Helamus's Blood War, the Desire to Control Fate

The white beam of light in front of them suddenly began to flicker, with traces of runes appearing at the edges, and the fluctuations it emitted were intermittent.

"Um?!"

Ronan frowned slightly and looked to the side, only to find that not only him, but also the other seven people standing on the stone pillars were in the same condition.

The third round of ranking battles is about to begin, but the entire arena's mechanics seem to be malfunctioning.

"Boom!"

Just then, the bottom of the rock platform in the center, which served as the duel arena, suddenly broke, and a large number of rubble fell down, while countless colorful lights gushed out from below like a spring.

Amidst this tremor, a mysterious and profound purple beam of light suddenly rose from the center of the "fountain" like a sword.

The purple beam of light instantly reached its peak, enveloping the rocky platform below and the thirty-two stone pillars, some bright and some dim. In an instant, half of the Sky Dome was dyed purple, with a very obvious ring of [Shine] spots forming a circle, like a miniature starry sky.

This sudden change stunned everyone. Ronan stared intently at the spot where the dazzling points of light, forming a ring, converged.

For no apparent reason, an incredibly strong desire arose in my heart.

He could hardly resist reaching out to grasp that mystery and brilliance across the vast distance of space.

It is a legacy.

A deep voice sounded.

The voice initially remained relatively calm, but soon, an uncontrollable vibration emanated from the speaker's tone.

"It is the Helamus's Magic Controller Legacy."

"It has appeared in the world ahead of schedule!"

"Boom!"

As soon as the voice fell, a thunderous clamor erupted, shaking all the wizards present and causing the entire Fairy Ancient City Ruins to boil over! The first genius in the history of the Upper Ring Continent, the legendary wizard, known as the "Born Law Control" —Helamus! He buried a part of his legacy in the south, attracting countless brilliant wizards from the south to follow in his footsteps for thousands of years.

This legacy sits quietly there. The battle for the Helamus Talent Seat is held once every hundred years, and a champion is born each time, but no one has ever been qualified to touch it. Over the long years, whether this legacy actually exists has gradually become a mystery.

Now, the ancient legend has finally been proven true! "Time washes away everything, but some things, like immortal pearls, will one day have their brilliant radiance stripped of its surface dust and shine once more."

Someone murmured excitedly.

At this point, almost no one cared about the fact that Helamus's Law Control would suddenly appear before the start of the third round of the ranking battle; everyone's attention was drawn to the legacy itself.

The same was true for the eight people standing on the stone pillar, including Serena.

For the first time, a look of emotion appeared on the beautiful, icy face of this noble Princess from a powerful Wizard Empire in the central part of the continent.

Ronan stared intently at the dazzling ring amidst the mysterious deep purple.

That dazzling spectacle seemed to hold a certain fatal attraction for him, an attraction not stemming from the unparalleled fame of "Helamus," but from a strange connection.

He seemed to find a subtle resonance with the mystery of the dazzling center, drawn to each other.

Ronan had never felt this way before.

Neither the bloodline of the Ancient Frost Hydra Hecalto nor the Golden Country of Schubert had ever inspired such intense desire in him before he acquired them.

——

It's waiting for me!

It belongs to me!

It was as if a voice was desperately calling out from the depths of Ronan's heart.

A brilliant light gradually shone in his eyes, and his naturally drooping hands involuntarily clenched into fists.

Whether it was truly some kind of "destined pull" or not, that mysterious brilliance... seemed to be rapidly approaching Ronan, drawn by the longing and call of his heart.

The dazzling ring at the center of everyone's attention suddenly fell, plummeting in one direction and drawing the attention of countless people.

When they discovered that the object representing the core of the Helamus's Magic Controller had fallen in the direction of a figure on one of the eight stone pillars, their expressions gradually became incredulous.

The geniuses on the other seven stone pillars also frowned, and some of them quickly turned gloomy.

Ronan could feel the intense heat in the countless gazes directed at him; he had become the center of everyone's attention.

But by then he no longer had the energy to care about any of that.

His entire attention was drawn to the dazzling brilliance that was right in front of him.

Although I have an indescribable longing for what is contained within that brilliance.

But when it was actually placed in front of him, seemingly within easy reach, Ronan hesitated.

It came so suddenly that it felt extremely unreal to him.

Ronan hesitated, but finally, he slowly reached out and reached for the dazzling ring in front of him.

As he reached out, powerful mental energy fluctuations erupted from the other seven stone pillars around him, and various pressures rolled towards him like a tidal wave. Ronan seemed oblivious to all of this, simply reaching out to grab forward.

When his fingertips finally touched the edge of that dazzling brilliance, suddenly... "Buzz—"

A strange fluctuation erupted from the dazzling light, instantly spreading in all directions.

Strange light waves swept across the void, and almost everyone who was touched by the waves froze instantly. As if receiving some kind of instruction, the entire Fairy Ancient City Ruins suddenly fell silent.

In the crowd, in a corner that no one can explore.

With a smile on his face, the gray-haired, blue-eyed Lindis gently tapped the golden compass with his pale, slender fingers, and muttered to himself, "The game begins."

Meanwhile, Ronan maintained a gesture of reaching out to touch the dazzling light.

After sensing the ancient information transmitted through the fluctuations, I unexpectedly became calm and composed.

All the previous entanglements, hesitations, and doubts vanished at this moment.

"Really."

Ronan shook his head, then calmly continued to reach forward.

He gently grasped the brilliance with his five fingers, and it suddenly burst open with a "bang," transforming into countless tiny points of light, like a miniature galaxy, encircling Ronan.

"The Helamus's Blood War".

"I knew it."

At the Life Royal Court's residence, Moriel sat dangling on her Red Lotus Scepter, while a crimson sparrow formed of flame hopped about in front of her.

"Did this guy's prayers come true?"

They really want him to die on stage.

Moriel muttered to herself, feeling a bit bored with the game. With a "bang," she crushed the Flame Red Sparrow in front of her to pieces, lazily casting an emotionless glance at a figure in her field of vision, and yawned with some boredom.

"Let's just end this damn boring, utterly unexciting match already."

"What was the Helamus's Blood War?"

Below, Grace, who had been silent almost since the start of the battle, finally couldn't help but speak up.

She looked at the Silver-Haired Witch beside her with a questioning gaze. In fact, the message transmitted from the fluctuations she had just encountered was already very clear, but she still wanted to verify it again.

The Silver-Haired Witch pondered for a moment, but before she could speak, Donny, the young wizard whose face was covered in graffiti, answered with a cold laugh, "It was the inheritance that chose him."

But he must defeat everyone else remaining on the field to truly receive the inheritance. This guy is doomed! There's absolutely no other possibility!

Donny's confident and disdainful tone caused Grace's expression to change slightly. She subconsciously took out a Communication Stone, as if she wanted to send something to someone.

But then came the sound of Silver-Haired Witch sighing from the side.

"It's no use, this is not something he can decide."

Grace froze, then heard the Silver-Haired Witch say in a low voice, "Once the 'Helamus's Blood War' begins, the chosen one cannot refuse, cannot admit defeat, cannot give up. The only outcome is to defeat all the competitors and go all the way to the end. Otherwise, there is only one result: to die on the stage. If this year is just a simple gathering of genius wizards from the south, he might still have a sliver of a chance."

But he also ran into Princess Serena the banquet this time; he could only blame his bad luck.

Donny echoed coldly, "At most the second round... no, he'll probably fall in the first round. He's not even qualified to stand before Princess Serena, heh."

Grace listened to their conversation in a daze. Unconsciously, she gripped the Communication Stone in her hand, which she used to contact Ronan, so tightly that her knuckles turned slightly white.

After a brief silence, the vast Fairy Ancient City Ruins were once again ignited by the tens of thousands of wizards who had gathered to watch.

Countless people are discussing the information they just received about the "Helamus Bloodbath".

The previous awe, admiration, and envy towards Ronan have all turned into regret, sympathy, and even more so, gloating mockery.

That dazzling light falling from the sky did not represent inheritance, the favor and gift from Helamus, but a sharp blade capable of [Penetration] the heart and stripping away the soul.

For many, the opportunity to witness a brilliant and unattainable Heaven's Chosen fight to the death before their very eyes is a rare and precious thing.

Some people had already prepared their stories in their minds, thinking about how they would vividly recount this blood-stained chapter to those who couldn't attend after the event.

Among the onlookers, only the wizards of the Silver Magic Ring and the Blue Mist Society remained silent, each shrouded in an inexplicable heavy emotion.

"Every gift of fate comes with a price tag attached in secret."

"Isn't it interesting, Doru?"

Among the crowd, Lindis, seemingly existing independently in another space, looked at the various expressions of the lower-level wizards around him and naturally revealed a somewhat aloof and superior attitude.

"Witnessing the tragic death of a relatively powerful individual, followed by heated discussions and celebrations surrounding its corpse—it's truly an age-old habit etched into our blood."

Lindis closed his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips; he seemed to relish the feeling of controlling the fate and emotions of others.

The man in black robes remained silent. He knew the other's temperament well and had long anticipated how this would all unfold.

Lindis never intended to truly give the legacy that Helamus left in this southern land to anyone; all he wanted was a game.

The person he had chosen to be the "protagonist" of this game, the man in black robes, subconsciously turned his gaze to a figure in the distance surrounded by illusory brilliance, and a complex sense of sympathy welled up in his heart.

They are destined to die either in obscurity or in glory under the spotlight.

Will I suffer the same fate?

The man in black robes couldn't help but recall the various promises Lindis had made to him before, and his gaze lowered.

"Anyone on the field could kill Ronan Damien."

"Who do you think will ultimately kill him?"

"This is a trap you can't escape; once you step in, you can only wait for death to come amidst a fading, uncertain hope."

Ronan stood on his own stone pillar, listening to the constant chatter of the onlookers.

Looking up, he saw that everyone on the other seven stone pillars was looking at him, with varying expressions, their eyes mostly hiding fervor and longing, as well as undisguised coldness.

He was not someone who was "lucky".

On the contrary, he seems to be the only "unlucky one" among the eight who was chosen.

He needs to defeat everyone currently on the field to obtain the legacy left by Helamus, while the other seven people have a certain chance of taking the legacy for themselves if they kill him.

An unfair game forced Ronan to gamble with his life.

He couldn't refuse yet.

Ronan himself was surprisingly calm at this moment.

Long ago, he had become accustomed to being toyed with by fate and facing desperate situations time and time again.

For a wizard who grew up like a weed from the cracks in the lowest layer of rocks, he had too many experiences of narrowly escaping death.

"Mist... mist"

The word rolled silently in Ronan's mind, and suddenly a realization dawned on him.

Perhaps the reason why the first to third levels were called the "Mist Stage" by ancient wizards is not just to refer to the exploration and search on the level of knowledge, magic and soul, but also to something deeper.

For example, what does he really want? Some people embark on the path of wizardry in pursuit of omnipotent power.

Some seek omniscience.

Some people are captivated by the beautiful scenery they see, experience, and travel through.

Some people dream of building their own ideal world. Everyone has something they most want to pursue and achieve, and this is the deepest force that supports those people to go high and far enough on the path of wizardry.

What was Ronan pursuing? He forgot when his heart began to feel somewhat lost.

After leaving behind his life Wandering Wizard, his strength continued to increase. Without the constant threat of death, he found himself somewhat lost.

These uncertainties, like an invisible fog, shrouded his path, causing him to wander aimlessly.

At that moment, Ronan suddenly understood.

The fog in my mind was gently lifted, and all confusion vanished.

The sudden arrival of the Bloodbath of Helamus, the long-awaited crisis of death—it's either perish in a moment of ultimate glory, or emerge even more magnificent after overcoming all obstacles! "Fate!"

Ronan took a deep breath, his fingers slowly closing. "What I've always wanted is to be able to completely control my own destiny!"

I don't want to be a puppet that can be manipulated and has no control over its own life anymore.

"Snap—"

The sound of something breaking.

Deep within the soul, it seems as if impurities and deep-seated ailments are being peeled away, giving rise to a small, wondrous transformation.

In an instant, the thick gray clouds behind Ronan began to churn violently.

Layers of gray waves gathered and piled up. The colorful streams of light gushing from the void formed a bridge of light at this moment, extending from Ronan's feet all the way to the increasingly towering and massive platform at the center.

Ronan stepped onto the central platform, walking step by step across the bridge of light.

As he stood in the center of the platform, the swirling gray clouds behind him completely transformed into a vast and profound shadow.

Within the shadows, a ferocious and terrifying multi-headed behemoth seemed to lurk, coldly surveying everything around it through the darkness.

"Kill me or be killed by me."

Ronan stood high on the platform, scanning each figure on the seven stone pillars below. Looking down calmly, he asked, "Who wants to be the first?"