Echeida Sackern

Even in Echeida Sackern's long life, the boy's first impression on him had been particularly amusing—and laughable:

Under the dim candlelight, the black-haired boy looked rather bedraggled. Blood dripped from his forehead, his little face was bruised blue and purple, red marks from strangulation ringed his neck, and his faintly trembling body was clad in tattered coarse linen. A dagger was tightly bound to his leg.

After hearing his identity, the boy looked at a loss. One hand pressed to his chest, he seemed somewhat nervous, as though he vaguely understood what the term "Magic User" meant. The pressure throughout his body shifted sharply, and even the air he exhaled became noticeably muddier.

But his eyes were truly exceptional.

Yes, those strange eyes held neither fear nor unfamiliarity, neither panic nor vigilance. Instead, they were filled with—curiosity and excitement?

Even Tales found his own thoughts surprising at that moment.

The instant he heard "Magic User," after his shock had passed, an urge abruptly rose from deep within him: he wanted to find out exactly what a Magic User was.

An occupational habit, perhaps?

Just then, from the corner of his eye, Tales saw three irregular spheres resting quietly in a dark corner. Each sphere was as large as a person.

Only when Tales noticed the faintly exposed human hands and feet on those spheres did he recognize what they were.

The boy's face went slightly pale.

"I think you've already met the Brotherhood's Taren Brothers and Moria," said Ashida the Magic User, noticing his gaze. He grinned. "They were quite ambitious. The moment they arrived, they headed straight for the center of Red Quarter."

"Sorry, I'm not used to methods like Morris's—suffocation or pressure crushing. To be honest, I prefer simpler methods."

Turning living people into balls was supposed to be simpler? Tales silently grumbled to himself.

"Come, child." Ashida smiled gently. His voice was especially pleasant, refined and elegant. "Come take a look at my chessboard."

Tales swallowed, turned away, and forced the freshly made human flesh-balls out of his mind. He quickly considered his situation. Then, when he saw the Blue Energy Orb hovering over Ashida's left hand—a projection that looked remarkably like a 3D effect, though he knew it absolutely was not—he decisively discarded thoughts such as drawing his dagger and holding it to the man's throat.

Using the method from his thesis defenses in his previous life, Tales took three calm, measured breaths, then slowly walked forward.

If fortune came, it was no disaster. If disaster came, there was no escaping it.

Ashida watched the boy's seemingly mature behavior with an amused half-smile. As Tales approached the chessboard, Ashida was about to speak when he saw, to his surprise, the boy pull out a chair without hesitation and sit down. Then Tales frowned, apparently dissatisfied with the view from the chair. He got down, shifted it a little closer to Ashida, then climbed back up and sat again.

"Uh, my legs are a little sore." Tales gave Ashida an embarrassed smile. He accidentally tugged at the wound on his forehead and hissed sharply in pain.

"My oversight."

Ashida turned his head with interest and lightly tapped with his right hand. It was as though something pressed down on the wound on Tales's forehead, and the blood stopped flowing.

"Was that—did you increase and stabilize the local air pressure?" Tales touched his forehead in amazement and discovered an invisible membrane that kept his fingers from touching the wound.

Ashida's smile vanished. He nodded impassively.

"Not bad. Did your tutor teach you physics?"

"Uh, no." Tales awkwardly lowered his hand. It seemed Ashida had mistaken him for some noble or wealthy family's child.

Ashida nodded and turned toward the chessboard on the table.

"Do you recognize this?"

Tales carefully examined the map on the table.

"A board game using Red Quarter as a map—no, this is the current battle map outside! Red is the Blood Bottle Gang, and black is the Brotherhood!" Tales realized.

"Of course."

Expressionless, Ashida extended his right hand. Two black pieces and one crystal piece flew through the air from afar and landed in his grasp.

"This was supposed to be a flawless trap."

"In a short time, I was going to bury every member of the Brotherhood here, from Morris to Qinzha."

"But things never go as planned, do they?"

The three pieces began to dance through the air like little birds, circling above Tales's head.

Magic tricks, magic tricks. Just treat it as a magic show. Tales forced himself to watch Ashida's performance calmly.

"First, the bunch under my command are more useless than the last."

"They should have surrounded Morris and Qinzha at once, assassinating them at any cost. Instead, they cowardly avoided the strong enemies, using guerrilla tactics to cut away the weaker wings first. Typical bullies who feared the strong."

"Second, I don't know whether they were Brotherhood reinforcements, but in any case, unexpected pieces entered the field and disrupted my arrangements far too early."

As Ashida spoke without emotion, the pieces above Tales's head dropped onto the map one after another.

"This one is the companion who came up from the Lower City District with you. He's frighteningly fast. He took down Dorno and Spinn in a single exchange. Rolf can still only chase after his backside, while Numino, a tracking-type Psion, can't even catch the dust behind his feet. All I can say is that it's truly gratifying the Brotherhood has such a rising expert."

A black swordsman piece fell from the air onto the map, positioned just ahead of and behind another red swordsman piece. Farther away stood a red chancellor.

Tales knew he was talking about Yala. He could only pray inwardly that she was safe, especially with that red chancellor in the distance.

"This breach is truly fatal. Quite a few pieces escaped. They were all small fry, but—" Ashida sighed. "Through them, the Black Street Brotherhood headquarters learned of what happened here an hour earlier than I expected. I can sense that Lancer and his men have already taken control of the entrance."

"The mousetrap—has been broken."

He lowered his head desolately, full of regret and sorrow. For a moment, Tales nearly thought the man before him was a compassionate temple priest grieving for the world.

But Ashida immediately raised his head. The grief vanished without a trace, and with a flick of his finger, the two pieces in the air began to spin again.

"This one came in from another direction. I don't know what faction he belongs to, but he killed the Layton Siblings faster than he could kill two pigs. No one could stop him as he pushed all the way to this area. I had no choice but to send Gulaton, who was beside me, after him. Now I don't even have anyone left to talk to."

Ashida sounded somewhat displeased. The Crystal Knight in the air descended and was placed beside a Red Guard piece.

"Probably a piece from some other force entering the field. Either nobles or officials—another unexpected development, I suppose."

Tales swallowed again.

"Finally, there's you, little friend. Since I had no one else to use, I had to come invite you personally."

Ashida tilted his head, and his gaze abruptly sharpened.

The final black pawn above Tales's head suddenly dropped onto the center of the map.

It landed beside a red king.

Tales could not stop himself from becoming tense.

"Tell me, where do you come from?"

Ashida leaned back in his chair, his expression impossible to read.

"Why did the Brotherhood send you all the way to the center of Red Quarter?"

"Are you some terrifying weapon, delivered to my side to assassinate me?"

"Or are you important intelligence, some package that needs to be handed over to that other piece?"

"I hope you'll answer me willingly and amicably, rather than shouting, 'Magic Users must die!' and rushing at me. Honestly, that would be pure suicide."

Ashida watched him quietly, his eyes full of sincerity.

Unlike the unmistakably ulterior sincerity in Rick's eyes, Ashida's sincerity was utterly emotionless, as though he did not care about the answer at all.

At that moment, Tales felt that the man before him did not even seem human.

Stay calm, Tales. Stay calm.

The boy reminded himself, repeatedly recalling the thesis presentations and seminars from his memories—how to use language familiar to the audience to guide them into an unfamiliar field.

I'm good at this, aren't I?

Tales took a deep breath.

"Mr. Echeida Sackern, are you saying that simply by sitting here, you can know every movement throughout Red Quarter?"

He needed to gather all the information first.

"Not entirely," Ashida answered without concern. "I can perceive even the slightest condition of the air throughout this street, from changes in air pressure within every part of the human body to the flow of air outside it. In other words—every living thing breathing in Red Quarter is under my surveillance."

So that was his ability. Was it a psychic power? Was that why he was called an Air Elementalist? Tales thought to himself.

No wonder the Brotherhood had been beaten so badly.

"Then you must naturally know," Tales began organizing his words and reasoning, searching for a chance to survive in this verbal confrontation, "that my companion and I carefully avoided every clash along the way. We only acted when absolutely necessary—regardless of whether it was the Brotherhood or the Blood Bottle Gang."

"I believe that proves we are not Brotherhood members. At least, we did not come for the Brotherhood tonight, nor did we intend to involve ourselves in this battlefield. Therefore, we have no intention of becoming your enemies."

"Reasonable." Ashida nodded, still looking devoid of emotion, though his tone did not soften in the slightest. "But you still took my pieces."

"I don't care about the lives of those small fry, but I care that my plans and objectives were interrupted—whether intentionally or not. Even the most corrupt Magistrate would not turn a blind eye to negligent homicide, would he?"

"And you still haven't answered my question—who are you? Why are you so important?"

Tales swiftly adjusted his approach. "I am an enemy of the Black Street Brotherhood!"

That was the only statement that made Ashida raise his head slightly.

Tales had figured out the situation and decided to reveal part of the truth.

"I'm only an ordinary beggar. I offended the Brotherhood's higher-ups and fled. The Lower City District is full of Brotherhood eyes and ears. Red Quarter, bordering the Blood Bottle Gang's territory, was my only chance!"

"But my companion and I did not expect a gang war to break out tonight. So, unintentionally—"

"I apologize for our recklessness, and I can make compensation—I mean, once I have the ability to do so."

"I believe my future value will absolutely be worth sparing my life today."

"I am destined to be the Brotherhood's enemy. No matter how weak I may be, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. There is no reason for the Blood Bottle Gang to eliminate a potential enemy of the Brotherhood, is there?"

Ashida narrowed his eyes.

What an eloquent child.

"Is that all?"

"That's all."

Ashida remained silent for a long time. A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his face.

"The pressure inside your body did not fluctuate greatly. Your breathing was nervous, but steady. Ah, although you haven't told me the whole truth, you did not lie."

The Magic User shook his head with a bitter smile and said sincerely:

"So your appearance, the disruption of the board—it seems it was all coincidence."

"I don't actually care about the pieces you took. They were small pieces, after all. The so-called Twelve Supremes, Thirteen Great Generals, Psychic Warriors, and Six Titans—aside from Qinzha alone, they are merely Mortal Tier or Transcendent Rank beings."

"Even the Blood Bottle Gang is only a somewhat larger piece. I don't particularly care that you disrupted my plans and broke through my trap."

A bitter smile surfaced on Ashida's face as he looked at Tales.

"It's just that I never expected my plan to be ruined by chance, by coincidence."

"That makes me very depressed."

"Chance, coincidence—heh. I'm beginning to understand where the Black Orchid Empress's power lies."

What a strange and eerie man, Tales thought nervously as he watched the Air Elementalist.

"The world truly is wondrous."

Ashida suddenly laughed aloud.

"Child, do you know? The birth of magic energy was also purely an accident."

Tales's heart began to race. From the strangely expressive Magic User, he inexplicably sensed danger!

"A very, very long time ago, there was only magic in the world, no magic energy." Ashida's face showed longing and complexity.

"Mages sought the truths of the world, using all manner of ingenious methods and wisdom to harness the world's resources and energy in service of a better world."

"Until one day, a poorly gifted mage apprentice accidentally discovered that his magic was unstable. It was as though—though the magic itself had come alive. It began to lose control, to resist its master!"

In the next instant, Tales shuddered violently as an immense force pressed onto his body from below.

To his shock, the boy discovered that he had begun floating in midair!

In panic, he tried to grab the edge of the table, only to find himself drifting higher and higher until his arms could no longer reach it!

He hurriedly looked toward Ashida, only to discover in terror that the Magic User's face was now filled with pain and madness!

"Yes, that's how it all began! An accidental mistake by a mage apprentice!" Ashida muttered to himself in a neurotic manner as he gently picked up the black pawn that had just fallen onto the map.

As Tales watched the pawn being removed, his heart went cold. He knew what the Magic User intended to do next.

"From instability, to total Loss of Control, to being ruled by it—the world you know begins to collapse. Fear and panic descend. No one can save you except yourself!"

Tales discovered painfully that the airflow all over his body had begun accelerating and the air pressure had started changing!

"No one knew what had happened to him. But when he returned to the world, people discovered that he was no longer a mage."

"He was no longer even human, no longer mortal."

The temperature rose alongside the air pressure. Terrified, Tales felt the air around him growing hotter and more stifling as sweat streamed down his body.

"Through another accidental mistake, he unintentionally killed two Gods."

"Just as one might accidentally crush two ants."

Ashida's words were incomparably cold. He slowly turned his head and curled his lips upward.

This madman!

Tales unclenched his tightly gritted teeth and tried to speak, only to find that his voice could not pass through his throat at all!

"This was the first Magic User."

"And also the strongest Magic User in history."

"Mages discovered in terror that compared with him, their spells, techniques, and research were no more than childish tricks and deception! The Gods discovered in panic that their once lofty divine power and divinity were so vulnerable, so laughable!"

"The colorful yet naive Mage Era thus came to an end."

"The newborn Magic User stood above the sky, transcended the Gods, and looked down upon all living beings!"

In the searing heat, Tales began to feel pressure coming from every direction!

His limbs were squeezed toward his body, his entire form compressed into a sphere as he floated in midair. It was utterly horrifying.

It was like being stuffed into a washing machine from his previous life!

"Fear—of course humanity would fear! Power without taboos or restraint, yet possessed by only a few people—how could they not fear?"

In midair, Tales felt all strength leaving his body, yet he could not help noticing that Ashida's tone had already placed himself outside the category of humanity.

"And so the war began."

Ashida slowly rose to his feet, the energy orb in his left hand still spinning.

"However, perhaps that too was coincidence."

"We lost."

We lost.

And I can only hide in this sunless doghole, running this worthless Blood Bottle Gang.

Waiting for that faint, humble hope.

Even every step, every movement, every breath—must be taken with the utmost care.

Ashida lowered his head in desolation, raised his right hand, and without even looking at Tales in the air, clenched it hard.

Boom!

Every joint in Tales's body began to crackle. It felt as though something had crushed his eardrums, and the blood throughout his body surged violently!

Was this what it meant to kill with a smile?

Was I going to be crushed to death?

Tales thought hopelessly. His mind was no longer clear.

Like crushing an ant?

The wound on his forehead that Ashida had sealed suddenly burst open again, spraying blood.

So this was a Magic User?

Truly...

As death approached, Tales caught sight of Ashida's left hand from the corner of his eye.

A blue orb spun between the man's fingers, as though an endless storm churned within it.

The wound on Tales's chest, burned by a silver coin, suddenly began to sear. Every muscle in his body seemed to catch fire.

Hotter and hotter.

Burning more and more fiercely.

"That's why we Magic Users, along with magic energy, became taboos—hiding everywhere and barely surviving, like rats in the gutter."

As Ashida spoke his final sentence, he frowned almost imperceptibly.

His final words should have been accompanied by his target's death.

Has my control weakened? The Magic User did not dwell on it. Expressionless, he clenched his right hand again.

Yet at that moment, amid the burning illusion, Tales felt a flicker of pleasure. Even the pain of being squeezed by the air seemed to lessen.

He realized he could speak again.

Tales struggled to open his mouth and looked at the energy orb in Ashida's hand.

I hate it most

when bastards show off

while holding a ball.

"Fuck your magic energy."

Tales heard himself say it.

Then, heat surged out from within him.

A look of surprise appeared in Ashida's eyes.

The dark Chess and Card Room suddenly filled with red light from nowhere.

Ashida looked around in shock, but then he found the source of the red light and lowered his gaze to his left hand.

There, within that blue energy orb, a thread of red light emerged.

It began corroding the blue storm within!

A thread.

A speck.

A line.

A surface.

The red light spread.

Until it consumed the entire energy orb.

"No! This is—this is—" Ashida murmured, as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable sight.

The translucent energy orb in Ashida's hand suddenly stopped spinning.

Then the red energy orb vanished from his left hand.

The Air Elementalist suddenly raised his head and looked at Tales in midair.

There, a Red Energy Orb floated silently before Tales's right hand.

Excitement appeared in Ashida's eyes.

"You are—"

But before the Magic User could finish, Tales felt as though the world had shattered.

"Boom!"

The energy orb exploded!

Invisible energy surged out from within!

Transforming into overwhelming force.

If the cellar of the Chess and Card Room was like a balloon, then it was as if that balloon had been forcibly burst from the inside!

Doors, windows, glass, chessboards, candles—everything was blasted away in an instant, then shattered!

The entire house, from its beams to its pillars, exploded apart!

"Rumble!"

Ashida was struck as though by a massive hammer and hurled backward! He smashed through a wall!

Tales was also flung away by the tremendous force, crashing hard into the ceiling, but the ceiling and walls immediately exploded apart as well!

But the force that had bound and crushed him was gone.

Along with his consciousness.

On a street.

"Rumble!"

Morris set down two Blood Bottle Gang members whom he had suffocated to death with his special ability, listening in astonishment to the explosion nearby.

The scale of that explosion...

It was at least a battle at the Extreme Realm!

Could it be Qinzha? Had Qinzha encountered the Air Elementalist?

No...

No!

Then Qinzha was as good as dead.

He thought bitterly.

The elites around Morris were equally uncertain and alarmed.

"Boss!"

The assassin Layok, covered in blood, darted over from the distance. His expression was caught between joy and worry as he panted:

"The Air Wall—"

"The Air Wall has disappeared!"