Anti-Mage (End)

Therefore, falling alive into a mage's hands was absolutely more painful than dying.

Adam knew that these Underground Rats, whose magical standards mostly remained in Ancient Times, possessed bizarre methods that modern mages did not fully understand. They gave Clark no chance to get close and bound him again from afar.

Clark knew he had no hope of escaping. Instead, courage rose within him. Since he could neither flee nor win, he would make them pay the price. He resolved to find an opportunity to drag Adam down to hell with him, or leave a mark on Adam.

Just then, the apprentices from Bran Town appeared.

In Reili's eyes, Adam was a deserter. At the critical moment of life and death, he had abandoned Bran Town to survive like a coward. Now, seeing Adam appear to steal credit just as they had driven the Anti-Mage into a dead end, how could she possibly sit still? In an instant, she charged out of the Rune Barrier in grief and fury. Even the wind magic she had never mastered well before suddenly flowed through her effortlessly as she flew fiercely toward Adam.

"Stay away from him, you coward!"

Reili was so fast that Terry failed to react, and William and the others had no time to stop her. Still, aside from William, everyone present shared Reili's opinion. Adam simply did not look as though he had been through a battle. His clothes were still spotless, there was not a wound on him, and the only change was that the egg looked different.

Hearing her, Adam raised his head and glanced at Reili. He decided to ignore her and continued reinforcing the restraint. Under the control of his thoughts, telekinesis transformed into Chains that wrapped around Clark layer by layer.

Reili flew into a rage. She could not believe someone could be so shameless, nor could she understand why such a person deserved to possess such powerful strength. Before landing, she swung her wand and fired a Water Arrow at the ground. Her remaining reason kept her from attacking Adam directly, but a small warning was still acceptable.

He wouldn't dare kill me here. Otherwise, the academy would never let him off. Reili thought with certainty. She cast another spell, and the two spells struck the telekinesis Adam was maintaining in succession, nearly breaking it apart.

Clark revealed a savage grin. He knew his opportunity had come. In the instant the telekinesis wavered, he disregarded everything and summoned all his remaining power to regain his mobility, charging at Adam.

Adam's expression turned cold. There were many foolish people in the world, but as long as they did not obstruct him, he would not kill indiscriminately. Yet Reili's actions had already angered him. Adam condensed a fireball, intending to teach Reili a lesson.

However, before the fireball could fall upon Reili's head, Clark crushed a gray Crystal Ball and roared madly, "Die! Then accept the fury of the Om Family!" Next, a piercing shriek unlike anything a human could make burst from his mouth. Negative Energy erupted abnormally. Clark's body was broken down like a mosaic, his Mental Power and soul torn apart, while gray energy shockwaves spread indiscriminately outward from him.

"Stop!"

"Get away from there!"

Two shouts rang out one after another. The first came from William. Instinctively, he refused to believe Adam was a deserter. He would rather believe Adam had emerged unscathed from battle; otherwise, he could not get past the hurdle in his own heart, because it would mean his decision to follow Adam had been meaningless.

But if it was truly the latter, then Reili was in danger. Adam would absolutely show no mercy.

The second voice came with intense Mana Fluctuation. Gale-force winds formed a tornado and swept toward Reili and Adam. The one who acted was Black Mage, who had rushed nonstop from Mordo Tower to provide support.

With a mage's knowledge, he easily recognized Clark's magic system and understood the extent of the damage an apprentice cultivating Negative Energy Magic could inflict on ordinary apprentices through Self-Destruct.

He did not know who Reili was, nor did he care what happened to her. But Adam was his disciple, someone Krystal had personally begged him to save.

In the distance, Bran Town's already teetering Rune Barrier shattered. Fortunately, the Rune Barrier had blocked the attack for a moment. Dense runes surged around Black Mage, half his body elementalizing into an embodiment of air. He descended in an instant and blocked the Negative Energy Impact. Even so, the apprentices in Bran Town fell blankly to the ground, their eyes lifeless like Walking Corpses, their minds and souls filled with negative emotions.

Reili, being closest, suffered the direct impact. She could not even muster a trace of resistance. Bloody tears flowed from her eyes. At that moment, she felt that life was filled with despair, that only death could offer final release. The urge to kill herself became incomparably strong. Just as she was about to act on it, her soul could bear no more and shattered.

After saving Bran Town, Black Mage rushed toward Adam. He could not help recalling his disciple's words.

After receiving the Tower's orders, Black Mage had told Krystal about Adam. Krystal had begged Black Mage to save Adam no matter what. At the time, Black Mage had asked, "Do you like him?"

Romantic love was an intense emotion. Apprentices who had not endured the washing of years or undergone a transformation in their outlook could easily become trapped within it, wasting their years for nothing. Black Mage did not want this for his disciple, because once one advanced to become a Formal Mage, one would discover that love was merely a small embellishment in the long river of time, not worth keeping in one's heart.

Unexpectedly, Krystal's reply went beyond his expectations. "No, Teacher. Liking is too lowly. Adam transformed my heart. He let me understand truths that should have taken me a very long time to grasp. He is my goal. I want to surpass him. I do not want him to die like this."

Black Mage was gratified by his disciple's enlightenment. Listening to her, he could not help thinking of Wolaston—the companion from back then, whom he could now only look up to. It was also because of Wolaston that Black Mage, despite his poor aptitude, had been able to pursue the path of a mage so steadfastly.

Gray energy swallowed Adam. Black Mage knew this was the eruption of despair from tens of thousands of humans. Such a Negative Energy Impact was something a soul that had not been elevated and lacked Mage's Armor could never endure.

The Shockwave vanished in a flash. Adam still stood motionless where he was, holding the balloon, whose presence had suddenly become overwhelmingly strong, in his hand.

Clark's desperate One Strike had indeed been extraordinary. Part of the Negative Energy rushing toward Adam was absorbed by the balloon, while another part effectively entered his body. Logical Thinking worked frantically, consuming massive amounts of Mental Power and Computational Power before suppressing it all completely.

But Adam did not feel well. A strange, secretive energy could not be expelled, and it was continuously sending fluctuations to the Outside World. This was definitely not a good thing.

This time, the Negative Energy balloon failed to absorb everything. It had only dared to snatch a small portion that passed near it. Adam guessed this was because the purity and level of the Negative Energy exceeded its limit of consumption. Still, this seemed to be enough. The balloon was constantly expanding and contracting.

Adam raised his head and saw Black Mage. He greeted him in surprise, "It is a pleasure to see you, Respected Black Mage. What are you...?"

Black Mage's current appearance was astonishing. The elementalized portion of his body was rapidly transforming back into Mortal Body. His entire person absorbed the ether in the surrounding space like a vortex, and Airflow swirled around every gesture he made.

Black Mage did not answer Adam's question. Instead, he said gravely, "Death Mark."

Adam was stunned. "What is a Death Mark?"

"Before dying, that Anti-Mage Apprentice used his soul to curse you. Your existence has now been discovered. Any mage who cultivates the same Meditation Method as him will know that you are the murderer who killed him. Within a certain range, they can even clearly determine your location."

Adam was startled. This was a very troublesome matter. Clark had a family behind him, and Formal Mages behind him. If they truly stopped at nothing to kill Adam, it would not be impossible for them to take the risk of coming to Mage Continent.

The current Adam was absolutely no match for a Formal Mage, even one who cultivated Negative Energy Magic like the Anti-Mages.

Black Mage saw his concern and shook his head. "I have no good solution either. This kind of mark cannot be erased unless someone at the transcendent level acts, or unless it is neutralized through the soul transformation that comes with advancing to Formal Mage."

Adam fell silent for a moment. Since things had come to this, he could only accept it. Fortunately, he was still on Mage Continent, so he was safe for the time being.

Black Mage turned his gaze toward Adam's hand and asked, "A devil hatchling. Where did you get it?"

Adam suddenly understood. So this was not an Abyssal Creature egg, but the hatchling of another kind of Other Plane Creatures—a devil that specialized in harvesting souls. No wonder it could resist Negative Energy. No wonder it could devour tormented souls.

"This was a gift bestowed by Victor Mage. I originally thought it was an Abyssal Creature egg. I never expected..."

Devils were inferior to Abyssal Creatures in their use of energy, and their bodies were far weaker as well. But devils were lawful creatures. They followed contracts, acquiring souls to grow through dealings with intelligent beings from lower planes. They would strictly abide by the terms of a contract—of course, they would also leave behind many traps.

Black Mage did not doubt him. He only assumed Adam had survived because of the devil hatchling. But no matter what, Adam's survival was good news. Even setting Krystal aside, the Tower would not want such a genius to fall.

The two walked toward Bran Town. No one paid attention to Reili's miserable death. This was normal. Even if Reili had not died in the Self-Destruct, the academy would not have kept such a foolish apprentice.

Adam asked softly, "Respected Black Mage, I heard that Anti-Mages need human negative emotions and Soul Force to advance. But Clark already possessed such a quantity of Negative Energy. Why did he still come to Mage Continent and take such a desperate risk?"

After the battle ended, this was the question that troubled Adam most. This was absolutely not something that could be explained merely by Clark being stupid.

Black Mage glanced at Adam and explained, "The Negative Energy gathered in the Crystal Ball was collected by others, ..."