Once Lee Shin Woo had realized that the Lich had invaded the chatting channel, he had first split the Erems into ātwo squadsā and mobilized them.
[Weāve found him, Master.]
āAs I expected. Hurray for the Mana Radar.ā
First was the area where Silene and the Archmage were located. It was a small city situated near the level 4 danger zone, Bayran. He sent the Erems, satisfying the condition for Fire Shadow, and then waited for the right moment.
He could, of course, defeat the Archmage without all this preparation. An innate element? Lee Shin Woo knew, as someone who often used innate elements, that someone whoād just awakened an innate element couldnāt contend with someone who possessed five.
If the Archmage had simultaneously reached level 9 as well, then it would be a different story. However, he wasnāt there yet. Not at all.
[But security is strict.]
āOk, Iāll go personally.ā
Then why had he sent the Erems ahead of him? This could be explained by the second preceding battle.
Lee Shin Woo and Seagald were ahead in terms of pure power, and the Archmageās space element had been sealed, leading to his head being split apart. However, he was a Lich, a being that could revive itself several times. As long as his life vessel remains intact, he could regain his physical body and revive himself any number of times.
This was really a case of the pot calling the kettle black, as he possessed a revival ability of his own (Invisible Heart), but it was so cowardly! If Lee Shin Woo just went and killed him, then itād be such a waste of a good opportunity; the Lich was outside of the capital, but if he killed him, then heād just revive himself!
[Please be careful, Master. They are powerful.]
āThey wonāt be able to notice me. Donāt worry.ā
Lee Shin Woo had split the Erems into two, sending the other squad āto a different locationā. Where, you askā¦?
[Securityās tight. Itās perfect.]
[The Lord Archmage commanded us to be wary of Seagald Von Retadaneās mana response.]
[With this artifact, the āAnti-Skull Mana Detectorā, which was personally created by the Archmage himself, we should be able to find him, even if he completely erases his presence and reappears!]
He had sent them to a secret facility within the capital which housed the container for the Archmageās soul, or life vessel.
āI thought he was an idiot, like any undead, for leaving the capital, but it looks like heās not. But to think theyāve created an artifact specifically for Seagald. It seems like they really were worried about him. ā¦Though Iām not sure if that thing can actually detect the Annihilation Flame or not.ā
The Mana Radarās top priority was to locate the Archmage and the Emperorās life vessel. And once heād created the Mana Radar, he checked the locations of their life vessels, but itās not like he could be likeā¦ āletās go destroy their souls now!ā.
The Archmageās life vessel was stored in an extremely vital building within the capital, and Seldin would stay around it when he had nothing better to do. On the other hand, the Emperorās life vessel was located in the deepest part of the palace. In other words, it was near impossible for anyone to steal their life vessels undetected!
āIf I didnāt have Annihilation Flame, that isā¦ā
At first, he thought he had no other option but to fight head-on and destroy the Archmageās life vessel before he had a chance to recover. In terms of destroying the life vessel, charging headfirst or fighting them head-on wasnāt much different.
But with Seagaldās Annihilation Flame, he had another option. It was unlikely to work with the Emperorās life vessel, but he was confident that he could steal the Archmageās life vessel in his absence!
āWhy didnāt the Archmage hide his life vessel in the palace too?ā
He thought of several reasons. One, the Archmage wasnāt entirely loyal to the Emperor, or two, it could be dangerous to store two life vessels in the same locationā¦ If it was neither of the two, then perhaps two life vessels couldnāt be placed near each other.
āFrom what Iām seeing, that seems like the most likely option here.ā
This black crystal, which was protected by countless undead, shook its surroundings and emitted an uncanny energy. Seeing that, Lee Shin Woo nodded his head.
Heād always been curious as to how a life vessel was made, but he could make a guess after looking at it. It mostly consisted of the space and darkness elements, as well as layers upon layers of unknown magic. The life vessel required careful storage and another life vessel couldnāt be placed in its direct vicinity.
āAnd it looks like that crystal took a piece of the source of darkness tooā¦ Thatās what comes from just taking a little bit of it? If thatās the case, then what exactly is the darkness that lay beneath the palaceā¦ Hey, wait a sec.ā
Lee Shin Woo thought, but then tilted his head. The source of darkness was beneath the palace. And the Emperorās life vessel was beneath the palace as well.
If thatās the case, thenā¦ did that damn Emperor use the source of darkness itself as his life vessel!? When he actually saw the Archmageās life vessel, what had once seemed a delusion had turned out to be a reality!
āHey, that means that killing the Emperor and purifying the Empire are one in the same.ā
It didnāt matter anyway; in the end, he needed to do both. Lee Shin Woo thought about the steep obstacle heād have to face within the palace and sighed deeply. He soon refocused on his current situation.
If he wasted anymore time here then Lloyd and Erian would die. Honestly, he really didnāt care what happened to them, but he didnāt really want to see Prince cry.
āFirst, letās make a backup.ā
The Archmageās life vessel was stored very carefully; just because heād found the life vessel didnāt mean that it was smooth sailing from now on.
Not only were several level 7 elite undead standing guard (though many of them had been annihilated by Lee Shin Wooās light blast), but there were also dozens of space-type traps that activated upon the entrance of an intruder. And by touching the life vessel, several more traps would activate. Lastly, once the life vessel disappeared, another trap would be activated.
And even with all that, the Archmage usually remained close to his life vessel, so he really was careful.
[The Intermediate Annihilation Flame Element has become Lv2 and Magic has increased by 20.]
āIām good, except for that last trap.ā
But Lee Shin Wooās power, or more specifically, Annihilation Flame, allowed him to ignore most of the traps. By erasing his presence, the traps didnāt have anyone to target.
There was an error in the activation process, so the traps didnāt even activate. It was simple.
āā¦Good. I switched it out!ā
As for the final trap, which activated upon the life vesselās disappearance, Lee Shin Woo switched the real life vessel with a fake created with his Disguise skill, preventing the trap from triggering.
In the short period of time in which he switched the two, Lee Shin Woo had also used his Shining Flame on the magic circle (which made up the trap), and erased cause-and-effect. And by adding in his Acting skill, he was able to do it with ease!
Though he was forced to use a significant amount of mana for this brief distortion, Lee Shin Wooās level wasnāt just for show! He was able to replace the real life vessel with a fake one before his mana bottomed out.
āThe fake wonāt last for very long.ā
But it didnāt need to last that long. He had the Archmageās life vessel in his grasp and planned to go straight to the Archmage with it in tow.
[Artifact, all clear.]
[Treasure, all clear.]
[I want to fight.]
[I want to eat meat.]
He took a peek at the undead, who stood guard without even knowing what heād done, grinned, and left the facility.
āAnnihilation Flameās totally overpowered. It seems better than Dark Shadow.ā
He sent a message to the other Erem and then activated Fire Shadow, allowing him to instantaneously travel to a far off locationā¦ where the Archmage was oppressing the heroes.
With a single glance, he saw his seniors, the undead heroes he hadnāt killed yet, with his juniors, as well as the Archmage, who looked down at them in satisfaction from midair.
Lee Shin Woo felt heād hit his limit with Annihilation Flame, so he chose to reveal himself then and there. His intro had enough impact to cause the Archmage to freeze completely!
āAnd time begins to move once moreā¦ā
[H-How? How do you have my heart!?]
āThatās not whatās important. The fact is that I have your heart in my hands.ā
Lee Shin Woo smiled at the Archmage and squeezed the crystal. But surprisingly, the once frantic Archmage had regained his composure.
[But you didnāt break it. You came all this way and brought it to me without breaking it.]
āHoh.ā
At that moment, Lee Shin Woo was truly surprised. Lee Shin Woo could tell that the Lich was trying to use his mana on the life vessel.
It was the space element. He was using the fusion element of darkness and space, the Dark Space element, on the crystal. The power of space flowed through the darkness; an element that allowed him unlimited control over anything consisting of darknessā¦ It was truly a formidable ability. Especially when he considered that it was difficult to use the space element effectively against another level 9.
While this could be replicated with a maxed out darkness element, Dark Space set itself apart; the darkness encroached space, and the ability to control said space was maximized. Perhaps Dark Space was the element most compatible with the darkness element.
[Your biggest mistake was your arrogance. You shouldāve known that Iād have awakened a new power upon seeing yours!]
āOooooh!ā
The life vessel was already in the Lichās hand! Lee Shin Woo was astonished and applauded him. The next moment, a black flame ignited over the Archmageās palm. Now, the life vessel had returned to Lee Shin Wooās hand.
It was quite obvious, but he had used his maxed out darkness element, Dark Shadow, and Dark Flame together. Of course, the Archmage didnāt really understand what had happened. Regardless of how great his innate element was, there was no way that he could overcome Lee Shin Woo, who possessed five of themā¦!
[ā¦?]
āIt was nice. Iāll give you an 8.ā
Darkness blazed upon his palm and devoured the life vessel. The reason he hadnāt destroyed the life vessel and come straight here was because of the off chance that the Lich would explode, taking Lloyd and Erian with him.
[Fully destroying and absorbing the Lv8 Archmage Feotane Von Seldinās Life Vessel through Bone Reinforcement. You have completely absorbed the magic source, and Magic has increased by 230.]
[The soul is returning to its owner.]
Once all traces of the life vessel disappeared, Lee Shin Woo felt a full amount of mana welling with him. It wasnāt like Lee Shin Wooās mana, which heād acquired through Bone Reinforcement or through adapting to his circumstances, but purely the Archmageās own mana, one whoād followed the path of a magician his entire life. He couldnāt even begin to describe the satisfaction and the joy he felt!
āAh, I guess I canāt take in an entire soul, even with my abilities.ā
[G-Gugaaaaaahk!]
With the life vesselās destruction, the Archmageās soul was forcefully ejected and returned to him. However, the Archmage wasnāt able to withstand the pain. He screamed and started rolling around in the air.
Heād lost control of his mana and spread it out everywhere, but it was all stained by Lee Shin Wooās darkness and eliminated. Destroying his life vessel, the return of his soul, as well as the Lichās anguish from its return wereā¦ all great experiences in killing Liches. It would help when he killed the Emperor!
āYou made one mistake, Lich.ā
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[Guaaaaaah!]
Lee Shin Woo quickly stabbed the Lich with the Death Godās Shining Bone Sword and then said with a somber expression.
āYou met me.ā
While the Archmageās magic was high, his actual defensive capabilities were quite low, so the Shining Bone Sword cut him to pieces.
Fortunately, his bone showed up properly this time.