Bang!

Another cloud of blood exploded.

Reality was cruel.

The two seconds Oryn bought with his life failed to save anyone.

Outside the shrine.

Blood flowed like rivers.

The battlefield resembled hell itself. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Aside from Caelum, Zephyr, and Sylas, not a single living being remained standing.

Every Cursed Spirit from the faction.

Every academy Sorcerer.

All dead.

Confusion.

Grief.

Pain.

Emptiness.

An overwhelming storm of emotions flooded Zephyr and Sylas.

The intense negativity pushed their Cursed Energy and techniques to heights they had never reached before.

Choosing the Sorcerer world meant standing against their closest friend.

Choosing their friend meant betraying their teachers and classmates.

In the end—

They chose neither.

Neither the Sorcerer world.

Nor their friend.

Clap!

Their eyes met.

Zephyr and Sylas simultaneously formed hand signs.

The hesitation in their eyes disappeared, replaced with unwavering resolve.

Both directed killing intent toward Caelum.

Zephyr spoke first.

"I know there was no right or wrong in what happened here."

"This was just a sick joke the world decided to play on us."

Without the foresight technique, perhaps none of this would have happened.

But there were no "what ifs."

The Sorcerers had shown hostility toward Caelum first.

Their deaths were the consequence of that choice.

That was why neither of them tried to stop him.

Sylas continued quietly.

"But from the perspective of the Sorcerer world... if I just stand here and watch everyone get slaughtered by you..."

"I’ll never be able to forgive myself."

Among the dead were childhood friends.

Teachers they respected.

Upperclassmen they had spoken to only yesterday.

In an instant—

All of them were gone.

"So..."

Their bloodshot eyes trembled with conviction.

The agony of the choice had nearly torn their minds apart.

"Kill us."

"At least let us die as Sorcerers."

Between the Sorcerer world and their closest friend—

They chose death.

Caelum remained expressionless.

Emotionless.

He slowly drew the Exorcist Blade from his waist.

"These past months, I appreciated everything you two did for me."

"Since you’ve already made your decision..."

"I’ll respect your resolve."

An explosive surge of emotion erupted from Zephyr.

His technique reached its absolute peak in that instant, evolving beyond its previous limits.

The hand signs completed.

Zephyr activated his technique.

"Domain Expansion: Infinite Boundary Sequence!"

At the same time, a massive blood colored dragon several times larger than before coiled around Sylas.

"Dragon Surge Art!"

"ROAR!"

The dragon roared as it charged toward Caelum with overwhelming force.

A giant spherical barrier formed instantly, swallowing all three of them inside.

Zephyr’s lightning technique already specialized in speed.

With the amplification of a domain, his movement became even more terrifying.

In terms of speed—

He alone barely qualified to fight Caelum.

However—

Zephyr’s domain collapsed violently in less than three seconds.

Two figures burst out of it and flew backward through the air, blood spraying behind them before crashing to the ground far away.

Neither got back up.

In theory, closed domains were extremely difficult to break from within.

Clearly, that only applied when the attacking force wasn’t overwhelmingly stronger.

For Caelum, destroying it was trivial.

Black Cursed Energy wrapped around the Exorcist Blade.

This was Extinction Art.

Caelum had shown absolutely no mercy.

The only reason he hadn’t turned them into blood mist was because he deliberately held back just enough not to.

Otherwise, he attacked with full killing intent.

He hadn’t even bothered using Extinction Art against the other Sorcerers.

As for the result—

Zephyr and Sylas were unquestionably dead.

The battle against the academy faction was over.

Caelum turned toward the depths of the shrine.

"How long are you planning to keep watching?"

Applause echoed.

Mordren and Graveflame emerged from within the shrine.

Mordren looked genuinely amazed.

"What a spectacular show you’ve put on, kid."

Standing in front of Caelum after the Binding Release, even Mordren couldn’t suppress the instinctive fear crawling through his body.

He truly hadn’t expected this.

Caelum had imposed such an absurdly powerful Binding Technique on himself.

Mordren knew his limits very well.

If Caelum fought seriously, he would be killed instantly.

And he hadn’t forgotten something crucial.

Caelum could use techniques.

Which meant—

He absolutely could not allow Caelum to cast them.

Putting on a helpful expression, Mordren said:

"Before we start, I should warn you."

"My core technique allows me to replicate the technique of a selected target."

"So if you don’t want me copying your abilities, I suggest you avoid using any techniques in front of me from now on."

Technique disclosure.

That was the activation condition for Mordren’s replication technique.

The moment an enemy learned about his core technique, any technique used in front of him could be perfectly copied.

Which also meant—

The person standing before Caelum now was Mordren’s real body.

Cursed Corpses couldn’t use a Sorcerer’s core technique.

More importantly, replication could only target one Sorcerer at a time.

That was why Mordren hadn’t dared reveal himself earlier.

There had simply been too many enemies present.

If he disclosed his technique in front of multiple opponents, the target selection would become random.

He couldn’t guarantee Caelum would be the chosen one.

And if Caelum managed to use techniques freely—

Mordren was one hundred percent certain he would die instantly.

Even Graveflame wouldn’t be able to stop it.

Caelum didn’t care.

First of all, this could easily be a lie meant to mislead him.

Second—

Even without techniques, he could still crush them.

"I’m honestly surprised you didn’t run."

"Could I have?"

Mordren shrugged helplessly.

"Truthfully, the moment you revealed your strength, I did think about retreating temporarily."

"But unfortunately, someone seemed to have his eyes locked on me the whole time."

From beginning to end, there had never been any deep hatred between them.

Their conflict existed purely because of repeated clashes.

The reason Caelum wanted them dead was simple.

It was convenient.

That was all.

Caelum had no interest in wasting more words.

His figure blurred instantly as he rushed Mordren at extreme speed.

A thunderous explosion erupted.

Caelum was suddenly forced backward.

A massive crater appeared in the ground.

Graveflame stepped forward, burning with battle lust.

"Kid."

"Your opponent now is me."

Mordren’s eyes lit up.

Just as he thought.

His strategy had worked.

Caelum didn’t dare use techniques.

In that case, Graveflame genuinely stood a chance.

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

Caelum casually raised a hand and activated a technique.

Compressed Cursed Energy condensed into a radiant sphere in his palm.

Brilliant streams of energy flowed across its surface like polished jade, releasing a horrifying pressure.

Graveflame’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

Mordren’s expression changed completely.