Ian let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.

The silver light in the quiet room gradually faded, leaving only twelve nearly invisible Crystal Cones hidden like loyal guards within the subtle ripples of space around him.

He could clearly feel that the newly integrated Shield System was more compatible with his Liquefied Spiritual Power, and it was as easy to control as moving his own limbs.

Its overall defensive capability was nearly fifty percent stronger than the singular Crystal Energy Barrier, and its tactical flexibility was on a whole other level.

’With this Shield, plus the Spirit Devourer trait’s suppression of Spiritual Attacks and the powerful offense of the Frost Ash Beam... even among Level One Wizards, I finally have a firm foothold.’

He rose and walked to the window, looking out at the busy yet grim scene of the encampment.

Tomorrow, the grand army would set out, heading straight for the Underground Demon Nest.

That was the final battlefield, a place where danger and opportunity coexisted.

’Hector’s disappearance, the potential threat from the Withered Council, the Silver Ring’s detachment... Heh.’

Ian’s gaze was calm and resolute.

’Surrounding the Demons’ main nest. There will be fiercer battles and more generous Merit Points.’

’Perhaps... there might even be a treasure that could help me advance to Level Two faster.’

He gently stroked his shoulder.

Gaga sensed his mood and poked its head out from the shadows, rubbing its smooth feathers against his cheek.

"Ian, are we going to fight again?"

"Yes, a big fight."

"Then I’d better eat more, ga!" Gaga’s small eyes sparkled, eager for action.

Ian smiled and gave the supplies in his Dimension Bag one last check.

There were ample Potion Magic Stones, spare Witchcraft Artifacts, an Alchemy Array Disc, and the still-not-fully-refined Eye of the Gazer.

Everything was ready.

He looked to the west, the direction where the Wizards were gathering, and also where the deepest darkness of the underground lay.

’Tonight, I’ll get a good night’s sleep first.’

「The next morning.」

With Gaga, who was bursting with confidence, hidden in his chest, Ian merged into the great flow of Wizards.

Along the way, hardly any Wizards spoke. The atmosphere was grim and heavy.

The deeper they went, the worse the underground environment became.

The glowing moss on the rock walls had long since vanished, replaced by surrounding dark red, corrupted veins that looked like giant blood vessels.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur, a strong stench of rot, and a bizarrely sweet aroma that was nauseating.

This was the smell of highly concentrated, corrupt energy.

Whispers of spiritual pollution were everywhere, and even Level One Wizards had to constantly maintain their mental defenses just to stay lucid.

「Two days later, they arrived at their destination.」

The sight before them sent a shock through the souls of all the Wizards arriving here for the first time.

It wasn’t a fortress or a city as they might have imagined, but a defensive fortress cluster with a diameter that might have exceeded twenty kilometers.

In the colossal underground cavern, the fortresses were arranged in a ring, built against the cavern walls.

The fortresses were built from some kind of jet-black megalith with extremely high magic resistance, their surfaces densely inscribed with silver Purification Runes.

The Light Curtains formed by these Runes linked together, creating a barrier like a giant inverted bowl that temporarily blocked the terrifying corruption from the cavern’s center, carving out a "Pure Land" for the Wizards to station themselves and rest.

Everyone’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the scene at the center of the cavern, and a chill crawled up their spines.

There, the Earth was a vast expanse of dark red, like the innards of a giant, flayed creature, constantly writhing.

In the center of this land, a terrifying, bottomless abyss more than three thousand meters wide had split open.

At the edge of the abyss, eight massive silver chains, each over ten meters in diameter, extended down from different points on the cavern’s ceiling. They pierced deep into the earth’s crust at the abyss’s edge, forming a suppressive, octagonal sealing Array.

But at this moment, the seal was clearly at its limit.

The chains were covered in a fine web of cracks, from which a dark red, viscous, plasma-like corruption was constantly "seeping" out.

From the bottom of the abyss came a series of slow, heavy heartbeats.

"THUD... THUD... THUD..."

With each beat, the chains let out an overburdened CREAK, and the concentration of corruption in the air would rise a notch.

This heartbeat seemed to be the source of life and the root of Power for this desolate land and all the Demons within it.

"This is one of the sealing nodes of the Abyssal Rift, and also the final objective of this Demon Hunting campaign."

A senior Wizard explained in a low voice to his companion, his tone filled with unconcealable awe.

Ian stood on a platform of the Ring-shaped Fortress, gazing through the Purification Light Curtain at the abyssal maw.

He felt a chill rise up his spine.

’What in the world is in there?’

He had no idea what level the being slumbering below the rift was.

Just the aura it leaked was enough to make his Liquefied Spiritual Power feel sluggish and heavy.

Looking around, the quantity and quality of the Wizards had also reached a peak.

The four major organizations—the Silver Ring, Shadow Moon Tower, the Withered Council, and the Jade Forest—each occupied their own area.

Vassal forces like the Ocean Tide People, the Flame Clan, and the Eye of the Storm, as well as Independent Wizards like Ian or representatives of small and medium-sized families, were scattered throughout the other areas of the Ring-shaped Fortress.

At a rough glance, the number of Level One Wizards and above probably exceeded one thousand.

Eight figures, their auras as deep as the abyss and as vast as the sea, hovered in mid-air, their presence so immense that one dared not look at them directly.

Level Three Great Wizards!

In this decisive battle, they were the true pillars of strength.

Ian stood at the edge of a fortress platform, his hood pulled down low.

His calm gaze swept over the area below, where many more squads of Wizards were slowly gathering.

Over by the Deep Red Royal Court, their dark red robes were particularly conspicuous in the crowd.

He watched carefully for a long time before finally spotting a familiar, withered figure.

’Murphy...’

Ian silently repeated the name in his mind. This was information he had gathered by secretly asking around.

He averted his gaze, concealed his aura even more deeply, and turned to find a remote corner to rest for a while.

If the opportunity arose, he would not hesitate to kill this second great enemy of his.

He and Sterling were the main culprits who had forced Ian to become a fugitive.

Sterling was already dead. Only this old dog remained.

’No, I still have a few enemies over at Shadow Moon, too.’

He recalled the incident in the library. If the panel hadn’t saved him, he wouldn’t be alive today.

Ian buried the killing intent deep in his heart and slowly walked down from the platform.

He planned to find a temporary spot to rest first. After searching around the fortress, he couldn’t find a satisfactory place.

He turned, preparing to just make do with any random spot, when he suddenly froze.

"Ian?"

A hesitant, yet incredibly familiar female voice sounded from behind him.

Ian stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.

The person who came into view was a woman dressed in a deep blue Wizard Robe with silver trim.

Her figure was as captivating as ever, but the languid and charming air she had at the Star Leaf Magic Pharmacy was gone, replaced by a calm sharpness that came from having been tempered by hardship.

On the Shadow Moon Badge on her chest, a fine, star-shaped pattern was clearly visible.

"Malena?"