After arriving in Sharrow, the group of five split up for their respective preparations. Julius had said they would all be departing early tomorrow morning, and that this may be the last time they ever got to see their town.

Having spent the majority of his life in the mansion, Zieg had no particular attachments, and immediately headed home. When he opened the door, he saw his mother, Aisha standing in front of the doorway with a blank expression.

“Did you know I’d be leaving for years?” Zieg accused in a surprisingly sharp tone.

At those words, Aisha dropped to her knees and hugged Zieg tightly, sobbing.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” she repeated, crying into Zieg’s shoulder.

Zieg was puzzled, but chose to remain still. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, until Aisha finally spoke, “Hope, you must understand, the world is a cruel place... You need to become an immortal. One even stronger than your father was, so that you’ll never leave me like he did.”

The realization dawned upon him.

(So that’s why she never let me leave the house) he thought.

The wetness on his shoulder breaking his reverie, Zieg hesitated, and finally said, “I understand… Mom,” and for the first time in five years since killing Volheilm, he felt a sense of warmness and satisfaction in his heart. Like that, the two spent their last day together for what would be years.

Meanwhile in the Northern edge of Central in the frontier of the Grandiel continent, a figure stood atop a hill, overlooking a small army of around two hundred demons and tamed demonic beasts crossing the brown, barren and desolate wasteland of the North, and heading South into the Center of the continent.

An immortal. The Elemental Master Julius Eletrix was here at the behest of Chase, the headmaster of the recently established magic academy for elites, Galvane, that lay in Central. He was asked to assist in stopping the demons’ momentum, and decrease the intensity of their assaults in order to reclaim land by, “Utterly destroying their morale.”

“That old fool Chase… At least with this, he will owe me a favor in the future,” Julius muttered derisively. He quickly scanned the area and the force of the two hundred, and discovered that there were no immortals present or in hiding.

“Although long-ranged combat isn’t my forte, this should be enough for rabble like them,” Julius said while stretching both of his arms outwards to his sides, and said with palms facing upwards, “Worldbreaking technique: Grand Aqua Flame.” In an instant, two pillars of clear liquid that radiated heat erupted from the palms of his hands.

The pillars of clear liquid stretched and coiled around one another, almost like they were two parts of a single entity, and fused into a singular body. The result was a large body of clear liquid in the shape of a long serpentine dragon.

The serpent moved at an astonishing speed and crashed into the middle of the army.

“Ambush!” the demons cried as the serpent moved through their ranks.

Luger was the commander of an army of two hundred demons. He was a highly respected demon at the peak of A rank. Those that knew him said that he was destined for greatness, but actually, he was just incredibly bored. He repeated the same routine over and over again countless times. He would lead his army into the frontier, raid a few human settlements, and come back every time to receive high praise from others. He had lost count how many times he had done so.

Growing weary of this routine, Luger wanted something new and exciting to happen, and the scene developing before him was exactly that.

“I didn’t want this…” he murmured to no one but himself. The wailing and pained cries of demons filled his ears.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. A serpent made of liquid moved unpredictably. Everything, anything the serpent touched melted. Those that the serpent didn’t touch and were unlucky enough to simply be nearby were set on flames.

Luger saw the body of the serpent brush against a demon’s arm. The arm melted, and within moments, the arm no longer existed. A similar scene repeated itself throughout his army, and the screams of agony only grew louder as more and more demons were set on fire and melted.

Steeling himself, Luger pushed aside his fears and began thinking of methods to stop the liquid serpent.

(It’s almost like magma? No, acid? Either way, water should work in altering temperature or diluting the acid. It should be weak to water.) Luger judged. He yelled, “Those still capable, use water magic!”

He himself conjured a wave of water, and shot it towards the serpent. The serpent was hit with a barrage of water magic from all directions. With that much water magic, he expected the serpent to be completely destroyed, or at least severely weakened in the worst case scenario. However, he couldn’t escape his feeling of unease.

The serpent received all the attacks of water magic head-on, and instead of weakening, it grew bigger. The serpent had absorbed all the water, and added it to its own power.

(It can’t be… the only thing that could be this powerful is… a Worldbreaking skill…) Luger shuddered at the thought, “Retreat! Retreat!” he yelled. There was less than half of his army remaining.

(There’s an immortal! An immortal’s here!) he panicked to himself, trying his best to remain calm. Those would be his last thoughts.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

A figure stood atop a hill. An immortal. The Elemental Master Julius Eletrix. He smiled. Now, the only thing in his sights was a brown, barren, and desolate wasteland.