Advent of the Archmage

What did Sastor use to lock the realm? He used the strength of his believers accumulated through the years.

This move used up much of his stored Belief Power. If not for the Ruler of Light and Darkness’ orders, he definitely wouldn’t do something so crazy.

He was badly injured from the final battle with the Snow Mountain Archmage Iyr and was forced to go rest in the Yan Empire. However, an Archmage’s body was abnormally strong. Once hurt, it required a great amount of energy to heal.

Where did this energy come from? From the millions of believers in the Yan Empire. The Belief Power from regular believers was weak and impure. The purification process took a lot of time. Thus, to quickly replenish his power, he had to rely on the hardcore believers.

This time, Sastor was truly hurt. He lived in the Fire God Palace, which was built in the mortal temple of the Isomeric Realm. Sastor went to the center and lay directly onto the ground. A fiery crystal hovered quietly around ten feet above him.

Threads formed by countless runes stretched from the crystal. Like smoke or fog, they extended out and disappeared in the air. These threads weren’t still. They would vibrate occasionally, and tiny balls would rush out of the air, entering the fiery crystal.

It looked like countless water pipes reaching out from the air, connecting to a pool in the end—the fiery crystal. “Clear water” flowed in without stop, but the crystal never became full. Its light just grew brighter.

Drip, drop. Suddenly, a drop of fiery liquid dripped from the crystal. Inferno Archmage Sastor opened his mouth to catch it. He instantly felt warmth go from his throat to his organs, warming his icy body.

This fiery crystal was his Divine Fragment. It absorbed the Belief Power and converted it into pure Infernal Power for Sastor, strengthening him. Of course, it was also the thing helping him recover quickly now.

If no accidents happened, he would receive 5,000,000 drops of pure Infernal Power around a month later. This should help him recover to his top state.

One month is still too long. Sastor was a bit anxious. If he was in his best state, he could definitely use a Divination spell to find the source of the anxiety. He couldn’t do it now. He just wished time could pass a bit faster.

God? God? Are you there? A thought suddenly rang out in Sastor’s mind. It was a prayer from a believer in the mortal world. His voice was hurried, and it trembled. It contained great fear.

Sastor froze. The bad feeling in him grew stronger. His power was limited now, but he still replied.

In an Infernal Church in the mortal world, the eyes of Sastor’s statue lit up with faint red light. This meant that God’s consciousness had arrived. He was ready to listen to his believers.

A horrible demon is blaspheming you. He is very powerful and cruel. He keeps killing your children and absorbing their souls after destroying their bodies. Ah, no, he’s coming! Ahh…

Instantly, the prayer turned into cries of terror.

A portion of Sastor’s mind was still on that mortal statue. In that moment, he saw a black-haired man with a black crystal crown rush into the temple. It was indeed the Lord of Ferde. He grabbed the praying believer.

Sastor recognized the believer as the archbishop of this church. The poor mortal was raised in the air, and he struggled like a rabbit caught by a lion. He cast various divine spells on the Ferde lord, but these were just like scratches to a lion. Other than nice lighting effects, they were useless.

Amidst the useless struggling, the Ferde lord suddenly applied pressure. Wriggling fiery-red light was pulled out of the archbishop’s body. It entered the Ferde lord while the body in his hands turned into a lump of dead meat.

Plop. The Ferde lord tossed the archbishop’s corpse onto the ground. He looked up at the statue and suddenly brought his sword down. In the last moment, Sastor felt sharp murderous intent rush towards him, shaking his heart. Then the statue was destroyed, and he lost connection with the church in the mortal world.

Sastor was still an Archmage. Though physically weak, his mind was still strong. He wouldn’t get scared by an upper Level-17 Legendary Magician. After the shock, anger rushed out from his heart. It was like a volcano spewing furious lava.

“Ant! Maggot! You’re taking advantage of my crisis! I shall crush your soul!” Sastor gritted out. But the anger only lasted an instant. Afterward, his physical weakness reminded him cruelly that he could only face ordinary fighters now. Level-14 was his max. The Ferde lord was in upper Level-17 with a Level-19 pinnacle magic tool. Sastor wasn’t his match at all.

In other words, he couldn’t do anything now.

He’s killing my believers. This is destroying my source of power. I must stop him, or else everything will be over!

He’d managed the Fire Sect for 100 years. He’d established the Yan Empire and received thousands upon thousands of converters. This was the foundation for lighting the divine fire and becoming a god. It was also his source of power. If this foundation was destroyed, his speed of recovery would slow drastically. He might even die.

Who knew that the damn Ferde lord would reach Level-19 after absorbing so many souls? If he really did, the Yan Empire would be over.

But the Lava Knights have all died, as well as Milda. Saroviny escaped with serious injuries, and I don’t know where she is. How do I stop him? Do I ask the Ruler of Light and Darkness for help?

Thinking of this, Sastor realized it was his only option.

The Ferde lord’s speed of killing was shocking. The rate that Infernal Power dripped from the fiery crystal already slowed by three seconds. This meant that his recovery would take much longer… No, he wouldn’t have the chance to recover if the Ferde lord kept killing.

There was no time. He must ask for help!

Ruler of Light and Darkness, majestic true god of the Void, I beg you to save me. If you help me through this crisis, our contract from before will be voided. Your thought will be my order. I will serve you for eternity, fighting for you until the end of time!

There was no reply from the Void, but Sastor didn’t give up. He kept repeating it. After the fifth time, he suddenly felt the space in the palace shake. Then he felt a horribly powerful consciousness descend into his palace.

A voice soon rang out in his mind. Your loyalty isn’t enough. If you want me to save you, you must catch the Ferde lord. I want him alive. You can destroy his physical body, but his soul must not be harmed at all.

“Why?” Even crushing Link into dust could only slightly alleviate his anger.

Because he is thousands of times more valuable than you! To me, you are dirt. I won’t do something as idiotic as losing a pearl to receive dirt. The Ruler of Light and Darkness was very straightforward. He straightforwardly ignored Sastor’s dignity. With his strength, he didn’t have to care about Sastor’s feelings anyway.

Sastor felt like he would explode from anger. After the fury, he felt jealousy and finally, helplessness. He couldn’t refute it.

The threads from the fiery crystal reduced. The Infernal Power flowing from it slowed down too. Forced by the situation, Sastor had no choice but to submit. “Your wishes are my commands. As long as you can save me, I won’t disappoint you.”

I like dealing with Magicians. They’re all so wise. The Ruler of Light and Darkness laughed. An instant later, a silver-white beam of light appeared. It shone on Sastor’s body and then entered it.

This phenomenon lasted for around ten minutes. Then the beam disappeared. Sastor climbed up from the ground and bowed. “My master, I will bring him to you.”

Go now, but don’t be careless. He’s growing much faster than you can imagine. With that, the Ruler of Light and Darkness’ consciousness exited the palace.

Sastor scoffed. So what if he was fast? Only around ten minutes had passed, and Sastor’s power was back to his optimal state. How powerful could Link be?

With this in mind, he glanced into the mortal world. His pupils constricted instantly. Earlier, Link had only been at upper Level-17. Now, he’d already destroyed more than 20 large temples, killing all the believers in them and taking their souls. This wasn’t all. He’d killed every living thing along the way and absorbed their souls. Everywhere he passed had turned into zones of death.

In around ten minutes, more than 20 temples had been destroyed, and five large cities had been wiped out. At least one million souls had been ignited and absorbed.

Crazy! Crazy! This guy has gone mad. He’s turned into a complete demon!

There were strong figures among those one million souls. This meant that the Ferde lord was now at the pinnacle of Level-18 and would soon reach Level-19. Once he did so, he could fight with Sastor. Then it would be hard to say who would win.

Seeing that the Ferde lord was still massacring, Sastor didn’t dare dally. He rushed over immediately.

…

Mortal world

Link reached another city. This was a mid-sized city with 100,000 people. There was also a mid-sized temple. If he could absorb all the souls here… No, he only needed half to reach Level-19.

It was cruel, but he had no other choice. He would either become the Ruler of Light and Darkness’ puppet and destroy countless realms, or he would choose his own road of darkness.

Rest in peace, mortals. Link jumped towards the temple in the city center. Along the way, thousands of souls flew into his body, turning into power.

Just as he was about to reach the temple, it suddenly lit up. Horrible power forced Link away, and a resounding voice rang out. “Demon, halt!”

Inferno Archmage Sastor had arrived.