The clouds above the city had been completely pierced by the explosion, leaving an enormous hole in the sky. On the ground, a gigantic crater had also formed across half the city.
After all, withstanding an attack equivalent to the power of a Circle Nine mage was extremely difficult, even for a world with such high resistance. The mages had to exert themselves to the utmost to withstand an offensive of that level. Precisely for that reason, although someone at Circle Nine could still destroy the world, they would need to concentrate all their power into a single attack and strike specific points. Furthermore, they would have to repeat this process five times.
[This is truly unbelievable... This world had to multiply its magical and physical resistance thirty-two times to withstand these attacks. These guys are reaching the level of a God.]
While the System made that observation, Vaen's skin began to crumble. He looked at his own hands, feeling something new emerge in his heart. After all, this had been the day of his birth, at least until he returned inside Enrico and completely merged with his memories.
At first, all he felt was absolute hatred toward Jago. He wanted to kill him at any cost and was willing to give everything he had to accomplish that. Now, however, an immense frustration burned in his chest. Something about that situation felt familiar to him, as though it had happened before. The difference was that this time, he believed he had a real chance of killing his enemy.
"Next time... will be the last... I... promise."
His body completely crumbled, causing Enrico to return to his normal form. He fell to the ground unconscious, while Lira, who was a little farther away, was the first to find him. She had been watching him for quite some time, even though her Third Eye was constantly being destroyed by the monstrous battle that had just taken place.
'I never thought you would be like me... No, actually, you're even more complete. Apparently, you weren't just an experiment to make you stronger.'
Lira grabbed Enrico by the arm and placed one of his arms over her own shoulders. Then, she began taking him somewhere else, making sure the others wouldn't discover that he was half Nartheis.
Using her magic, one of her eyes turned completely black, while the pupil took on a red coloration, with small black wings at its center. The next instant, she disappeared from that region.
Meanwhile, somewhere else...
"We managed to protect all the mages and civilians. That's good."
Hao had created a protective barrier around the civilians and mages that the Nartheis had taken out of the city. The explosion had been so enormous that, without that protection, everyone would have been hit.
The situation had only failed to become even worse because Xuelan had managed to contain the advance of the destruction, creating a safe zone beyond the explosion's radius, which exceeded ten thousand kilometers.
Renzou, in turn, had used his magic to protect the neighboring cities, while the other Kings, Virelle, and Angela joined Sofia in defending what remained of her kingdom, combining their own magic to reinforce the protection of the region.
'Even so, there were still many deaths. We lost people who could have helped us in the future.'
As time went by, they continued losing more promising mages and knights. Hao brushed his clothes several times to remove the dust and then created several barriers with eyes, sending them to different locations.
"I need to find out where that Nartheis is."
It took no more than a second for him to receive information from everyone who had been in that destroyed city. However, since he couldn't find the Nartheis anywhere, he let out a disappointed sigh.
"Damn... Looks like he left."
"Who left, Director?"
"The Nartheis who helped us."
Virelle approached, massaging her shoulders as she tried to relieve the accumulated tension. That attack had been so destructive that she had needed to expend a considerable portion of her strength to withstand its effects.
"Since you've sent out those observation barriers, tell me: are my students and my disciple all right?"
"Haha! Honestly, I'm no longer surprised by how much you worry about them... Well, you can relax. Everyone is fine. I can see that Lira is carrying Enrico to the left, where the healers are."
The two women seemed relieved.
"Great. Angela, let's go there so you can heal him."
"Of course, Lady Virelle."
After thanking him, the two began flying in the direction Enrico was. At the speed they were moving, it wouldn't even take them a second to reach their destination.
"It seems they consider him someone very important in their lives. Well, that makes sense. After all, potential like that shouldn't be wasted."
"Potential? It seems you've taken an interest in someone, Director. That makes me curious, but the most important thing now is to ask what happened to my sister's kingdom."
Surprised, Hao turned around and found one of the seven Circle Nine mages from the continent, who had left to train outside that world: Marzello Sforzare, sister of Sofia Sforzare, the Queen of Vesparello.
'Looks like I'll have quite a lot to explain. Otherwise, he'll get irritated.'
In various places, people were crying over the deaths of their companions, friends, and family members. Valença and Kai watched the scene with saddened expressions, especially upon noticing that Serenya was farther away, staring wide-eyed at Caelan's body, while Elian covered his face with his hands, crying.
Kai and Valença were deeply shaken. Caelan had become an important friend to both of them, and seeing him lose his life that way was difficult to accept. Farther ahead, their eyes also found Narisse, who was sitting on the ground with an expression of deep frustration, silently watching Grark's body.
"How many students died?"
"At least ten."
Their frustration mainly came from their inability to find their friends in time to help them. That feeling of helplessness weighed heavily on their hearts, especially when they imagined how Enrico must be feeling. After all, Caelan had been one of his closest friends.
"I have to find my Ketsumei."
"I'll go with you. We can't just sit around waiting to find out whether my master is injured after fighting something like that."
Upon seeing Rina and Yumeha leaving, Valença decided to follow them. Seraphina also quickly went after them, following the girls with a thoughtful expression, although some irritation was still noticeable on her face. Aoi walked beside her, but behind that mask, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Kai, on the other hand, was disappointed in himself for having wasted so much time fighting that man who had appeared before him.
'If I were stronger, perhaps I could have defeated him more easily and saved more people. Maybe Caelan would still be alive... I need to help Enrico recover.'
Determined to do something, Kai also went after the girls. Along the way, he realized that he wasn't the only one dissatisfied with his performance. Liang also seemed to have fought someone and wore an irritated expression. It was possible to see in his eyes just how much he wanted to become stronger. Kai felt the same way.
'I lost to that guy again...'
Liang was thinking about the man who used illusions. He had faced that individual for a second time, but apparently, during the competition, his opponent had been holding back. In that second battle, Liang had been defeated with extreme ease.
"I swear I'll pay him back for this humiliation."
Lamia, who had observed the entire conversation between the girls, decided to follow them from a distance, not wanting to get in their way. After all, they were going through a period of mourning.
'I'll try talking to Enrico later.'
The following day, a funeral would be held in honor of everyone who had lost their lives during the tragedy. In addition, the Throne of Runes was officially canceled.
However, somewhere else, several people covered in shadows were gathered around a dark table, discussing the potential of the students from Astrong Academy, which had proven to be far greater than they had imagined.
"Very well. It's decided. Tomorrow, we'll place a barrier around that academy and turn it into the Nartheis Hell."
"Yes, Great Lord."
The seven men stood up and bowed before leaving the place. The man who remained seated in the chair, meanwhile, watched several battles from the Throne of Runes competition. Those were the only recordings that had been preserved from the previous day.
'It seems I'll have to bring my plans forward... So be it. None of them will survive in that academy tomorrow.'