Did Saul trust Shaya?

Or had he once nearly trusted Kent?

Or perhaps the kind and hospitable Dean Pond?

No.

Saul trusted no one.

They hadn’t grown up together. They hadn’t risked their lives to save each other. Nor were there any shared interests driving them. How could Saul possibly trust a few people he’d only known for less than half a year?

What’s more, from the very first day he arrived in Caugust City, he sensed that something was off. On the surface, it was densely populated, thriving, its witchcraft tools having broken free of traditional constraints to integrate into daily life—an almost modernized society.

But under the dazzling curtain of prosperity, the shadows told a different story: rigid work hours, high-pressure workloads, monotonous and repetitive tasks, and the frequent appearance of wraith incidents.

This city, with its towering buildings and modern flair, felt to Saul like a machine spinning beyond capacity under immense pressure. Now and then, bolts and plates of unknown use would pop off, giving him the eerie impression that everything before his eyes might suddenly explode and collapse into ruins at any moment.

Even with a multitude of wizards and apprentices constantly patching it up, Saul didn’t believe this place was a safe haven.

And now it seemed, those surface-level repairs had merely concealed the inner corrosion.

Saul had lifted the hood of the engine—only to see an oil-leaking machine beneath.

Sadly, he could no longer stay here and reap its benefits.

“Why did Dean Pond build this city? How many of the people here are truly human? And how many are nothing but empty skins?”

As Saul’s cold questioning rang out, Kent gradually regained his composure.

“This isn’t something you should know. Even if you’re Gorsa’s student, you’d be swallowed by the swamp for asking such things.”

Seeing that Kent was determined not to tell the truth, Saul stopped wasting words.

The moment Kent entered, his intent was clear—he was probing to see if Saul knew the truth.

The so-called ‘pollution source’ was most likely a trap set by Kent himself. And the massive flower bud and humanoid smoke that suddenly appeared in the room were clearly under his control.

Kent had brought people, powerful spells, and the local advantage. There was no way Saul could afford to clash with him directly.

So the moment Saul stepped into the room, confirmed there were no other wizards nearby, he immediately launched his most powerful spell against Kent—Mind Battlefield.

Kent was caught completely off guard. Or rather, it never even occurred to him that Saul would be the one to make the first move. With no defenses in place, he was effortlessly dragged into the Mind Battlefield.

Despite having considerable mental strength himself, Kent was captured before he could even muster a shred of resistance.

Yet just as Saul’s body was softening—transitioning from man to monster—he felt a burning pain rising from below.

Looking down, Saul saw the platform under his feet glowing red-hot, as if a raging fire was roasting it from beneath.

The lower half of Saul’s body, now transformed into writhing tentacles, began to sizzle from the heat.

“Impressive. You’re the first near-Second Rank wizard I’ve pulled in who can actively alter the surrounding environment. Looks like I’ll have to start preparing for platform combat when dealing with Second Rank wizards in the future.”

Saul spoke calmly.

Opposite him, Kent’s eyes were already bulging in shock.

His Third Rank spell Doom of the Earth’s Core was a unique creation—modified from another spell called Burstfire, using the mechanics of volcanic eruptions.

Its magical intensity and destructive power surpassed that of ordinary Third Rank spells several times over.

But now, the lava and flame that should have erupted instantly had only managed to heat the ground beneath Saul’s feet!

Unwilling to believe it, Kent pushed aside the fact that his sneak attack had been exposed and frantically chanted incantations, pouring more magic power into the spell.

Yet the stone slab beneath Saul’s feet merely grew redder—it still didn’t unleash the devastation he sought.

“Not bad. Let’s end it here for today. Though my main focus is on the dark element, I’ve also learned a few fire spells. Since you’ve offered them up, I’ll gladly accept.”

Kent still had no idea what was going on.

But he was beginning to suspect that where he now stood wasn’t some illusion.

He even wondered whether he had entered a world-side.

But a world-side shouldn’t be something that could be moved on a whim…

Kent’s throat twitched as he finally gave up.

The backup that should’ve arrived instantly was still nowhere in sight. He no longer planned to keep fighting Saul.

In a direct confrontation, he believed he could stand toe-to-toe with Saul and maybe even win. But who could have predicted that this place would be so twisted?

A towering wall of flame erupted in front of Kent.

Just a basic Wall of Fire—he didn’t expect it to hurt Saul. But as soon as it formed, blocking the space between them, Kent turned and bolted.

The platform wasn’t large. After just a dozen meters, he reached the edge.

Looking down—beneath his feet was nothing but starry sky.

Behind him, several tentacles burst through the fire, forming a massive hand with over a dozen fingers that slammed toward Kent’s position.

“If I stay, my spells are useless. I can only wait to die.”

Kent’s eyes gleamed with ruthless determination.

“Might as well charge into this strange space and take my chances!”

With that thought, the flaming tentacles nearly upon him, Kent made his decision—he leapt.

The moment Kent left the platform, all the flames and heat vanished in an instant.

But the burns on Saul’s body remained.

Returning to human form, covered in severe burns, Saul walked to the platform’s edge and looked down at Kent’s rapidly shrinking figure in the starry void below.

“Master,” came a voice—Herman had finally emerged from the diary.

Saul hadn’t let him out earlier. This battle was one Herman had no place in.

Unless he underwent a powerful soul-body modification, Herman would remain out bench in the future. And if Saul ever ran out of black pages, he might just clear Herman out to make space for someone new.

The thought alone made Herman break into a cold sweat even though he no longer had sweat glands.

“I’ve never experimented with having a soul-body jump off the platform before,”

Saul’s voice was calm and steady.

Each time he entered the Mind Battlefield, his emotions were heavily suppressed by the Nightmare Butterfly, allowing him to last longer in that world.

Which made this version of Saul the most dangerous one.

Herman edged slowly to Saul’s side and stopped at the platform’s edge.

The platform was stable. There was no howling wind. Yet Herman’s heart pounded as if he had grown several more hearts, each thudding wildly at different rhythms and frequencies.

He didn’t understand—how had that wizard Kent managed to summon the courage to jump?

Then Herman looked down, and found that, even after several seconds, with Kent nearly out of sight, he could still see Kent’s face.

Especially strange—Kent had been facing away from the platform the whole time, yet now he had turned his head.

And that face—was twisted with terror.

As if he had seen something beyond his worst nightmares.

“What… did he see?”

Overwhelmed, Herman shivered violently, nearly slipping off the platform like an idiot.

After barely composing himself, he turned to look at Saul, who had just spoken.

Saul had clearly seen Kent’s expression too. But unlike Herman’s panic, Saul’s face held only a calm curiosity.

He even lifted one foot into the air.

All around, the stars began blinking faster—like thousands, tens of thousands of people blinking frantically in unison.

“M-Master, I think maybe you shouldn’t use yourself as the test subject…”

Halfway through, Herman wanted to slap himself.

Telling Saul not to use himself for experiments… was he suggesting Saul should use him, instead?

But what Herman feared most didn’t come to pass.

Saul retracted his foot.

“What are you afraid of? Didn’t you notice the diary didn’t react?”

A few moments later, a shadowy black figure shot upward from the starry abyss below—straight into the massive hardcover book floating above Saul’s head.

The diary shrank to the size of a palm, then lazily floated down into Saul’s hand, fluttering open with a rustle, revealing a brand-new black page.

(End of Chapter)

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