The gigantic Grim Reaper — which was an amalgamation of countless souls — raised its titanic scythe, which seemed large enough to cleave heaven neatly away from earth. With the fearsome aura of a world-splitter, it swung its blade down towards the Archmage.
This was not an attack aimed at the physical body; it was an attack aimed at the soul, and it could not be dodged, neither could it be blocked.
Whatever the Archmage did at this point would not have mattered. His only option seemed to channel all his energy into his own soul, in order to try and resist the attack. However, the meaning of the Demigod Lich’s previous words still echoed in the mind of the spectators: just how was a single soul supposed to shoulder the burden of countless others, all by itself?
The Archmage also seemed to acknowledge the severity of this particular forbidden spell. He released the white sphere that covered him, as though he had resigned himself to the fate being brought by that terrifying scythe. Suddenly, he grinned, and with levity, he cried out, “Ooh! Scary!”
His left hand made a few flicking motions, making him look like he was strumming the strings of a harp. The Book of Servitude exploded into motes of light that moved to hover around and surround the Archmage.
At that moment, the gigantic scythe had already reached the Archmage.
Its blade towered over him. Even the ultra-thin edge of the scythe looked insurmountable, due to the massive size of the Grim Reaper. In comparison, the Archmage looked like a little mouse at the verge of being turned into a meat pie, or as the Lich had said, his soul was on the verge of being completely annihilated.”
However, despite the gigantic’s scythe’s immense momentum, it was halted in its tracks by the glowing ribbons of light that were formed from the implosion of the Book of Servitude!
This ribbons of light were not only immaculate, but they were also thinner than a strand of hair, and yet it still blocked the scythe all the same!
“T-this… This is impossible!!!! No bloody person could possibly withstand the weight of these many lives! No one!” The Demigod Lich exclaimed at the sudden turn of events, which was the opposite of what he had predicted.
“Why should ‘I’ be the one to do that, though?” The Archmage — who was still hovering in midair, within his ring of light — replied, with a tone of pride. “Come on, have you already forgotten who I really am? Other than just being a sorcerer?”
The ribbons of light rushed from the beneath the scythe and rapidly coalesced atop the Archmage’s right hand. Golden rays of surged out from the merging light-ribbons, and then after a brief blinding moment, they had coalesced into a new form. Their new form was not a book; it was a quaint and elegant scepter!
The Sage-Emperor of the Magi was more than just a sorcerer; he was the most eminent Emperor. The Book of Servitude was the weapon he always wielded into personal battles, but when he ruled his empire from his throne, he ruled with his scepter!
“So what if you have endless souls? So what if they combined to form a burden that no one could possibly shoulder?” The Archmage retorted in a regal tone. “They are naught but the souls of mortals. And all mortals should do the same when they face their monarch. They should always—”
“—Submit!”
As soon as he had said that, the gigantic Grim Reaper began to shudder uncontrollably. Its scythe, which was still frozen in midair, suddenly began to disintegrate into wisps of green light; the wisps of green light was quickly absorbed by the Grim Reaper.
After absorbing the light, the Grim Reaper shuddered some more, then it bowed. It bent its head so low that its posture was reminiscent of a common man kneeling in submission at the feet of an emperor.
At this, all the Demigod Lich could do was watch. He was not wrong when he stated that no one could endure the burden of countless souls, including him. In order to cast that forbidden spell, which required all the souls in his Souls of the Enslaved staff, he had to relinquish his control over the souls; and now, he could only watch the amalgamation of his souls, the Grim Reaper, bow to their new their new ruler — their emperor.
“… I see. I understand now. This is your second Territory!” The Lich murmured helplessly as he raised his head, watching the scene unfold. “You are the great emperor who built the Rohlserlian empire through many conquests. The great emperor, who had countless people willingly submit whenever you reveal your presence. This Territory… is your birthright.”
“Just… Just a little bit more, and I could have… Ah, how regretful,” the Demigod Lich sighed, and he tossed his Souls of the Enslaved staff away in surrender. “But to be able to cross swords with a heavyweight such yourself, Sir, has been my honor.”
“Ahaha! Good fight. Good fight! I enjoyed myself, as well,” the Archmage replied in feigned humility.
The Lich Walker’s surrender brought an official end to the clash between Demigods, and the Archmage was the undisputed victor. He was, after all, the Sage-Emperor of the Magi, who had impeccable skills in two different fields. His ability to dextrously wield the power of Two Territories caused even the arrogant Lich Walker to bend his head in surrender.
As soon as the duel was over, Baiyi’s simulated battlefield shattered, and the spectators found themselves back in the pitch-black darkness of the Void. The Archmage, who had emerged victorious, let out a little breath of melancholy. “It was so nice to return to my former glory! Too bad it was so brief…”
Although it had seemed the battle lasted a long time, it really lasted only a few minutes, which was to be expected from a battle between titans. They had both started with simple offensive spells, in order to test the waters, then they proceeded to go all out, dishing their trump cards in the process, in order to win as quickly as possible.
This was a battle of power, for control. It was devoid of fancy looking techniques that dealt little to no damage, and it was not a battle where tirades about friendship or bonds would cause both opponents to stop fighting; tirades like those would never fly in a battle of this level.
The Archmage had used his ability to wield another Territory to over the Lich Walker’s trump card. Hence, when the Voidwalkers were returned to the Void, excited conversations broke out. The battle had left them wanting even more.
One of the snorting ” Piggies 1 ” in the Void, the Warrior Walker, poked Baiyi and cooly said, “Master sure is powerful, huh? I think a lot of people had really underestimated him. But you knew this would happen, right?”
‘You can’t possibly think he’s really just an excited old geezer who was excited to playing his grandson’s video game, right?’ Baiyi thought, feeling amused. However, she was right; he had deduced the outcome of the battle because he already knew all the techniques that the Archmage and the Lich Walker possessed. From the moment the battle began, the Lich Walker was at a disadvantage.
“Anyway, when did you begin to call him ‘Master’?” Baiyi asked, out of curiosity.
“Hmph!” The Warrior snorted and went silent, without gracing him with a reply.
For some reason, that moment was when the second Piggie, the Assassin Walker, decided to initiate a conversation with Baiyi; she poked him and quietly said, “Hey dum-dum! Master and Barfbones’ Territories were actually very awesome! What about yours? How’s it like?”
‘This… This is quite a difficult question to answer…’ Baiyi pondered for a while and truthfully replied, “I, er, actually don’t know. I don’t even know if I have one.”
“Huh? But why? Aren’t you a Demigod-level fighter as well? You aren’t faking that, are you?” The Assassin Walker asked, with traces of disappointment in her voice.
“Demigod? Well, it’s hard to say for sure, isn’t it? I don’t even know if I understand it… I mean, Territories are much different from other forms of powers, you know; it’s something that can’t even be explained accurately in academic theories. I can’t learn it through Memory Inheritance, so I have to find a way to realize my own Territory. To do so, I think I should — hey? Hey! Are you even listening?” Baiyi, who had only just started explaining, realized that the person he was talking had long since gone quiet, leaving him alone.
‘Uh. This woman is too stupid for an academic discussion.’ Baiyi lampooned her quietly, then he called out to the Archmage, who was chatting heartily about how awesome he had been. They had to begin the preparation for the Archmage’s descent to the real world.
“Aha! This is the time to enjoy the fruit of my victory!” He exclaimed excitedly, bidding the other Voidwalkers farewell before joining Baiyi privately to prepare.
As they were preparing, he poked the Fifth Walker quietly and spoke mysteriously, saying, “Actually… That second Territory I used… You do know that I could never do that again, right?”
“Because you no longer possess the Book of Servitude?” Baiyi whispered. To trigger his second Territory, the Archmage, naturally, needed an external medium, just as the Lich Walker needed the Souls of the Enslaved staff to initiate his own Territory. With the book lost in time, the Archmage would not be able to use those forbidden spells in reality.
However, the Archmage’s next reply was not something Baiyi had expected.
“Oh, the Book of Servitude is not the point! The problem is… I’m no longer an emperor.”
The Archmage said, with a little melancholy and a little relief.
“Um, I…” Baiyi was suddenly lost for words. He thought that his teacher would, once again, repeat the entire “heir to the throne” debacle to him. However, since that empire, which had once stood proudly, was no more, the “throne”…
“I know! I know… I know our Rohlserl is gone,” the Archmage said before Baiyi could reply. “But to everyone else and to us… As long as you’re still here, Rohlserl would never truly be gone.”
Baiyi fell silent. His sentiments had become complicated.
“The reason why I decided to use my second Territory to win was… well… I just wanted you to see… Ah, never mind that! Let us begin my ‘Six Realms Five Planes – The Divine Figure of Kurikara’! An old geezer like me is just dying to see daylight… I can’t wait!” The Archmage cut off his own words by himself.
They activated the Secret Technique, and the old militia plate armor set began to shudder slowly as the Archmage descended to the world. Then, the militia plate armor rose and looked at its leather gauntlet in fulfillment, and then it flexed a finger.
The Archmage sighed. “This familiar feeling… It feels so good…”
He wanted to take a stroll outside, but it was still the middle of the night; since everyone was still asleep, he could not frolic as much as he wanted.
Thus, the Archmage had to settle for less; instead of running around and creating shenanigans to humor himself, he began to walk around the Magus Lab…
After a small walk, he pulled up a stool and sat beside Baiyi, and then they both began to discuss academic questions concerning magical formations.
Something a Master and his apprentice would do.