Chapter 545

Leo looked up at Ullein, who hovered in the sky.

Ullein raised his hand toward Leo. "You seem quite relaxed."

"Now I can take my time dealing with you."

"Do you truly believe that inferior being can stop Lady Velkia?"

"She's a student I've trusted for a long time. And those two have fought each other to death more times than I can count, so I'm not worried."

"Once again, you speak in incomprehensible nonsense." Ullein's eyes turned cold. "I extended my generosity, yet you refused it, Leo Plov."

Vwoom…!

A massive surge of mana rippled from his hand.

"I will no longer hold back against you."

Flash…!

Countless particles of light formed in the sky. Like stars twinkling in the night sky, the magic radiated brilliantly.

Leo smirked.

That reaction made Ullein's eyes twitch.

Bwooooo…!

A trumpet call echoed from the far end of the city.

Ullein furrowed his brows and turned toward the source of the sound. It came from none other than the entrance to the underground city.

Leo remarked, "Something must be happening."

"It's nothing. It seems the slaves have come up with some foolish rebellion," Ullein replied nonchalantly. As the city's councilor, he had long been aware of the underground dwellers' seditious movements. "Not that it means anything."

He pulled a large, grotesquely shaped stone, the size of a human head, from his subspace. Its surface was inscribed with countless magic circles.

"A meteorite?"

"You never cease to impress me with your knowledge. You are correct. This meteorite is a divine relic that brought the blessing of the stars to this land."

The meteorite emanated a massive surge of mana. Its sheer output warped the surrounding space.

"You called me a crude, third-rate mage. I wonder if you still hold that ridiculous belief."

"I still do."

"How insolent." Ullein ground his teeth as he glared at Leo's mocking smirk, but soon, his lips curled into a smirk, his eyes filled with arrogant condescension as he looked down at Leo. "I, unlike you, am a generous man. This is my final gift to you, a distinguished Stellar Magic caster. I will grant you your end with this great power."

His lips curled into a crescent smile and then, all the countless fragments of light floating in the sky simultaneously rained down on Leo.

This was not a spell targeting an individual. It was large-scale destruction magic designed to obliterate an entire region and all of that devastating power was concentrated on a single person.

For anyone else, it would have been a moment of despair, but even as the beams of light streaked toward him, Leo raised his hand with a relaxed expression.

"I'm not exactly generous, but I'll grant you some mercy." For a fleeting moment, gray mana flickered in Leo's crimson eyes. "I'll show you what Luna would have done if she were standing before you."

Snap…!

He snapped his fingers.

KWA-BOOOOOOM…!

At that moment, all the magic hurtling toward Leo exploded midair.

Fwoooosh…!

"AAAAAGH!" Ullein screamed as the shockwave engulfed him. Though his deployed barrier prevented a fatal wound, he couldn't stop himself from crashing into the ground.

The meteorite that had been floating in his hand tumbled across the floor.

Ullein lifted his head in shock and looked up at Leo. He fully understood what had just happened to his magic and because of that, his mind was in complete disarray.

He altered my magic formula in real time?! That should be impossible!

"You… What on earth are you…"

Thud…!

"Ugh?!"

Before he could even finish his question, Leo's fist slammed into his face.

Ullein tumbled across the ground, his face twisted in fury as he shouted, "This is an outrage!"

Being struck down by magic was one thing, but for a mage, being beaten in such a way was the greatest humiliation.

"I told you. I'm showing you what Luna would have done to you." Leo grabbed Ullein by the collar and lifted him. "If Luna were here, she would have pummeled your face in until she was satisfied, you pathetic, half-rate excuse for a mage."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"AAAAAAARGH!"

Leo turned Ullein's face into a swollen mess. Ullein, unable to endure the continuous blows, screamed and unleashed a surge of mana, but Leo nullified the attack without so much as blinking.

Crack…!

Leo's fist crushed Ullein's nose.

"Keugh!" Gasping for breath, Ullein desperately lifted his hand.

More mana! Stronger mana!

The meteorite that had been lying on the ground shot toward him.

Grab…!

Leo caught it in midair.

Ullein sneered. "Foolish!"

Fwoooooosh…!

A massive surge of mana erupted from the meteorite.

Leo, swept up in that mana, clenched his hand.

Craaaaack…!

"…!" Ullein's eyes widened as he saw cracks forming on the meteorite.

Crunch…!

Shattered to dust in Leo's grip, the meteorite crumbled to the ground.

Ullein's jaw dropped at the sight. Speaking in a nasal voice due to his broken nose, he gasped in shock, "T-The divine relic…! The great history of Eldon…!"

"This pathetic rock is your city's history?" Leo coolly sneered and crushed the remaining fragments in his hand as he stepped toward Ullein.

"H-How… How is this possible?! A divine relic protected by such powerful magic, destroyed…!"

"Because the magic was crude." Leo's lips curled upward. "In terms of refinement, even first-year students at Seiren would outclass you."

Ullein's magic was intricate, but it lacked precision. Instead of seamlessly interlocking spell formations, he merely forced complex magic into activation through brute mana output.

"Your magic isn't even intricate. It's just a mess."

Ullein knew that magic that was merely convoluted and lacked precision was useless against a mage with overwhelming skill, but…

How could this be possible?!

His body trembled.

This man isn't even a pure mage, he's an all-class…!

At that moment, Ullein's eyes widened in realization. An all-class following in the footsteps of the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, with unfathomable knowledge of Stellar Magic and…

This man called Lady Velkia his disciple.

Ullein's body shook uncontrollably. "No… No way… The Hero of the Beginning… Kyle?"

Leo did not deny it. He simply stared down at Ullein with an icy gaze.

Ullein took that silence as confirmation. "Why?! Why?! You, who knew the Nebula Pioneer! You, who learned magic from her! Why do you deny us?! Why won't you acknowledge our legacy?!" he shrieked in near hysteria.

Leo tilted his head slightly. "You Pureblood Society people are fascinating. You've never even met Luna, yet you act like you know her better than I do."

5000 years ago, the followers of the vanished gods had been the same.

Ullein, dazed, mumbled to himself, "If it were Lady Luna… She would have been different from you… Lady Luna would have surely…"

"Yeah, she would have been different. If it were Luna, she would've made sure to crack open all your skulls one by one."

Leo could vividly picture Luna rampaging, wildly swinging her staff to smash their heads in.

Shiiing…!

He drew his sword. "But since Luna isn't here, I'll do it in her place." A chilling bloodlust filled Leo's gaze. "Now that I've seen how you've maintained your power, I will judge you as Luna's proxy."

Ullein, face pale as a sheet, scrambled to flee. "Templars! Templars!" he screamed for the parliamentary knights, but no matter how desperately he cried out, his loyal knights did not appear.

Fwoooooosh…!

Leo's eyes flickered toward the towering white flames in the distance.

Overextending again, huh.

Lunia was holding back the templars using a power that far exceeded her current limits.

You've grown a lot.

Leo smiled faintly. Lunia was slowly, step by step, following in Luna's footsteps.

It wasn't just her, either. Even Eiran, who stood as her shield, was growing at an incredible pace.

"No… No! This can't be…! I haven't… not yet…!"

Thrust…!

"Ugh?!"

Leo's sword pierced through Ullein's throat.

Squelch…! Splat…!

As the blade was withdrawn, blood gushed out.

Ullein's trembling body slumped forward.

So this is the end of the Pureblood Society.

With Seiren's resurgence and their collusion with Tartaros exposed, the Pureblood Society had already suffered a drastic downfall, yet, due to their deeply entrenched influence, they had still maintained significant power, but this was the end.

I don't know exactly what's in the underground, but judging from the magic he used, my guess won't be far off.

Enslaving their own kind, draining them of their life force, such inhumane atrocities. Even if they had done this to another race, they would have been exiled. The fact that they had inflicted this upon their own kind…

Once the truth was revealed, this time, the Pureblood Society would truly be finished.

Leo turned and walked toward Lunia and Eiran.

At the front, Eiran was blocking the templars. At the rear, Lunia was fully focused on chanting her spell.

Even though the templars were elite warriors wielding superior mana and aura, they were unable to overpower Eiran.

Because they were being overwhelmed by pure swordsmanship and behind them, their supporting mages were completely locked down by Lunia's Flame Emperor.

Flame Emperor was a special spell, one of the strongest flames Luna had ever envisioned, no, it was one of the highest-tier spells among all the magic Luna had ever created, and even she had never fully completed it.

The Stellar Magic practiced by the elves of Eldon was unstable.

At Seiren, Stellar Magic was fused with other magical principles, allowing each mage to develop their own unique form of Stellar Magic.

The Stellar Magic formulas passed down to future generations were inherently flawed. Any magic developed purely from those formulas would inevitably be a degraded imitation.

To the Pureblood Society, their magic may have seemed traditional and pure, but to those who wielded the real thing, it was nothing more than a crude imitation.

That's why they're being devoured by Lunia's magic.

No matter what anyone said, Lunia was Luna's true successor. The one who carried on Luna's will.

"You look exhausted."

"Leo?"

"Need a hand?"

Lunia scoffed. Even if she had an overwhelming advantage in compatibility, her opponents were no pushovers. Both she and Eiran were already at their limits.

"I don't need it," she said.

"Oh? Why not?"

"I can't just keep receiving help and being protected forever." Lunia looked straight ahead and shouted as if making a declaration.. "Watch closely. We'll keep moving forward. We'll advance! And we'll stand behind you!"

Leo's eyes widened slightly.

"Don't worry anymore! From now on, this Lady Luna will…!"

The voice of someone once making that same proud declaration echoed in his memory.

"I'll stand behind you!"

As a mage, it meant she would cover his back, and it also meant she would create countless miracles from behind.

Leo chuckled, "Stop talking big, brat."

"You just called me a brat! You old man!" Lunia snapped back, clearly offended.

Leo couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight. "…I'll be waiting."

"Yeah! Just wait and see!" Lunia shouted confidently.

Taking his eyes off her, Leo turned to look at Velkia, who was still fighting against Bihar.

These kids are striving to stand on the battlefield you couldn't, Velkia.

Clenching his fists tightly, he gazed at his struggling disciple.

So snap out of it already and set a proper example for the next generation, you damn fool.