CHAPTER 87: MOTIVE FOUND

In a similar vein to the rankings of Phantasms, magi circles followed the same path of progression with nine main steps—each exponentially higher than the one before it. It was through these jumps that a magi’s power truly blossomed.

But not all steps are earned equally, and the third circle was one such step.

While unlocking the first circle might require ten Channels of Willpower, the second will demand a hundred.

The third… A thousand…

Cassia however, already knew this. She had already prepared and unlocked these channels many months prior—one by one, accumulating them patiently like a farmer harvesting his crops. However, the truly hard part comes when trying to control these channels.

Although Soul Realms are usually described in a similar fashion to that of an extra limb, there was more that goes to controlling it than just the basics of contrasting and expanding. Morphing the shape of the zone itself took much practice, and the same could be said about controlling the channels to release the correct ratios of anima needed to cast a spellform correctly.

With exponentially more channels to control, a magi’s job will in turn also become exponentially harder. More and more focus will be needed, and even more attention to detail will be demanded. If even one Channel of Willpower releases more than needed or less than intended, the result could either turn out disastrous, or simply fail. Neither were things you wanted to see happen when you’re fighting against a fearsome foe.

It was no wonder then that most magi rarely reach higher than the third circle. The demand on the mind would become too strenuous to handle, even if your grimoire had the spellforms necessary to cast such powerful magecraft.

No wonder that lazy bastard Myrin refuses to aim higher…

And why would he? Simply reaching the third circle would give him enough privileges to last a lifetime… The fool was content at living a simple yet lavish life while painting away mindlessly at his numerous canvases. Of course, if the mistress insisted on him going further, then he would most likely oblige.

Sighing, she briefly gave Noctharn a glance. The giant was waging a chaotic battle against the master of the glaive. Her flow in battle was truly beautiful—a work of art, even. She danced elegantly in between the shadow tentacles, slashing them casually as one would slice a fruit or vegetable while occasionally orienting herself in exotic ways to attack the colossal being chasing after her.

Even though the battle looked to be in favor of the hooded woman, Cassia could tell that the opposite was true. Her movements might have seemed perfect to the casual observer, but her eyes could see through such simple deception. For every elegant dodge and maneuver, a slice of her momentum was cut. Slowly but surely, Noctharn was gaining more and more control over the battlefield. Still, it wasn’t enough to break the delicate balance between them—at least not yet.

That glaive… Does it have the power to erase darkness?.. She had seen its power briefly a few times when slicing through the tentacles. Each time, the darkness would recede, as if it was being corroded from the inside out.

Focus, Cassia…

She cut her own thoughts short as her eyes gazed back at the two hooded figures standing before her—their minds were filled with bloodlust, and all of it was aimed directly at her. Even so, they did not move. Both were content with simply watching her from a distance. She could tell they were planning something or might have been worrying about what she was planning.

Either way, the time they were giving her was much needed. She took a deep breath and expanded her Soul Realm beyond its usual range, which put a bit of strain on her soul. She brushed the pain away and focused every single Channel of Willpower in her possession.

It was finally time to ascend to the next stage, or die trying.

Cassia’s plan was simple. She needed to regain the field superiority from the bastard magus and his cursed blood-sucking vines. And what better way to do that than to burn it all away? Weeds were meant to burn, after all.

The rune she had obtained recently was fairly important to this plan of hers. Sulinar would act as the catalyst within the core axiom of this spellform of the third circle. The only third circle spell she had been able to theorize so far…

A magecraft spell she rightfully named Scorched Earth.

Leaving every bit of hesitation behind, Cassia’s mind raced to perform every calculation with cold precision. Her ring spellfocus illuminated in the amber light of her anima, as an image of the countless Scripted Runic axioms appeared before her eyes, shaping and morphing into exact geometries of her liking. The anima from her Channels of Willpower flowed and stirred, like great rivers, getting redirected by the puppet master herself to the various functions of the spellform. She made sure that not even an ounce of anima was overspent, or leaked from the countless shimmering runes.

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She held her breath in anticipation, It’s now or never…

In the distance, her two enemies realized something was wrong. The hooded knight holding two curved blades rushed for the attack, while the other ordered the vines to slither their way to the enemy.

But it was simply too late…

With great speed, an immense heat took over the grand dungeon hall. It was as if the entire room had turned into an oven. With an explosive roar, dragonflame burst from their confines, surging like waves hungry to consume all in their path.

Even Noctharn and the hooded woman he was fighting froze for a second to glance at what was happening. The ancient shadows he had layered across the floor disappeared as the room was instantly covered by an explosion of blinding light.

Shielded from the flames, Cassia looked on with both shock and awe. She didn’t think she would actually do it…

…But she did.

She had successfully become a third circle magus. At least, at a superficial level…

The grand hall had turned from an opulent blacksmith of legendary weapons, to the very insides of the furnace used to forge said weapons. All around her, soot and ash layered the floor—the remains of the vine infestation that had once propagated across the dungeon hall. Sadly, she doubted her enemies themselves had perished in the attack—they would have had ways to counter such a magecraft spell.

And she was right. They stood before her in the same menacing poses, but there was a major difference to what she had seen earlier. A difference that made her blood run cold and her skin to pale.

Their hoods had been burnt away by the flames, leaving them standing in their actual battle armor. But what left her standing frozen in place was who the intruders were…

She had recognized them.

Knights of the Silver Moon, the companions of the Silver Valkyrie.

How… Is this possible?!

This was the last group she would have ever suspected. In fact, it didn’t even make sense.

The Silver Valkyrie and her loyal group of knights had arrived in Celestine much earlier than the other expedition forces… And they’re aim according to Nicholas was clearly to join in on the fun of exploring the Avalon Ruins…

Did we miscalculate something?! Her thoughts were racing to find a solution to her questions, but she couldn’t find one. The situation truly baffled her—even Noctharn looked a bit startled as well.

Even if the Silver Valkyrie was aiming for something else in Celestine, their absence from the expedition forces would have been noticed immediately. And the Aetolus Royal Family themselves would have announced such a thing to them directly… So why would her mistress not inform her about such a strange turn of events?..

As these questions played out in her mind, her eyes trailed once again at the intruders—this time with more accurate details to take note of. The knight holding the two curved swords was wearing full body armor—his face hidden behind a well decorated visor. The mage on the other hand wore a simple green tunic. It was a man of medium stature—his auburn hair was slightly burned from the flames, but he looked fairly healthy.

In fact, both didn’t seem to have sustained much injuries from the massive blast—something she had expected. After all, even if the spell was of the third circle, expanding its radius to such a degree that it put a strain on her Soul Realm had to have lessened its effectiveness drastically.

Still, she had achieved her goal and removed the sinister vines covering the field. Even if the magi standing before her tries to spread their control over the field again, it would most likely take a few minutes at least—minutes they didn’t have since she was ready to attack them again, this time with much more fury behind her flames.

Even though she wanted to be happy, Cassia couldn’t help but frown. Something was odd about this whole situation… She just couldn’t put her tail on it…

Whatever… Kill first, ask questions later…

As she readied herself to pounce, something strange happened.The trio of intruders froze for a second, then with hurried expressions dashed toward the exit in a controlled retreat. To make sure Cassia didn’t chase after them, the magi activated his Soul Weapon and spread more vines, this time to cover the corridor they were escaping from.

What the… She glanced at Noctharn with a puzzled expression. He too was about to catch the fleeing woman with the scary silver glaive when suddenly, her strength became explosive, shooting past the ancient shadowy tentacles toward the rest of her group.

In just a matter of seconds, the conflict had ended… Their enemies had escaped… And they had taken the motive behind their attack with them…

Perplexed, she glanced at Noctharn for answers, but he stood silently for a few moments, contemplating something. Then he asked her a simple question—one that made her eyes widen:

“The one that attacked with the arrows at the start of the battle. Where was he?”

A shiver ran down her spine. Cassia had completely forgotten about that person’s existence. Her mind was preoccupied with the two main attackers, then she had to focus on ascending her abilities as a magus on the fly… She had overlooked the existence of a possible fourth intruder.

Panicked, she let her wings turn into a blur and flew into the nearby corridor that led to the lounge. Her mind was eclipsed with dark thoughts, but thankfully, neither Joyce nor Candice had been hurt. Both were huddled together with weapons ready to exact violence on anyone that approaches. When she saw that they were both fine, she sighed in relief, but then her frown deepened.

If neither Candice or Joyce were their targets, then who or what was?

At that moment, an idea entered her mind. Her face flushed pale.

“Cassia?” Asked Joyce with concern, but the half-dragon girl simply flew away before answering. She blasted through the corridors with great speed, reaching the door to her room. With her heart feeling heavy, she twisted the knob and glanced inside.

Her worst fears had been realized.

Soren’s body was gone.