Fire Mage-Chapter 700: Leaving

Chapter 700: Leaving

"Why do you need those?" the Incarnation asked, curiosity creeping into his voice. "Did you take on a disciple or something?"

"No," Runeth replied solemnly. "I need them both. Once I leave here, I don’t know when—or if—I’ll return. I’ve lost every artifact I had to those damned Divines of the Holmes family. If I end up in danger, I want something to help me rise again."

The Incarnation opened his mouth to protest, but Runeth shook his head firmly.

"These are essential. Don’t argue. It’s not right to take the Three Archons’ gifts for myself, but I have no choice. I hope they’ll forgive me someday."

Resigned, the Incarnation fell silent and turned his attention to Charles.

"And who is this brat?"

Runeth smiled as he stored the items away in his space ring. "This lad is more like my student. He might one day become the most dangerous person in the Universe." He glanced at Umi and added, "A piece of advice, lass—your bloodline is being corrupted by Divine power. Relying on divinity to boost your rank might seem wise, but it will slowly make you a puppet of that power. Hmm... You’re using Ice and Snow Divinities to unlock the secrets within your bloodline spell models, right? If you want to improve beyond your current state, go to the Elder Plane and seek out the Demi Clan. Stop using Divinities."

"Divinities? I’ve never used those," Umi said, puzzled.

"Strange... but your bloodline is dense with Divine energy. Wait—now I remember. I heard those four Beast Gods used forbidden magic to split their divine power and bloodline essence, passing them to their descendants. So, you’re one of them, huh?" Runeth nodded thoughtfully. "Try the Elder Plane. You might find answers there."

Turning back to the large crystal orb in the hall’s center, Runeth began walking toward it.

Meanwhile, Charles unleashed his wisdom power and examined the other materials.

"Most of these aren’t suitable for a Legend Rank powerhouse," Charles murmured.

The Incarnation nodded calmly. "I thought so too."

"Let’s go, Charles. Time to return to Edhen," Runeth said as he reached out and touched the crystalline orb.

"Coming," Charles replied.

As Charles stepped forward, a blue screen flickered before his eyes.

"Wait! Give me some Elemental Crystals before you go. It’s getting tough managing this place with only magic stones," the Incarnation called from behind.

"Charles, hand them over," Runeth said without looking away from the screen.

Charles tapped his space ring and dropped ten Fairy Elemental Crystals—one of each element—into Runeth’s hand. The Incarnation’s eyes widened in shock.

"Did you rob a dragon’s lair or something?" he asked.

"More like a God’s lair," Charles said. "He took the spoils of an Evil Goddess and ran. Though it means little to those wicked beings, it’s forbidden to take spoils from any God."

"That’s basically inviting disaster!" the Incarnation exclaimed, baffled by Charles’s audacity.

"Don’t say that—he is a walking disaster."

Runeth shook his head and summoned a magic circle, letting it envelop the hall. The elemental crystals dissolved into the core.

Then, he projected an illusionary Universal Map, scribbling rune characters to enter coordinates.

Suddenly, Charles asked, "How are you using this Planar Teleportation Array, old man? I heard it took Udnir more than two decades to reach Edhen from a distant place."

"Hoho," Runeth chuckled. "I’m hacking the Hyperweb Space Travel pathways, using my original ID to travel without spending Emperor Coins. Basically, we’re fooling the Lawful Organization—entering their Hyperweb Space Vortex and exiting before anyone notices. The network doesn’t belong to them; they just seized it and extort money from everyone."

He zoomed in on a particular blue planet, clicked it, then activated the Planar Teleportation spell.

"Let’s meet again someday," Runeth said as spatial elemental energy gathered at the hall’s center, swirling into a crack that grew into a deep bluish portal.

Without hesitation, Charles and Runeth stepped into the portal and vanished, leaving Umi and the Incarnation behind.

Once again, Charles and Runeth were swept through the wormhole vortex, traveling a long while before emerging.

Moments later, they stood on a vast grassland.

"Oh? We’re back in Edhen already!" Charles said, scanning the open landscape.

"It seems we’re in the Blood Empire’s territory," Runeth said, eyes fixed on the distant city where seven Magic Towers soared into the clouds.

"So, what now?" Charles asked.

"I’m heading back to the Ember Kingdom to retrieve the Ringer’s Demiplane entrance key. After that, I’ll return to the Rebirth Tower and isolate myself for a decade or two," Runeth replied, slowly ascending into the sky. Then he added, "Don’t worry. I’ll also help the Nightwind Family relocate to the Iron Kingdom. Meanwhile, you should go back to Riverdale City or the Rebirth Tower and focus on strengthening yourself."

"Need me to help you get there?" Charles asked, rising to follow him.

"Nah, I’ve got this," Runeth said, controlling his wisdom power as he soared higher.

Charles lingered for a moment, then decided to return to the Rebirth Tower first.

The only one left is the Red Prince. If I kill him, I can finally avenge Eve, he thought. But he was still too weak to face an Evil God-like being.

Without hesitation, he summoned a portal with his False Flame, stepped through, and vanished.

...

Rebirth Tower, Iron Kingdom

After hours of travel, Charles arrived before the towering golden spire, 800 meters tall. He descended gently outside the invisible forcefield, drawing startled gazes from knights and young mystics entering and leaving the tower.

Just as a nearby guard moved to draw his sword and aim it at Charles, an illusionary female figure appeared before him and bowed her head in greeting. She had long silver hair, piercing blue eyes, elongated ears, and looked about twenty-five.

"Welcome back, Tower Master!" Zera said with a warm smile.

"Send me to the 24th Layer, Zera," Charles ordered.

At his words, the space around him shimmered and warped, teleporting him instantly.

A moment later, Charles found himself in a familiar luxurious bedroom. He looked around, then moved to the red-painted wardrobe beside the grand bed. Opening it, he pulled out a blue robe with both hands.

He crossed to the bathroom, bathed, then returned over thirty minutes later, dressed in the blue robe. Quietly, he sat on the bed.

"Zera, are you there?" he asked softly.

In an instant, Zera appeared beside him in her illusionary form, bowing.

"Yes, Tower Master."

"Just call me Charles," he waved his hand dismissively. "I want to construct the remaining spell models. Can you show me the list?"

"Of course," Zera said swiftly, summoning a blue notebook-sized interface before his eyes.

Charles scanned the familiar seven folders, each labeled with a different type of fire.

He clicked on the ’Mind Fire’ folder and found only one spell listed.

Eternal Flame Seed. The description read: A spell that invades the target’s main consciousness, interrupting their thought process by burning memories every five seconds. It remains in the mind for over an hour, slowly consuming memories. Almost impossible to remove by force—like a powerful curse. Even gods struggle against it. The spell’s duration lengthens as the user’s understanding of Mind Fire grows.

Charles’s face betrayed his surprise.

"This is a powerful curse indeed," he murmured. "’Burning Thoughts’ is useful, but it won’t work on beings stronger than me. This... this can even affect godly entities. Damn, with just these Mind Fire spells, I could dismantle any Legend Rank powerhouse from the inside." His current wisdom power made him nearly invincible at this rank.

He smiled with satisfaction and moved on to the next spell.

Soul Fire, he read aloud, then squinted at the description.

Cleansing Fire: This spell purifies the soul by enveloping it in Soul Flame essence. It burns away chaotic energy, negative emotions, and soul curses—a spiritual cleansing. If I had this spell, I wouldn’t have suffered the ’Love Curse.’ A flicker of regret passed his eyes.

"No... even if I purified that curse, the one behind it was far too powerful. I’d only have earned another enemy’s wrath. Still, I should help his adopted daughter live without guilt," he said softly, shaking his head. Then he shifted focus.

Overlord of Domination: Dreadful Domination surrounds the target with black flames that inspire overwhelming fear and submission. Victims become paralyzed by dread, willing to obey any command to escape the torment. Unless the target is one rank higher, escape is nearly impossible.

Charles’s lips curled into a pleased smile.

"Not bad. Each spell is impressive in its own way," he muttered solemnly, turning to the final spell.

False Flame, he whispered—the strangest and most mysterious of them all.

Just as he selected it, the crimson badge on his space ring slid out and hovered before his eyes, startling him.

"Abium’s gift badge? Why did it come out—?"

Before he could finish, his vision blurred. Suddenly, he found himself standing inside a void resembling his space ring.

Ten meters away, the Golden Shield spell model hovered. Charles frowned.

Why am I here?

A mature woman’s voice echoed inside his mind.

"I summoned you under Abium’s order, lad."

He stayed calm and asked, "Who are you? Wait... The Present Time I felt inside the badge when I first entered... Is this connected to the Sun God’s Divine Domain?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A silence followed, then a heavy sigh.