It has to be said.
This was definitely a tough battle.
After nearly half an hour of fierce fighting, the two finally found the monster's weakness. Saruman used a skillful spell to restrain it, Karg seized the opportunity to strike with all his might, his battle axe cleaving deep into the monster's chest.
The monster let out a piercing scream.
There was certainly a hint of relief in that voice.
After all, perhaps to the former Star Speaker, he was also a true idealist with Wizard's Heart, no different from Saruman and Karg.
he.
It's highly likely that it was after entering this ruin that it gradually became corrupted by the distortions of this place, turning into its current inhuman and ghostly state.
The thirst for and obsession with knowledge have even become distorted. And now, Saruman is actually going through such a process; his overly fanatical obsession is a result of the influence of this place.
It's hard to say.
If Saruman is trapped in this place for a longer period of time, will he become the next Star Speaker, yet another lackey and servant of the evil god sleeping in this place?
Saruman was well aware of this, so when he saw the Star Speaker fall, he felt a sense of empathy, like a rabbit being killed after its hunt is over. The other party's fate served as the most profound warning to him.
We have to get out.
We must escape this place.
Otherwise.
Saruman dared not even imagine what he would become.
"Thank you," the Star Speaker said with his last breath. "Finally, I'm free. But alas, I can no longer attain eternal peace."
In the instant it fell, Saruman saw its eyes regain a brief clarity—eyes belonging to an intelligent being, filled with pain and regret.
To be fair, perhaps neither Saruman nor this Star Speaker realized that the pollution had penetrated deep into the soul, and that death was sometimes not the end.
Instead, it's a deeper kind of pain. There's no way around it; some things, once you're tainted by them, are like Maggot of Bone, and no amount of regret will help.
"It's free," Saruman said softly, a mix of emotions welling up inside him. He truly believed that after the Star Speaker's death, his soul could finally be released and go to the Misty Illusion.
However.
Is that really the case?
In this era, nobody knows.
Beyond the void layer constructed by Mahoutokoro, time seemed to stand still. The Blind Wizard and the Black Robe Wizard were always there, but in this presentation of memory, they seemed to exist on another layer.
The Blind Wizard stood at the edge of the layers, his empty eye sockets gazing into the unseen depths, his withered fingers trembling slightly, as if he had touched some unspeakable truth.
He sighed softly, a sigh as heavy as the wind passing through ruins, carrying the weight of a thousand years of accumulated dust. The Black Robed Woman stood beside him, his hood pulled low, his face hidden in shadow. He heard the Wizard's sigh and followed with an almost silent sigh—an acknowledgment of the inability to change Destiny.
It is a complete rejection of the illusion of so-called "liberation".
Under the illumination of this memory magic.
The Star Speaker firmly believed that death was the soul's journey to the stars, while Saruman viewed it as the ultimate freedom from the shackles of the Mortal World. They, following common sense, depicted the end as a tranquil harbor.
However.
The situation couldn't possibly be that simple.
Saruman and the Black Robed Woman, a thousand years later, both knew this: for lives corrupted by that unspeakable creature, death was not the end, but a deeper imprisonment.
The Blind Wizard could no longer see the world, yet he "saw" this truth more clearly than anyone else. His sigh was not one of sorrow, but of compassion—for those souls who still believed they could find peace after death. The Black Robed Woman remained silent, but his sigh said it all; they all knew what the end would be.
Death is not liberation, but merely a change in the form of existence—as part of the monster, never to return to the human world, nor to truly die.
The magic of memory continues.
With the Star Speaker's passing, Star Speaker wand also turned to dust—it was a sacred object that had been corrupted to begin with, and now that its master had been killed, it naturally shattered as well.
There were no spoils of war.
and.
The victory in the battle did not bring joy either.
"Get out of here! Get out of this hellhole!" Saruman and Karg were exhausted after defeating the Star Speaker. Saruman's Magic Power was almost depleted, while Karg's right arm was severely injured, and his battle axe was now just scrap metal. They supported each other as they continued along the corridor, hoping to find a way out.
Because of their injuries and the presence of a mutated teammate, the squad was in dire straits. Every step they took felt incredibly heavy, and the air in the corridor seemed to freeze.
It carried a suffocating sense of oppression.
Karg leaned against the wall with his uninjured left hand, each step leaving a bloody trail on the stone floor. "My right arm doesn't feel right. Those black lines are spreading."
"We must be careful," Saruman said breathlessly, realizing a problem. " The Star Speaker are certainly not the only powerful ones here."
"I can sense that there are even more terrifying beings lurking in the shadows, watching us."
This is definitely not a random guess.
Rather, it was Saruman's conclusion based on his own understanding and knowledge of the situation. There was definitely something outside spreading rumors that there was treasure in this place.
And they were certainly not the only ones deceived by such rumors. Before coming to this place, Saruman had researched and found that many adventurers had visited it.
He had initially thought that the adventurers were simply outmatched and had been defeated, but now he realized that all the adventurers might be trapped here.
Then, it gradually transformed into that terrifying monster, that deformed creature.
His premonition was well-founded.
No.
As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the corridor suddenly became dry and scorching.
The glowing moss on the wall began to wither, and in its place, fine grains of sand seeped out from the void, swirling and dancing in the air, making tiny crackling sounds.
The temperature rose sharply, making even breathing difficult.
The air was filled with the dry, hot smell unique to the desert.
"This is... sandstorm magic! Very few people in all of Africa know this kind of magic!" Saruman's expression changed drastically. "Could it be that person?!"
He was clearly thinking of a certain renowned Wizard had recently disappeared without a trace.
From the swirling sandstorm, a figure slowly materialized. He wore an ancient desert robe, a golden crown, and held a scepter inlaid with a sun gem. Although his body was partially sand-like, and his skin had the texture of sand grains, his distinctive attire was still recognizable.
It was Saladin the Sandstorm Sorcerer King, the Legendary Wizard unified the desert tribes a century ago!
" Saladin the Sandstorm Sorcerer King!" Karg exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief. " The Legendary Wizard who unified the desert tribes a hundred years ago! Historical records state that he disappeared in a mysterious ritual a hundred years ago. How could he be here? Could it be that the mysterious ritual he performed was some kind of teleportation ritual?"
This discovery greatly alarmed him.
"Perhaps, it's the same situation as the Star Speaker's."
Saruman's eyes showed worry.
With a solemn tone.
"You!"
Saladin's eyes burned with golden flames, and his voice was like a desert storm, each syllable carrying the texture of sand rubbing against sand.
"Intruders will all become part of the desert."
This Wizard, who also became a servant of evil, was very decisive.
The scepter is waved.
Countless grains of sand coalesced into sharp blades, raining down on the two. These sand blades were not only incredibly sharp, but also contained scorching heat, distorting the air and emitting a hissing sound wherever they passed. Even more terrifying, these sand blades would automatically track their targets in mid-air, as if they possessed a life of their own.
"Damn it! Another Half-Step Legend!"
Saruman forced upon the Magic Power that had already been squeezed dry.
He gripped the wand with both hands and cast a double Protective Magic.
" Water Flow Barrier! Ice Shield!"
Two water-based Protective Magic were unleashed in front of him, colliding fiercely with the sand blades. The clash between water and sand generated a large amount of steam, which instantly filled the entire corridor.
"Leave!"
Saladin's magic didn't stop there. He waved his scepter again, and the sand on the ground began to flow, forming a huge whirlpool of quicksand. The powerful suction tried to drag the two of them into the abyss.
"Watch your step! Don't get caught!" Karg shouted, dragging his injured leg and leaping backward, while picking up pebbles from the ground with his left hand, trying to find a foothold.
Saruman hurriedly cast Levitation Charm, but discovered that the rules of gravity here had been altered.
Saladin let out a hoarse laugh, the sun gem on his scepter gleaming blindingly. "In my realm, everything must obey the laws of the desert!"
This guy was indeed a supreme and outstanding Wizard. Countless sand hands stretched out from the quicksand, each with a different shape, some like skeletons, others like the claws of wild beasts, trying to drag the two of them into the abyss.
"You have no idea what you're doing! The pollution is affecting your minds!" Saruman cast a series of Reductor Curse, his wand tracing a dazzling path through the air.
However.
The Hand of Sand shattered by him, but immediately reformed.
It seemed endless.
Saruman attempted to awaken the other party's will, but it did not have a very good effect.
"I'm perfectly fine! I've never felt this good! Even Legend are no match for me! You simply cannot comprehend the power I've already grasped!"
Like the Star Speaker, Saladin is obsessed with magic and power, so his mind is now controlled by corrupt knowledge.
Awakening is impossible; the other party has already fallen into demonic ways. It's also impossible for this guy to have truly gained power comparable to or capable of defeating Legend Legend.
This is a kind of arrogance, a self-perception as if one were trapped in an inner world; it's utter madness. If he were truly a being beyond Legend, Saruman would have no chance of fighting back. You must understand, before Legend, all Wizard who are not Legend are nothing but ants.
Legend.
It's no longer within the realm of humankind.
The gap between them and ordinary Wizard is like heaven and earth, an insurmountable chasm, and Ian can attest to this.
He could easily kill ordinary Wizard as easily as crushing ants. Therefore, this wizard king was certainly not Legend, and it was even questionable whether his strength had increased at all.
certainly.
Even without any significant improvement, and perhaps even a slight decline, dealing with a young Wizard like Saruman would still be a piece of cake.
"This won't do! His Magic Power is too tyrannical!" Saruman gritted his teeth, sweat trickling down his forehead. "We must break his domain!"
The other party has already entered the realm of magic, and perhaps even reached the threshold of Legend before arriving here, so how could he not feel pressured?
A tough battle to fight.
Saruman carefully observed Saladin's spellcasting pattern.
He noticed that the Witch King always stood in a specific spot where the sand grains were exceptionally dense, forming a unique magic circle.
Then, a flash of inspiration struck Saruman, and he understood the key. " Karg! Attack the sand pile beneath his feet! That's the core of his domain! He's not a true Legend after all!"
"Good!"
Karg immediately understood.
Despite his severely injured right arm, he picked up a boulder with his left hand and hurled it with all his might at the sand pile at Saladin's feet. At the same time, Saruman plunged his wand into the ground.
He unleashed his most proficient analytical magic.
" Return to Origin! The Law Reconstruction!"
The wand erupted with a seven-colored light, which, like living things, coiled around the sandstorm domain and began to dissect its magical structure. Two attacks struck their targets simultaneously. The boulder shattered the sand dunes, while the dissecting magic began to dismantle the magical structure of the sandstorm domain. Saladin roared in fury.
The surrounding sandstorm began to fluctuate erratically.
"Now!"
Saruman seized the opportunity, biting his finger and using his blood to draw ancient runes on his wand, unleashing his final killing blow. "In the name of the water god, summon the Purifying Rain!"
Many Ancient Magic spells were associated with deities.
Even the most brilliant Wizard will learn.
All I saw was...
As Saruman cast his spell, dark clouds suddenly appeared at the top of the corridor, and cool rain poured down. Water element is the most effective counter to sandstorm magic.
As the rain washed over him, the sandstorm quickly collapsed, and Saladin's body began to dissolve, with sand grains falling from his body.
You can't do this!
He had, after all, lost his identity as a human being. Having been in this place longer, he was even more corrupted and decadent than the Star Speaker.
Or, one could say, it no longer possesses any human identity. Of course, this could also be related to the fact that its human body has perished, and it can only exist as an element.
This also created his fatal weakness. The corruption brought to him by that indescribable being was not a blessing, so it would not provide him with much help in this regard.
You need to know.
Pollution is at best nothing more than the digestive fluid of an unidentifiable organism. Its existence merely makes the prey taste sweet, thus "pickled" it into a more palatable flavor.
certainly.
This is Ian's theory regarding Cthulhu Pollution.
Neither the young Saruman nor the old Saruman could have seen as clearly as Ian; such a profound explanation was beyond the capabilities of ordinary Wizard.
Unfortunately, Ian isn't here; Ian's still trapped in R'lyeh.
(End of this chapter)