Victor had been awaiting this moment.

  From the top of the Nexus Tower, the highest point within the academy grounds, he stood with his arms behind his back. The sun had begun to dip below the horizon, casting a long shadow over the battlefield, while the sky above burned with the light of countless fiery spells. Yet his gaze remained fixed on a patch of sky where dozens of parachutes descended like petals from a steel blossom as they exploded near the enemy dirigibles.

  Letting the players face the Merlin family vanguard unit without any reinforcement from him had been intentional. He wanted to test how these players fared against enemies that were and could adapt quickly to their unconventional tactics. Even though the players’ side suffered immense casualties, they were able to take down most of the ground units, which showed how much they had grown in the past half a year or so.

  He had watched them grow from clueless players fumbling through spellbooks into tacticians who now wielded creativity like a weapon. They adapted, innovated, and most importantly, refused to break no matter the odds. That was something no other Magus force in this world could boast.

  And now, their chaos was his blade.

  He could feel the pressure emanating from the Nexus Temporal Magus aboard the enemy fleet… and the dozens of official Magi hidden within the dirigibles. Their mana signatures churned the air like storm currents, suffocating any lesser Magus.

  But Victor felt nothing. There was no fear and hesitation inside his heart, only clarity and determination.

  He closed his eyes for a moment and whispered to the wind, “It’s time.”

  In preparation for this confrontation, Victor had made a breakthrough and even created a one-of-a-kind Bet-tier and another spell tailored specifically to bring Alphonse down through the Spell Generator. He had calculated this exact moment: When the chaos of battle had reached its tipping point, when the enemy fleet was reeling from the unexpected airstrike… and when morale across both sides was teetering. He was determined to end this once and for all.

  With a thought, he activated his Master Shadowlink Mark, and a blue holographic screen appeared before his eyes. He then gave an instruction to an Asteriscus elder who had been awaiting his signal: “Begin with the plan.”

  The elder’s reply came at once, steady and resolute. “As you command.”

  Without another word, Victor shot into the sky like a blazing comet. The wind howled past him as he ascended, the battlefield stretching below him — flames crackled across the forest, dirigibles bled smoke as they crashed into the ground, and parachutes drifted like leaves in a storm. And above all else, looming ahead, was the Merlin family’s flagship — the Zephyros.

  Victor made no effort to mask his presence. There was no point in concealment when a Nexus Temporal Magus lurked aboard. So, he stopped midair a few hundred meters from the massive ship, letting his mana fluctuation be known by the other party.

  The moment he halted, a deep, thunderous voice boomed through the sky, amplified by magic.

  “Victor, you brat! You actually dare show yourself!”

  From the Merlin family’s flagship, Alphonse soared toward him — his crimson Magus robe fluttering, his face twisted in a mixture of triumph and fury.

  “You’ve grown bolder, I’ll give you that,” Alphonse said with contempt. “But not wiser. Showing here instead of hiding and escaping is beyond foolish. This—” he gestured to the shattered bastions and the fallen players “—is your end.”

  Victor just responded with a faint smile. “No, Alphonse. This is yours. You brought this on yourself.”

  That single sentence struck harder than any spell.

  Behind Alphonse, about a dozen flaming dirigibles were still reeling from the bombing assault. Smoke coiled upward from ruptured decks, and the cries of wounded mages and crew echoed faintly even from this height. The Merlin fleet — once a symbol of overwhelming superiority — now hung fractured in the sky.

  “You’ve lost many Magi,” Victor continued. “Your vanguard unit is broken, your mercenaries are scattered or dead. And your ships…” He glanced sideways. “Well, they won’t hold out much longer.”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  But this didn’t seem to shake Alphonse as he simply sneered. “Arrogant until the end. Do you think a few bombs and a mob of spell-hurling fools make you worthy of standing before me?”

  Victor noticed the flicker in his Shadowlink Mark and smiled knowingly.

  “No,” he replied slowly. “But this does.”

  With a flick of his wrist, Victor took out the artifact he had prepared for this moment from his interspatial ring. The combined Cosmic Rubik Pieces floated above his palm, exuding a powerful mana signature that couldn’t be compared to any superior-grade magic tools.

  “An incomplete magic artifact!” Alphonse’s eyes flashed with greed. “You brat… You actually possess something that powerful? That’s no ordinary magic artifact — it has traces of the ancient past! Hand it over. Now. I might even grant you a painless death in return.”

  Victor snickered. “A painless death? In your dreams.”

  “You don’t understand what you’re holding,” Alphonse snapped, his voice tight with urgency. “That magic artifact will only bring ruin in your hands.”

  Despite the absurdity of what he said, the Cosmic Rubik was indeed no ordinary magic artifact. It was a treasure of extraordinary power, one that could elevate any Magus into legend. Into a sovereign.

  Victor smiled faintly, letting the Cosmic Rubik shine brighter. “I understand exactly what it is. That’s why I’ll never let someone like you have it.”

  Mana began to gather around him in thick waves, distorting the air and causing the surrounding space to crack under pressure. For an Elemental Adept Magus to ascend into a Nexus Temporal Magus, they had to create a deep connection with the Primordial Nexus, and the surest path was through the use of a magic artifact like the one he held.

  Legends had it that in the ancient past, when humans were still weak and hunted like prey, not a single Elemental Adept Magus had ever advanced. It was only after generations of brutal loss, sacrifice, and relentless exploration that a desperate few uncovered the secret of how to forge the path forward. Through those discoveries, humanity rose to become the dominant race in the universe.

  Alphonse’s expression turned serious for the first time. “So you’re willing to use it… despite knowing the consequences.”

  Victor didn’t answer and let silence become his declaration.

  Around him, elemental particles and energy were swirling outward like a storm. The very air around Victor shimmered and cracked, resisting his presence.

  After forming his seventh sigils, Victor’s infused mana had grown significantly — both in quantity and quality. It could be said that he was an entirely different person now. Coupled with the Cosmic Rubik — even incomplete as it was — he could now confidently face a Nexus Temporal Magus.

  “Why does it feel like I’m facing an opponent of my equal?” Alphonse muttered with a frown.

  “Because you are.”

  A long beat passed before Alphonse’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “Brat! You’re not the only one with a magic artifact!”

  Alphonse took out the shattered blue crystal orb he had once wielded in their last battle. Though fractured, it pulsed with formidable power — its aura swelling until it matched the Cosmic Rubik’s intensity. The very air trembled, and the sky above them darkened as if the heavens themselves sensed the clash to come.

  Victor’s gaze sharpened as his expression turned serious. “Yours is just a broken magic artifact…”

  Alphonse sneered. “So what? It’s still enough to kill you. Now, die!”

  He raised his broken crystal orb and chanted, “{Frost Dominion}!”

  Immediately, the air condensed with unnatural force. A massive wave of freezing blizzard gushed outward in a dome, threatening to swallow Victor whole. The world turned white, and the cold was so sharp that it cracked stones and flash-froze birds mid-flight. It was a spell meant to assert total control of the aerial battlefield.

  But Victor didn’t stay to meet it head-on. He flew through the air, streaking toward the depths of the Thornwood Forest. Not because he was fleeing, but to keep the battle from destroying the academy. Only after he had flown several kilometers away did he slow down and stop mid-air. Even then, he began channeling an incantation and drew power from the sigil on his forehead before turning toward the incoming enemy.

  “Running already? Afraid of dragging your precious little academy into this?” Alphonse’s mocking voice appeared from behind as he closed the distance.

  “Me, afraid?” Victor chuckled coldly. “Shouldn’t you be more afraid about what happened to your dirigible fleet instead?”

  “You!” Alphonse’s voice spiked with rage, his face twisting in fury. “Don’t think I fell for one of your pathetic traps again! I even used a special Cosmo-elemental magic tool to ascertain that. There were no hidden magic formations or distortions in the subspace!”

  Victor's smile curled wide. “Who said it was a trap?”

  Indeed.

  There was a reason Victor had even bothered engaging Alphonse in conversation. He needed time to allow the Asteriscus family fleet to approach the academy undetected. Every word exchanged, every taunt delivered, had been part of that plan. And now, with the timing just right, he had lured Alphonse deep into the Thornwood Forest, far from the skies above the academy.

  By this point, the Asteriscus fleet should have already launched a surprise assault on the remnants of the Merlin fleet. With the element of surprise on their side, they would’ve inflicted heavy damage. Not to mention, the players’ relentless attacks hadn’t ceased even for a moment. Explosions and ambushes continued to disrupt enemy formations.

  Even if Alphonse tried to return now, it would take him time to reach the battlefield again, and Victor had no intention of allowing that.

  “Damn you, I’ll kill you!” Alphonse roared, his mana fluctuation exploding outward like a crimson tide.

  “As I said, less words, more actions.” Victor’s sigils flared to life, and a wave of infused mana coursed through his core like a bursting dam.

  With that, both Victor and Alphonse clashed in a battle of magic blitz.

  Volume 1 and

  Volume 2 and

  If you are looking for more to read, consider checking out my new series or join my server