Time rewinds to roughly ten minutes earlier.
Sefina’s figure quietly appeared in the silent corridor outside the Archive.
Unlike her previous infiltration, this time, the main entrance leading to the Archive was completely empty.
The low-ranking clergy or guards who should have been stationed here were nowhere to be seen.
It seemed the unusual magic power waves and faint tremors from underground had already alerted the Pope.
In order to “clean up” the intruder and prevent secrets from leaking, he must have deliberately sent away all nearby eyes and ears, intending to resolve the matter without a sound.
This gave Sefina the perfect window of opportunity.
She calmly pushed open the door to the Archive. Inside was silent and empty, with only the wall lamps casting a dim, steady glow.
Sefina’s gaze quickly swept over the oak bookshelf against the wall and the stone flower pot beside it that had been slightly moved—that was the entrance to the secret door.
Extending her senses, she could faintly detect the increasingly violent clash of magic deep below, like muffled thunder rolling through the earth.
“Perfect timing.”
Sefina murmured to herself, her wine-red eyes utterly calm.
She moved quickly, first retrieving several more Magic Stones from the pouch she carried.
Sefina placed them in several key corners inside the Archive, then personally infused them with mana to activate the [Prison Lock] barrier, cutting off any possibility of directly teleporting from the Tunnel into the Archive.
Next, Sefina walked over to the secret door, but she didn’t attempt to open it. Instead, she raised her ice blue Wand.
In an instant, an extremely dense rock structure proliferated from within, perfectly fusing with the original wall to form a solid barrier of pure earth-element mana.
7th-tier magic, [Rock God’s Protection]!
It completely sealed off the Tunnel exit, capable of withstanding attack magic of the seventh tier and below.
With the double layer of protection in place, Sefina retreated to a shadowed corner of the Archive and waited quietly.
Back to the Deputy.
At this very moment, his back was against the solid Rock Wall, and before him stood the Demon Sect Leader with killing intent boiling over.
There was no path of retreat—only battle!
A cruel glint flashed in the Sect Leader’s eyes. He too knew that this masked intruder before him was extraordinary in strength, so he had to end things quickly to avoid any complications from a prolonged fight.
Without a single word of exchange, the two of them, almost at the exact same instant, pushed their surging mana to their peaks.
The surrounding air let out a strained hum from the terrifying accumulation of magic, and fine bits of gravel and dust floated up, defying gravity.
The Sect Leader struck first, dark-red mana converging wildly.
8th-tier dark-fire composite magic, [Abyss Return Torch]!
The Deputy’s magic came right behind!
8th-tier Ice Magic, [Eternal Ice Coffin]!
Both of them hurled their condensed, ultimate 8th-tier killing blows toward each other!
The dark-red sphere of destructive energy and the ice-blue absolute-zero field collided with a thunderous impact right before the narrow Tunnel exit!
“BOOM——!!!”
A tremendous roar erupted, and a blinding flash of magical light instantly devoured everything.
The sturdy Tunnel Rock Wall shattered piece by piece, and the [Rock God’s Protection] blocking the exit crumbled and collapsed along with it.
Even the [Prison Lock] barrier inside the Archive suffered a violent shock—its membrane of light rippled wildly, then shattered.
The entire Church area could feel the earth-shaking force of that single strike.
At the Tunnel exit, the original Rock Wall no longer existed, replaced by a massive gaping hole.
No one knew how long passed before the smoke and dust thinned slightly.
***
Inside the opening, the Sect Leader’s figure reappeared.
He was in a sorry state now—fine cracks covered even his dark-red skin, and a trickle of dark-red blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He was still standing, but the plain white robe he wore had been reduced to tatters.
He leaned on his Wand with one hand, his chest rising and falling slightly. Even with his demonized, powerful physique, taking an 8th-tier magic head-on could never leave him completely unscathed.
And the Deputy…
At the spot where he had been standing, only a deep crater remained, along with scattered fragments of broken black robe.
The man was gone.
The Sect Leader’s sharp gaze swept the area, his senses fully extended.
Soon, he detected it—in the final instant of the 8th-tier magic clash, the Deputy had activated [Teleportation]!
“Cough… Damn rat!”
The Sect Leader coughed out two mouthfuls of stagnant blood laced with black smoke, cursing under his breath. He immediately began sensing the direction and distance the Deputy might have teleported to.
Just then—
“Lord Sect Leader! What happened?!”
“An intruder?!”
“Are you alright?!”
Hasty footsteps and panicked shouts came from the far end of the corridor.
The earth-shattering explosion just now had drawn in the Church guards and other clergy who had been temporarily sent away. Weapons or Wands in hand, they stared in shock at the wreckage in the direction of the Archive.
A sharp glint flashed in the Sect Leader’s eyes, and he quickly suppressed the lingering demonic aura and magic power fluctuations around him.
He slipped back into his human disguise, though his face looked especially pale and weak.
“…They infiltrated the underground area.” The Sect Leader said to the guards who had rushed over.
“Cough… A powerful intruder wearing a mask and a tall hat. I fought him nearby… He was strong—we both suffered heavy injuries… In the end, he used some unknown method and escaped from here.”
“He may still be inside the Church, or he may have fled outside… Quick, organize your men and search immediately! You must find him!”
The Sect Leader spoke in a rushed tone, issuing rapid orders.
As a highly respected Sect Leader and himself a powerful Mage, no one questioned his words.
The guards and clergy immediately obeyed, spreading out to the Church’s other areas and beyond, launching a sweeping search.
On the Deputy’s side, his situation was dire.
He was currently in a relatively secluded corridor inside the Church.
His black robe was torn in many places, revealing a body equally covered in wounds. However, his condition was considerably worse than the Sect Leader’s, and his injuries were far more severe.
Forcibly pulling himself out of the 8th-tier magic clash and activating [Teleportation] while enduring the blast’s aftermath had consumed enormous energy and worsened his wounds.
What’s more troublesome was that he could clearly hear distant voices and footsteps—the search net had already been cast over him!
He had to leave the Church’s premises immediately!
For now, he could only lean against the wall, enduring his injuries as blood continued to seep from him.
But in his current state, breaking through the guards and any external barriers that might exist, all without making a sound, was extremely difficult.
Just as the Deputy’s mind raced, weighing whether to take the risk and use his meager remaining mana for another short-range teleport—
“Tap, tap, tap—”
A light and steady set of footsteps came from above the service staircase, unhurried, drawing closer to the corner where he stood.
The Deputy’s heart tightened, and every remaining nerve in his body went taut. His injured hand quietly clenched his Wand.
Who was it? A guard?
Or a pursuer sent by that monster?
Or… someone else?
The footsteps stopped at the corner.
A small figure appeared at the edge of the shadows on the stairway landing.
The hem of an off-white coat lightly brushed across the steps, blue hair drifted gently in the dim light, and wine-red eyes calmly looked toward him, as if neither his appearance nor his battered state surprised her in the least.
It was the Ninth Seat—Sefina.
Why was she here? Had she tracked the commotion?
Her gaze swept over the wounds on his body, her face void of expression, her voice flat and clear as it reached him:
“Deputy, I’m here to help you.”
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