Supreme Magus

Chapter 4551: Masters and Giants (Part 1)

The white whirlwind of energy absorbed Orion’s mana like a sponge until the bright violet of his aura blazed from the ground and roared against the lab’s high ceiling.

Orion gritted his teeth in effort as he released a steady flow of mana until all of Mogar’s will was purged from the vortex’s world energy and his energy signature saturated the anvils and crystals.

The eight external points of the circle and the one within lit the room with violet light to signal the process was over, and Orion pushed the whirlwind back, making it overlap perfectly with the Forgemastery circle.

Thanks to the special anvils and crystals, his energy signature now replaced Mogar’s will inside the flow of fresh world energy coming from below without the need for Orion to spend more mana or focus in the process.

Nonetheless, he kept the Living Forge spell active as he checked that everything inside the magical formation answered his will like an extension of his being.

’Order and Chaos!’ The Overlord’s eyes narrowed. ’If this spell is what I think it is, Orion has conjured for himself a very basic temporary tower. As long as the array holds, he can manipulate the world energy freely without making it flow through his body.

’It removes the risk of collapsing from mana abuse and gives him a mana output comparable to what Ripha’s original Hands can conjure. Unlike a tower, however, there is no amplification effect, and unlike the Hands, the set-up is much more volatile.

’Still, I would have never expected that a family of fake mages could create anything like this. Hell, I haven’t created anything like this for my Feathers.’ Envy and admiration burned in equal measure in the Overlord’s heart, but the latter rapidly eclipsed the former.

Just knowing that Living Forge existed was enough for Salaark to come up with a similar spell and improve it the longer she focused on the spell. The only thing her intellect was powerless against was the wound to her pride.

’It’s okay, Salaark.’ The Overlord told herself. ’You had almost as many teachers as students. You’ll get over this. Sooner or later.’

"I’m ready, Overlord." Orion dispelled Living Forge and gave Salaark the agreed signal. "You can cast Separation."

"This too?" The Mana Spring array took control of the energy vortex, freeing Orion from the mental burden of keeping Living Forge active while also ensuring the flow of the world energy answered to his will. "I mean, sure."

A wave of her hand enveloped Skywarp with tendrils of light and darkness.

The darkness attacked Skywarp’s crystals, Davross, and spell matrix in the attempt to tear them apart, while the light coated both matter and energy, protecting them from the black flood.

After a few seconds, the constant destruction and regeneration process slowly split the metal of the blade from the mana of its enchantments. With each cycle, the Davross’ and crystals’ hold over the pseudo cores, mana circulatory system, and mana pathways weakened.

The process became faster and faster until Orion and his assistants could follow it with their naked eyes. The darkness split matter from energy while light seeped in the cracks between them.

The light element repaired metal, crystals, and spell matrix while also coating them in an insulating layer that protected them from the ensuing waves of darkness element that were free to focus solely on the still-exposed parts.

After what seemed a little longer than a heartbeat, the Davross of Skywarp’s blades and haft lay lifeless on Orion’s Forge while the spell matrix that comprised the weapon’s pseudo-intelligence floated above the block of enchanted metal.

"Beware. Here comes Skywarp’s pain." Usually, Salaark snapped her fingers for something as simple as her Dismantle spell, but in respect for the artifact, this time she joined her hands as if she were praying.

The rune patterns disappeared from the Davross glaive and the elemental crystal fell off the haft as Jirni’s mana signature abandoned the enchanted metal. Skywarp’s essence had no mouth or body, only a swirling mass of energy.

Yet when Jirni’s energy signature abandoned Skywarp’s pseudo cores, it screamed. It screamed like someone whose dominant limb had been amputated without painkillers or explanations. It screamed like someone forced to watch the people they loved die a senseless death.

The violet vortex now echoed with Skywarp’s pain and anguish, making all the Forgemasters shed tears of guilt. They were reforging Skywarp for its own and Jirni’s good, but there was no way to explain it to the weapon.

’Good gods.’ Friya sniffled. ’I can’t believe I’m happy Dreadnought isn’t semi-sentient. It feels like we’re torturing a dog.’

’Be strong, my Little Rainbow.’ Orion said via their mind link. ’We’re not torturing Skywarp. We’re giving it new life, and the longer the process takes, the more unnecessary suffering it will have to endure.’

’I know, Dad.’ She replied, picking up the white mana crystal lying on the floor and splitting them among the five Forgemasters.

Orion focused his mana on the gemstone until it turned bright yellow. Morok was entrusted with the water crystal because he was naturally attuned to the water element, while Quylla was in charge of the earth crystal.

Nalrond’s affinity for the fire element as an Agni made his assignment as obvious as Friya’s. As the group’s only dimensional mage, her task was to conjure a dimensional crystal that would bring Skywarp’s spatial abilities to the next level.

’I can’t believe I finally got the opportunity to test the crystals’ sequence I learned in the Desert.’ Friya still remembered the fight between Tezka and Salaark vividly, and also the order with which the elemental crystals were aligned on Endless Night’s fuller.

’I should be proud of myself for this, but I can’t help but feel like a thief. I didn’t come up with this sequence just like I didn’t discover how to craft dimensional crystals on my own. This is all Master Tezka.’

Conjuring the first dimensional rune, Sekar, was much harder than shaping any other elemental crystal she knew how to Crystalsmith, but Friya had practiced long and hard enough to make it second nature.

If not for the doubts riddling her mind, she would have succeeded as fast as the others.

’It’s not stealing, child.’ Salaark’s voice echoed in Friya’s mind. ’The old fox taught you how to shape dimensional crystals because he wanted you to use them. As for the crystal sequence, he never cloaked or tried to hide it.

’It’s on clear display on his weapon, and Tezka was the one who insisted on bringing you to witness our spar. He wanted you to watch and learn from him. Besides, everyone here "steals" from other Forgemasters.

’Everything we know is built on the legacy of Ripha, Bytra, Tezka, the Rulers of the Flames, Magi, and so many others. Our horizons as mages are so wide, and we can look this far only because we stand on the shoulders of giants.

’With your every deed here and today, you’re not stealing from them. You’re honoring them. Make those arrogant, giant pricks proud, child.’ Salaark’s final thought carried all the envy of being one of the oldest beings alive on Mogar yet owning so much of her Forgemastering skills to others.