[The City of Advancement, Tiepoh]
The gears atop the massive clock tower turned stiffly, and the hands dragged their rusted bodies downward with effort, letting out dull "clang" sounds.
But soon, much heavier vibrations gradually drowned out the creaking of meshing gears. Armor collided in waves, and a formation of iron-clad soldiers marched neatly into the city.
A man was surrounded at the center of the army, entering slowly.
Jace Lesser had returned.
The Crown Prince was also at Jace's side. He raised his head to admire the mechanical city before him and let out a long breath, filled with emotion.
"We're back again, Jace."
"I know you carry resentment in your heart, but Viktor isn't an ordinary person."
Jace's face still bore traces of bruising, with his left cheek slightly swollen.
He kept his head lowered. His voice was no longer like before, but carried a dull heaviness.
"I know, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince sighed and said calmly, "Recently, the Mage Council has prepared a title for Viktor."
Among the twelve councilors of the Mage Council, each person specialized in a different field and therefore possessed a corresponding title by which they were known to the world.
For example, Haim Horn, his self-created illusion magic was extremely powerful.
Coupled with the fact that no one had ever seen his true appearance, people called him the "Phantom of a Thousand Faces."
Similarly, the Empire's current mage councilor, Rachel Azure, because of his self-created magic [Natural Sparrow], could distribute himself to any corner of the world.
"Natural Eye of Observation."
That was Rachel's title.
Each councilor represented an exceptionally high level of achievement in a particular magical domain.
And so, only today did the council finally settle on a title for Viktor, the newly appointed councilor.
[Judgment of the Stripping of All Phenomena]
In Viktor's battle records, every spell he used was extremely violent.
As long as he wished, any location could be turned into purgatory, even altering the surrounding ecosystem.
Even massive mountains could be leveled.
This title was hailed as the absolute embodiment of combat mages.
Because of this, many mages began trying to imitate Viktor's style, chasing after powerful large-scale combat magic.
Those difficult and complex large-area combat spells that had once been buried among tens of thousands of magics now occupied a place of their own within the magical field.
Yet not a single person could cast magic as effortlessly as Viktor.
Any large-scale offensive spell required the caster to spend time preparing.
But Viktor was different.
He seemed to completely ignore chanting altogether.
Even his magical reserves were terrifying, nothing like those of a normal fourth-tier mage.
"Anyway."
The Crown Prince calmly watched the army enter Tiepoh City and continued speaking lightly to Jace beside him.
"Remember what Uncle always told us."
"Learn to endure."
At this point, the Crown Prince slightly clenched his fist.
Endure.
"At most two years."
"As long as I can ascend to that position, the grudge of your Lesser family will be repaid sooner or later."
He had endured for decades already. Enduring a few more years meant nothing.
Jace remained silent, never replying.
Thinking Jace didn't want to continue the topic, the Crown Prince casually asked, "How is Aunt doing?"
Jace shook his head.
After what happened last time, Lady Cassandra's condition hadn't been very good.
She returned to the royal capital and kept her doors closed.
Even when the palace sent people to invite her back, she refused to see anyone.
"Although it's a pity, forget it."
"After all, I don't need her abilities for now."
A magic-powered car floating in midair slowly stopped in front of the two of them.
They sat in the back row, feeling the floating sensation as the vehicle slowly started up.
Along the way, they passed all kinds of wealthy nobles and saw various machines driven by magic.
From appearances alone, this mechanical city was still as prosperous as ever.
Soon, the two entered a dim tunnel.
Magical fluorescent lights on both sides of the vehicle flickered constantly, barely illuminating the road ahead.
Until light once again poured into their eyes.
A massive castle appeared before them.
Faint magical power continuously drifted upward into the sky, but this time, that magic seemed somewhat depleted.
The Lesser main estate looked far more desolate.
There were far fewer researchers coming and going, only a handful of bespectacled figures hurried between laboratories.
In the corners, several of the newest mechanical lifeforms had lost power, piled together like scrap metal, completely neglected.
Because of the previous terms, the Lesser family had suffered massive financial losses and been forced to lay off many employees.
But none of this concerned the Crown Prince.
He walked familiarly into a research lab in the distance.
The two passed countless researchers and gradually moved deeper into the facility.
Inside a dark laboratory, a primitive door slowly opened.
Jace Lesser and the Crown Prince entered side by side.
There was no one else around them.
All around, countless lights turned on, illuminating the surroundings brightly.
Inside this enormous white room, many glass tanks filled with thick green nutrient fluid were neatly arranged along the walls.
At the center of the green liquid floated remains of various kinds of magical creatures.
Like specimens, they were completely frozen within this confined space.
Among them was one particularly enormous tank, containing the body of a massive magic dragon.
This body was missing only its head, as if it had been deliberately severed.
As the Crown Prince passed by, he looked at the giant magic dragon with some delight.
This had once been his trophy.
It had earned him no small amount of military merit.
Looking upward...
Thin, transparent tubes were inserted into the bodies soaking in nutrient fluid, as if extracting the power those creatures once possessed.
The green solution, mixed with black vapors, flowed endlessly upward into the ceiling.
The Crown Prince shifted his gaze away from the dragon's corpse.
"Now, I need new military achievements, greater accomplishments."
"Only then can I surpass Owiser and suppress him completely."
After he finished speaking, Jace behind him still didn't respond, remaining silent as he followed.
The two walked deeper inside.
After passing through a long, dark tunnel, a door at the end appeared before them.
Dense mechanical screws on both sides of the upper half of the door slowly retracted. Warm steam poured out through the gaps, filling the dark tunnel.
Then, the massive iron lock at the front of the door twisted open layer by layer, as if a key had been inserted, releasing three levels of restraint.
A red beam of light pierced through the top and bottom of the door, spreading outward layer by layer.
A sealed chamber appeared before them.
Inside stood an enormous glass tank.
At the center of the nutrient-filled tank floated a pair of gigantic wings, one white, one pitch-black, quietly suspended, as if wrapping around the humanoid creature submerged within.
At the top of the tank, rings of transparent tubes were connected to interfaces along the edge.
The magical creatures seen in the previous room seemed to be converted into power, injected layer by layer into the tank before them.
The Crown Prince slowly raised his head, looking at the being inside.
"As long as she's still here, nothing is a problem."
As if sensing their arrival, the being inside slowly spread her wings.
It was a woman.
Her gaze was filled with coldness and indifference, her pupils glowing faint green, like a venomous snake waiting to hunt.
Her face was gaunt, with several strange patterns running crookedly from her forehead down to her neck.
Yet she possessed an eerie, heroic beauty.
Long white hair parted in the middle cascaded down to her waist, draping behind her.
She wore extremely simple clothing, little more than two thick, differently colored pieces of cloth tightly wrapped around her body.
As her body gradually stretched out, the black-and-white wings folded behind her.
The Crown Prince stared at her, his eyes brimming with fanaticism.
"She must be even stronger now."
"My ultimate weapon, Safiroth."
Yet he failed to notice that in one of Jace's eyes, a pitch-black color flashed briefly.
———
"Interesting."
Inside Viktor's study, Vega stood on the desk.
His single eye flashed with deep black coloration.
Viktor held a book in one hand, leaning back in his chair. As he read, he asked casually, "What did you see?"
"A monster? Maybe something a bit more complicated."
As if thinking of something, Vega suddenly giggled, squinting as he looked at Viktor.
"Aren't you supposed to know everything? Let me quiz you."
"Do you know what I just saw?"
Viktor didn't even lift his head, responding calmly,
"Describe it in detail."
"Looks like a woman, with a pair of wings, one black, one white. Oh right, she has a name."
Viktor closed the book and placed it on the desk.
The yellowed cover and the elven script stood out conspicuously.
After only a brief moment of thought, the name left his mouth.
"Safiroth."
Vega blinked, somewhat puzzled.
"If you went into fortune-telling, people would definitely treat you like a con artist prophet."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Viktor closed his eyes and began to think.
Safiroth, the final boss of Chapter Three of the game.
She was known as, 'The One-Winged Angel'.
This was a boss that relied heavily on stacking raw stats.
Because she herself was created with the goal of being the "ultimate human weapon."
She possessed the physique of a top-tier warrior, along with damage output comparable to a mage.
As a cyborg, her body contained the genes of no fewer than a hundred magical creatures.
Among them were even powerful dragon species.
Because of this, she possessed at least hundreds of different monster abilities.
In short, if the Chapter Three boss appeared at this point in time and fought him, even Viktor would feel some pressure.
But according to the game's progression, she shouldn't be that strong yet.
In Chapter Three, Safiroth developed her own consciousness.
She was created in the name of protecting humanity, but after the Lesser family fell, she no longer had anyone to obey.
Thus, her emotional awareness led her to believe, that to protect humanity to the greatest extent, all humans must be enclosed and controlled.
Only then could the safety of every human be guaranteed.
Thinking of this, Viktor sighed. "Another extremist terrorist. Hopefully she doesn't provoke me too early."
'Otherwise, Viktor would have no choice but to blow this boss up ahead of schedule.'
What? Might not be able to win?
He just felt some pressure, not that he couldn't win.
It would just take some time.
"But, it's time."
Viktor stood up. The little yellow book on the desk fluttered as if blown by the wind and automatically flew back onto the bookshelf.
Seeing this, Vega flew onto Viktor's shoulder.
"What's today's activity?"
"Today, Gwen becomes a teacher."
At his feet, a pale blue magic circle slowly lit up, and gales spread throughout the study.
The massive bookshelves swayed violently, and several corners of the carpet were lifted.
Soon, the winds gradually calmed, blue light flashing.
Whoosh!
In an instant, one man and one crow completely vanished from the now-settled study.