Chapter 110

Hearing Christina's words and sensing the increasingly violent fluctuations in energy, Ethan didn't need any more confirmation, if he still couldn't tell what she was planning, then all his years of studying magic had been a complete waste.

"She's trying to self-destruct?"

He couldn't understand why this lich would suddenly resort to such an extreme measure. But there was no time to ponder it. Without hesitation, Ethan sprang into action.

His staff reappeared in his hand, and he quickly assessed the energy stored within. Confirming it was sufficient, he immediately began preparing another magic bombardment.

Struggling to direct the staff toward the sea, he was met with an unexpected resistance, a deafening clang erupted as if he had struck an enormous block of iron instead of water.

The impact was accompanied by an even brighter explosion of light than before. A massive magic circle materialized beneath Ethan's feet, casting a shimmering pattern over the once-calm ocean, which now reflected the sky like a polished mirror.

This time, he wasn't interrupted mid-cast. Meanwhile, Christina, still floating in the air, was entirely focused on channeling the energy inside her body. She saw Ethan's actions but had no spare effort to stop him.

The only thing she could do was try to shake his resolve.

"It's useless! It's all useless! Your pathetic struggle means nothing!"

A dense layer of death energy enveloped Christina, far more volatile than before. The aura surrounding her was manic, unstable, and on the verge of erupting.

"You can't stop me. Your attacks can't even break through this energy around me!"

She wasn't bluffing. The more energy she gathered, the more erratic it became, yet she controlled it with terrifying precision. In this tightly condensed space, the raw power formed an impenetrable barrier, her strongest defense before the inevitable detonation.

As she neared the final stage of preparation, the barrier grew even stronger, a prelude to its ultimate release.

Ethan, however, remained undeterred. His staff was already raised, the intricate runes of his spell sequence complete. The core of the massive magic circle was brimming with energy far more than what he had used in his previous attacks. At his command, it would unleash a devastating beam of pure magical force.

His target?

Not just Christina, but the dense sphere of death energy surrounding her.

"Fire."

A brilliant blue beam shot out from the magic circle, striking Christina's energy field head-on. The collision sent ripples across the surface of her dark energy sphere, but the barrier held firm, absorbing the blast. Christina herself was hidden within, but she had means to perceive the battle outside.

Upon realizing Ethan's attack had failed to break through, she let out a wild, mocking laugh.

"See? I told you! Your attacks are worthless! You can't stop me at all—"

Her gloating was abruptly cut off. Something felt… wrong.

She suddenly noticed she was rising, drifting higher and higher into the sky. The distance between her and Ethan was growing.

"What…? He's trying to push me away?!"

A chilling realization struck her.

Ethan had never intended to penetrate her energy defenses. From the very beginning, he knew he couldn't kill her outright before she finished her preparations. Instead, he had taken a different approach, using the force of his magic bombardment to shove her farther and farther into the sky.

No matter how powerful her explosion was, it couldn't possibly have an unlimited range. As long as he could push her high enough, he could avoid the worst of the destruction.

Christina had completely miscalculated his plan.

For a brief moment, she was at a loss, this wasn't something she had anticipated. Now, she had no choice but to accelerate her detonation. If she allowed Ethan to push her too far, she would be the only one caught in the blast.

"You… won't… succeed…!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

She was running out of time. The distance between them continued to grow, forcing her hand. With no other options, she triggered the detonation prematurely.

"Die!"

The concentrated death energy rapidly contracted. A moment later, it erupted outward, unleashing a wave of pure annihilation.

At least, that's what should have happened.

But in the instant before the explosion, Christina felt a sudden and inexplicable dread.

A warning flared in her mind, a violent, instinctual alarm.

It happened so fast that she barely had time to register it.

Then—pain.

Something pierced through her heart.

The death energy surrounding her wavered, unraveling into chaos. Inside her body, her own power turned against her, spiraling out of control.

Such immense magic running rampant was a nightmare for any caster, especially when that magic was meant to destroy everything in its path.

But Christina couldn't even focus on that.

She forced her gaze downward.

A light-yellow energy blade was embedded in her chest, piercing her heart. The hilt was badly damaged, nearly unrecognizable. But she knew what it was.

It was Ethan's weapon.

"Y-you…"

Christina never got to finish her sentence. The raging death energy consumed her completely.

Even as a lich, with a near-perfect affinity for death energy, there were limits to what she could endure. The moment such an immense force spiraled out of control, even the highest level of compatibility was meaningless. Worse still, an opposing energy had invaded her body, relentlessly tearing her apart from within.

Assaulted from both inside and out, she disintegrated in an instant not even to dust, but into a raw essence that was absorbed by the very death energy she had unleashed. At the same time, the holy-light-infused blade that had pierced her heart began to purify the remnants of her being.

Ethan didn't have the luxury of dwelling on Christina's fate. Although he had managed to sabotage her self-destruction by infusing his battle cross with magic and launching it as a projectile, that didn't mean he was safe.

The death energy still exploded outward, a lingering threat. And Ethan hadn't forgotten, there were still ordinary people aboard the Advance, people who wouldn't stand a chance against an energy attack of this magnitude.

Acting swiftly, he activated his Flame Cloak to propel himself through the air, landing on the deck of the Advance. Before Philip and the others could even voice their questions, he grabbed them and took off again, carrying them to the safety of the Goddess of Dawn.

Without wasting a second, he summoned the Book of Inheritance, flipping through its pages with practiced speed. A protective magic shield sprang to life, enveloping the entire ship just as the deadly energy wave crashed down upon them.

Philip and the others could only watch in stunned silence as the Advance, the ship they had just been standing on, was swallowed by the gray energy, erased from existence in the blink of an eye.

"Turned to ashes?" someone muttered.

"No… it's something worse than that."

A bone-deep fear settled over them. The truth was far more terrifying than simple disintegration. Anyone caught in that energy, without protection, wouldn't just die, they would become death itself, just as Christina had once warned.

Thankfully, because Ethan had successfully derailed Christina's detonation, the blast was far weaker and dissipated more quickly than it otherwise would have. If his plan had failed, he would have had to push her even farther away just to have a chance at surviving the shockwave.

The chaotic energy lingered for only a short while before it began to fade. As it dispersed, the thick fog that had shrouded the sea also vanished, revealing a breathtaking night sky filled with stars.

Only then did Ethan finally let his guard down. With a weary breath, he lowered the magic shield. A wave of dizziness hit him, he had used an excessive number of magical artifacts in quick succession, and his mental reserves were nearly drained. If he hadn't undergone a prior boost to his magical endurance, he doubted he would have lasted this long.

But there was still one last thing to do.

Igniting his Flame Wings once more, Ethan leaped from the deck, catching a falling object midair before returning to the ship.

He examined the item in his grasp, his battle cross, now completely wrecked.

"Destroyed after just one use," he muttered with a sigh.

Though it had been a makeshift creation, he had poured considerable time and effort into crafting it.

"Then again, considering it was fired as a high-powered energy shell and lasted all the way until it struck Christina… its durability actually exceeded my expectations."

He wasn't about to discard it. He'd attempt repairs first. And even if it was beyond saving, he could still melt it down and reuse the materials, precious alloys supplied by Tony weren't something he could afford to waste.

Only after securing the broken weapon did he finally allow himself to relax. Taking a mana-restoring potion from his belt, he uncorked the bottle and downed its contents, replenishing his depleted reserves.

At that moment, Philip, who had been holding back his words, hesitantly stepped forward.

"…Is it over?"

As the potion took effect, the mental strain lessened, and Ethan's dizziness subsided. He gave a small nod.

"It's over."

Hearing this, Philip, Stephen, and Sean all collapsed onto the deck, exhaustion written all over their faces. They were too drained to even celebrate their survival. Instead, all they could do was breathe a collective sigh of relief, genuine smiles spreading across their weary faces.

"That's… good to hear."

Ethan didn't laugh at them. He didn't know exactly what horrors they had faced aboard the Advance, but given their strength or rather, their lack of strength he could only imagine how harrowing it must have been.

Surviving at all was an accomplishment in itself.

***

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