CHAPTER 54: TRUTH REMAINS UNCHANGED

The mass of white flesh stopped writhing as the legendary mage’s physical reconstruction completed. This body was entirely pale with no bones or internal organs, wholly filled with white foamy flesh. On the right side were three deformed arms of varying thickness and two legs, and on the left side were three chaotically writhing tentacles and one leg with a webbed foot.

The head was a long, thick tentacle hanging from what would be the back of the skull, coiling around the torso and chest with the tip wrapped around the groin. The facial features were randomly distributed across the smooth head tentacle, disorderly, asymmetrical, and varying in size. What resembled a mouth nearly bisected the head, filled with two rows of dense teeth totaling in the hundreds, the gums exposed. No lips covered the teeth, and the mouth cavity contained no tongue; neither were there vocal cords or esophagus.

Standing two meters tall, the figure was humanoid to a certain degree.

Isabella’s expression tightened. One glance had sent waves of intense discomfort through her mind. After wandering the Astral Plane, the mad legendary mage had long become a source of corruption.

“The air of the Chosen Land is as filthy as ever...” The legendary mage opened his mouth, fixing his gaze on Isabella. “You’re a follower of the Church of Nature, aren’t you? How wonderful. I see my past self in you. I, too, was fascinated by life magic.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes. “Marshall Josh Summerfield, you were once a disciple of the goddess and a knight ennobled by the Windsor royal family, renowned within the church. But your obsession with life magic drove you to madness and ultimate destruction.”

“Marshall... Josh... Such familiar names,” the legendary mage murmured before bursting into laughter. “Names are shackles that restrain our thoughts, curses the gods imposed on us mages.”

“Hahaha, you think I’m mad? Is that the narrative the church came up with to intimidate you?”

“How ridiculous! They simply don’t understand that I’ve abandoned my name and escaped the curse. Now, I’m the Lord of the Void, my consciousness liberated and my self unrestricted by anything. I...”

“...Now know everything!”

The former legendary mage Marshall—now the Lord of the Void—raised his arms and tentacles. His laughter was sharp and piercing, imbued with corruptive mana that was pervasive and omnipresent, making Isabella blanch and tremble uncontrollably.

“So what if you know everything? You’re already mad.” She gritted her teeth to endure the corruption.

She was right. The Lord of the Void was indeed mad, and severely so. After his brief bout of nostalgia, he ignored her and turned to leave.

Wind blades swept toward the Lord of the Void’s back, followed immediately by flames, severing his tentacles and leaving charred marks. From the open wounds, white foam squirmed out and quickly regenerated the appendages.

The Lord of the Void turned around, his eerie eyes staring at Isabella. “You have great potential and decent talent. In the future, you’ll awaken your true self just like me. I don’t want to kill you, but I’ll happily do so if you insist.”

Isabella was drenched in sweat. Each exchange of words with the Lord of the Void threw her thoughts into further disarray. She tapped into her mana to forcibly suppress her discomfort. She said in the same icy tone, “If you were the legendary mage you once were, I wouldn’t dare to stand in your way. But your consciousness has rotted. You’re no longer the powerful mage enjoying all the glory.”

“Confident, are you? Very well. I’ll play.” The Lord of the Void flashed her a deranged grin. “Let me see how good today’s Silver-rank Mages are. Have the Church of Nature’s standards risen or fallen since my time?”

Without waiting for her response, he answered himself, “Must have fallen. Truth remains unchanged. There will only be more and more who awaken like me.”

The Lord of the Void raised his three arms and conjured a violent hurricane that swept across the entire area, laced with blades and needles. They were not only numerous, but also each strong enough to pierce gold and split rocks.

Isabella used up all the mana she had been gathering to summon a defensive barrier, forming an impregnable green shield. With a thunderous bang, the barrier shattered, and the storm dissipated. The wild shockwaves lifted her off her feet and slammed her to the wall behind her. Upon landing, her body bounced twice, as one would expect from her physique.

The legendary mage had gone mad, and his chaotic mind no longer remembered the magic that he had once taken pride in. What had possessed this body wasn’t even his full consciousness, but part of it.

Even with only a fragment of himself descending to the Chosen Land, though, he easily overpowered Isabella like a child. Her full effort was only enough to barely block one casual strike from him.

“I know you’ve learned life magic. Use it. That momentary buff will grant you the mana of a Gold-rank Mage. Perhaps that’ll be enough to drive me back to the Astral Plane.” The Lord of the Void chuckled.

The disciple of the Goddess of Nature craved knowledge yet feared madness, standing just one step away from liberating her desires, exactly like his former self. He wouldn’t mind nudging her to make that step. What an amusing moment that would be!

Isabella stood up coldly. The Lord of the Void was a walking source of corruption. His interference prevented her from using her full power. Moreover, he was once an outstanding mage of the Church of Nature and knew what she was capable of...

Do I have a chance?

She took a deep breath, and the fat of her body trembled violently like she was undergoing liposuction, her figure rapidly slimming down. When it had shed its obese form entirely, her mana peaked beyond her limit, pushing her from the rank of Silver Cross to Golden Triangle.

A hexagram was a stable structure, and so was a cross star. The further a mage advanced, the more stable their balance became.

Only Isabella’s mana had reached Gold rank, and the burst of power wouldn’t last long. Knowing that, she released all her mana and created a magnificent Golden Triangle formation in the underground courtyard. Overwhelming mana rose like a torrent as a supreme presence descended. When everything settled, Isabella stood in place, breathing heavily.

The divine art turned a strand of hair at her forehead a dark green, and faint marks appeared on her face. The most obvious change was in her ears, which had elongated and become tapered like those of an elf. Behind her, light gathered into a projected figure as a sacred will ascended, the appearance simple yet impossible to ignore.

The Goddess of Nature!

The Lord of the Void applauded with his hands and tentacles, praising, “To be able to summon the esteemed goddess shows your devotion to your faith. The more devoted you are, the deeper the sense of betrayal will be. I look forward to what you’ll do in the future. As for this empty shell... Hahaha, it’s nothing at all. You’re not an apostle, nor do you have the holy spirit constitution. The goddess won’t show you much favor.”

He shook his head and said regretfully, “Honestly, I’m disappointed in you. I thought you would trust yourself more with your all-out attempt, but you still chose faith.”

I alone won’t be enough!

Isabella’s eyes lit up as she reached into her collar and pulled out a pendant. The hexagram pendant blazed brilliantly, connecting with the five mages at the Geocentrism Sect’s headquarters above. In an instant, she borrowed all five mages’ mana, pouring it entirely into the projected goddess to make her more distinct and lifelike. The sacred-looking goddess slowly opened her eyes.

Terrifying energy swept across the courtyard, the supreme will dispersing the wild corruption entirely and forcing the Lord of the Void to retreat. His tentacles melted, and his entire form became soft like mud, as if he had been subjected to great heat and could no longer maintain his normal form—well, he hadn’t been normal to start with.

The Lord of the Void screamed, his rotten tentacles extending rapidly with the tips sharpening like spikes, thrusting directly at Isabella’s chest. A ray of light shielded her, the clash of the two wills chittering like shattering glass. She clutched the hexagram pendant at her chest, closing her eyes in silent prayer, exchanging the most devout worship for divine attention.

The tentacles melted, while the light remained. The Lord of the Void cursed out at the goddess, then, with a shout, he turned and fled.

The light graced the entire underground courtyard and shrouded it in divine power, the invisible barrier blocking all escape routes. No matter how the Lord of the Void threw himself at the barrier, he couldn’t break through anywhere. With no way to escape or to kill Isabella, the Lord of the Void melted away while spouting curses.

Gone was the corruption source. The underground space became peaceful again.

Isabella didn’t immediately lift the magic, but waited for a moment. With an exhausted mind, she leaned against the wall and slowly closed her eyes. She was so tired.

And starving!

Goddess help me, someone give me something to eat!

Above ground, the five mages, who had selflessly contributed all their mana, also collapsed. They had first set up a magic circle and then assisted with the divine art, leaving them utterly drained. After hastily creating a defensive barrier, they fell unconscious.

Thus, everyone in the entire town of Enrod slept like a baby daddy, the kind that would remain asleep when his child started crying and his wife kicked him. One of them was an exception, though. He opened his pale eyes and staggered to his feet.

The mayor!

Taking a statue pendant out of his breast pocket, he silently chanted to summon tentacles to merge with him. The pale tentacle monster began walking toward the Lando manor, his physical form transforming with every step as writhing white foam devoured his muscles, bones, and organs, fully reconstructing his body.

The hexagram represented earth, fire, water, wind, void, and self, and the corresponding magic formations had to be arranged accordingly. The four buildings at the sect’s headquarters represented the four fundamental elements. Among them, the statue beneath the chicken farm signified the void, and the town hall, the self.

The mayor was the head of the town hall and thus the self of the hexagram. He was a pawn the Lord of the Void had planted.

The unfortunate Archbishop Ivor never knew that the mayor he thought he had converted had long thrown himself into the embrace of the Lord of the Void. He was the third wheel in this relationship.

Flutter.

The pale humanoid monster raised both arms, transforming them into wings to fly toward the Lando manor at accelerated speed.

“Trash, I have to take matters into my own hands in the end!”