The result stood entirely out of expectations. Never in her wildest dreams could Jezebel believe that the insignificant Klaus von Karsten possessed invulnerability. Yet, oddly, his body still aged.
There were only two "pure" immortal races, the fehls, and another one that rarely made appearances. For others, immortality always resulted from a form of ritual, curse, or mutation. To what category did Klaus belong to?
But as Jezebel's thoughts reached that point, Klaus' hands flashed, and his lips parted in incantation gestures:
"Fourth Circle Spell: Amethyst Field," Klaus uttered, four purple circles appeared at his side, releasing waves of purple light throughout the room while eldritch glyphs swirled in their midst. The floor, ceiling, walls, the entirety of the room turned into a field of pure amethyst.
Crystal magic belonged to the Unique Disciplines, arcane paths that typically didn't have any related attribute or established spells. Fleshcrafting, transmutation, technomancy, time magic, desolate magic, summoning magic, and the likes all were Unique Disciplines.
One of the requirements to become an Archon is to either create or activate an Arcane Bloodline. Arcane Bloodlines functioned like Kilian's fleshcrafting and transmutation abilities, enabling the user to summon magical powers without spellcasting or any other form of ritual. Better, they often strengthened various aspects of the magi's physiques.
Because Archons passed down their Arcane Bloodlines, Archon-level houses often produced at least one Archon in the next generation. Needless to say, a staggering strength gap stood between magi with Arcane Bloodlines and those without.
One person couldn't have two Arcane Bloodlines, and Klaus created his own based on crystal magic. Using it as the foundation, he developed a unique set of crystal spells that filled his opponents with headaches.
Jezebel, however, couldn't care less.
"A mortal with invulnerability. How interesting. But I wonder, how invulnerable are you really?" Jezebel cooly asked, and stretched out her right hand toward Klaus, causing four lilac circles to appear as she willed the dra pattern of her spell.
"Fourth Circle Spell: Disintegration." The four circles rotated at maximum speed, lilac-colored light flashed on Jezebel's fingertips and, without a sound, Klaus collapsed in light particles. But at that time, seven massive amethyst spears emerged from the ground and shot toward Jezebel.
Not bothering to evade, Jezebel waved her hand, releasing a formless energy blast that blew all spears into crystal pieces—a futile effort.
Shockingly, instead of dropping on the ground, the pieces turned into crystal needles, and they weren't the only ones. From the floor, ceiling, and walls, myriads of purple crystal needles surrounded Jezebel and, in a flurry of purple squalls, assailed her from all sides.
However, while myriads of needles neared her form, Jezebel closed her eyes, and as if blocked by an invisible wall, all needles stopped in their tracks.
*Bang*
Her eyes opened, and the myriad collapsed in light particles. Klaus' form reappeared where it originally stood, as pristine as ever.
"Fourth Circle Spell: Crystal Formations." Dozens of crystal shards rose in the air, but instead of targetting Jezebel, they merged, morphed, and in a violet spiral, turned into nine, three meters tall golems.
Seeing this, she nodded in approval.
"For an Archon boy, you're not half bad. I suppose you do deserve the title of number one Archon of Arcadia. Very well," Jezebel began and, undisturbed by Klaus's outrageous regeneration abilities, stepped forward.
"I can use 3%. Fifth Circle Spell: Bane of Immortals." Five pitch black, rotating circles appeared beside her, dark fog burst from the ground, coalescing into the ethereal form of a wraith. The wraith's glittering, lilac hues shone with dazzling light, and with a horrid smile, it dove into Klaus!
Crystal walls automatically rose from the ground to repel the wraith—to no avail. Bypassing the walls, the wraith dove into Klaus, and unable to resist or evade, he couldn't stop it.
A black sigil appeared on his chest, and his face contorted into a frown.
"I didn't expect that you could also use death magic," he muttered, lowered his head, and sighed in a seemingly defeated tone.
Crossing her hands behind her back, Jezebel sauntered toward Klaus and graced him with a gentle smile that heavily contrasted with her murderous gaze.
"You're what? 42? To say nothing of the fact that Fehl rules all disciplines, the things across this world that stand beyond your cognition are far too many."
*CRACK!*
The leisurely spoken words had barely left Jezebel's lips that she smashed her right fist into Klaus' jaw, sending the duke flying in the air to encase his head in the ceiling! Alas, she was just getting started.
*BANG*
Grabbing Klaus' right ankle, Jezebel dragged him down the broken ceiling, and smashed his back on the amethyst ground! A ringing sound thundered within the room, but suppressed by Jezebel—the noise didn't go beyond. Klaus' bone shattered, and as the world around him spun, the duke spurted a large mouthful of blood.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
Treating Klaus like a ragdoll, Jezebel smashed him front and back on the crystal ground that should have served as his defenses. Helpless, he could only endure the abuse. And without the outrageous regeneration abilities to support him, his handsome face soon turned into a gory mess.
Tossing him aside, Jezebel smashed her red heels into Klaus' crotch, crushing his balls in one go.
"AAAAAAAARGH!" He howled in grief, but the scream of agony only managed to brighten Jezebel's smile.
"Now, this is what I call a delightful tune. Go, boy, scream for me."
Stretching out her hand, Jezebel condensed a leather whip from her dra and lashed it on Klaus's face, chest, abs, and limbs—not sparing the tiniest bit of flesh! This time, Klaus' wounds didn't heal, forcing him to endure Jezebel's barbaric treatment in its purest form.
Five minutes of relentless flogging went on before Jezebel halted her whip and stared at her artwork.
Of a man, Klaus now only had a rough shape. Torn flesh and blood covered him from all sides, making him wholly unrecognizable. His limbs had all been mangled and twisted beyond use, ensuring that even if he miraculously survived, they could serve no purpose.
However, survive, he wouldn't. Jezebel's whip vanished, and she clenched her fist, making Klaus' bones turn against him, and skewer him from inside out.
Feeling the fehl high surge in her mind, Jezebel rolled her head and stepped toward the window—intent on leaving the castle. Although she'd limited herself to 3% of her real powers, every 1% brought with it non-negligible backlash. She needed time to recover.
But as Jezebel reached the window, a sound stopped her feet: the sound of a heartbeat.
Weak, yet rippling with powers transcending all Jezebel had ever faced on Arcadia, powers that didn't belong to mortal hands.
"Actually, killing me is of no use. Even if you did succeed, just like you, after some time, I would return. So long as my anchor exists, my life shall stretch across eternity. Klaus today, something else tomorrow, 10,000 incarnations may succeed one another, but I shall never suffer true death." A voice, Klaus' mild voice, echoed from Jezebel's back, and alarmed, she spun to face him.
From the gory mess forming Klaus' corpse, that strange heartbeat echoed, and as if to answer its call, dazzling light burst from Klaus' form, mending all his wounds, and restoring him to pristine shape.
But this time, Jezebel could see that the change had nothing to do with Klaus himself. No, external forces were at play.
A golden, beating heart emerged from Klaus' chest, shining in the dazzling light that dispelled Jezebel's spell and restored him anew.
"The heart of a Six-Wheeled Throne? How can this be?" Jezebel whispered, and for the first time since her arrival, her face contorted into a frown. Throughout all planes of existence, only one race possessed enough powers to contend with fehls: the Thrones.
Thrones lived in secluded realms, aloof from mortal affairs, and just like fehls found themselves heavily restricted in the mortal plane. A throne's strength depended on its number of wheels—ranging from one to seven. And from the energies rippling within that heart, Jezebel could see that its past owner possessed six wheels!
This was a behemoth whose might could reduce legions of Exarchs into dust!
How did such a treasure appear in Arcadia and fall in the hands of Klaus? More importantly, how could an Archon channel such power?
The answer came nigh instantaneously.
Oppressive radioactive energies burst from Klaus's form, making the pressure of his 45,000 units of dra rise beyond Archon limit. Red energy wings sprang from Klaus' back, and the heart dove back into the left side of his chest. Instantly, Klaus' dra level went from 45,000 to 450,000 while his magical powers rose to reach the Exarch level!
But if the massive strength leap should have startled her, it was Klaus' red energy wings that gripped Jezebel's attention.
"Two Arcane Bloodlines; and the second one is von Skoll. I see. Now it all makes sense," Jezebel stated, finally seeing through the truth of Klaus' state.
Raising his head, Klaus faced Jezebel with mesmerizing amber eyes that bore a striking similarity to Niklas'.
"I typically don't allow outsiders to witness this form. But I suppose that for you, there is no such need. Though, now more than ever, I dare not take you as my daughter in law. Greetings, Crown Princess Viscellia," Klaus said with a polite bow.