Volume 1 Chapter 671
by post_apiChapter 671: Dungeon Battle and Psychological Suggestion
Despite the immense fear rooted in past psychological trauma that gripped his heart, for Philtes "Never-ending Night"…
The girl before him wasn’t undefeatable!
Though she emanated that dreadful aura…
To him, she remained fundamentally a "weakling"!
"Steady yourself… Philtes…"
"She’s merely a Superlative Level child wielding peculiar tricks!"
"The object in her hand appears to be an alchemical creation… With proper vigilance, it poses no threat!"
"My earlier setback stemmed from underestimation, not inferior strength… In raw power, I surpass her."
Philtes murmured these reassurances internally, forcing down his trepidation.
He rose gradually from the cold floor.
Kanor observed Philtes’ fluctuating expressions and momentary daze without pressing her advantage.
Only when the Great Sage stood fully upright did she smile and remark,
"Well then… Sir Great Sage of the Wizard Association, have you regained your composure?"
Her tone flowed with tranquil poise – a serenity that in this context radiated pure, unadulterated arrogance.
"Shall I grant you additional preparation time?"
Yet "Never-ending Night" Philtes felt no rising fury at this provocation.
Unlike others who dismissed Kanor as merely an eight-year-old girl…
Philtes knew all too well that despite his mental reassurances about current superiority…
Truth whispered that this child possessed every qualification to look down upon him.
She demanded his utmost seriousness as an adversary.
Still, Philtes wouldn’t yield verbal ground.
Brushing prison dust from his robes while enduring searing facial and spinal pain, he responded evenly:
"Unnecessary, milady."
"I concede my prior underestimation…"
"But never presume this grants you victory!"
"My ‘Holy Domain’ now envelops us…"
"Within this sanctified space, none beneath divine beings can rival me!"
As he spoke, the ambient magical energy intensified around him.
The cell’s starry-night domain shimmered, constellations rearranging themselves in cosmic dance.
Kanor perceived the gathering density of Star Spirit magic, its potency swelling like tidal forces.
She narrowed her eyes slightly…
Though she had anticipated that the restrictive divine spell array might prove ineffective against a Great Sage of this caliber.
After all, the constructors of this divine spell array were merely two demi-gods.
Yet even so, the sheer ineffectiveness against Philtes took Kanor slightly aback.
The "Great Sage’s" Holy Domain pulsed with abundant magical energy!
Whether stockpiled reserves or drawn from some font of inexhaustible power mattered not—
Philtes’ current limitations lay only in diminished skill potency and activation speed.
Her actual magical expenditure faced no constraints whatsoever.
Star Spirit Magic—the very specialty of "Never-ending Night’s" lineage!
Just as "Golden Leaf Weaving" excelled at nature spells, "Arioso" obsessed over arcane formations, and "Morning Star" practitioners embraced their eccentricities…
These were hereditary traits ingrained in their respective titles!
Upon the steps, Lalea observed Philtes with growing solemnity.
Though Kanor possessed remarkable strength…
This opponent remained a true demi-god!
However restricted, a demi-god’s essence remained untarnished!
"Can the child truly succeed?"
Clutching her scroll tighter, Lalea’s anxiety mounted.
Across the arena, Kanor’s lips curled into a feral grin.
"Now we’re getting somewhere… Punishing some loudmouthed fool holds no appeal…"
Her tongue darted across parched lips.
Her first confrontation with a demi-god…
No—her maiden battle against any foe beyond epic caliber!
Leaping past Legend and Holy Domain ranks to face this demi-god…
Had "Never-ending Night" Philtes proven mediocre, it would have…
Crushed all her expectations!!!
This was proper—a worthy trial of Master Lolth’s teachings, a victory over this Great Sage that she could proudly present to both mother and mentor as proof—
"Behold! I’ve become my own force!"
To vanquish the Wizard Association’s "Never-ending Night" Philtes within Heretic Tribunal dungeons, under the watchful eyes of Church of Light hierarchs…
Only such a feat could demonstrate her readiness to walk the solitary path of Itinerant Chef!
"Come then, ‘Never-ending Night’! Before settling your debt of arrogance…"
"Struggle with every fiber! Let your hubris accumulate worthier shards for crushing!!!"
As Kanor proclaimed this, Versatile Kitchenware’s quicksilver fluid engulfed her forearms, countless filaments erupting to weave a shimmering lattice—a challenger’s domain within Philtes’ Holy Domain!
Only a "realm" can oppose a "realm"—this ironclad truth governed their world.
Without possessing God’s Domain or Holy Domain… Lolth had demonstrated the method clearly, and Kanor grasped it perfectly.
One simply needed to construct their own!
Silver threads quivered as the turbulent magic essence controlled by Kanor permeated the air.
Just as Philtes had sensed…
This was magic essence in its most grotesquely chaotic form!
Elements, nature, Arcane, law-aligned energies, even the Star Spirit magic synonymous with "Never-ending Night" and obscure specialized magics…
This pandemonium of power clashed along the threads before being "splattered" across the domain.
To Philtes the Great Sage…
A single glance nearly made him retch!
As a classically-trained inheritor of the Great Sage legacy, he demanded utmost precision and artistry in magical composition.
The scene struck him like a master chef witnessing gutter slop poured into fine china.
And since his Holy Domain now enveloped them…
The filth had been dumped directly into his own banquet bowl!
Though battle hadn’t formally commenced, "Never-ending Night" Philtes already suffered psychic assault.
His earlier dread dissipated…
Replaced by scorching indignation.
"Defiler of magic’s sanctity!" Philtes trembled violently, teeth chattering with rage as he drew the lineage’s Sacred Tool from his robes. "Whoever you are—I’ll scourge this blasphemy from your bones!"
The artifact glowed—a gilded branch crowned with cerulean flames.
Though appearing as a simple wand, it combined two legendary relics:
"The Undying Azure Pyre" and "Boughs of Verity and Phantasm."
Kanor recognized them instantly—Patricia’s "Green Sky Star Heaven" rivaled these signature weapons carried by every "Never-ending Night."
Philtes swung the forearm-length branch, azure fire streaking comet trails through the air.
"Starlight, converge! Illuminate my wrath!"
"The spiritual world’s gate looms above—soulwinds howl through my being…"
"Oh constellations, unleash your splendor and grace!"
As he incanted, Kanor’s fingers danced across threads, weaving hundreds of simultaneous spells—an entire mage battalion springing to life.
The magical onslaught forced the chanting Great Sage back one pace.
Merely one pace.
On the golden-brilliant branches, Star Spirit Magic surged forth, causing space to blur for a brief instant…
The hundreds of low-level yet troublesome spells instantly dissipated mid-air.
"Reality and illusion… So this is the truth!"
Kanor immediately grasped the Sacred Tool’s fundamental principle.
This branch possessed peculiar properties capable of creating a transient portal to the spiritual world…
No wonder it was named "Reality and Illusion"!
No wonder the "Never-ending Night" lineage, masters of Star Spirit Magic, had preserved this Sacred Tool through generations.
Yet even this momentary obstruction…
Couldn’t delay Philtes from reaching the final verses of his incantation!
As a formally trained Great Sage, his chant-casting prowess remained unquestionably precise.
But…
After attaining Great Sage status, most spells require no vocalization!
Particularly…
Within one’s own Holy Domain!!
Thus, the spell Philtes now chanted…
Undoubtedly represented a Forbidden Spell Level magic beyond even his silent-casting capabilities.
For the concluding verses, his voice resonated with archaic diction:
"Et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt."
As the ancient words echoed, every glittering "star" within the Holy Domain intensified its radiance!
The dark voids between deepened into fathomless abysses.
Behind him, a starlight-forged fissure gradually yawned open, breaching the boundary between spiritual and material realms.
From this cosmic rift emerged a minuscule meteor that "passed through" Kanor’s physical form.
Kanor’s brow creased slightly.
Her soul bore imperceptible wounds – damage she could feel though not see.
Raising her gaze anew…
She beheld myriads of falling stars cascading toward her!
In that fleeting moment, she became infinitesimal within this boundless starscape!
"Truly… an impressive spell!"
Meanwhile elsewhere.
Contrasting her disciple’s perilous predicament, Lolth’s entrapment unfolded with the gradual lethality of simmering water.
Yet this slow crisis offered no more comfort.
"Subconscious influence, mental suggestions…"
In the void, Lolth sighed.
Her sense of self was simply too overpowering…
Combined with her inherently indolent disposition and the deeply ingrained thought patterns she’d developed over time.
Even for someone of her capabilities, implanting new "suggestions" into her own psyche proved challenging.
She could only resort to the most rudimentary method.
Perched within her mental realm, Lolth kept muttering under her breath the mantras she needed to internalize.
"Rule One: Never resist losing consciousness!"
"When encountering difficulties, prioritize self-induced unconsciousness!"
"My backpack contains sleeping pills, my backpack contains sleeping pills, my backpack contains sleeping pills!"
"Schoolyard slumber embodies life’s greatest pleasure, schoolyard slumber embodies life’s greatest pleasure, schoolyard slumber embodies life’s greatest pleasure!"
"Rule Two: Scrutinize all anomalies in names, appearances, or behaviors."
"Reconstruct their arrival timelines – focus on the details."
"Our institution hosts no foreign staff or students, our institution hosts no foreign staff or students, our institution hosts no foreign staff or students!"
"True humans lack elongated ears, caudal appendages, or keratinous protrusions, true humans lack elongated ears, caudal appendages, or keratinous protrusions!"
"Rule Three: Ultimate objective – escape this fabricated reality!"
"Environmental authenticity remains questionable, environmental authenticity remains questionable, environmental authenticity remains questionable!"
The crimson-haired girl drilled these principles through endless repetition.
The first axiom ensured multiple reentries to her conscious core, safeguarding against unforeseen variables in the shifting illusion while maintaining strategic flexibility.
Moreover, this sloth-friendly approach aligned perfectly with her natural tendencies… A failsafe mechanism, essentially.
The latter two rules constituted her gambit – that even within memory-altered illusions, some cognitive dissonance might spark revelation.
Though Xiletor had remained cryptic, Lolth’s accumulated experience suggested…
That personal recognition of the illusion’s artificiality could destabilize its fabric.
Uncertain whether this would bring liberation or complications…
But any perturbation counted as progress in her calculus!
After countless mental rehearsals, these skeptical mantras etched themselves into her psychic architecture.
With final preparations complete, she initiated conscious reintegration.
"Clang-clang-clang!"
The metallic class bell jolted Lolth from her desk, strands of saliva glistening on her sleeve.
"That nap… lasted eternity…"