Fire Mage

Chapter 756: Fate Devoured

Asthar’s gaze locked onto Edith as he activated the spell.

[Mind Distortion].

At the exact moment Edith prepared to cast [Flame Teleportation], her thoughts faltered. A thin haze spread across her mind, dulling her reactions for a fraction of a second.

That moment was enough.

The arrows, already locked onto her vital points, surged forward with lethal precision. By the time Edith broke free from the distortion, all eleven arrows had reached her.

They struck without mercy.

One pierced straight through her forehead.

Another tore through her left ear.

A third embedded itself in her neck.

One drove cleanly into her chest, impaling her heart.

The remaining arrows followed, puncturing her body from multiple angles until she hung suspended in the air, completely riddled.

Asthar let out a cold snort, already turning away as if the battle had ended.

Yet his steps never came.

He froze.

Something was wrong.

Within his Inner World, a violent change was taking place. The incarnations that guarded his memories were collapsing one after another, as if being consumed by an unseen force.

’What is happening...? Is the Mind Fire still active?’

His eyes flickered upward.

The sky remained drenched in crimson, and the surrounding air pulsed with dense flame energy that had never dissipated.

At that same moment, Edith’s body ignited.

The corpse suspended in the sky burst into fierce flames, devouring the arrows embedded within it as if they had never existed.

Asthar immediately activated his vision and looked into the Astral Realm.

There was nothing.

No soul shard.

It had vanished completely.

Before he could process it further, a single drop fell from above.

It stopped midair.

It did not resemble blood. Instead, it looked like molten crimson, glowing like liquid fire. The drop began to expand, swelling into a sphere before intensifying into a blazing globe of blood-red flame. Within seconds, the flames twisted and reshaped themselves into a humanoid form.

Edith reappeared.

Perfectly restored, as though nothing had happened.

Flames wrapped around her once more as she lifted her gaze toward the sky and vanished.

In the next instant, she appeared a few meters in front of Asthar and snapped her fingers.

"H-How are you still alive?" Asthar asked, unable to fully conceal the tension in his voice.

What unsettled him was not her survival alone, but the implication behind it. If even a mere clone possessed such overwhelming power, then the true body must be far beyond his current understanding.

He moved to act.

An arrow was drawn and the string pulled taut—

Then his body stiffened.

Another disturbance surged from within.

This time, it was unmistakable.

His memories were fading.

Slowly but steadily, they were being erased. The purple consciousness within his Inner World, along with the lingering effects of the Mind Fire, had begun devouring everything—thoughts, experiences, even identity.

A cold realization surfaced.

As he attempted to activate [Fate Rewind], his thoughts ignited.

They burned.

All this time, Edith had not been trying to overpower him directly. She had been keeping him occupied, forcing his attention outward while her true attack worked silently within.

She had been destroying him from the inside.

"You are stronger than Professor," Edith said as she appeared before him.

Asthar struggled to gather his thoughts, barely managing to regain clarity.

"But you are arrogant."

Before he could react, her blade plunged into his heart.

She did not pause.

She cast [Burning Thoughts] repeatedly, layering the attack as she withdrew the blade in one fluid motion. In the same instant, her arm shifted and her weapon flashed again.

A clean slash followed.

His head separated from his body.

His soul never escaped.

It had already been invaded, and within moments, his remaining memories were completely absorbed.

Edith exhaled softly as the flames around her subsided.

She dismissed [Rebirth Domain] and returned fully to the physical plane. Her gaze turned toward the distant Holy See, calm and unreadable.

Without hesitation, she opened a portal, stepped through it, and vanished.

...

Council Hall, Holy See, Sacred Empire

Edith stepped back into the grand hall, her footsteps echoing faintly against the marble floor. The once-crowded chamber now stood nearly empty, its vast space carrying an unnatural stillness. Only one figure remained.

Runeth.

He stood near the central seats, calm and composed, as though the chaos that had unfolded earlier had never touched him.

"Did you kill him?" he asked, taking a seat as if discussing something trivial.

Edith gave a small nod before replying.

"His subclass was only at Pseudo-Legend rank. Otherwise, the outcome might have been different." She paused briefly before continuing, "What about Nedia? Was she strong?"

Runeth leaned back slightly, letting out a quiet breath.

"It’s not that she is particularly strong," he said. "It’s just that my main class and subclass aren’t suited for direct combat. If not for my [Erase Existence] spell, I would have had a harder time."

A faint sigh escaped him as his expression dimmed.

"Even if I manage to stabilize this clone body permanently, I will remain at this rank... with rather poor combat capabilities."

"So you’re planning to reincarnate?" Edith asked as she took a seat beside him.

Runeth gave a faint, almost resigned smile.

"It isn’t that simple. The Eternal River of Life is not something a mere Archmage can cross freely. Even at my peak, I cannot guarantee that I would retain my memories after reincarnation."

His gaze lowered for a moment before he continued.

"That’s why I’m preparing backup plans."

As he spoke, he took out a strange iron spear.

Edith’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"This spear... is your solution?"

Runeth nodded slowly.

"I’ve been probing its origin," he said. "This weapon is currently dormant, but one thing is certain—it once belonged to a Paragon."

Edith’s expression shifted subtly.

A Paragon.

A Rank-9 existence.

Even she felt a flicker of surprise.

"I still need to uncover more of its secrets before making any decisions," Runeth added as he stored the spear again.

He then looked at her.

"What about the others? Did they fail to kill Zegan?"

Edith frowned slightly, a trace of uncertainty crossing her face.

"I’m not sure."

The two exchanged a glance before deciding to wait.

Moments later, footsteps echoed from the entrance.

Salvatore entered the hall, followed by several council elders, Holy Knights, and representatives from the three empires. Their expressions were tense, their gazes sharp as they scanned the surroundings.

When they saw Runeth and Edith seated calmly, they immediately approached.

They had witnessed the assassination attempt with their own eyes, and questions weighed heavily on their minds.

Rhea soon arrived as well. The moment she saw Runeth and Edith unharmed, visible relief crossed her face.

"I was worried," she said softly before turning toward the gathering crowd.

Salvatore stepped forward.

"Council Leader," he began, his tone measured, "can you explain why Zegan, Asthar, and Nedia attempted to assassinate Sir Archmage?"

Rhea hesitated for a brief moment before speaking.

"I understand that all of you have doubts," she said calmly. "But this is not the time. Please return for now and attend tomorrow’s council meeting as usual."

Salvatore frowned slightly, clearly unwilling to leave without answers. However, as he looked at her again, realization settled in.

The young woman before him was no longer merely a queen from a minor kingdom.

She was the leader of the Union Council.

After a short pause, he nodded.

"Understood."

He turned and instructed the others to leave.

Although a few Holy Knights and select members remained behind, none dared to approach or disturb the trio.

Time passed slowly.

Runeth, Rhea, and Edith remained seated, waiting in silence.

After more than two hours, a disturbance came from outside.

Two figures descended from the sky and entered the hall.

They were Kirell and Kaisar

As Kirell and Kaisar approached, the change in their expressions was immediately apparent.

Edith’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Anger.

Grief.

And beneath it all... helplessness.

Something had gone wrong.

"What happened?" she asked, her brows lifting as her gaze moved between the two.

Kirell spoke first, her voice tight with restrained frustration.

"He escaped."

A brief silence followed before Kaisar stepped forward. His jaw was clenched, and the air around him felt heavy with suppressed rage.

"And he killed Sir Meledin."

The words fell like a weight.

In the next instant, Kaisar’s fist slammed into the nearby table. The impact shattered it completely, wood splintering into fragments under the force of his strike.

The hall fell into a tense silence.

After a moment, Kirell turned her gaze toward Edith and Runeth.

"What about you?"

For a brief second, the corner of Edith’s lips curved upward, as if she were about to make a cutting remark. However, Runeth subtly intervened, his presence alone enough to stop her before she spoke.

"We managed to deal with them," Runeth said calmly. "It wasn’t without difficulty, but in the end, we succeeded."

Kaisar exhaled slowly, forcing his emotions back under control.

"So... what comes next?"

Before anyone else could respond, Edith stepped forward and opened her spatial ring. A large number of documents, along with several recording crystals, appeared in her hands.

"I gathered everything from Xelyra’s mansion," she said evenly. "Documents, records, and crystal recordings. There’s more than enough evidence to expose their connection to the demons."

Her gaze shifted toward Rhea, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Tomorrow, the entire world will know."

She handed over the materials—documents, orbs, and other forms of evidence—one after another. Rhea accepted them without hesitation and stored everything within her own spatial ring.

Then, without a word, Rhea walked toward the nearby wall.

Her hand pressed against its surface.

With a firm pull, a thin layer of the wall peeled away like skin, revealing a hidden structure beneath—an eerie, embedded eyeball that seemed to stare back at them.

Kirell stepped forward next. From within her clothing, she retrieved a similar eye and tossed it toward Rhea.

"Mine was damaged during the fight," Edith said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"It’s enough," Kaisar replied. He reached into his spatial ring and took out another identical eyeball before placing it alongside the others.

His expression hardened.

"We keep Meledin’s death hidden until tomorrow."

No one objected.

The others nodded in agreement.

With that decision made, the tension in the hall eased slightly, though the weight of what had happened still lingered.

Soon after, Runeth, Rhea, and Edith exchanged brief farewells with Kirell and Kaisar before turning toward the exit.

Without further delay, they left the council hall behind.