Chapter 184: The Slayer’s Hand
The East Cove Higher Magic Academy, Midnight
Tarviss strode ferociously towards the Pivotal Mage Tower. Along the way, he swung his arms wildly which caused the demonic forces surrounding him to also destroy everything in sight. An ordinary Mage Tower was immediately severed into two pieces, causing the elemental pools to explode and the cries of fear to intensify. The East Cove Higher Magic Academy was in total chaos.
"Bryant, if you continue to hide, I will destroy this place together with the people!" Tarviss shouted.
He naturally didn’t get his response; Bryant was no longer in this world. This made Tarviss even more enraged.
The Mage Towers were not simply standing there and waiting to be destroyed. They were actually retaliating with their offensive magic spells, shooting Level-6 spells towards Tarviss consecutively. However, in the face of a Level-8 demon, these Level-6 spells were merely a bunch of fireworks. They could not even penetrate through the demonic forces that were surrounding Tarviss.
At that moment, every Magician in the academy had the same questions in their mind.
Who could stop this demon? Is Dean Anthony still alive?
Dean Anthony was the psychological pillar of the academy. No one knew whether he survived the assault of the Level-8 spell. The appearance of this terrifying demon had further plunged the Magicians into despair. Many had already given up hope.
But, the truth was that Anthony was still alive.
At the last moment, Anthony teleported away from the Heaven’s Thorn. He was currently around 0.6 miles away from the academy. Although he escaped the majority of the attack, his teleportation spell still took a bit too long to cast. In that moment, he suffered some drastic injuries from the shockwaves of the Level-8 spell.
When the shockwaves reached him, the defensive spell in the elemental pool automatically defended against some of the impact. However, the Level-8 spell managed to penetrate through the barrier and grazed his body, causing his legs to vaporize almost immediately.
He was now lying in the Girvent Forest, gasping for breath from the pain in his legs. He was on the verge of losing his consciousness.
But he persevered.
Five seconds later, Anthony moved. The Legendary staff in his hand glowed slightly and created a pair of wings on his back. He then made these wings vibrate at high speed and flew back to the academy.
He was the dean of East Cove Higher Magic Academy. As long as he was still alive, he had to stop the Level-8 demon causing fear and destruction on his home ground. He had to defeat the demon, even if it meant burning his soul.
There would be something in this world that was worth sacrificing your soul for. To Anthony, the East Cove Higher Magic Academy was his life!
...
The Academy.
The Wind Tiger had long escaped into the Girvent Forest upon Tarviss’ arrival. He had given up all thoughts of revenge and ran for his life.
This demon is slightly scary. I am not his opponent, so I will be better off finding beautiful ladies in the South.
Blood Demon Talon stood and watched from afar. His strength was not sufficient to even take part in this battle. He merely commended, "What great power, Sir Tarviss. Yes, destroy this damn academy!"
Tarviss never got the response he wanted from Bryant and had already descended into insanity. As another Mage Tower came into his field of vision, he saw a pathetic Magician standing on its rooftop.
"Pitiful mortal! Taste my fury!" Tarviss bellowed and widened his steps, charging towards the Mage Tower.
Tarviss envisioned the situation to be as such. He would slam his fist down on the Mage Tower and smash it to smithereens. In the process, the Magician would cry in despair and devastation, the perfect testament to his strength.
That Mage Tower was Herrera’s.
Herrera had already left the Mage Tower together with her apprentice. She held Rylai’s hand tightly and was running as far as she could from the demon. They had no clear destination, all they could think of was to escape.
This was true for all other Mage Towers. Herrera could see many other Magician’s Apprentices on the run.
She suddenly heard Rylai cry out, "Where is mentor? Why is he not here?"
Herrera was taken aback and looked behind her and realized Link was indeed missing. At the same time, she saw the demon rushing towards her Mage Tower.
Herrera instantly panicked. She had no idea where Link went. However, she had a hunch that he was still in the Mage Tower, which was about to get destroyed!
Faced with the overwhelming power of a Level-8 demon, she had no idea what to do.
Just then, Herrera felt an incredible magic fluctuation from the rooftop of her Mage Tower. This fluctuation was extremely terrifying. Its appearance distorted the air a 30-foot-radius around the rooftop. The shockwaves from this distortion went even further, leaving its impact on the soul of every Magician in the academy.
In an instant, all the cries and screams of fear seemed to have vanished.
Even Tarviss did not expect such a turn of events. In his eyes, the Magician on the rooftop was merely an ant, to think that he would suddenly show such incredible strength.
This would probably be how it felt when one stamped down on an ant only to find out that it was a metal nail.
Tarviss halted his advance and asked, "Bryant?"
It had been too long. His memory of Bryant’s power had already blurred. However, the young man standing right in front of him felt somewhat familiar.
There was no reply.
Following the terrifying outburst of energy was an incredible concentration of elemental energy. This attraction force was so great that even the elements in the elemental pools were not spared. Almost all the fire elementals in the academy seemed to be flying towards Herrera’s Mage Tower.
At that moment, the Mage Towers who were casting fire elemental spells onto Tarviss were instantly interrupted. Every fire elemental Magician was also surprised to find that they could no longer cast spells.
A giant fire elemental hand then appeared on the rooftop.
The palm was extremely condensed, looking just like a crimson crystal. It was surrounded by a forcefield and slowly converged into lines of runes which connected themselves to the Magician casting the spell. This palm was so huge that the fingers themselves were 18 feet wide and 60 feet in length. Despite the fact that Tarviss was 90 feet tall, he seemed tiny in the face of this giant palm.
The moment the palm appeared, it charged straight towards Tarviss. It traveled at an incredible speed and was also extremely flexible.
"Bryant, finally!" Tarviss bellowed. He thought that this was his mortal enemy, Bryant and charged headlong into the palm.
The collision caused a large explosion in the air. A huge shockwave spread through the entire academy, and visible white ripples appeared in the air.
Every Magician’s Apprentice covered their ears instinctively. Those who were stronger physical managed to hold their ground and remained standing. However, those who were physically weak fell down upon the impact of the shockwave.
The collision created a blanket of dust which obstructed their vision of the battle scene.
Amongst the dust cloud, sounds of explosions could still be heard. One could only imagine the intensity of the battle going on within. Around half a minute later, the dust cloud dissipated and an illumination spell appeared on top of a pivotal Mage Tower.
Under the illumination of the light, everyone could finally see the battle scene clearly. They were all shocked by the scene in front of them.
The crimson red hand was grabbing Tarviss tightly in its grasp. As much as Tarviss struggled and repeatedly released his terrifying demonic energy, he seemed to be unable to break through of its death grip.
Everyone knew exactly how violent and destructive Tarviss was.
To think that this spell could defeat Tarviss in a battle of strength. What power was this? A Magician who could create such an offensive spell must have been extremely wise! He was definitely a great Magician!
Oh, great Magician!
"In the name of the God of Light, Tarviss is restricted!"
"It did more than restrict Tarviss. It is clear that Tarviss is weaker than this Hand of God!
"Who is this Magician?"
The Magicians who stayed in their respective Mage Towers and were prepared to give up their lives in this final fight against Tarviss got the best view of the situation. They not only had a clear view of Tarviss, but also the Magician who was fighting on par with this demon.
A blue robe could only mean that he was of medium rank. Which middle-ranking Magician could possess such power?
However, someone recognized him from the color of his hair.
"He looks like Link!"
"How can it be? He just used a Level-9 spell! Only a Level-9 spell could have such terrifying power!"
The Magicians were both pleasantly surprised and confused. They could not figure out what happened.
At that moment, the Wind Tiger merely reached the edge of the academy. As he looked behind him and saw the terrifying scene, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Damn, lucky I didn’t charge straight in. Who would have thought this human infested academy would have a Level-9 Magician? This is even more terrible than the abyss!
Blood Demon Talon who was just praising Tarviss also became speechless.
For a Level-8 demon to lose in a one-on-one battle with a Magician from East Cove Higher Magic Academy—did the Queen of the High Elves come visit?
In the shadows, the Level-7 Magician Vance carefully observed this legendary battle. The blue flames in his eyes seemed extremely agitated, vibrating at a fast pace.
"Ah, what a beautiful spell. I did not think that the academy housed someone like this. It seems like Tarviss is in trouble." He then left after speaking.
The outcome of the battle had been decided—a Level-9 spell that was cast by a talented combat Magician. There was no way Tarviss could turn the tables around.
Tarviss was boiling with rage. He once again released his power while giving a low rumble, the demonic force that used to surround him visibly getting weaker.
"Get off me!" He shouted as he flailed his arms, trying to push the giant hand apart.
This time, he was successful. The palm opened and Tarviss quickly escaped. He then turned around and charged with full speed towards the Mage Tower where the accursed Magician was residing in.
He might not be able to compare with the Magician’s spells, but he had more than enough power to destroy his physical body.
However, it was clear that Tarviss was naive.
The hand that he just escaped from instantly retreated back to the Mage Tower. While it was returning to the tower, the hand clenched into a fist, and as though it was charged with power beforehand, it punched with full force towards Tarviss.
This blow was inspired by the Fist of Firomoz spell!
Bang! The loud explosion echoed throughout the academy.
Tarviss felt as though a locomotive hit him. He immediately fell to the ground. However, the fist did not stop there. It continued to advance as Tarviss sank deeper into the ground.
Bang! Rumble! Tsssss!
The ground shook and a fissure 90 feet in length, 30 feet wide and 12 feet deep appeared.
This hit was the decisive blow. It destroyed the demonic forces surrounding Tarviss and had completely destroyed his willpower. He lay flat on the ground and was unable to even get up.
Link was still going to finish him off.
The Titan’s Hand descended from above and grabbed tightly onto Tarviss’ body. It then began to tighten onto Tarviss as Link activated the explosion spells he enchanted onto the fire elements in the center of the palm.
This attack was inspired by the Level-5 Flaming Hand spell!
Tarviss was feeling groggy from the previous assault and could not react in time. When he felt physical pain from the attack, it was already too late. The power of the Titan’s Hand had already been heightened to its limit.
Tarviss was extremely clear of the horrific powers of a Level-9 fire elemental spell as he was once a Legendary professional. When he felt the extreme temperature of the hand far beyond the tolerance limit of any lifeform, he knew he was finished.
Under the restriction of the Titan’s Hand and the explosive power of the fire elements, the inner environment of the Titan’s Hand was akin to a high-pressure melting pot currently baking a huge Level-8 demon.
Under the pressure of such extreme temperature, Tarviss’ body began to glow. This was due to the insane amount of fire elements rushing into his body and destroying the integrity of his cells.
He opened his mouth to scream but to no avail. Instead of a loud rumbling sound, flames emerged from his mouth, followed by his eyes, ears, nose and finally his skin.
Around ten seconds later, the fire elementals in the hand were completely used up. The Titan’s Hand then released its grip, and a liquid similar to lava began flowing from where Tarviss once stood. That liquid was the remains of the demon who once terrorized the World of Firuman.
The fact that Tarviss was not vaporized by the heat was a testament to the hardiness of his body.
This was the scene Anthony was greeted with when he finally rushed to the entrance of the academy. The entire academy watched this legendary scene with looks of admiration and disbelief.
Around the debris of the Heaven’s Thorn, Selasse, whose legs were completely squashed by the rubble climbed out with great effort. He then took out his notebook and started writing with trembling hands, My words are pale in the face of such an event. They are completely incapable of expressing my feelings. However, I can confirm one thing. I believe that, in the near future, East Cove Higher Magic Academy will usher in the first Legendary Magician ever since its establishment!