CHAPTER 2365  DEATH

The Sage's words reminded him of his grandmother's prophecy that his father had passed on to him.

He wasn't supposed to die at the hands of a Martial Sage.

It was possible that simply hearing that prophecy changed the future in a way that caused the prophecy to be true.

Rui didn't know.

And he didn't care.

He had no intention of just accepting his death passively.

If he was going to die, he would much rather die fighting and die adaptively evolving to his very limit. His plan was simple.

All metabody techniques at once, including the Megamind technique.

Simultaneously, use the Yin-Yang Spear to supercharge the Niflheim Domain like he did with the Muspelheim technique against Master Uma.

Together, he may very well be able to obtain the power of a Martial Sage for a single moment.

And then he would cease to exist.

One of the forbidden techniques was absolutely deadly on its own.

Together, they would erase him. "Any last words?" the Sage patiently asked. "If you want. I can convey them to your family or to your father."

"I'm good," Rui's eyes flared with blood.

"Very well, then…" the Martial Sage remarked.

RUMBLE!!!

The world shook as Sage Stephen accessed the power of a Martial Sage for the very first time. Time slowed down in Rui's eyes as he activated all Metabody techniques at once. His Yin-Yang Spear roared with power as the realm of frost descended upon the world.

It was time. Owned by .

A maelstrom of emotions and thoughts whirled in his head as he prepared for his final act of Adaptive Evolution.

He thought about the Quarrier Orphanage.

He thought about Kane.

He thought about his father.

Yet, it was his mother who his emotions and thoughts lingered on about.

She wouldn't have wanted him here.

She wouldn't want him to die.

Neither did he.

Yet, one did not always get what one wanted.

RUMBLE!!!

Rui's techniques came to merge in one final grand display of power.

The sum totality of his Martial Art.

"Goodbye," Sage Stephen's tone contained a hint of regret. "You will be remembere—"

SPLAT!!

Both Rui and Sage Stephen froze as a spout of blood gushed from the enormous hole in his chest. "…Eh?" he glanced down, only to find himself looking at his own heart in the hand of an arm that had impaled his chest from behind.

He weakly glanced behind him as his eyes widened with confusion.

"…Who are you?"

SPLAT!!!

Sage Sayfeel's expression grew more ferocious as he ripped the man's heart out, causing a flood of blood to gush out from the massive orifice in his chest.

Not even Sages could survive without a heart.

The newborn Sage's lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

Rui stared at Sage Sayfeel with shock. Words couldn't describe the emotional whiplash that he had just undergone.

"…You're not supposed to reveal your existence."

"His Majesty disagrees," Sage Sayfeel calmly remarked. "I am here on his command. The time has come for me to reveal my existence and show to the world that we are even stronger than they ever thought. One of the things that is most valuable to us is our perceived reliability. Hiding a powerful high-grade Martial Sage from the entire world goes a long way in establishing that. It is an otherwise impossible feat that has been attempted many times but has never succeeded."

"…I see." Rui calmed down as his mind understood his father's rationale.

A high-grade Martial Sage was a deeply precious asset in this war, especially one as powerful as Sage Sayfeel. He knew that he was much stronger than even his grandmother, who had ranked fourth in Martial Union.

He may not be equal to Sage Damian, but he certainly was a powerful contender for being the second or third most powerful Martial Sage in all of the Kandrian Empire. The revelation of an additional asset of Sage Sayfeel's caliber was something that would inspire greater confidence in the Kandrian Empire's war potential against the enemy alliance.

"This is the second time that you have saved my life." Rui realized. A smile cracked at the edge of the Sage's mouth. "I suppose it is. You have grown much since then. More than I could have ever fathomed. To stand your ground against a Martial Sage and be resolved to die fighting them head-on is something that most Martial Masters are incapable of. Most Martial Masters would simply freeze under the overwhelming pressure of Sage's bloodlust."

He could detect genuine pride in the Sage's voice.

"Wait, how did you get here so quickly?" He frowned. "It's been fifteen minutes since offense began. There's no way that you got here so quickly from the Kandrian Empire even if you ran at top speed."

"Your father prepared a force not too far from the Shionel Confederation ahead of time to move in and reinforce it when the attack began," Sage Sayfeel explained. "He relied on me so that the Britannian Prime Minister would be less likely to detect the absence of too many Martial Sages from where they were supposed to be. He needed to balance out the risk of being detected with the risk of being too late just precisely and judging by the results…"

Sage Sayfeel glanced at the dead body of Sage Stephen.

"…It appears that he was absolutely perfect when it came to timing how long you would last."

"So, there's reinforcements for the Sage-level assault line as well?" Rui grew relieved.

"Yes, and I shall join them soon enough. However, His Majesty instructed me to prioritize your safety if it ever came to it," Sage Sayfeel replied. "Unfortunately…"

His expression. "We weren't able to make it in time to prevent all losses for the Martial Sages."

Rui's expression grew grave. "You're telling me…we've lost a Martial Sage?"

"I'm afraid we have lost more than one," Sage Sayfeel calmly informed Rui. "Not only has Sage Lauren of the Shionel Confederation passed away, but…"

Rui's eyes sharpened. "Who did the Kandrian Empire lose?"

"…The Hugging Hegemon," Sage Sayfeel informed him with a hint of finality. "Sage Lamira Dullahan of the Kandrian Empire is no more."

His grave words bore down the atmosphere.

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