Chapter 48: New Power (II)

Glancing around at the pitch-black surroundings of the room, Allen relied on his intuition to sense Thors’s movements. To be honest, he wasn’t really a magician but rather a knight skilled in enhancement techniques, trained since childhood by the legendary knight Argi Eiden. His intuition was sometimes even more effective than a magician’s mental field.
Unfortunately, even so, Allen failed to detect any trace of Thors. Even his subconscious told him that there was no one there…
Was this the result of his training? Mastery over the Source Energy?
In fact, it wasn’t just him—no one else had noticed Thors either. It wasn’t until the Grand Elder used magic to light the lanterns on the walls around the room that everyone was shocked to realize Thors was standing only about ten yards away from them.
Staring wide-eyed at Thors, who stood in the center of the room, Aibel murmured in surprise, “He’s completely blocked the mental field. Is this the power of the Source Energy?”
“Hehe,” said the Grand Elder, stroking his gray beard that hung to his chest with a smile. “This is just the basics!” Then he glanced at Allen and said cheerfully, “Allen, be careful!”
“Careful?” Allen smiled arrogantly, looking at Thors, who stood with his eyes closed in the room. “Hey, don’t get too proud, you jerk!” Then he turned to his wife, Lisa, and said, “Lisa, go to my room and bring my knight’s sword!”
“Oh…” Lisa nodded blankly, then seemed to remember something and said in surprise, “You mean the sword Uncle Eiden gave you? Do we really have to use that sword?”
What Lisa referred to was the magic sword Allen had used during his time at the Rexox Academy—the sword belonging to the legendary knight Argi Eiden. Its blade was adorned with seals of wind, fire, earth, and ice, allowing it to inflict magical damage alongside physical strikes. It was the legendary sword named after that knight: the [Sword of the Great Knight].
Back then, Allen had secretly brought it to Rexox. After he took charge of the Knights of the Free Wind, Argi Eiden, whose right hand was severely injured, officially passed on his sword to Allen, which became Allen’s personal sword. However, Allen rarely used it in daily life because he believed that defeating opponents with such a powerful magic sword wasn’t a true source of honor. That’s why Lisa was skeptical.

“Of course,” Allen said with a smile, glancing at Thors, who was sitting with his eyes closed, looking calm. He then turned to Lisa and said cheerfully, “That guy isn’t an ordinary opponent. Go ahead, Lisa! Watch how I teach him a lesson!”
“Hehe!” With a laugh, Lisa rushed out.
Meanwhile, taking this opportunity, everyone continued to observe Thors before them. What surprised them was that Thors didn’t seem particularly powerful. On the contrary, figures like Ulric and Connel appeared far stronger than him. Yet, judging from the Grand Elder’s pleased and satisfied smile, it seemed things weren’t quite that simple.
As everyone was puzzled, Ravia, who had been studying Thors closely, spoke softly, “He’s very much like… the current Thors, and Belial…”
Connel instinctively glanced at Ravia, then at Thors. As Ravia said, the current Thors had many similarities to Belial back in Sassen. Of course, it wasn’t about their physical appearance, but rather their aura. Belial’s aura stemmed from his recklessness—because he was so powerful that he feared nothing. Even the strongest beings in the world seemed insignificant in his eyes, like ants beneath him, as if he were a god looking down on all creatures. As for Thors, though he wasn’t yet at Belial’s level, Ravia could see a strong sense of confidence in his gaze.
After all, his opponent was Allen—a knight who had become a Grand Knight after Prince Theo ascended to the throne. With his naturally exceptional physical strength and enhanced abilities, this Grand Knight was practically a nightmare for mages. Especially when Allen activated [Domain: Battle Horn], his body became immune to magic below level five. In other words, even Flare Flash could hardly harm this tough guy, unless it was Professor Hode’s improved version—Double Power Flare Flash.
It could be said that aside from his somewhat frivolous personal lifestyle, this Grand Knight was perfect in every way. The fact that he immediately ordered Lisa to fetch the Grand Knight’s sword proved his seriousness. He was no longer the weak knight who would lose just by being forced to stay ten yards away from Thors. With his domain activated, Allen’s speed could rival that of the Queen Puppet Queen, and his strength even surpassed that of the Castle Puppet Kanso. As a human, he was truly a monster.

And this, Ravia knew very well. Seeing Thors still with his eyes closed, looking full of confidence, the lady lord who had received formal noble education since childhood frowned slightly and scolded, “Idiot, don’t be careless!”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Allen continued Ravia’s words. Seeing Thors still with his eyes closed, he felt somewhat displeased out of pride and said with a smile, “I really hate those who are even more arrogant than me, you jerk!”
No sooner had he spoken than the Grand Elder’s laughter came through.
“It’s not like that,” the Grand Elder explained cheerfully to the confused crowd. “Thors isn’t keeping his eyes closed because he underestimates you, Allen. It’s because his eyes can’t tolerate light for now…”
As if thinking of something, Aibel interjected in shock, “Can’t tolerate light for now? Could it be…”
“Yes,” the Grand Elder nodded, as if guessing what Aibel was thinking, and said with a smile, “This room has remained completely dark, just as you saw it earlier, without any light for the past month… Because unnecessary light might prevent one’s mind from becoming completely calm, and the Source Energy can only be perceived after the mind is utterly at peace…” He glanced at Thors and said with a laugh, “That should be enough. Try opening your eyes!”
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Thors slowly opened his eyes. It was clear that the Grand Elder wasn’t lying at all. Even with the faint light from the lanterns on the surrounding walls, it took Thors over ten seconds to fully open his eyes.
“Yo!” Thors greeted with a smile.
Yet his greeting seemed to have the opposite effect. Allen, standing across from him, widened his eyes in shock at Thors’ sunny smile and exclaimed in horror, “Hey, don’t scare me, guy! I’ve known you for so many years, but I’ve never seen you smile before…”
“Never?” A hint of surprise flashed in Thors’ eyes as he murmured, “I should have, right?”
“Never, absolutely never!” Allen shook his head repeatedly, unable to resist stepping forward to examine Thors from head to toe. He even touched his forehead and said in surprise, “Are you okay, guy? Are you sick?”
Not only Allen was surprised; Ravia, Ulric, Connel, and the others also showed stunned expressions. Only Nina and Dia were exceptions. Nina because she wasn’t familiar with her brother’s personality over the past few years, and Dia because she had seen Thors smile when no one else was around.

So, it’s not that there isn’t any, just very little, extremely little.
What’s even more surprising is that the dark aura originally within Thors has vanished completely, replaced by a sacred aura unique to holy power—a warm aura like sunlight, completely different from Thors’ cold demeanor.
Noticing this, Ravia smiled knowingly.
“Honestly, I’m a bit unaccustomed to it…” Looking at Thors’ sunny smile, Allen scratched his head before laughing and putting his arm around Thors’ shoulders. “But anyway, whether it was you before or you now, you’re still my best friend…” He lowered his voice and added, “By the way, remember to be gentle later. I’m just trying to help you test your sword—don’t end up chopping me, your whetstone too…”
“…”
“Haha,” Seeing Thors’ stunned expression, Allen laughed heartily, slapping Thors’ shoulder with a hint of arrogance. “I was just joking with you. Don’t take it seriously. Use whatever moves you want later…”
Just then, hurried footsteps came from the hallway outside. Soon after, Lisa rushed in, holding a heavy sword with a golden scabbard, panting. “Allen, Allen!”
“Hey!” Allen yelped, walking to the door to take the heavy sword from Lisa. He drew the blade and tossed the scabbard aside. The smile on his face faded as he grasped the Great Knight’s Sword—now completely different from the playful person he had been moments ago.
“Can Thors win?” Diya stood there, hands on her chest, murmuring worriedly as she watched Allen and Thors.
Her tone made Ravia, who already saw Thors as her pride, slightly displeased. Frowning, she was about to speak when Nina said confidently beside her, “My brother won’t lose!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lisa said cheerfully, “That’s not necessarily true, Sister Nina!” She called out to Allen, waving her little fist threateningly. “Allen, don’t lose! Beat Thors!”
“Ah!” Allen, standing not far from Thors, licked his lips.
“Let’s follow the usual rules for a duel,” said the Grand Elder, standing aside with a cane and glancing at the two of them. “Try not to damage Vandel’s walls. Any type of magic is allowed, but offensive magic must be below level four… Domain spells are prohibited. Thors, you’re not allowed to use the modified Flash Flame—its temperature must be below blue…”

“Huh?” After listening to the Elder for a long time, Ulric said in surprise, “Why does it feel like the Elder is deliberately trying to keep Thors from unleashing his full power? Is there really such a big difference once one masters the Source Energy? Allen’s strength isn’t weak at all…”
Arms crossed, leaning against the wall, Connel glanced at the two fighters with a half-smile and murmured, “Let’s see!”
“Then… let’s begin!”
As the Elder stepped back with his cane, neither of the two seemed inclined to attack first.
Taking a deep breath, Allen grasped the Great Knight’s Sword in his right hand and brushed his left hand across the blade. Immediately, a row of crimson symbols appeared on it, and flames burst forth across the sword.
Staring intently at Thors, Allen licked his lips and whispered, “Let’s see this so-called Source Energy!”
“Ah!” Thors nodded with a smile, and a wisp of flame appeared on the index finger of his raised right hand.
“Then… be careful, buddy!” As soon as those words were spoken, a green and red glow enveloped Allen’s body. With a crackling sound as his muscles swelled, he gripped his heavy sword tightly and swung forward with force. With a loud roar, the flaming blade created a wave of fire that stretched four or five yards wide, rushing toward Thors at incredible speed. Even as it flew, the flame wave continued to expand. With another thunderous sound and a blast of flames, the area where Thors stood was instantly surrounded by fire, like a sea of flames.
Could a magic sword achieve such things?
“Thors…” Ravia, Nina, and Dia couldn’t help but let out soft gasps of shock. Even Katerina from Salonia wore a terrified expression, clearly worried for Thors.
Yet surprisingly, Thors simply stood there in the sea of flames, as if the fire didn’t touch him at all.
No… that’s not right…
Ravia’s gaze sharpened. She clearly noticed something strange about Thors’s body—especially his lower legs, which were almost completely free from the flames. What was more concerning was that Allen’s flaming slash had clearly passed through Thors’s body before hitting the wall behind him.
“Elementalization?!” Ulric exclaimed in horror.
It should be noted that although the dark magicians of Vandell regarded [Elementalization] and [Element Manifestation] as signs of surpassing ordinary grand magicians, their difficulties were not the same.

【Elemental Manifestation】 refers to condensing a certain element floating in the atmosphere into a tangible form. Just as apostles are accustomed to gathering dark forces into weapons, these elementally formed weapons possess a hardness comparable to steel. Of course, the actual strength of such elemental swords depends entirely on an individual’s willpower and mental resilience. If one’s will weakens, the effort spent creating such a sword is less effective than simply using a stick.

The difficulty of 【Elementalization】 is even greater than the former. To be precise, its full name should be “Body Elementalization,” as envisioned by the black magicians in the past. Yet, aside from apostles, almost no human can achieve this. Throughout magic history, only Hode Kendi managed to use an incomplete form of elementalization during the battle at Argus.

“He did it…” Abel had seen everything clearly just now. Sadness appeared in her eyes as she covered her mouth and began to cry silently. Suddenly, she felt someone gently pat her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the Grand Elder looking at her with kindness.

As if perceiving the Grand Elder’s thoughts, Abel smiled lightly, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked at Thos, stroked the two rings on her left hand, and murmured, “See, Hode? Your student has surpassed you. Even without forbidden methods, he has reached the level of elementalization…”

“Ah,” the Grand Elder nodded, gazing at Abel with affection, as if looking at his own granddaughter, and comforted her softly, “Without Hode’s guidance, Thos might not have achieved such success. So…”

“Mm!” Abel nodded gently and asked curiously, “Is this also achieved after mastering the Source Power?”

“That’s not it,” the Grand Elder chuckled and bit his head, explaining to Abel and Ulric and the others watching, “To achieve elementalization, magic power or mental strength isn’t key. What matters is soul power. Only a strong soul can ensure that one’s body doesn’t collapse due to elementalization… Thos was once an apostle, and moreover, an apostle of Sloth. As you know, Sloth, the master of 【Escape】, rules over 【Forgetting】. Apart from apostles, all beings in this world can be erased in an instant. As Sloth’s apostle, Thos had to constantly be vigilant to contain this negative force. Over time, his soul power became far stronger than that of ordinary people…”

“So is he now 【above ordinary grand magicians】?”

“Hmm, more or less,” the Grand Elder nodded and said softly. “He’s much weaker now than at his peak, after all, having lost the power of Sloth. But with the presence of holy energy, he can barely reach the level of [Above Average Archmage]. Um… it’s too hard to remember ‘Above Average Archmage’. Why doesn’t Welman redefine that title?”
“Yes,” Abel smiled slightly, then seemed to remember something, his eyes lighting up as he said with a laugh, “Actually, this level refers to the ability to communicate better with elements and freely transform them between the physical and spiritual realms. How about calling it ‘Magus’?”
“Magus…” The Grand Elder was momentarily stunned, then repeated the term a few times before nodding. “That’s roughly what it means… Hod’s mentor Barrett, as well as your grandfather and Veston—I can’t remember exactly how many people have tried to break free from this shackle that binds black mages, but no one has ever succeeded… It’s a pity about Hod; his limited talent prevented him from truly achieving it… But without Little Hod’s explorations, I wouldn’t dare let that boy, Thos, try elementization so casually…”
“Is it for Belial?” Abel asked hesitantly.
“Hmm,” the Grand Elder nodded and frowned. “Once Thos masters the Source Power, Belial certainly won’t treat him as a joke like before. And once Belial gets serious, Thos’s chances of winning are very, very small… Facing an opponent like Belial who has mastered the Source Power for so long, relying solely on teleportation is far too passive. At the very least, he needs to learn a way to protect himself!”
“That’s true…” Thinking of Belial nearly suppressing all the mages in Vandel single-handedly, Abel couldn’t help but sigh slightly before turning his attention back to the battle between Thos and Allen.
By this time, Allen seemed to realize as well that the flames generated by his magic sword weren’t strong enough to harm Thos, who had already mastered elementization. Although the flames were highly damaging, if they couldn’t injure Thos, they would instead enhance his magical power. Thus, continuing to attack with flames was undoubtedly a foolish move.
With that thought, Allen stepped back a few steps. With Lisa’s encouragement, he wiped his left hand over the sword blade again. A row of pale blue runes appeared on it, and soon, layers of frost formed around the entire sword. The scorching air around them also cooled down instantly.
Another slash.

This time, Thors couldn’t avoid as easily as before. The moment his figure disappeared from that spot, the sea of fire was instantly frozen by the frosty energy carried by his slashes, turning into a large mass of ice that then collapsed and scattered on the ground.
“Changing tactics?” Thors, who reappeared, smiled at Allen.
“Ah,” Allen said cheerfully while continuing to swing his slashes, “Since I know I can’t hurt you, I’m not that stupid… Be careful, buddy! Even if you’re elementalized, I can still freeze you!”
Thors smiled slightly. In fact, he had avoided earlier because he realized the power of the enchantment on that Great Knight’s Sword—even by transforming his body into fire elements, he would still be frozen by that frosty force.
“What’s the matter, buddy? Just dodging—what’s the point of that?”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Thors seemed to be struggling to dodge Allen’s attacks. But as they watched, Ulric and Connel’s expressions grew increasingly strange.
He dodged them all…
Allen possessed the speed of his own Queen Puppet, Queenin. Faced with his both long-range and close-range attacks, Thors managed to dodge them all…
But in Ravia’s eyes, Thors mostly avoided Allen’s attacks with slight movements like turning his body or head. A few times, those slashes clearly missed him by a hair’s breadth—was it because he didn’t have enough time to dodge?
No, that’s not right…
Ravia noticed Thors’s gaze. It remained as calm as before, which meant…
“How is this possible?” Ulric murmured, staring wide-eyed at Thors, who kept dodging Allen’s attacks. “Allen’s attacks are completely ineffective. I have a strange feeling—it seems like Thors can predict Allen’s moves in advance. Look, it’s happening again… This feeling is exactly like the battle we had with Belial a month ago. Back then, none of our attacks could harm Belial at all…”
Frowning as he watched Thors dodge Allen’s attacks without even seeming to look, Connel wore a serious expression and said in a deep voice, “Back then, because that guy Belial was too strong, I didn’t pay much attention. Thors, without the power of Sloth, was probably on par with Allen in strength. And mages are already at a disadvantage against knights like Allen. But I never thought… If this is the strength after mastering Origin Power, then… our battle back then must have seemed like a game to Belial… Damn! Is the gap really that big?”

As soon as the words were spoken, the Grand Elder whispered beside him, “Perceiving the opponent and predicting their next move—these are just the most basic abilities of mastering the Source Force. Without mastering this power, one isn’t worthy of standing in front of that kid, Belial. And now…” He paused, tapped his staff, and shouted, “Thors, it’s almost time to try attacking…”
“Oh!” Thors, who had been constantly dodging, stopped immediately, and Allen, standing not far away from him, also halted.
“Be careful, Allen!”
“…” Looking at Thors’ serious expression, Allen instinctively gripped his Great Knight’s Sword tighter. He had an inexplicable premonition—that if he got distracted at this moment, he would die…