Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2176: Pure Horror

The Gala descended into pure bedlam.

Chaos, slaughter, and death surrounded them.

Mana projectiles flew overhead, illuminating the night sky with flashes of brilliant light. Blades clashed, metal sparked, and spells wrought destruction across the clearing.

The ground and the trees crumbled under the relentless bombardment, while screams of agony and desperation filled the air.

Adam had initially believed that his barrier would buy him enough time to come up with an escape plan. He had reinforced it with multiple layers of interlocking formulas, confident that even a Transcendent would need time to break through it.

And he had been right. Unfortunately, there were enemies far stronger than Transcendents prowling the island tonight.

And one such enemy had finally taken notice of him and Genevieve.

Adam felt a chill run down his spine, the deaths of Channing and his family still fresh in his mind.

A terrifying aura descended upon him and Genevieve, overwhelming everything else. The ground around them trembled, and even the air seemed to grow heavier under the sheer pressure.

Adam turned to the source of the danger.

Standing in the distance was a hunched, elderly figure with a sinister smile.

A Saint Magus!

Adam had to take the flow of battle back into his hands. Staying on the back foot meant dying. With no escape, the only option was to fight.

"Watch my back!" he roared to Genevieve, who finally snapped out of her daze from having witnessed the deaths of her loved ones.

Tears streaming down her eyes, she nocked an arrow and secured the vicinity.

Adam tossed a glowing amber fragment into the air. His hands blurred in seals. Then he brought his hands together, resulting in a thunderous clap. The material component dissolved between his palms.

[Piercing Light]

A beam of light erupted from the tip of Adam’s finger and shot straight toward the enemy.

The Saint Magus was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected the little fellow to attack him first despite knowing the sheer strength gap between them.

Then, he found it amusing.

Does this brat think he can hurt him? The Saint Magus couldn’t help but think.

He cast his spell leisurely, and a translucent barrier materialized before him.

Boom!

The [Piercing Light] struck the barrier, unleashing a blinding flash that illuminated the surrounding area. For a brief moment, the Saint’s vision was flooded with white light, while the impact hardly created the faintest ripples across the surface of his barrier.

However, the Rank 2 spell was simply incapable of penetrating his Rank 4 defense.

The Saint Magus remained completely unharmed. He let out a sneer. Such a feeble attack was hardly worth his attention.

But when the light faded, his smile froze.

Adam was gone. So was Genevieve.

The Saint Magus glanced at the spot where they had stood earlier. Then he realized that he had been tricked.

Before his anger and frustration could even claim him, his attention was completely drawn toward another enemy—a Saint Paladin who still fought despite being poisoned.

***

Adam and Genevieve ran through the chaos.

Or rather, they ran to the best of their abilities through the packed, blood-soaked crowd.

Screams echoed all around them. Spells exploded overhead, and bodies littered the ground beneath their feet. The stench of blood filled the air, but neither of them had the luxury of stopping to catch their breath.

Genevieve nocked one arrow after another, drawing her bow and shooting at the distant enemies. Each arrow found its target, forcing the attackers to divert their attention or risk being struck down.

She buried the memory of Professor Channing and his family exploding in a shower of blood at the back of her mind. She wept in her heart. But she needed to survive this ordeal first.

The strain was beginning to take its toll. Her fingers were already cracked and bloodied from repeatedly drawing the bowstring. Yet she gritted her teeth and continued shooting.

Adam, meanwhile, weaved around her with Viper in hand. His figure was a blur. The only thing letting her know he was close by was the echo of his strange laughter.

Whenever an enemy dared approach them, he met them head-on. His blade flashed, cutting down anyone who came too close. Even when distant enemies launched spells toward them, Adam swiftly intercepted the attacks with the Viper, deflecting or destroying them before they could reach Genevieve.

They had no time to rest. Not when death lurked at every corner.

But in a battlefield where enemies far stronger than the two of them roamed freely, there was only so far they could go.

Adam felt it before he saw it.

A terrifying presence was approaching them.

A Transcendent? A Saint? He didn’t know. He had no time to find out.

His body moved on its own. Before he could even think, Adam stepped in front of Genevieve, shielding her with his own body.

Then, an enormous figure appeared before them.

It was a hulking warrior clad in full armor, with a pair of horns protruding from his helmet. His massive frame towered over Adam, and his sudden appearance was almost ghostlike.

There was no warning. No time to react.

The Paladin swung his war hammer as a deafening bellow escaped his mouth.

Adam raised both arms to block the incoming blow.

It was futile.

CRACK!

The hammer shattered his arms, tore through his guard, and slammed into his head with the weight of a mountain.

The entire right side of Adam’s face caved in. His neck nearly tore apart under the tremendous impact, and blood and bone fragments exploded into the air.

Yet he had succeeded in one thing. He had protected Genevieve from the direct impact.

Even so, the force of the blow sent both of them flying into the distance. Their bodies hurtled through the air, blood spraying behind them as they crashed through people, tables, and corpses.

The armored Paladin didn’t even spare them a glance. He simply turned around and continued toward the remaining guests, his war hammer raised once more. Another group of victims awaited their slaughter.

Genevieve nearly lost consciousness.

Despite Adam shielding her from the blow, her entire body ached. Her head was spinning, and her vision blurred as she struggled to regain her senses.

When she came to, she found herself lying among a pile of corpses, surrounded by blood and broken bodies. The sounds of battle still echoed all around her, but for a moment, she could barely make sense of anything.

Then she saw him.

A few steps away, Adam lay on the blood-soaked ground. The right side of his head had been completely shattered and caved in. His limbs twitched and curled inward like a dying spider. His body convulsed, and his life slowly slipped away.

"No, no, no, no..." Genevieve’s mind went blank.

Pure horror seized her heart as she watched her lover die before her eyes.

She crawled toward him, ignoring the pain coursing through her body. Her fingers dug into the bloody ground as she desperately dragged herself forward.

Just as she was about to reach him, another figure appeared.

A Paladin dressed in a waiter’s uniform crouched beside Adam’s broken body, a dagger in his hand and a cruel smile on his face.

Genevieve’s blood ran cold. "No..."

The waiter glanced at her as he clutched a handful of Adam’s hair.

Then the Paladin looked straight into Genevieve’s horrified eyes and began sawing Adam’s neck.