"Your thinking is flawed," the Conquestian explained. "This pressure originates from a Blue Depth Arcanist! Most importantly, I can't tell if it's one person or several. If everyone is as strong as that, then…"
He could not finish his words. One Blue Depth Arcanist was already scary enough. What if there were more of them? What if there were people… above Blue Depth? Forget a thousand soldiers. A million might not even be their match! At that level, numbers meant next to nothing. They could effortlessly erase the Zino Kingdom from existence! Therefore, they had to ensure they did not anger these individuals.
"Blue Depth Core Level, the level above Condensed Drop?" the Second Sage paled. "But… that's impossible! We haven't seen a Blue Depth Arcanist in over five hundred years!"
He was about to speak when something changed outside. Everyone saw something they would never forget. High in the clouds, that World Energy vortex continued to revolve when a mysterious force summoned it down! Due to the heavy rainstorm, thick black clouds covered the sky. Combined with the darkness of night, no one could see it clearly. But now, as the whirlpool of World Energy gathered and funneled down, something miraculous happened! The beautiful rainbow-colored liquid tendrils of energy refracted their light through the raindrops! In a second, the entire capital city was illuminated like day, the sky a myriad of a thousand colors! It looked like a million rainbows covered the world!
It was so breathtaking and mesmerizing that the Conquestian, Second Sage, and Ten Dawn admired it wholeheartedly. They could not pull their eyes away. It was truly… a heavenly phenomenon! Only a deity could produce such wonderful sights! It temporarily washed away their thoughts as they became captured by its sheer beauty. Inari and his partner also looked out the physician's clinic in amazement. The same was happening across the city. Those that remained conscious forgot about their fears and panic and simply… looked up. No one dared to say a thing, as if their words would sully this divine moment. The world turned silent!
Gradually, the Conquestian was the first to pull his eyes away and stared at one of the women behind him. "Ten Dawn Rosemary… Can you explain what's happening? Why is this phenomenon happening over your family estate?"
The woman jumped in fright and looked to check. Indeed, it seemed to be spiraling toward her home! "What is going on?" she shouted. "We don't know any Blue Depth Arcanist! How could it be converging there?"
"Last I recall, there was trouble with the Adnire siblings, right?" Sage Alana wondered. "They should be at your home now, right?"
"It is as you say, but… Ten Dawn Nassandra is far from reaching the Medium Condensed Drop standard, much less higher than that. It should not be originating from her." This made both the Conquestian and Sage turn quiet. "However, there is something that… I don't understand."
"Oh, what is that?" the man asked.
"Freon Adnire, the older brother of Ten Dawn Nassandra, was telling me that his uncle had been found. There were many strange things about him. If I recall correctly, his name was… Avin."
"What?" the two sucked in a cold breath. They exchanged horrified gazes.
"Is there something wrong?" Rosemary asked carefully, sensing the tense air.
The Conquestian glanced out the window at the beautiful vortex. It was still ongoing which showed the monstrous power behind it. It was basically impossible to cover anything up now. "This person that you mentioned… He should be the person behind this phenomenon."
"It really is a person behind all this?" she became startled. All this talk of a Blue Depth Arcanist seemed almost like a fairy tale. She thought they were joking.
"Not just any person, but the Protector of the former Arcellius Family, Protector Avin Arcellius!" he smiled bitterly.
That name was like a curse, rendering everyone speechless. Avin Arcellius… Decades ago, he was already a near-legendary figure that reached the zenith of power in the Zino Kingdom. Having reached Medium Condensed Drop, he became the strongest Arcanist of his generation! Even Conquestian Zaru had to take second place begrudgingly. But that was only the public side of things. The Celestial Court knew that Protector Avin was hiding his true power! The reason? It was to maintain the integrity of the Conquestian's position. The Conquestian was supposed to be the strongest Arcanist, seen as a beacon and pillar of power. Protector Avin would shatter that balance! It might seem insignificant, but politics was like that. It was all a matter of reputation and authority!
Later, the Arcellius Family would disappear, and their image began fading from people's minds. This would solidify the Conquestian's position as unshakable! He became the new strongest Arcanist of his generation! Still, the Conquestian never forgot about Protector Avin. Before that man disappeared, Avin had achieved High Condensed Drop! One had to realize that the Conquestian took the vast majority of his life, reaching ninety years of age, to manage the same feat. Protector Avin's Magic Potential might be lower than the late Sage Serana, but his raw talent and genius were simply too strong! It was borderline ridiculous.
Since then, about fifty years had passed. Conquestian Zaru knew that Avin would return one day. He had even predicted that Avin's limit would be Half-Blue Depth Core Level… Little did he know, that was still underestimating the Protector! There was an entire world of difference between Condensed Drop and Blue Depth Arcanists. Their powers were nearly incomparable! Look at the Sword King Sin, who managed to execute thirty Perception Realms with a single attack. And right now, although Protector Avin was merely channeling his Magic Energy and aura, it could suppress the entire capital city, forcing everyone into submission! His power was inestimable!
The Conquestian's face was covered in regret. His already old features seemed to take another leap forward. Once he grimaced, all his wrinkles appeared, showing exactly how old this man was. He was even older than Queen Bethnal, since he served as her Protector long ago… Because he kept up his physical and magical training, his vitality was stronger than others. He could move and act with the flexibility of someone middle-aged. Unfortunately, anyone could tell he was one step from death. It seemed like a light breeze would be enough to kill him! He sighed and coughed several times. He thought that if Protector Avin was responsible for all this, what would be the point? They were around the same age, both about to die… Was it really necessary to continue digging up old grudges?
"I'll speak with him," the Conquestian said. "You two stay here and work on stabilizing the situation in the capital. If things go awry, evacuate the city and mobilize the military."
Outside, the vortex of World Energy was finally winding down. That divine phenomenon began to recede as well. When the last wisps of energy disappeared into the Arkfell estate, a massive Magic Circle formed on top of the building! To put it into perspective, Torrential Blizzard, the spell used by Ten Dawn Nassandra and Tengon during the battle with the emperor, had a Magic Circle diameter of two adults with their arms stretched. Freon's Magic Circles were a little larger than his palm. The size of the Magic Circle corresponded to the strength and complexity of the spell. Meanwhile, the Magic Circle forming over the Arkfell estate was half the size of the building! That showed the tremendous power surging into the spell!
This time, the Conquestian was honestly scared silly. If Avin was planning on unleashing a large-scale destruction spell in the heart of the city, that would be a bad joke! The loss of life would be a staggering number! He pulled out his wand and began constructing a powerful spell as well. He ignored the consequences and used his Magic Energy crazily. In a flash, his High Condensed Drop Core depleted to zero. His consciousness weakened from the extreme overburdening on his body as he stumbled. Soon, a huge translucent barrier formed, protecting himself and many inside the Celestial Court! However, it was far from covering the Celestial Court… He was about to fortify it further with his World Energy when the Arkfell estate's spell completed!