Chapter 421: Edict: Burn to Cinders

Beneath the mask, her eyes, blue as a clear lake, instantly blazed as if someone had set a roaring fire upon the water’s surface!

Crimson and lake-blue merged into an uncanny violet. Jilannis’s command, like an Oracle spoken by the Deities, stripped the entire cave—and the surrounding area for nearly a kilometer—clean of Magic Energy. The power converged above her clasped hands before erupting from her palms, blasting toward her other self!

The cone of red, blue, and violet flames resembled the breath of a Giant Dragon—but it most certainly was not! The fate of the Jilannis instantly engulfed within it was unknown, but the wall behind her, the entire hill containing the cave, and the surrounding ground were all torn asunder, as if ripped apart by some terrifying entity! The midday sun burst in, bathing the unstoppable, ultimate Arcane Magic in the golden glow of victory.

If this were a breath attack, perhaps only Tiamat herself could have accomplished it! For this was merely the aftershock of the Arcane Magic cast by the former Chief Mage. The vast majority of its power had been unreservedly unleashed upon her other self.

"...Cinder."

Jilannis slowly exhaled a searing breath. This command was on the same level as Death by Decree, Meteor Burst, and Prayer Magic. Even she had to bear a certain burden to cast it, but that was inconsequential. This was the one and only decisive move.

BANG!

Meanwhile, the completely outmatched Vampire Count was viciously swatted out of the cave by Sera, smashing a human-shaped crater into the sunlit ground. Black smoke immediately began to SIZZLE and rise from his body. Panicked, he cast aside all semblance of dignity and scrambled back into the cave.

"Don’t! Don’t kill me!" Having just been exposed to direct sunlight and now unable to use the abilities of the Blood Race, the Count stumbled and fell before Ron. Facing the shortbow aimed at him, the Count was scared out of his wits and immediately began begging for mercy.

"Your patron has already been killed by my master, didn’t you see? Killing me won’t do you any good! Spare me! Please, spare me! My manor, my castle, my lands—I’ll give them all to you!"

It had to be said the Vampire Count was at least somewhat perceptive. He didn’t get smug or threaten Ron and the others just because the battle between the two Jilannises seemed to be over. Had he done so, Ron might have actually put an arrow in him.

The Count, having been inadvertently screwed over by his new master, now had no means of protecting himself. If they wanted him dead, he would die. He understood this much perfectly.

’I have a chance to live, so why would I throw it away for a few satisfying last words? I’m not that stupid!’

"Your master?" Silvia frowned at the being she had once revered, who now looked more pathetic than her dog. "You pledged allegiance quickly. Won’t your old master have something to say about that?"

"Of course not." Jilannis’s voice had returned to its cool indifference. She didn’t look at Ron’s group or her new servant; she didn’t even unclasp her hands. Her gaze remained fixed ahead. When her Arcane Magic completely dissipated, a figure remained standing there, like a reflection in a mirror.

"Because I will eliminate any opponent who stands in my way. Not even myself is an exception."

"You talk a big game," Jilannis said, her gaze piercing through the fading, tri-colored Magic flames to the figure opposite her, her expression serene. "But I’m afraid you’re about to suffer a setback here. Still, that’s for the best. It’s better than facing a truly unknown danger, isn’t it?"

"Still, your results are somewhat surprising. You actually created this Arcane Model? Back at the research institute—"

"Yes, I succeeded. It proves that as long as I’m not distracted by other clever but ultimately trivial pursuits, I can go very, very far down this path." The masked Jilannis spoke without a hint of smugness. No one else present could possibly comprehend her achievement; the only one who could was herself.

"I believe this is sufficient proof of my point. You should eliminate yourself, along with those toys of yours. I will continue as the complete Jilannis to finish our true mission. Besides," beneath the mask, her lake-blue eyes narrowed slightly, "if I’m not mistaken, you haven’t devoted yourself entirely to your little toys, have you? You also continued my research on the unfinished Arcane Model."

"And you succeeded. You created a countermeasure, did you not?"

"Yes, and no. Are you going to keep your hands clasped like that? I can’t give you a proper demonstration," Jilannis said. After activating the Sword-Singing Lion Armor, she showed off the legendary qualities of the Magic Item. "You shouldn’t have forgotten. The first moment I saw you, I let it absorb my blood."

Under Jilannis’s control, the Sword-Singing Lion Armor grew more and more animated. Arcane Models materialized before the crowd, one after another, as if sung into existence by the armor. Ron recognized many of them and began to quietly identify them.

"Is this your student?" the masked Jilannis asked, glancing at Ron with a flicker of interest. "He’s somewhat interesting. You’ve led him astray, but if he were mine to teach, I could easily set him on the right path."

"After all, he has a strong memory and an aptitude for learning. And judging by the arrowhead in his hand, his experimental skills are quite good as well."

"You should trust your own judgment," the other Jilannis said, also looking over with satisfaction. She deliberately projected a few more Arcane Models for Ron to identify, ones unrelated to their current discussion. "After all, we only differ in our chosen paths."

"And that is why you must die," she said, her delicate features beneath the mask turning cold. "I have no desire to find another version of myself standing in my way again someday."

"That would be awkward indeed," Jilannis agreed with a nod. "But first, take a look at my vambrace. It can store a three-digit number of Arcane Models and possesses a degree of sentience, much like the Weaving Introduction I used before. I only need to feed it the relevant materials, and it can deduce a simple counter-model on its own. This isn’t enough to form a complete spell, but when combined with the vambrace itself and the Caster’s own power, it suffices."

"You could call it a temporary, highly specialized spell-countering function. It can deal with any Magic that doesn’t exceed the Caster’s own power. Of course, it does place a certain strain on both the Sword-Singing Lion Armor and myself."

"But it can’t be helped. That’s the nature of offensive Magic. The attacker just has to worry about making things go BOOM, while the defender has far more to consider."