Advent of the Archmage

“Master, what should we do? Should we kill them all?”

Beside Glyn stood a Tyros Bladed Demon called Gaulle. The demon’s original power was at Level-11, but it was now reduced to Level-7.

However, he was at his full strength, whereas the summoners around him were only Level-6 and had spent most of their energy in summoning them into their realm. To Gaulle, these Magicians were simply lambs to the slaughter right now.

Gaulle’s eyes swiveled around ravenously as he spoke. He was swinging a pair of serrated swords in both his hands. As soon as Glyn gave his order, he would have these people slaughtered.

Glyn waved his hand. “There’s no rush. We may still need their help.”

“From these insects?” said the third demon, a Fine-Scaled Succubus by the name of Ganya. She originally had Level-10 power, but now she was reduced to Level-7, which was still more than enough to steamroll through this lot.

Glyn nodded. He then said coldly, “Restrain yourselves. I’m in charge now, which means I’m the one giving orders here. If any of you so much as sneeze in a way I don’t like, I’ll cut off your nose!”

Demons had no concept of decorum. Brute strength was usually a more efficient means of getting one’s point across among them.

“Understood, Master Glyn,” muttered the two demons, crestfallen after being shut down by Glyn.

“Good. From now on, you are not to say another a word unless I say so. I’ll talk to these people.”

Glyn then strode towards one of the aboriginals who seemed to be in charge and psychically asked him, “Mortal, tell me what it is you desire!”

As a Demon Magician, Glyn was extremely tall, standing at approximately ten feet tall. Magic runes were carved into his hands. A Shadow Gemstone as big as a fist was mounted on the tip of his wand. Concentrated Mana pulsated from it, sending off ripples in the air.

These were all signs of the terrible power he possessed.

Due to the massive Dimensional Rejection he had to take on, the Magician before Glyn began vomiting blood. Despite his efforts to speak, the man could only muster a gurgling sound from his mouth as blood gradually pooled in it. He seemed to be on the brink of death.

Seeing the state the aboriginal Magician was in, Glyn frowned. These summoners could not die on him right now. Otherwise, the full force of the Dimensional Rejection would come down on all three of them like a hammer. Even if they were not expelled from this realm as a result, their power levels would be severely suppressed. It would be a miracle if they were able to leave this realm alive at that point, let alone accomplish the mission that was given to them by their master.

Glyn raised his wand and muttered something under his breath. A moment later, rays of purple light shone out from the wand, hitting every injured Magician on the scene.

This was a Level-8 spell: Shadow Healing.

Upon being struck by a ray of purple light from Glyn’s wand, each Magician’s body began to emit a faint purple glow. They then shuddered and groaned for around 30 seconds. Gradually, magic runes similar to those on Glyn surfaced on their skins, which had now taken on a shade of violet. Their eyes had also turned blood-red, with purple light flashing out from their pupils.

A few minutes later, the Magician in front of Glyn was first to react. He prostrated himself before the demon and shouted, “Save us, almighty Magicians from the Void!”

“State your business then.” Glyn was not all too surprised to receive such a response. The summoning magic seal beneath him seemed primitive and shoddily put together, as if they had been in a hurry to complete it in order to attain power that they sorely lacked at the moment.

The Magician immediately responded, “Our scouts have informed us that the Blacklan Kingdom has gone mad. They’ve sacrificed all their war prisoners in order to summon a powerful Void creature into the Fedaro realm through a forbidden summoning ritual!”

“Blacklan Kingdom? Sacrifice?”

Glyn looked around him. He saw that broken stone fragments littered the magic seal he was standing in. These fragments looked like crystals. There were still traces of Magical Power left in them. Glyn figured that they must have been magical crystals. There were plenty of these rocks lying beneath him. They must have contained huge amounts of Magical Power before. Looking at the magic seal beneath him, Glyn estimated that it could probably summon a Level-8 Pinnacle creature from the Void.

No wonder my power has been inhibited so much. The three of us were all at once squeezed through a measly Level-8 summoning seal into this realm… Wait a minute, did he say that the Blacklan Kingdom used a sacrificial ritual to summon a Void creature?

Taken aback by what he heard, Glyn stared at the Magician before him and asked, “How many souls did they offer as tribute?”

“At least 4000.”

Glyn’s blood froze. The Blacklan Kingdom must have been able to summon the lord of Ferde through with the combined energy of 4000 souls. Not only would Link’s power not be as inhibited as his, but he might also still have Legendary power in him!

Despite possessing Level-9 power, Glyn still could not hold a candle to even a Legendary master like Link who had just been promoted to Level-10. To make matters worse, the lord of Ferde still had his dragon body, making him a monstrosity with a wingspan of 100 feet!

Glyn really wanted to leave this accursed realm behind him as soon as possible. However, his master had given him his orders. Also, the fact that they were summoned into this realm meant that they had basically signed a contract with the Magicians who had summoned them. Without completing the terms of their contract, Glyn and the others would have an extremely hard time leaving this realm.

Damn it, this could be a problem.

The lord of Ferde was already a difficult person to handle. He was even able to survive the God of Destruction’s divine punishment back then. How should he deal with this on his own?

The two demons behind him did not understand much about summoning magic. However, they were quite familiar with sacrificial magic and what it entailed. Hearing that the other party had offered 4000 souls as tribute in their summoning ritual, the two demons’ faces underwent a multitude of changes.

The three demons fell silent for a long while. Sensing that something was not right, the Magician who was still on the floor said in a timorous voice, “Almighty Magicians of the Void, is there nothing you can do for us?”

A sudden thought flashed through his mind. Glyn responded, “There is a way, but it comes with a huge cost.”

“Say it,” said the Magician hopefully.

Glyn’s idea was simple. He could not think of a way to deal with Link, but his master could. The latter had also mentioned that he would deal with Link personally. By bringing him into this realm, everything would be much simpler.

“Since the Blacklan Kingdom was able to sacrifice all 4000 souls for their summoning ritual, why can’t you? If you’re willing to offer even more souls as tribute, you’ll be able to bring in even more powerful creatures from the Void to help you defeat your enemy. If you don’t know where to start…”

Before he could finish, the Magician on the ground quickly shook his head. “No, it’s forbidden magic, something we of the Troym Kingdom would not sully our hands with. Otherwise, a Protector will make an appearance before us.”

Glyn was furious at first when he heard what the man said and was of a mind to show him how an actual sacrifice was made. However, upon hearing the last part of his sentence, he frowned. “What’s a Protector?”

The Magician replied, “A member of a clandestine council of Magicians. Each member is extremely powerful. It is also said that the strongest of their number possesses extraordinary power. The Blacklan Kingdom’s actions have probably drawn the attention of these Protectors. Those people will most likely be punished for what they have done. However, it may take some time. Until then, we should first think of a way to deal with the Void creature that they have summoned.”

Glyn’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of the words “extraordinary power.” This meant that these Protectors must be Legendary masters, and as luck would have had it, he was in no position to take on anyone with Legendary power.

There did not seem to be a way out for Glyn.

Wait a minute, there is still a way. Glyn looked at the magical crystals scattered across the ground.

“I happen to know the name of a powerful Void creature. If you could scrounge up another batch of magical crystals for me…”

The Magician interrupted him tearily, “These are the last of the magical crystals our kingdom had stocked up for the last 100 years. We’ve even bought up all the crystals from our neighbors.”

Glyn was out of options. It would seem that he had finally hit a dead end.

Gaulle and Ganya looked at each other. Hearing what the Magician had said, they could see that things did not look good on their end. Summoning their master into this realm in such a short span of time seemed impossible at this point. To make matters worse, they still had to deal with a lord of Ferde who still possessed Legendary power.

How was any of them supposed to come out of this alive?

As everyone present frantically considered their options, a roar rumbled from the mountains in their vicinity.

Roar!!!

The roar split the ground like thunder, causing every living being in the mountain to flee in fear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy footsteps then echoed from the mountains, causing the ground to quake beneath them. At that moment, all their hearts were beating hard against their chests, threatening to leap out of their throats at any moment.

The lord of Ferde had arrived.

“Master, the lord of Ferde is here. What should we do?” said Gaulle in a quavering voice. His swords were noisily rattling against each other.

“Master, please think of something, he’s already here!” pleaded Ganya. Her body was now shaking violently. If it were not for the fact that Glyn was still standing there, she would have left the place without any hesitation.

“Almighty Magicians of the Void, that Void creature is here. What should we do?” said the aboriginal Magician who was still lying prostrate before Glyn, trembling from head to toe.

Glyn was also at a loss. What was the use of knowing a wide array of powerful spells if he did not even have enough power to use any of them?

Is flight our only option? thought Glyn, reluctant to admit defeat just yet. Back in the void, he had Level-15 power. But now he was being hunted down by this Level-13 runt. He would not be able to face his master if he were to fail in his mission right now.

But what other options did he have left?

At that moment, they heard a voice from the sky. “I see that you’ve summoned three demons here with incredible power. They will have to do. Franklan, you did well.”

The Magician raised his head up and saw a snow-white unicorn glowing with a soft silver light as it hovered 30 feet above him in the air. On the beast’s back sat a young boy.

The boy appeared to be around fifteen years old. His features were handsome, complemented by a set of elegant, silver hair. He was wearing a pristine white robe with silver embroidery and a flawless emerald gemstone on his forehead. He was also holding a wand which was glowing with a white light. He did not look at all like a mortal.

“And you are?” asked Franklan, shocked to be addressed so familiarly by someone he had never seen before. He could feel the oppressive aura radiating from the boy on the unicorn.

The boy swept his gaze past Glyn and the others. He then said casually, “Me? My name is Romeon. I’m a Protector.”