Advent of the Archmage

The Ode of a Full Moon sword indeed still had some power left in it!

During his downtime, Link would channel his power into it in order to raise the sword's quality.

Link was already able to recover more than 100 Realm Essence Power points every second. With such a high recovery rate, he could afford to store most of his power inside his sword whenever he could. Upon careful calculation, he realized that the power he had stored within the Ode of a Full Moon sword had reached an astronomical figure.

As soon as he heard the sword spirit's voice inside his head, he began to feel a huge surge of power inside him. He could see in his field of vision his own power level beginning to rise. 1000... 2000... 3000... His power was restored completely before a hundredth of a second had even passed.

Do you still need power? There's more where that came from! said the sword spirit.

"How much do you still have left?" asked Link. He had opened up the game system's spell card shopping interface.

He still had 820 Omni Points, which was enough to buy a Level-19 spell and enable him to defeat the God of Destruction's messenger.

I've used most of the power you've given me to improve on the quality of my blade. I can probably replenish your power twice over if I have to.

"Twice, you say?" Link quickly did the math. This meant that the sword could provide an additional 45,000 Power points to him. Adding to the 22,000 Power points already restored in him, he would have approximately 68,000 Realm Essence Power points in total.

Sixty-eight thousand Realm Essence points would be the equivalent of 300,000 Mana points, which would be enough for Link to cast a Level-17 Pinnacle offensive spell.

Link quickly flipped through the pages of spell cards on display and was able to find four Level-17 offensive spells that he had used before in the game world.

Time Hex: Calamity. Costs 5000 Power points to activate. An extremely powerful spell, with an extremely long casting time... Not what I'm looking for. Infernal Secret Art: Twilight of the Gods. Costs 58,000 Power points. Explosive and impactful, but it's an area-of-effect spell, which means that its power is not particularly concentrated in one point. Don't think it would be of any use against a god's messenger. Wait, this is...

His eyes fell on the third spell card, on which was written, "Glorious God: Judgement."

A Level-17 single-target offensive spell. It can be cast instantly with a 60,000 Power point cost. Once the spell is cast, its target will be immobilized and rendered incapable of retaliating!

Recalling how the spell had worked in the game world, Link could not help but sigh. In order to attract more players, the game had added a lot of gaudy effects to the spell. As a result, its power was reduced considerably. Still, this is the only offensive spell I can use right now.

In the game world, Link had acquired the spell in order to show it off to others. Back then, he had thought that the spell was extremely powerful. Now, after actually acquiring the spell, he felt that it was a spell simply meant for showboating.

Nonetheless, he had no other choice. Without any delay, he purchased the spell card.

One-hundred and seventh Omni Points were instantly deducted from him. In his field of sight, the spell card dissolved into countless points of light, which was then absorbed by his body.

The God of Destruction's messenger was already 1000 feet away from Link when Link concluded the transaction. Electricity crackled around the blood-red spear she was holding in her hand. Its tip was pointed straight at Link. "Mortal, time to receive your final judgment!"

Just as her voice boomed in the air, the electricity around the spear began expanding until it formed a huge net which covered a 500 square-foot-wide area. The net then descended rapidly toward Link.

Link noticed that there were ripples spreading from the blood-red electricity. Upon closer inspection, he also saw that there were countless spatial cracks left by the ripples in the air.

It was clear that the electrical net had completely sealed off the space around Link. There was no place he could run. His only option now was to confront the attack head-on!

The Red Dragon Warriors who were hovering ten miles away in the air saw what was going on.

Unable to do anything else, the Red Dragon Warriors could only look on at the scene as they kept themselves afloat by flapping their wings against the wind.

Felina's face contorted in horror. She began muttering to herself, "No, how can this be? There's no way it would end like this for the duke."

Floating alongside the Red Dragon Warriors in the air, the Sunlight Magicians were also watching what was happening in helpless horror.

The power they had witnessed had simply surpassed the imagination of all the Magicians on the scene!

The Magicians were so shaken by this that most of them were unable to maintain their concentration and fell straight out of the sky. Had it not been for the fact that they were able to strengthen their bodies in time with Sunlight Power, most of them would have died on impact.

Perched atop the trees in the forest, the Sunlight Warriors of Ferde were also able to see what was going on in the sky.

Most of them began trembling so violently that they could not keep a firm footing on the treetops. Unable to react as quickly as their fellow Magicians, some of them even tumbled to the ground.

Celine was standing on top of a tree as well. She gaped at the horrific scene before her, a tear rolling down her cheek from the corner of her eye.

"Is this it?" she murmured.

At that moment, the times she had spent with Link flashed before her eyes.

She remembered the moment she first met Link in Flemming Magic Academy. Back then, Link was just a clumsy initiate in the mystic arts, whose furtive glances he would shoot at her from time to time did not escape her notice. She remembered the time he had come to save her in Opal City on his own. She also remembered the tender moments she had shared with him, as well as the look of concentration on his face every time he forged magical equipment for her.

All these scenes raced through her mind until finally, all she could see now was the horrifying display of blood-red electricity that had filled the sky in front of her.

It was over.

Grief overcame Celine like a raging river. Her mind was now filled with thoughts about Link and nothing else.

At that moment, there was only one person who was still able to calmly observe the scene before them.

It was Nana, who had not spoken a word all this time.

She had seen the blood-red web of electricity, and still, she did not feel a hint of despair. The reason was simple. Through her contract with her master, she did not feel a single hint of despair from her master as well. This meant that he still had something up his sleeve to deal with such an attack.

The web of electricity that had filled the sky did not faze her in the least. During the last hundred years, she had spent in the Aragu realm, she had experienced countless Legendary battles. She even had the chance to witness the duel of two Archmages once with her own eyes!

A duel between two such individuals could reshape even the geography of an entire continent.

The battle between her master and the god's messenger was certainly one of grand proportions, but it was not enough to disconcert Nana.

Nana stood beside Celine, surveying her surroundings. Just then, she sensed that something was watching them.

She needed to be careful now.

In the sky, Link took a deep breath as the electrical web began descending toward him. He then raised the Ode of a Full Moon sword and infused his Realm Essence Power into it. In an instant, the sword began shining with a blinding light.

From afar, it looked as if a sun had emerged from the ground!

"Glorious God: Judgement!" muttered Link as he activated the Level-17 Legendary spell.

Hum. The Ode of a Full Moon sword began vibrating violently until Link could barely hold it in his hand.

Suddenly, the concentrated light from the sword shot upward into the sky. When it reached a few hundred feet in the sky, the light began spreading outward, slowly forming a golden throne.

One could see a vague silhouette sitting on the golden throne in the sky. When the silhouette appeared, the entire light construct shone fiercely like an actual sun, pushing back the electrical web that was pressing down from the sky toward Link.

The radiant throne continued expanding until it reached more than 5000 feet tall. From afar, it looked as if a golden mountain had risen abruptly from the ground.

Overlooking the god's messenger, the figure sitting on the throne boomed, "Messenger of the God of Destruction, I now find you guilty!"

Both heaven and earth quaked when the voice sounded, and it echoed on for a long while.

"I find you guilty!"

"Guilty!"

"Guilty!"

Any mortal, be they an ordinary being or a Legendary master, would have been scared witless as soon as they heard those words.

The condemnation of the whole world now weighed heavily on the God of Destruction's messenger. Everyone throughout the world was now judging her, reviling her. One could only imagine the stress she was feeling right now.

"Who are you?" roared the messenger. She tried to bring down the electrical web on it but soon realized that the figure was a lot stronger than her and was able to resist her attack.

The figure on the golden throne ignored her. It gazed on at the world below it indifferently, as if the god's messenger was nothing more than a grain of dust.

Then the voice rumbled once more, "I now banish you from this realm!'

Something happened as soon as its words fell.

The messenger sensed that her power was depleting rapidly. Strands of blood-aura aura were now seeping out of her pores and into the Sea of Void.

Her 33-foot-tall body was also rapidly shrinking and losing the luster that had enveloped it moments ago.

"What are you doing to me?" roared the messenger. She tried to rush toward Link, intent on killing him. However, she sensed that an incredible power had bound her up. Even the simple act of walking proved difficult.

The inexplicable conditions that the messenger now found herself in had driven her mad. "Argh!!! Get away from me!"

She struggled on desperately, swinging her blood-red spear around in a frenzy.

There was a cracking sound from the golden throne. Link was now having a hard time keeping her restrained after having spent much of his power siphoning the messenger's power into the Sea of Void.

Sensing that her restraints had weakened slightly, the messenger struggled even more desperately against her unseen fetters, convinced that freedom was now within her grasp.

Her power was still receding rapidly from her body, which was shrinking as a result, but the golden throne was also breaking apart in the air. Fragments of it glowed for a moment as they fell from the sky, before evaporating completely in the air.

Both parties had sustained heavy injuries at this point.

The ground trembled furiously during the course of the battle, as if the entire world itself was gripped by terror in the face of these two extraordinary beings.

Everyone on the scene had stopped what they were doing and simply gaped at the spectacle.

This included everyone from Ferde, the elite soldiers of the Army of Destruction who had been watching the fight unfold from afar, and the dragon guards inside the barrier protecting the realm crack. Even the Demon Magician Glyn, who was intent on taking Celine prisoner, had stopped in his tracks as he saw what was happening in the air.

Glyn had wanted to make his move, but he noticed that there was a female Warrior standing beside Celine. She appeared ordinary, but every time he tried to move closer toward Celine, the female Warrior would turn her gaze in his direction unconsciously.

Glyn had never seen Nana before. He also did not have a handle on her power and so remained unsure whether he should move in on Celine now. Then, he saw the fight between Link and the God of Destruction's messenger.

Glyn was stunned by what he saw. "That's a Level-17 Pinnacle spell. Is the lord of Ferde really that strong?"

Even back in the Abyss, his power was only Level-16. Upon entering Firuman, the restrictions imposed by the realm had reduced him to Level-13. The fact that the other party was evidently stronger than Glyn even when he was in his full power certainly came as a shock to him.

He now had doubts about capturing Celine.

The clash between the golden throne and the god's messenger lasted for 15 seconds. The messenger was now seven feet tall, while the golden throne had used up all of its power in an attempt to keep her down.

Then everything was silent.

Link still had 8000 Power points left in him. He stood on the ground, looking on at the messenger who was a few thousand feet away from him.

The messenger's power had been depleted completely as well. Link could clearly sense that she was now only as strong as a Level-12 Legendary master. Although she still had plenty of power in her, there was nothing overwhelming about it.

This was now a fight to the death between Link and the messenger.

Ding! Link was now filled with killing intent. The Ode of a Full Moon sword quivered in his hand, and a sound as clear as a bell rang out in the air. It was incredibly resonant and could be heard a few thousand feet away.

The god's messenger floated a few hundred feet in the air, looking at Link with an inscrutable expression on her face. She remained silent for around three seconds and then said, "Mortal, you will be judged again soon!"

Saying this, she spread out her wings and flew off into the distance.

Seeing this, Glyn bit his lip. He looked at Celine who was still perched on the treetop, then at the unknown female Warrior standing beside her, and sighed. Forget it, I did not come fully prepared for this. It's just too risky. I had better report this to my master.

Finally making his decision, Glyn immediately turned around and left the place.