Just as Gorman stepped out of the Magic Tower, she saw a lone figure standing on the lawn directly ahead.
Seeing them emerge, he held his staff and began to approach step by step. Gorman's eyes flickered slightly, and then she flashed a joyful smile.
“My, my, if it isn't the Royal Preceptor. Good evening~”
Hogg did not speak. Instead, he slowly raised his staff and pointed it directly at them. In an instant, his mana surged violently, whipping up a brief, fierce gust of wind.
Immediately after, a sky full of fireballs materialized in midair, completely surrounding Gorman and her group.
Seeing this, Gorman let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
“How truly spectacular... As expected of the Heroic Spirit rank.”
Then, Hogg spoke slowly, his voice ice-cold.
“I will only ask one thing—is the Eldest Princess still alive?”
Even though she was completely surrounded, Gorman showed no fear, speaking with an incredibly relaxed air.
“Am I not the Eldest Princess, Lord Royal Preceptor?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Hogg struck without the slightest hesitation. All the fireballs hurtled downward toward her, the resulting shockwaves and heatwaves nearly leveling everything in the vicinity.
At the very epicenter, the earth was baked to the point of cracking from the scorching heat.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the group emerged completely unharmed, albeit now protected by a dark-colored mana shield.
An icy, deeply unsettling magical aura rushed over him. Hogg's pupils contracted slightly, his expression turning grave as he sensed this mana.
“This mana...”
Without a doubt, it was mana from the Abyss. Yet, in Hogg's perception, the people before him were not monsters from the Abyss, even though they carried its scent.
But... their core was still human. There was no mistaking that.
Yet humans were inherently incapable of using Abyssal mana. So why—
Hogg looked at Gorman again, noticing that the unsettling mana radiating from her was slowly spreading outward.
Along with this, her pupils had turned a dark purple, and cobweb-like purple patterns gradually surfaced on her skin, pulsing with a faint glow.
Gorman then slowly extended her right hand toward Hogg, making a simple grasping motion as her lips parted slightly.
【Annihilation】
Instantly, a destructive mana gathered around Hogg. Sensing this devastating force, he immediately abandoned defense and bolted backward.
The very second he fled the spot, a dark purple burst of destructive mana materialized out of thin air, instantly vaporizing the ground there.
But Gorman's assault was far from over. Before Hogg could even stabilize his footing, she materialized before him like a ghost.
With a cruel smile, she said:
“Caught you.”
The moment she spoke, her outstretched palm was already aimed at Hogg's chest. The purple mana surged once more, targeting his heart.
【Deprivation】
Hogg instantly deployed a mana shield, layering four of them in less than a second. The moment the mana collided with the shields, Hogg was sent flying like a cannonball.
However, it did not cause him any actual damage.
While hurtling backward, he flicked his staff, and blue electric arcs crackled around him.
【Lightning Strike】
A bolt of lightning as thick as an arm shot straight at Gorman. The same dark mana shield appeared once more, and the lightning vanished without a trace the moment it made contact.
It did not look like it had been blocked... but rather devoured.
This was indeed consistent with the nature of Abyssal mana—the essence of devouring. However—
“You think you can devour my magic with just that?”
Hogg's internal mana surged violently once more as he soared into the air. Unleashing his four-element mana to its absolute limit, the distinct lights of the four elements flared around him. In this moment, he seemed to have become the god of elements ruling over this space.
Lifting his staff slightly, he looked down at Gorman from above, his eyes filled with unmasked murderous intent.
【Wind Blades】
This was merely a Rank 1 magic spell, yet its effect was devastating—several cyan blades hurtled down at a speed even faster than the previous lightning. Even though Gorman was on guard and raised her shield in time, she was still a fraction of a second too late.
A wind blade sliced across her shoulder, leaving a deep wound that bared the bone. Yet, this wound did not seem to affect Gorman in the slightest; not even a single drop of blood spilled.
For under the empowerment of the Abyss, she had been granted a powerful self-healing ability that transcended human limits.
The wound, which should have been a severe injury, healed completely in less than three seconds, and even the sensation of pain was erased. Still, this did not mean she could ignore all attacks.
After all, even the most potent healing ability had its limits, so she dared not be careless in the face of Hogg's onslaught.
Yet Hogg's attacks were far from over. Various spells poured down relentlessly like a tempest. Even with the support of her mana-devouring shield, she was beginning to feel overwhelmed.
Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and lightning strikes were all low-level spells, but when cast by Hogg, their power was amplified to a level that could instantly annihilate high-level practitioners.
Moreover, their speed was ridiculously fast. For a moment, Gorman could only stand her ground while holding up her shield, her once unperturbed composure finally wavering.
The strength of a Heroic Spirit rank expert... was somewhat beyond her expectations.
Furthermore, she knew very well that these attacks were still far from Hogg's full power... Although she was holding back as well, she was highly likely inferior to her opponent.
Just as she was contemplating a counterstrategy, the magical bombardment suddenly ceased. Gorman looked up in confusion, only to see red and blue lights flashing alternately at the tip of Hogg's staff.
An alarm of extreme danger instantly blared through Gorman's entire body—flee! She had to flee!
Yet, she found herself unable to move. Hogg had forcibly pinned her in place with his massive, pure mana.
In her desperation, Gorman could only reinforce her mana shield with everything she had while sending a distress signal to her nearby attendants.
But Hogg's magic was faster. Before they could make a move, a spear of fire enveloped in lightning instantly materialized. In the next second, like a falling meteor trailing a red and blue tail, it shattered the dark purple mana shield.
It then pierced through Gorman's chest without any resistance, detonating immediately.
The blast was so powerful that it engulfed the entire garden surrounding the Magic Tower.
【Penetrating Magic: Thunder-Flame Spear】
This was a new spell he had developed, inspired by his battle with Li Yuan when his own mana shield was punctured by a single finger.
Although its effect was far inferior to Li Yuan's technique, it was more than enough to deal with these enemies.
He might not be able to defeat the Master, but could he really not defeat these disgusting pests?
When the explosion subsided and the smoke cleared, a crater several meters deep was left where Gorman had stood, with blue electric arcs occasionally crackling around it. The entire garden had been burned bare, reduced to a blackened wasteland.
Looking down at the devastation, Hogg's expression did not ease; instead, his brow furrowed deeply.
“Did she still manage to escape...”
At the final moment, he had faintly seen the pierced body of the Eldest Princess wrapped in a massive surge of mana, vanishing the instant the explosion occurred, taking the others nearby with her.
“Sigh...”
Hogg let out a long sigh, turning his gaze toward the already chaotic royal capital, a sense of powerlessness suddenly welling up in his heart.
The enemy had escaped, their motives remained unknown, and now he had to clean up this entire mess...
Rate on N.U.
