Chapter 1393: 151. Pincer Attack

"Looks like everyone really enjoys this kind of cosplay role-playing game..."

Muen idly played with Elizabeth's hilt.

Illumination Magic was cast soundlessly, transforming the exquisitely crafted pure-white blade into something resembling a crude, thick black fire poker.

A tall, voluptuous blonde beauty holding two long, thick black fire pokers in her hands made for an extremely striking sight from a purely visual standpoint.

Unfortunately, the living spirit within the blade was clearly very dissatisfied with this appearance and was trembling faintly in protest.

Muen soothed it while narrowing his eyes and continuing to observe.

The black robe blocked perception. Judging the other person's identity from appearance alone was basically impossible, and since even Muen knew enough to disguise his methods of attack, there was naturally no chance the other party would expose their school or origins through their magic.

And the magic this mysterious black-robed figure had used just now was very strange.

There had been no incantation, no construction, not even the slightest trace of magical power flowing. That was precisely why Muen had been deceived and ended up attacking empty space.

"You don't seem like any ordinary person either. Sneaking around and investigating things like this doesn't really suit someone of your standing. How about doing me a favor and giving me the right to go in?"

Muen sincerely suggested, "Harmony is precious. Everyone fighting and killing each other really isn't very nice."

"..."

The black-robed figure still said nothing.

But as the hem of the robe swayed slightly, a certain dangerous aura gradually began to spread, causing even the dim light projected from an island in the distance to distort.

"Not interested? Fair enough. That's understandable..."

Muen sighed.

Although he had no idea why this black-robed person also wanted to enter Douglas's office, there was a high probability that the other party's identity was somehow connected to the so-called "Tower Master."

If that was the case, then investigating the other person's identity would actually be meaningful for him as well.

But under the present circumstances, this was obviously not the right time for that.

Leaving aside whether the other party really was some ancient old monster, this sea of stars was an evolution of one of the Origin Tower's three great cores, the most tightly secured place at the magical summit of the continent. For an outsider like Muen, it was also the most dangerous place.

The earlier "Divine Sigh" had nearly crushed him until he could barely breathe. In front of an ultimate creation that had endured for nearly a thousand years, he was no more than a tiny insect. If it truly began targeting him, crushing him to death would be effortless.

Douglas was currently being held up by Huggins through some unknown method, but there was no way that could last very long.

After all, although both of them were Truth-Rank, there was certainly still a difference in strength between them.

Before Douglas returned, rather than wasting time tangling with someone whose background, identity, strength, and even status as an ancient monster were all impossible to determine, the information already within reach clearly offered far better value.

So in the end...

He still had to seize the right to enter the passage.

From the corner of his eye, Muen glanced at the colorful bubble Ariel was vigilantly guarding behind her.

The only passage was inside that bubble.

Judging from the black-robed figure's actions just now, that person clearly had the same idea.

No entanglement.

End it quickly.

"Although the best solution would actually be for us to go in together. After all, there isn't any rule saying only one person can enter through that door..."

But...

As long as Muen's brain had not been completely scrambled by Ariel's absurdly flashy dominant aura, there was no way he could simply allow some dangerous and bizarre person to freely pry into the Origin Tower's deepest secrets.

After all...

He was still, technically speaking, the master of the Enhancement School.

A perfectly legitimate mage master!

Although he harbored ulterior motives, infiltrated restricted areas, and had even plotted against the Tower Master, regardless of either his identity or his position...

"Without question, I'm a good person."

Muen tossed his long, wavy hair with righteous dignity.

"So how could I possibly tolerate someone like you, hiding your head and concealing your face, not even daring to show yourself, doing whatever you please?"

"..."

The black-robed figure silently tilted their head, seemingly unable to understand what nonsense Muen was spouting.

They were both sneaking around and investigating things, so what gave him the right to act so pure and innocent? Did he really think he was still a vir—

Bzzzz—

A piercing vibration mixed with an inexplicable chant suddenly thundered out with such ferocity that it seemed capable of penetrating both mind and soul, as though answering the black-robed figure's confusion.

The world grew bright.

The world began to burn.

It was as though a sun had risen close enough to touch.

Scorching firelight illuminated the sea of stars, then instantly condensed into an indescribably terrifying wave of flame!

The temperature of the entire space began rising rapidly. Metal debris drifting from some unknown place accidentally entered the range of the circulating Crimson Flame and was vaporized in the blink of an eye.

Not far away.

Ariel's hair whipped wildly as she lowered her body slightly, both small hands tightly gripping the hilt of her greatsword.

And that ancient weapon, disguised beneath a mass of distorted light so that outsiders could not even make out its size or length, had already...

Been unsheathed.

That's right.

While Muen was still standing on the moral high ground pointing fingers at the black-robed figure, Ariel, off to the side, had not wasted a single word before launching an attack.

Or rather, Muen had deliberately been drawing the opponent's attention, and Ariel had perfectly understood his intention, seizing the opportunity without the slightest hesitation!

"Hehe... Miss Muse and I really are of one mind!"

A sweet smile curved across Ariel's lips, as though she could already see the happy future awaiting her and Miss Muse.

But the attack she had already launched, now an irreversible reality, could not have been more different from the tenderness and sweetness on her face.

It was the cruelest, most violent eruption imaginable!

Scorching firelight devoured everything together with razor-sharp sword intent.

But the true destructive force did not come from the flames.

Nor from the sword intent.

It came from what was hidden within that endless sea of fire...

Light and darkness!

They collided.

They erupted against each other.

And then...

Annihilated!

Everything fell silent.

Everything returned to annihilation.

Within the indescribable interplay of light and shadow, only the black-robed figure could be seen withdrawing at an extreme speed that, at this moment, somehow appeared like slow motion.

However...

"Too slow."

At some point, Muen had already appeared behind the black-robed figure.

The two huge black fire pokers in his hands swung forward, dazzling blade light tearing through space while simultaneously sealing off every possible route of retreat.

"You really did use some trick I don't understand just now, didn't you? But now that trick is useless... so what are you going to do?"

Muen spoke softly.

Ariel was not yet a true Crowned one. There was still one final step separating her from that realm.

But at this moment, with all kinds of almost-cheating buffs stacked upon her, the blow she unleashed was already powerful enough to make a genuine Crowned one wary.

And although Muen likewise was not truly Crowned, his Crowned-class body combined with the enhancement of his own Divine Authority meant this attack was also far beyond what it had once been.

One attacking from the front.

One attacking from behind.

Their coordination was flawless.

Without realizing it, they had already left the black-robed figure with no possibility of escape or evasion.

"It's over."

The corner of Muen's mouth curled upward.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm not the same person I used to be, always getting chased all over the place. Even if you really are some ancient monster, so what? I refuse to believe you can—"

"..."

Click.

Amid the silence of annihilation, a faint sound appeared once more, cutting Muen off.

Muen and Ariel both froze at the same instant, as though they had crashed into an invisible wall.

The flames collapsed.

The light and shadow vanished.

The blade light dissolved like a mirage.

Muen's expression instantly stiffened.

Then, rigidly...

He lowered his head.

The black-robed figure truly no longer had any possibility of escaping or dodging.

But they had not escaped.

They had not dodged.

They had merely extended two deathly pale hands from beneath the wide robe, hands so indistinct that it was impossible to tell whether they belonged to a man or a woman.

Then, very gently...

One hand stopped Ariel's Heavenfire greatsword.

The other caught Muen's descending black fire poker between two fingers.

Just like that.

With absurd ease, the black-robed figure rendered both of their all-out attacks completely useless.

"..."

"No way, sir..."

After a long silence, Muen's cheek twitched, his eyes filled with the terrified look of someone who had just seen a ghost.

"I was only saying that... You're not actually some ancient monster, are you?!"