I Cast Forbidden Spells Until the World Breaks-Chapter 121 The Puppet Master

The ghost masked leader was paralyzed with terror. He had never imagined a Forbidden Spellcaster’s desperation could be this monstrous. The situation had spiraled completely out of his control. Four of his brothers were dead, and looking at the bloody sockets where Zayne’s eyes used to be, it was clear Zayne had no intention of letting him be the fifth.

Zayne knelt down, his fingers brushing against the cold pavement until they found the garden shovel the old man had dropped earlier.

He used the shovel as a makeshift cane, stumbling and tapping his way toward the sound of the leader’s ragged breathing.

Just as the man wondered what Zayne was planning, the shovel whistled through the air. A sickening crack echoed as the metal blade slammed into the man’s ribs.

"Gah!"

The man let out a pathetic shriek. Zayne wasn’t like other casters; his Infinite Devour talent had bolstered his physical strength significantly. Even without a spell, he could deal real damage.

Zayne remained deaf to the screams.

He swung, shoved, hacked, and stabbed. Every brutal application of a shovel was visited upon the man’s body. Very quickly, the man was a bloody, unrecognizable mess. Whether the leader begged for mercy, screamed in agony, or spat out hollow threats, Zayne didn’t pause.

He moved like a tireless machine, his face devoid of emotion, rhythmically bludgeoning the man into the dirt.

The gore was so visceral that many in the crowd shuddered. It became clear that Zayne didn’t just want to kill him; he was going to beat a Level 50 expert to death with a common tool. It was like trying to kill a man with a soup spoon—a slow, agonizing process designed to break both the body and the mind.

The rhythmic thud of metal on flesh finally broke the leader’s spirit.

"Stop! Please, just give me a clean death! You want to know who sent me? I’ll tell you! It was..."

Before he could finish, Zayne slammed the shovel directly into the man’s mouth, shattering his teeth and silencing him. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

At that exact moment, a streak of light, fast as a shooting star, zipped through the air. It pierced the leader’s temple, leaving a wound so small it was almost invisible. The man’s eyes flooded with blood, and he went limp instantly.

Zayne acted as if he noticed nothing. He continued to swing the shovel, over and over, into the now-lifeless corpse.

He knew someone was behind this. But he also knew that whoever it was possessed enough power to mobilize the entire Port’s resources. If he tried to play detective like Howard, he’d be erased from existence within three days.

At his current level, playing the blind, vengeful fool was his only shield.

Once the body was reduced to a pulp, Zayne tossed the shovel aside. His voice was cold and echoed through the silence.

"Astrachior was my teacher. He showed me kindness, and I intend to see him to his final rest without further interruption. If anyone else wants to make a scene, step forward."

"I’m a Forbidden Spellcaster with maybe a few years left to live. I don’t mind taking all of you with me."

The words carried the weight of a death sentence. No one doubted him. He had just turned a street into a graveyard to prove he meant it.

The square fell into a heavy silence. Zayne’s empty, dark eye sockets were haunting, yet the people of Old Shipyard Port didn’t look away in fear. Instead, their eyes were filled with profound respect.

Someone stepped forward to gently steady Zayne. Others helped Nia to her feet. The ice casket was returned to the hearse, and the procession began to reorganize as if the massacre had been nothing more than a brief delay.

Only the three corpses and two ice statues remained as grim monuments to the struggle.

Just as the crowd thought the nightmare was over, a sneering, oily voice drifted from the shadows.

"A Forbidden Spellcaster playing the martyr? How terrifying. But you’re blind now, kid. How many more people can you really take down before you burn out?"

The crowd erupted in a panicked murmur. There were more of them?

Despair washed over Nia again. Would her father truly never find peace? Zayne’s heart sank. Was the mastermind really this untouchable?

"One Forbidden Spellcaster isn’t enough? Then how about me!"

A streak of light descended from the sky, transforming into a middle-aged woman in a white dress. It was Charlotte, her eyes red-rimmed and her face twisted in fury.

"I don’t care who is backing you. If you show your face today, I, Charlotte, will hunt you to the ends of the earth!"

Gasps rippled through the onlookers. They recognized her from the news—she was the elite scout for the Supreme Academy. They were confused; the last time they saw her on a livestream, she and Astrachior were at each other’s throats over Zayne. Why was she so devastated now?

"Well said! Astrachior was a dear friend of mine. I’d like to see which coward dares to step out!" An old man with snow-white hair arrived shortly after, his aura so oppressive it made the air feel heavy.

"Count me in!"

"And me!"

One by one, powerful figures arrived, forming a phalanx around the hearse.

Hearing the reinforcements, Zayne finally exhaled. He knew Astrachior’s network was vast; it would have been terrifying if the mastermind could have suppressed every single one of his allies.

With Charlotte and the others standing guard, the voice in the shadows didn’t speak again. The hearse moved forward, the path to the cemetery finally clear.

In a luxury high-rise nearby, a middle-aged man in ornate robes stood by a floor-to-ceiling window, watching the procession. He carried an air of absolute authority, the kind only cultivated by years of absolute power. His gaze was deep, the kind that made people lower their eyes in his presence.

A subordinate in a rat mask knelt behind him.

"Are Tiger and Rabbit back?" the man asked calmly.

"Reporting, sir. They have returned. In a valley seventy-nine kilometers east of the Port, they found confirmed traces of the Gate of Apocalypse."

The rat-masked man’s voice was distorted by an electronic modulator, making it impossible to discern even his gender.

"So the Gate actually appeared," the man murmured to himself. "I knew a man like Astrachior wouldn’t just drop dead for no reason."

"Sir, shall we send more men to intercept the funeral?"

The man tapped his fingers rhythmically on his desk. Thump. Thump. Thump.

"No need. Charlotte and her group have made their move. Any further escalation would be bad for PR. It seems neither Zayne nor Nia knows that Astrachior entered the Gate."

"Just keep eyes on them. As for you, take the others and find the Shadowcaster and Double J. I want them found—dead or alive. Cost is no object."

"Understood."

The rat-masked man vanished like a ghost. Left alone in the massive office, the man narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flickering within.

"Astrachior... what did you do inside that Gate that cost you your life? Could it be that a new Origin Relic has actually surfaced?"