Chapter 223: A Hero
"Hehe, little girl... are you scared?"
The Mage Master’s dry voice echoed with pure malice. He held the girl’s fragile neck carefully, not choking her to death—just enough to feed on the fear in her words.
"I’m not scared!" The green-eyed little girl clenched her teeth, meeting the monster’s gaze. "Daddy said I have to be brave like my Big Brother! My Big Brother is a real hero. Even if you kill us, he’ll definitely avenge us!"
Her voice was soft and trembling because of her young age, but it was filled with unwavering confidence.
"That’s right! We’re not scared of you! Just wait until he comes back!" the red-eyed little girl shouted firmly, even though her tiny body trembled from head to toe as she clung to her mother’s clothes.
Neither of them realized that their legendary Big Brother was standing just a few meters away.
To the twins, their Big Brother was nothing more than a mythical figure their parents had told them about—someone whose face and even name they didn’t know.
Priam was partially hidden by the rubble and stood some distance away. To anyone who wasn’t a Mage, it was impossible to even tell whether that figure was a boy or a girl.
"Let her go..."
Priam’s voice came out hoarse, tearing at his own throat. His rage had reached its absolute limit; every fiber of his body burned like an erupting volcano.
He endured it for now because it still wasn’t the perfect moment. But if that bastard dared harm even a single strand of his little sister’s hair, he would blow this entire place apart without caring about the consequences.
"Let her go? Instead, I’ll rip out her throat first, then the other brat’s, then your mother’s, and finally your father’s!" the Mage Master mocked with a filthy grin. "Don’t you think you’re all-powerful? I can’t wait to see your face as you watch everyone you love die slowly. I’m really looking forward to it, hahaha..."
The little girl struggled helplessly, unable to break free from those iron-like hands.
Priam closed his eyes. The air froze in his lungs.
"You win."
He relaxed his fingers and let go of the old man’s throat.
"NO! Priam, how can you be this stupid?!" Boey roared in absolute despair.
"Shut up, worm!"
*BANG!*
With a brutal gesture, one of the Mages unleashed a blast of compressed air that struck Boey head-on, making him cough up blood as he rolled violently across the dusty ground.
When Priam saw the look of pure pain and disappointment on his father’s face, he dug his nails into his palms until they bled, enduring it in silence.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
The old man quickly backed away. Then he grabbed his own throat, threw his head back, and burst into a manic laugh.
Even though Vital Seal was still freezing his Ether, seeing Priam submit filled his soul with unrestrained sadistic pleasure.
"Excellent! Looks like you finally understand your place, boy. You know you’re not getting out of here alive, but at least you were smart enough to spare yourself from watching your family get butchered first!"
The old man gave a cold signal.
Without any warning, one of the Mage Masters rushed forward and drove a devastating punch straight into Priam’s stomach.
*BANG!!*
The brutal impact forced all the air out of Priam’s lungs. He nearly coughed up blood as he staggered several steps backward.
In the very next millisecond, another Mage appeared beside him and slammed a vicious kick into his chest.
*BANG!*
Without putting up any resistance, Priam’s body was sent crashing across the stone ground, tearing through the earth.
None of them noticed it, but Priam subtly manipulated the wind to push himself even farther away with the impact, increasing the distance between himself and his family.
"Pathetic! Where’s all that arrogance now?!" the old man snarled, consumed by hatred after being humiliated and taken hostage.
The Mage holding the green-eyed little girl tossed her aside like garbage, letting her crash hard onto the dusty ground.
Then he walked toward Priam with heavy steps.
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
The nine of them surrounded Priam and unleashed a savage, relentless beating. Every time he tried to push himself off the ground, an even heavier blow slammed him back down. Kicks, punches, and explosions of energy crashed into his body without mercy.
With every hit, he was driven farther back, inch by inch, approaching the barrier at the opposite end.
In the distance, Seien desperately crawled over and pulled her daughter off the ground, hugging both girls tightly against her chest while covering their eyes and ears.
Boey dragged himself over with both broken arms. Even with his body battered, broken, and covered in blood, he was still in relatively good condition for a Mage.
Seien didn’t cry.
She didn’t scream.
She didn’t even beg for her son’s life.
Because... deep within a mother’s soul, she could feel it.
Her son was calculating.
He was enduring that massacre for one single, terrifying purpose.
No one knew how much time had passed beneath that endless rain of violence.
"What happened to all those incredible abilities of yours?!" the leader of the Mage Masters sneered as he watched Priam’s bloodied body being pummeled on the ground. "Weren’t you the legendary Celestial Mage the sect recruited?!"
Driven by his insatiable thirst for revenge, the old man couldn’t resist anymore. Even with his Ether sealed, he strode forward to join the beating.
*BANG!*
He threw a vicious punch straight into Priam’s face, savoring the twisted satisfaction of seeing the boy bleed.
"Why aren’t you fighting back, you bastard?!" the old man shouted, consumed by euphoria.
He pulled a runic dagger from his waist and charged forward, his eyes blazing.
"DIE!"
At the very millisecond the runic dagger came down...
Priam’s gaze locked onto the old man, burning like a star of death.
Priam smiled.
[Manifestation of the Will of the Heavens]
[Use?] [Yes / No]
"Let’s see who’s going to die..."
Priam’s eyes erupted into a blazing golden light—they were like suns roaring through the dust.
[Anima: Transcendental (Seal Unlocked)]
[Wheel of Fate: Transcendental (Seal Unlocked)]
A mystical wave of countless colors burst from his body. The conceptual pressure froze all ten Mage Masters in place, leaving them unable to take another single step.
[Your manifestation has fully awakened!]
[Time remaining before burning your Celestial essence: 555 seconds]
Priam let out a breath. The time limit had increased since the last time.
Guided by the Premonition Senses of the Sovereign Synthesis, he knew exactly what he needed to create. In a fraction of a second, he manipulated the energy of the two highest-grade medicinal herbs in his inventory.
[Synthesize?] [Yes / No]
’Yes.’
[Rune: Hell Monarch Possession]
[Effect: Authority to distort reality and bend the laws of the world to your will. Multiplies the raw power of your Ether and all abilities according to your base strength, with a minimum multiplier of two. Exclusive to Manifestation of the Will of the Heavens.]
Mirra was allowed to act, and the power of nature rapidly healed him.
Everything happened within three seconds.
A cold smile spread across Priam’s bloodstained lips.
**BUZZ!!**
Heaven and earth trembled as one.
The entire universe seemed to groan beneath a force that violated its very laws.
In distant corners of the universe, supreme beings opened their eyes, seized by grim shock.
A pillar of golden light erupted from Priam, piercing through the barrier and reaching the heavens.
Priam’s body floated upward, rising several meters into the air as his aura expanded like a golden supernova.
"What?!"
Terror froze the ten Mage Masters.
The vulnerable young man they had just beaten had vanished. In his place stood a monumental being, radiating a violent, ancient presence that transcended the very definition of a Mage.
He looked like a Monarch from another world who had finally awakened from a long slumber.
In the distance, Seien looked up, swallowing hard.
Tears of relief and pride overflowed from her eyes as she gazed upon that divine figure ruling the heavens.
The green-eyed little girl looked up as well, her lips parting in pure amazement.
"Mom... what’s that in the sky? Is it a hero?"
She asked because she thought it looked so brilliant and beautiful.
But... deep inside, now that she could see that figure much more clearly than before, her very soul began to tremble with excitement.
Beside her, the red-eyed sister frowned as she stared at the golden light.
At the exact same moment, both of them felt something deep within themselves.
It was irrational and impossible to explain—a feeling of finding something they never knew they had lost.
The red-eyed girl studied the being’s features...
"Hmm? His hair and eyes... they almost look like...!"
She stopped mid-sentence, only just connecting the dots.
Seien heard that and smiled through her tears. Pulling both daughters tightly against her chest, she pointed at the glorious figure in the sky.
"Look carefully, my daughters... Didn’t I tell you your Big Brother would come meet you soon?"
Their little eyes filled with a mixture of surprise, fascination, and reverence.
That supreme being making the entire planet tremble... was the legendary Big Brother they had heard so much about?!
High above, Priam’s aura swirled like a raging sun, bathing the entire planet in divine radiance.
He looked down at the ten Mage Masters with absolute contempt.
"Disappear."
The word was spoken calmly, yet it echoed through the minds of the ten as if it were an ancient thunderclap that shook their very souls.
Priam casually threw a punch forward.
A wave of pure destruction tore through space.
In that single millisecond of terror, the ten Mage Masters finally understood the trap.
They were all clustered together in the same spot, far away from Priam’s family, and still paralyzed by shock.
Priam had endured the humiliation and the beating on purpose—drawing them in and gathering them into one perfect target.
"BASTARD!!"
There was no time to run.
Driven into blind panic, the other nine Mages burned every last ounce of their power to throw up instant barriers.
The old man, however, still had his power sealed. He could only widen his eyes as death closed in, completely helpless.
But the golden light swallowed everything before it...
...as if it were the final judgment.