby non-metallic areas to facilitate decomposition and reconfiguration.
The Genesis Ray—Lyle was all too familiar with this attack. But now, it seemed the Broken Angel had absorbed lessons from the last encounter, evolving and acquiring god-like infectious powers akin to an Evil God.
The glowing angel appeared momentarily stunned by the transformations across its body. A sonic boom shattered the clouds as a more majestic, mechanically enhanced angel, its wings larger and more ornate, descended from the skies, colliding forcefully into it. Alongside, missiles rained down, blossoming like flowers at the intersection of the battlefront.
[Target captured, initiating suppression protocols]
The Broken Angel swung its fist, its speed like a bullet breaking flesh into deep pits. The corrupted angel beneath it let out an enraged roar as though provoked, its halo expanding behind it, driving a Light Spear forward with full force.
[Prohibited action]
The light dissolved like snowflakes, while radiant silver threads on the Broken Angel’s body formed a numerical halo behind its head.
[Simulated Divine Descent]
A dazzling white beam descended from the heavens, engulfing both angels. The mechanical construction sounds temporarily drowned out the noise of the battlefield.
The missiles dropped by the Broken Angel brought overwhelming results. The mechanized corrupted paladins had transformed into awe-inspiring scenery, albeit disconnected from the network and now entering a standby state, resembling statues.
The semi-stone-like state didn’t halt the battle for long. Corrupted paladins knew no fear, and neither did the Liches, especially when allies were nearby.
But as the combat resumed, the participants realized the war had taken a strange turn. Corrupted knights and Liches wrestled violently, tearing each other apart in a frenzy, their bodies shredded to pieces. They retreated to have their bodies repaired, only to return to the fray once more.
Those observant enough began noticing anomalies.
"They can’t use Holy Light anymore." The blessings that had once glowed on weapons and armor had vanished completely. The sky no longer unleashed thunderous barrages. Corrupted paladins no longer appeared more righteous than the Coalition forces; their filthy, exposed flesh was starkly visible to all.
The Dean’s gaze shifted to the two angels who had fallen behind enemy lines. His eyes caught the mechanical scar etched by the Genesis Ray earlier. Unnoticed until now, this path had widened to a meter across, where pocket-sized metallic flower bundles silently bloomed across the battlefield.
It was certainly no poetic gesture.
"Can this thing suppress Holy Light?"
"Not just Holy Light," replied the Scholar, stepping closer and pointing to the Liches who were now locked in melee combat with the paladins. "It’s also restricting our Magic Power, though not as completely as it does with Holy Light."
The Scholar, a magic network avatar, could distinctly sense the changes in the Earth Vein. The world’s magical bloodstream seemed stuffed with some kind of "compiler," allowing energy to be utilized only in specific forms by individuals equipped with corresponding decoders.
"Spellcasters face throttling, while Holy Light has been completely disconnected. Large-scale spells requiring Magic Power are nearly unusable, and high-energy-consuming spirit summoning creations can only sustain minimal activities. The war, effectively, has been constrained to minimal destructive capacity. That new angel is quite merciful, after all."
Soon, the Scholar received a communication. His student, Kristo—a Blue Dragon—had brought disheartening news.
"Teacher, my father has fallen."
Giant Dragons are powerful magical creatures. Their dragon wings serve as casting organs for enhanced Magic Power, primarily enabling flight. Without sufficient Magic Power supply, the fate of flying dragons was predictable.
"Do not worry," the Scholar said. "The mechanical angel’s suppression affects almost all powers, yet it seems unable to influence the corruption inherent to Evil God knowledge. Your father is one of the Undying Evil Gods; he cannot be killed by mere falling."
"That’s not the problem, Teacher. While I felt the magical weakening myself, some teleportation magic was still functional. I even tried teleporting my father." Kristo’s voice faltered, betraying his nervousness.
"You still managed to use long-distance teleportation? That’s astonishing news, Kristo! Perhaps your talent exceeds mine..." The Scholar paused briefly to deliberate. "Wait. As I recall, you’re currently at Moon Nafar’s spell base. Your connection as a magic network avatar might be resonating with the nearby magic network node, amplifying your teleportation magic capabilities..."
"Yes, Teacher. Your inference is spot on..."
Emboldened by encouragement, the Scholar found himself drawn to unraveling the puzzle, "Haha! I’ve never considered the challenge of enabling teleportation spells during The Last Age of Magic. Let’s hypothesize: the magic density in the air drops to level 1, paired with the long-range teleportation spell model I showed you, complemented by the casting techniques I taught..."
But as the Scholar calculated, he began sensing something was wrong.
"Wait. Long-distance teleportation magic degenerates into long-distance summoning, relocating the casting target to your side..."
The Scholar felt his chest tighten.
"Kristo, you summoned the largest creature in existence—your father—to my Floating City, which barely maintains gravitational balancing..."
"...Teacher, your wisdom surpasses all of us. Just as you’ve guessed... My father is doing fine now." Kristo omitted the details. Everyone knew speaking further would only hurt feelings.
The Scholar collapsed backward. He had anticipated this possibility but still felt his vision darken when faced with the reality.
A pair of hands caught him, stabilizing him before magic chains could adjust his balance. The Scholar glanced sideways at his savior.
"Thank you, Lyle."
The Broken Angel had crashed into the rear ranks of the Knights alongside the corrupted angel. With no support possible, Lyle had returned to the commander’s side. Seeing the Blue Dragon Priest, his teacher, collapse, he was visibly alarmed; the Scholar explained it was merely the fatigue from magical weakening.
The restricted magic network node shifted to broader matters.
"So, that new angel was summoned by Dreamer?"
Lyle nodded, "She wasn’t this fierce before. I don’t know what kind of promise Dreamer made... Now, she’s even suppressing the Holy Light." Over by Sleeper Triton’s side, the cacophony of explosions suggested violent clashes. Having once faced Dorothy himself, Lyle shuddered at the thought of her wrath. He’d only managed to convince Dreamer to have Dorothy hold back then, and he now felt grateful for his instincts.
"She is a King of the Era. Her power and authority display her identity—her ability to suppress an entire era, to suppress all living beings."
Lyle fell into contemplation.
"I’m sorry, Teacher. The contrast between Thunderer and Dragon among Kings of the Era is so extreme that I cannot fully grasp the essence of what it means to dominate an era."
The Scholar shook his head.
"I won’t elaborate on the King of Holy Light. As for my friend, the dragon’s frailty—it’s all thanks to you. The resurrected Yemotar swore not to harm humans. He is an Evil Dragon, a Devourer, the King of Crawling Species. His existence propagates the Phantasmal Species of this era. Dragon Transformation—indeed, all vertebrate animals would naturally succumb to the process. His instincts naturally proliferate swarms of dragons across the skies and lands. In this lifetime, he’s even taken up teaching skeletal summoning magic. To that end, he contributes to the possibility of a corruptible species. But now he’s suppressed by Holy Light—not surprising, as Holy Light defeated him once, transforming his death into a triumph for Holy Light, making him inherently disadvantaged against his old conqueror.
"And that new angel—she is entirely unaffected by the Holy Light King’s merits. Thunderer has waged crusading wars before, slaying virtually every figure of past ages. The King of Holy Light—the one who severs ties to former kings." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
"Yet the Broken Angel remains completely untouched by Holy Light’s grand feats. It’s reasonable to infer her era lacks the presence of Holy Light."
"A future... King of the Era."
