Advent of the Archmage

Glyn turned around and saw that Nozama was looking at him from his black skeletal throne. On both sides of his throne stood ten or so demons. These were all Nozama’s most trusted subordinates. Some of them even posed a threat to Glyn’s position as Nozama’s second in command.

The crowd of demons was smiling at him nastily.

Glyn’s heart was now racing in him. His knees gave way, and he fell to his knees unceremoniously. “Master, I beg you. Please allow me to explain what I had to go through in that realm before you punish me.”

“Speak then,” said Nozama, nodding. He had always been a reasonable man, and Glyn was also one of his most competent subordinates.

Glyn let out a sigh of relief. He then began recounting the moment he and his two underlings were summoned by the Magicians of Troym into their realm; the Protector’s appearance, which was subsequently followed by the Black Dragon Link’s appearance; and finally, how the Black Dragon easily brought the Troym army to its knees. He did not leave out anything as he described in detail the power levels of all parties involved and what happened during the battle with the Black Dragon.

When he was finished, Nozama frowned. “You said that he just stood there, completely ignoring the Level-10 spell that was aimed at him. Are you sure he didn’t cast a defensive spell on himself beforehand?”

“No, I was closely observing him at the time. I did not sense any magical aura from him. I am sure of what I saw. The spell simply slid off him like rainwater.”

Glyn was a Level-15 Magician. Though his power had been heavily suppressed back then, his observational skills were not at all affected. He definitely could not have imagined what he saw with his own eyes.

Things did not look good. The fact that a Level-10 spell had no effect whatsoever on Link suggested that he was now more powerful than anyone had anticipated. Even Nozama could not achieve such a feat.

From Glyn’s account, Nozama estimated that his power would be reduced to at most Level-10 if he were to enter that realm without any summoner splitting the burden of the Dimensional Rejection with him. Even he would be decimated by a Level-10 magical attack at that point.

Nozama tapped a restless finger on one of the armrests of his throne. All the other demons were now holding their breaths, fearing that their breathing might distract their master. Glyn remained kneeling on the ground, not even daring to take a breath himself. His heart was now pounding in anticipation of whatever punishment Nozama had in store for him.

Seconds passed agonizingly. Ten minutes later, Nozama spoke once more, “The lord of Ferde never ceases to surprise me. I imagine he still has a few tricks up his sleeve if he thinks he can venture into the Sea of Void on his own. And now he’s holed up in this backwater realm. Knowing him, he may even stay there for a hundred more years if he has to. Picking a fight with him there may not be a wise move. If that’s the case, we’ll just have to return to our previous objective: finding the Seal of Light!”

“Yes, Master.” All the demons nodded around him.

Nozama then looked at Glyn again. “As for you, Glyn, you’ve been a loyal servant of mine, perhaps ten times more loyal than those traitorous imbeciles Gaulle and Gamiwa. You’re also a lot more intelligent than those two. You’ve proven yourself to be an invaluable asset. Stand up; you are not at fault for the failure of this mission.”

Glyn was overjoyed. “Many thanks, Master! Many thanks!”

In the past, Nozama would usually conjure some cruel punishment to deal with those who failed him. This was the first time he had forgiven someone for his failure. It would seem that Glyn had made the right choice.

Nozama then turned to look out of one of the portholes on the side of the Void Ferry. A vast realm flickered in the distance outside the Ferry. He smirked. “Another world waiting to be conquered. I’m coming, love.”

The Void Ferry let out a soft hum as it turned towards this new realm.

Just then, something happened.

The Dark Tutor Mysin shouted, “Master, something’s holding back the Void Ferry! We’re completely paralyzed!”

“What? What did you say?” Nozama was stunned. What the Void Ferry lacked in power, it made up for in size. Even he would not be able to restrain such a huge vessel by himself. Who could be powerful enough to bring the entire Void Ferry to a halt?

He immediately gave out his order. “Activate the Dark Inferno. We’ll burn whoever it is to a crisp…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a silky voice echoed in the vessel. “Nozama, is this how you treat a friend?”

As Nozama puzzled over who it could be for a while, a dark red image flickered into being inside the cabin. The image was blurry at first. Then, it began to solidify into the form of an Agatha Naga. The Naga somewhat resembled the Naga Priestess Molina. Swathed in layers of destructive aura, she had an air of austerity about her that Molina never had.

Looking at her, Nozama drew a sharp breath. He stood up, took a few paces forward and then bowed deeply before the Naga. “Exalted one, I did not expect to find you here.”

The Naga in question was the God of Destruction. She had appeared before Nozama in her true form. The faint aura she was giving off was enough to suffocate every demon onboard the Void Ferry. Even Nozama was under the impression that he would be disintegrated at any moment by her.

A mortal in the face of a Legendary was akin to an ant about to be stomped on by an elephant. In the Sea of Void, Nozama was now feeling just as insignificant as said ant in the face of a divine master like the God of Destruction.

“I did not expect to find you floating out here as well,” said the Naga, chuckling. She then turned to look at the realm outside the Ferry’s porthole. “I assume he’s somewhere in there?”

“Yes, yes he is.”

Nozama did not even have to guess who she was referring to.

The Naga smiled coldly. “This realm does feel potent. However, it is still young, and most of its rules are far from complete. It’s also not under the protection of any god as far as I know. I’ll open a portal for you, and all you have to do is go in there and get him out of it.”

Nozama was taken aback by her suggestion. “Won’t there still be a Dimensional Rejection?”

“There will be, but I’ll take on most of it for you. You will have Level-14 power inside that realm as a result. Don’t tell me you can’t even handle such a simple task?”

If the Naga had come to him sooner with such an arrangement, Nozama would not have hesitated to pluck the lord of Ferde out of the realm he was now hiding in. However, after hearing Glyn’s account, he was not sure if he could handle Link even with Level-14 power, especially when he had no idea how powerful the latter had become at this point.

The God of Destruction gazed at him coldly. “Cowardice is a quality most unbecoming of someone with 3000 Legendary demons at his disposal, Nozama.”

The demons on board the vessel looked at their master upon hearing this, waiting for an answer from him.

Damn it! Nozama grounded his teeth. However, he was not in any position to resist the will of a divine master. Finally, he nodded. “No, of course there won’t be a problem. I’m just thinking what kind of torture I should subject the lord of Ferde to when I get my hands on him.”

“No.” The God of Destruction strolled towards Nozama’s throne and seated herself on it. She then stared down at the Lord of Deep and said, “Your job is to capture the lord of Ferde alive. As for how he should be dealt with, that will be up to me to decide, not you.”