Chapter 423
by post_apiChapter 423: Lacking Motivation
“Space gate… Have you truly mastered this magic? It’s truly unbelievable…”
After a moment’s pause, Merleau fixed his gaze intently on the fading transparent gate behind Magic Rainbow, his eyes reflecting profound disbelief.
“Indeed. While I cannot yet claim to wield it effortlessly, I’ve mastered it sufficiently to consider it a skill.”
Magic Rainbow offered a faint smile, her calm eyes meeting Merleau’s.
“Then, teacher, would you care to explain?”
What a grave miscalculation… My brief absence from the royal capital allowed such events to unfold.
The king was assassinated. Most princes and princesses perished. Guards and maidservants suffered heavy casualties. The palace lay in utter devastation.
Merleau, the former Chief Mage of the royal capital, was nominally my mentor from the human race and a formidable Class A expert… Had I deployed the Stealth Ant sisters stationed in the capital, they might have sustained losses. Moreover, their intervention could have exposed the ant tribe’s existence…
Had I not restrained them for these reasons, the palace wouldn’t have faced this catastrophe.
Yet perhaps this outcome serves us well…
No—before that, the foremost question remains… Why would Merleau commit such an act?
Based on nearly three years of observation, interaction, and investigation, betrayal seemed utterly unlike him… Especially before his departure from the kingdom… Wait—his departure?
Ah, yes. After relinquishing the Chief Mage position to me, he journeyed to the Eastern Deta Empire at a friend’s invitation…
The ant tribe maintains minimal outposts and numbers within the Deta Empire. Could it be…
…
Within seconds, tumultuous thoughts surged through Magic Rainbow’s mind, coalescing into tangible conjectures.
“Explain? There’s nothing to explain.”
The old man mirrored her smile, spreading his hands dismissively.
“Though the seed is sown and my primary objective achieved, I never anticipated your growth. In three short years, you’ve reached such heights. I sense tremendous power within you—and this tremor within me… Unthinkable, that a young lass could evoke such dread.”
“Should I fail to eliminate you now, neither shall the remaining royals be eradicated, nor my own escape assured.”
Merleau’s wrinkled face abruptly hardened, his smile vanishing as his gaze deepened.
“A profound pity. You remain the most accomplished disciple of my lifetime.”
He raised his wand, directing it toward Magic Rainbow.
“Regrettable… Then die!”
Shaking his head, the old man’s eyes flared wide, his hair and beard bristling as violent magical energies erupted around him.
Instantly, the ambient temperature soared. Those present felt as though plunged into blazing flames, the searing heat becoming unbearable…
He appeared to be conjuring a formidable spell.
“Die? My former mentor would never bid death upon his disciple.”
“The past is past! I acknowledge you now threaten me—but what of it? Every mage excels in their art, and fire magic reigns supreme in destruction. In this, my confidence remains unshaken!”
As his words faded, a searing flame materialized before his wand. It condensed rapidly, morphing into a white-hot flame spear that streaked toward the white-haired woman.
The heatwave lifted her hair, the scorching air drawing a slight frown.
“It seems the teacher has truly fallen. For a traitor to the kingdom, even if it’s the teacher, I will not hold back.”
Even in such a situation, Magic Rainbow’s words were still clearly heard by everyone present.
Third Princess Silvia’s eyes sparkled with admiration as she gazed at the beautiful woman who remained unruffled in the face of the powerful magic attack.
After three years of training, Silvia trusted Magic Rainbow completely and had no concern that she would be unable to handle Merleau’s attack.
And just as she believed, Magic Rainbow didn’t even retrieve her magic wand but merely waved her hand.
The next moment, a transparent Magic Shield materialized before the white-haired woman.
Boom!!!
The flame spear struck the Magic Shield with a deafening roar, sending countless wisps of white mist billowing upward.
“Hahaha, you fool! Facing my strongest attack, you didn’t dodge but took it head-on? How could I have taught such a foolish disciple? It seems I should retract my earlier words, hahaha…”
“The nuisances are gone; now it’s time to complete the remaining tasks.”
Merleau turned to look at everyone, including Third Princess Silvia, with a murderous gleam in his eyes.
“Wh… what happened, teacher!!” Stunned by Merleau’s confident words, Silvia felt a surge of panic and hastily shouted towards the area shrouded in white mist.
“It’s futile; no one can survive my strike and still—”
“Is this the strongest attack of a high-level Class A mage? It’s even weaker than I anticipated.”
Before Merleau could finish, a woman’s voice suddenly emerged from the white mist.
The voice made the old man freeze, then he showed an expression of utter disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.
“Teacher! I knew you couldn’t be defeated!”
Unlike the old man, Silvia’s face lit up with joy. In that instant, she shed her usual calm and composed demeanor, acting like a little girl, so thrilled she was nearly jumping for joy.
The mages and cavalry behind her also beamed with joy.
“Truly worthy of Lady Magic Rainbow! She actually managed to withstand such a terrifying strike!”
“If that strike had landed on us, we would have been reduced to ashes instantly.”
“Indeed, she’s incredibly strong…”
…
“N…no way, how… how could she take my strike! And, and she’s not even injured!”
Merleau’s lips trembled as he pointed at the white-haired woman slowly advancing toward him, instinctively stepping backward…
“‘Magic Transform Shield’—isn’t that the spell created by my teacher? Truly a powerful magic.”
Magic Rainbow chuckled softly; the flame spear hadn’t even touched a single strand of her hair or a corner of her garment before being blocked and dissolved by the Magic Transform Shield.
“Magic Transform Shield…”
Merleau was stunned, then his gaze shifted downward.
When he saw the ground beneath Magic Rainbow, the old man’s pupils contracted sharply.
The ground, centered around the white-haired woman, was cracked and scorched, turning into a wasteland spanning dozens of meters.
Did she use the ‘Magic Transform’ property of her skill ‘Magic Transform Shield’ to channel the flame spear’s energy into the ground? …But to achieve such a feat…
This is something even I, the creator of this magic, couldn’t accomplish…
Just what kind of monster is she?
The former kingdom’s Chief Mage, Merleau, felt despair for the first time.