He hesitated for only a moment. Facing seven or eight pairs of suddenly glowing emerald eyes, the Deputy didn’t falter in the slightest.
He swiftly swung the wand in his hand, and a red magic array pattern flared at its tip. The next second—”BOOM—!”
The air heated and expanded in an instant. Centered on the Deputy, searing flames erupted violently within a radius of several meters, like lava bursting from the earth’s core.
The fire formed several fiercely spinning vortexes that rolled back toward the charging monsters.
Sixth-rank Fire Magic—[Fiery Stream].
“ROOOAR—!”
The three monsters at the front bore the brunt of the attack. The moment the dark-skinned limbs of their bodies touched the fiery stream, a sizzling, burning stench filled the air.
Their tough hides melted like wax, exposing raw red muscle and pale white bone beneath.
Their anguished screams barely escaped their throats before being swallowed by the even more ferocious flames.
Their silhouettes twisted and shrank wildly within the crimson inferno. In just two or three seconds, they collapsed into curled, charred remains on the ground, completely devoid of life.
The other monsters, slightly slower or positioned off to the side, were shaken by this sudden burst of destructive energy. Their pouncing movements ground to an abrupt halt, and a flicker of instinctive fear even crossed their emerald eyes.
Accompanied by low, guttural growls, they instinctively leaped backward, trying to escape that terrifying high-temperature zone.
To cast a sixth-rank spell almost instantaneously—the Deputy’s strength was at least at the level of an eighth-rank mage.
However, the Deputy’s brow furrowed slightly beneath his mask.
Something was off.
These monsters’ reactions and defensive power, though far stronger than ordinary beasts or low-tier magical beasts, were… but if they were only at this level, there was no way the Fourth Seat—someone skilled in concealment and escape—could have died here silently without even sending out a distress signal.
Too many at once? That also seemed unlikely…
Even as his mind raced through possibilities, his movements never halted.
After repelling the first wave of attacks, he traced a cold arc with his wand. The burning red light at its tip suddenly extinguished, replaced by a deep blue glow.
“CRACK—!”
With the Deputy’s feet as the center, bone-piercing cold spread instantly.
Moisture in the air was frantically drawn out and frozen. A visible white frost wave surged ferociously toward the retreating monsters.
Wherever the cold current passed, thick frost condensed on the ground, and the air emitted faint popping sounds as it froze.
The monsters’ movements instantly became sluggish and stiff, their emerald eyes reflecting the rapidly approaching ice-blue glow.
Sixth-rank Ice Magic—[Extreme Frost Prison].
The retreating monsters couldn’t even put up an effective struggle before being completely swallowed by the overwhelming sub-zero temperatures.
They remained frozen in their panicked retreating poses as thick layers of ice rapidly covered their bodies—from feet to head—turning them into statues of various postures in the blink of an eye.
The emerald glow in their eyes gradually dimmed and went out behind the ice.
In an instant, seven or eight ferocious monsters were either dead or frozen solid. The spacious underground chamber fell silent once more, leaving only the lingering stench of burning and the pervasive, biting chill.
That was too easy.
Taken care of?
Instead of dissipating, the doubts in the Deputy’s mind only grew heavier.
He stood still, refusing to lower his guard.
His wand remained firmly in hand as he heightened his perception to the limit, meticulously probing every corner of this bloody space—especially the darkness deeper within, and any presence that might be hiding behind the piles of unfrozen bones.
No matter how numerous they were, they shouldn’t have prevented the Fourth Seat from escaping.
Unless…
There was no way the Fourth Seat died at the hands of these mindless monsters.
Something more advanced was lurking here, something that had yet to reveal itself.
“Tap, tap, tap, tap…”
Just then, a leisurely set of footsteps suddenly echoed from the tunnel entrance behind the Deputy.
The footsteps were steady and rhythmic, eerily conspicuous and grating in this deathly silent underground space.
“Who goes there?!”
Alarm bells rang in the Deputy’s mind. He spun around almost reflexively, his wand instantly pointing at the source of the sound.
From the shadows of the tunnel entrance, a figure slowly stepped out.
It was the Pope.
He was an old man dressed in plain white robes. His face was kind, with wrinkles that seemed to carry the gentleness of accumulated years. In his hand, he held an unadorned wooden wand.
Was he drawn here by the magical fluctuations? Why would he be here?
Or… had he been here all along? Or perhaps, nearby?
Without a single moment of hesitation, the Deputy’s ice-type mana gathered at his wand tip abruptly shifted in nature, becoming far sharper.
He didn’t need pointless questioning.
The most likely answer was—he was the mastermind behind all this!
The moisture and cold air in the surroundings converged wildly, instantly condensing into three crystal-clear spears.
Sixth-rank Magic, [Frostspear]!
“—!”
Three ice spears tore through the air, aimed directly at the Pope’s chest.
They were incredibly fast, leaving only three ice-blue afterimages in their wake.
Faced with this sudden lethal attack, the Pope’s kindly expression didn’t change in the slightest.
He neither panicked nor dodged, nor did he raise a common mana barrier. Instead, he simply tapped his wand against the ground with a natural, unhurried motion.
“RUMBLE—!”
The stone floor before the Pope split and heaved upward. A massive, thick rock wall rose from the earth, firmly blocking the path between him and the ice spears.
Sixth-rank Earth Defense Magic, [Rock Shield Wall].
“CRASH—!”
The first ice spear slammed into the rock wall, its tip shattering and scattering ice shards while leaving a deep crater and spiderweb-like cracks across the wall’s surface.
The second ice spear followed immediately, striking the exact same spot with precision. The cracks widened and deepened in an instant.
The third ice spear smashed into the center of the already failing cracks like a battering ram.
Ice and rock magic clashed violently, annihilating each other!
Amid the violent explosion, the ice spears shattered completely, and the massive rock wall collapsed from its middle, crashing down into countless rubble and dust.
The magical forces canceled each other out.
And in the moment before the dust from the crumbling wall had even fully dispersed, the Pope’s true appearance had already transformed!
Dark red skin replaced the aged human form. Facial bones and scales jutted outward. His jaw and cheekbones were as sharp as if carved by blades—utterly grotesque and terrifying.
Two curved black horns pierced through what had been white hair, growing clearly and abruptly from the top of his head.
He was a high-ranking individual!
Of the same origin as the monsters on the ground, but clearly far more powerful. One who could even perfectly disguise himself as a human and wield high-tier magic!
The information collected by the Ninth Seat was incomplete!
She likely had no idea—or had failed to record—the existence of this supreme-ranked being.
And more than that… he could instantly cast sixth-rank defensive magic and easily block her [Frostspear]. His magical skill and mana reserves… were likely at least eighth-rank…
No wonder the Fourth Seat had died here so silently.
Against a high-ranking monster of the “same kind” with such unfathomable power, any lapse in attention would be fatal.
Inside the underground chamber, the dust slowly settled.
Two men, twenty meters apart, locked eyes with a fierce clash of gazes.
No words. No pause for probing.
The next instant, two terrifying torrents of mana erupted simultaneously from both wands—