In a shadow at the northwest corner of the city, Ian was forced to reveal himself. The spatial wrinkles produced by Apparition were nowhere to hide under the omnipresent light.
"Found you," Set-Apep's voice echoed directly in Ian's mind.
Ian looked up and saw the evil god hovering directly above him, the shadow restraints on his perfect body being gradually burned away. More terrifyingly, the evaporated shadow energy seemed to be absorbed and transformed by the evil god — behind him, black lines began to appear on his light wings.
"Nice try, wizard." The evil god's voice returned to that eerily gentle tone, "Your unique magic indeed surprised me. Now, it belongs to me."
A shiver ran up Ian's spine. This evil god could not only be immune to magical attacks but also absorb and evolve from them, so he had to change his strategy.
Just watch.
Ian thrust his magic wand into the ground, forming complex hand gestures with both hands, and quickly chanting in Ancient Magic Rune. The earth began to tremble, and the waters of the nearby Nile River suddenly boiled.
A waterspout rose to the sky, transforming into a gigantic water snake in mid-air.
"Water Snake Summoning?"
Set-Apep seemed amused, "Using my own people's skills against me?"
The water snake opened its mouth to bite the evil god, but upon contact with the light wings, it vaporized into a mist. The evil god didn't even move; he merely flicked his finger, and countless ice crystals condensed within the mist, shooting at Ian like a rainstorm.
Ian swiftly waved his magic wand, producing a Secret Silver Shield in front of him. The ice crystals hit the shield with a dense barrage of explosive sounds, each impact rivaling a crossbow cannon. The shield quickly became riddled with holes, and an ice crystal penetrated the defense, drawing blood from Ian's left shoulder.
The intense pain made Ian's mind exceptionally clear. He realized that conventional magic couldn't hurt this being at all — Set-Apep had absorbed too many wizards' talents, nearly immune to all known magic.
He must use something the god hasn't seen before.
Ian suddenly sheathed his magic wand and pulled out a small crystal bottle from inside his cloak, filled with swirling silver liquid. Without hesitation, he drank the potion, instantly feeling magic rush through his veins — it was a Super Magic Power Enhancer he had refined using Moonlight Flower and Mandrake Root.
"Magic Resonance!" Ian gripped his wand with both hands, the tip pointing toward his own temple.
A visible wave of magic rippled from his body, causing the worshipping wizards to suddenly convulse — Ian was forcibly resonating with their magic cores.
"What are you doing?" Set-Apep showed a cautious expression for the first time.
"You absorbed their magic, but the magic connection remains." Ian's eyes shimmered with silver light, "Now, experience the magic backlash!"
Dozens of controlled wizards screamed simultaneously.
Their magic wands automatically flew into the air, forming a ring array. Each wand began releasing the magic its original owner was most skilled at — fireballs, lightning, poison mist — but all these spells were targeted at Set-Apep. The evil god had to raise his arms to construct a defense, his perfect face revealing strain for the first time.
Indeed, as a part he absorbed, it could inflict damage upon himself, because those absorbed spells turned against him, meaning he lost the knowledge of that section he once knew. Various magic exploded on the light wings, although failing to cause significant harm, it noticeably slowed his actions.
"Clever trick."
Set-Apep gritted his teeth.
"But do you think this will—"
His words abruptly stopped.
Because Ian had already seized the opportunity to prepare the next spell. His wand pointed toward a pyramid not far away and shouted aloud, "Ultimate Transformation Technique: Building Activation!"
The gigantic pyramid shook tremendously.
The surface stones wriggled and reorganized like living creatures, instantly transforming into a sphinx statue over a hundred meters tall. Unlike regular transformation techniques, the statue's eyes were embedded with two massive rubies, with its chest covered with Ancient Magic Rune.
"Ancient Guardian Magic?"
The evil god recognized those runes.
"Where did you learn this?"
His words received no response.
The statue opened its ruby eyes, shooting two blazing beams, simultaneously swinging its massive front paws at the evil god in the air. This attack differed distinctly from previous ones — the beams ionized even the air with crackling sounds. Set-Apep did not take it directly this time; he flashed his figure, dodging the attack at an unimaginable speed. As his light wings spread, he appeared above the sphinx statue, placing his hand on the runes on the statue's forehead.
"Spell Analysis," the evil god said softly.
A chilling scene unfolded — the marvelous statue began disintegrating rapidly from the point of contact, its runes extinguishing one by one, reverting to lifeless stones in a moment, collapsing into rubble. And on the light wings behind the evil god, yet another set of ancient magic rune patterns appeared.
"How many more tricks, wizard?" Set-Apep looked down at Ian with an amused tone akin to a cat playing with a mouse, "I'm greatly enjoying this process. Each of your attempts only makes me stronger."
Ian's breathing became ragged. Continuously casting High Tier Magic was beginning to exhaust his magic power. Even worse, the evil god was right — each failed attack seemed to be providing new strength to him. The entire city was already unrecognizable. The Nile River's water level dropped due to heat evaporation, several pyramids collapsed into ruins, and the stone slabs paving the streets had all melted.
The worshipping populace surprisingly remained unscathed, maintaining their devout postures, albeit their faces turning paper white — the evil god was extracting their life force to replenish his consumption.
"Give up, Ian Prince." Set-Apep slowly descended to the same height as Ian, "Look around. What is the point of your resistance other than causing more destruction?"
Ian glanced around, his heart clenched as if by an invisible hand. He realized, too, the evil god was right; the city was heading towards destruction under his "protection."
"Your magic can't save anyone."
The evil god continued, his voice sugary sweet, "But if you submit to me, I can restore everything. You will serve as my representative, guiding these lost souls towards the light."
Ian's vision blurred.
Not out of fear or despair, but from fury — pure, burning fury.
"You don't understand what light truly is."
Ian rasped, his magic wand emitting a creaking sound from his intense grip, "Light shouldn't rob people of the freedom to choose, or devour individual will."
"Your so-called 'light' is merely another form of darkness!" Despite some attempts to sway Ian's mind, he remained steadfast, knowing he was doing what was right.
Set-Apep sighed, his expression akin to facing a stubborn child. "Poor little wizard. You are fixated on the illusory concept of 'self.'"
He spread his arms, the light wings behind him expanding to their fullest, "Without 'I', there is no suffering. Without 'you', there's no conflict. Only when all souls are united is there true bliss."
With his words, a powerful mental wave swept across. Ian felt the edges of his consciousness begin to blur, memories flowing away like retreating tides.
He saw himself on his first day at Hogwarts, the dormitory in Gryffindor Tower, the dust in the library's Forbidden Book Area... these precious memories were being tugged by some force.
Trying to strip them from his mind.
"No!" Ian bit down on his tongue, the pain temporarily keeping him awake. He fixed his gaze on the evil god's perfect face and suddenly discovered a terrifying truth — on that face, he saw countless familiar faces alternating. Those devoured wizards, their features subtly reappearing on the evil god's face.
"I understand now..." Ian panted, then laughed, "You're not a god at all. You're merely a pathetic amalgam, a monster who can't even remember your own real face!"
Set-Apep's expression froze.
A trace of savagery flashed beneath his perfect visage.
"What did you say?"
This was clearly a hit to his defense.
"I said you're a fraud! Even deceiving yourself!"
Ian shouted, his magic wand pointing straight at the evil god.
"Your so-called 'unity of all beings' is merely because you don't even know who you truly are! You've consumed so many souls, and now you can't distinguish which parts are yours and which are others'!"
These words held great power.
The light wings behind the evil god trembled violently, the absorbed faces began to emit silent screams. The entire city's sky flickered like a faulty light bulb.