Chapter 1

At the heart of the Emerald Forest, two powerful forces clashed causing a deafening sound that frightened the people around. From the sky, a bolt of lightning struck down like a divine punishment from a God, while the burning crimson fire that clashed with the striking bolt looked like hellfire that would burn this forest to ashes. The dread of the situation could be felt even from tens of kilometers away.

This was the clash between the two great mages of the grandmaster level, a battle where lives were put on the line. No one knew what caused this fight, the only thing that was apparent was the intense flow of two magical forces that were taking turns destroying one another. People’s hearts were filled with a deep sense of fear. If the clash moved closer to where they lived, their town would certainly be destroyed. Despite not knowing the cause of the battle, they assumed it was the struggle over power to be at the top of this magic world.

Mages of the grandmaster level were god-like beings, an existence that ordinary people would not even dream of. They could annihilate an entire city with a single hand. It could be said that their powers were similar to those of the almighty Gods, which was why the clash between the two great mages frightened people terribly. Every time a bolt of lightning struck, the ground would shake as if it was about to crumble. The closer they were to the battleground, the more they could sense the impact. The burning fire was radiating heat waves that could be felt even from far away. If the center of this battle had been at the heart of a kingdom instead of the Emerald Forest, that kingdom would surely perish.

At the heart of the Emerald Forest, the two great mages were engaged in a fierce battle. One of them was a divinely beautiful man donning a black cloak decorated with white patterns. His eyes were quite extraordinary, with irises as blue as the color of the ocean. There was a mysterious charm to them, making it difficult to read his mind. Upon closer look, one could see flashes of lightning in his eyes which made the man look strangely enigmatic and majestic.

The other was a man clad in golden armor. On his face, there was a red, flame-shaped mark that flickered like a burning fire. He had eyes as fierce as a wild animal and his demeanor was like that of an experienced knight who had been through countless battles.

They were both in a terrible state. Trails of blood could be found all over their bodies, making it look like they were drenched by rain. Although it seemed to be the rain of death. One man’s cloak was torn, his body was covered with wounds while the other’s armor was distorted and broken.

“Rendell, you coward!”

The cloaked man yelled, his eyes filled with rage.

“There are no rules in battles. If you want to blame, blame it on your own foolishness.”

The one called Rendell replied with a cold expression.

“I thought of you as a friend. But you used a dirty trick to poison me…ARGH!”

Tanos angrily said through clenched teeth before coughing up a large pile of blood. The blood that came out was black as ink and was emitting a horrendous odor of wicked curse and traces of poison.

“The world does not need two kings, Tanos. Surely you understand this.”

Rendell coldly retorted. His eyes were burning with the fire of destruction. The only way to end this would be in bloodshed.

Upon hearing Rendell’s answer, Tanos seemed to have made up his mind. His eyes were full of determination while his heart burned with rage and pain. He tightly gripped the silver sword in one hand before using the blade to slash his other palm, then swiftly used his blood to create a magic circle. The sky above began to look like a storm in a troubling ocean. When the sky began to split open, thousands of lightning bolts struck down like a downpour. The silver sword soared upward, hovering at the center of the lightning bolts. The bolts started to merge, forming a giant golden sword that looked like the legendary sword from mythology. It was the most powerful move that Tanos could use.

This was the “Thunder God’s Fury Blade.” Normally, this type of skill could only be used twice at most. However, this time was different. Not only had he been poisoned, but Tanos had also used a large portion of his magical power. He could only use the Thunder Gods’ Fury Blade once. The two of them had fought for three days and three nights, leaving Tanos with almost no magical power. If it was not because he had sacrificed some of his life force, he would not be able to cast such a spell.

“Willing to sacrifice your life force for such an amateur move, do you really think you could defeat me, Tanos?”

Despite the insulting words, Rendell did not underestimate the power of Thunder God’s Fury Blade. He pulled the black sword in his hand into a tight grip before starting to cast a magic spell. Suddenly, the flame-like mark on his face began to quiver, its size increased until it was covering his entire face. His magical power became stronger and more intense. A scorching fire appeared from Rendell’s spell and slowly morphed into a gigantic fire dragon. Wherever the dragon flew, everything in its path turned into ashes in an instant. It circled around the man’s black sword, making it seem like the dragon and the sword were merging into one. This was Rendell’s most powerful skill, the “Black Flame Dragon.”

The two looked at each other wordlessly, their eyes filled with killing intent. They both knew this would be the last fight, the one to decide who was superior. When Thunder God’s Fury Blade struck, Rendell clutched the sword in his hand firmly. The flame from Rendell’s sword was like an inferno that would readily burn everything. When the two clashed against each other, a loud blast could be heard all over the Emerald Forest as if it were doomsday. Some of the wild beasts in the Emerald Forest were unable to endure the pressure of the clash between Tanos and Rendell perished, while others were hit by the crossfire and turned into droplets of blood or particles of ash.

When the clash was over, two bodies emerged. One of them had lost an arm, while the other slowly collapsed onto the ground, body covered with burn marks from the fire. Once a powerful mage, now all that was left was the weak breathing that could cease at any moment. Although Rendell was the victor of this battle, his loss was tremendous as well. Tanos’ attack targeted the core of magic inside Rendell’s body. To heal a fracture in the core of magic was not something that could be done easily.

Tanos did not utter a word. Although he had been defeated, it was a defeat that he knew was not even remotely fair. If it was not for the poisoning, he would not have ended up this way. The poison did not only affect his body, it also affected the flow of magical power inside of him. However, he knew that there was no use pointing a finger at anything. In the end, it was him who had lost. He laughed one last time at this defeat, the sound of his laughter echoing throughout the entire forest. It was the kind of laugh that was full of resentment and hatred. The sound slowly quieted down before Tanos’ vision became blurry and eventually faded away.

Rendell closed his eyes and turned to leave without looking back at Tanos’ lifeless body. Deep inside, he felt a sense of desolation. He had just lost a friend and the only enemy he ever had in his life. He did not notice that near Tanos’ body, there was a small crack in the dimension. Something split from Tanos’ body, its form looking exactly like Tanos but seemed more transparent. This was something we called a soul. The crack pulled Tanos’ soul in before disappearing without a trace.