Mage Adam

The fourth cracking sound was crispy and clear.

In an instant, the sky seemed to collapse, and the ground shook. Everyone felt the world shrink and then expand, with all sorts of terrifying sights.

The healthy plane suddenly turned sick, becoming incredibly weak. The sky turned chaotic, and the shimmering lights of the crystal barriers dimmed quickly, with cracks spreading everywhere.

The surviving Metal Eaters exploded one by one. The energy pillar above the remaining altar erupted and then disappeared.

The Titans floated aimlessly in the air. They looked at each other, at the Royals, at the city, and at their devastated homeland.

The Devourer appeared in everyone's sight. It was so big, beyond imagination.

The fifth cracking sound came.

They watched in horror as the giant beast swallowed the Origin of the world. He moved his body and roared.

The sound came from all directions, shaking every living creature to their core.

Billions of eyes opened at the same time, and all of Titania was under his gaze. The beast, as big as the sky, no longer even cared about the weaklings on the ground.

He was about to level up.

Purple-gold flames ignited within it, burning his entire body, fueled by the Origin of Titania.

Energy vanished bit by bit from all creatures, gathering into the Devourer's body. The flames around him burned more fiercely but grew darker, finally turning gray.

His body exploded, scattering ashes with gray flames like an endless dust storm. In mid-air, each ash particle burst, and from each emerged a small Metal Eater, similar in appearance to the Devourer.

Some were of transcendent level, most were of level four, and they were countless.

The Devourer recreated his race this way, making them far stronger than the previous Metal Eaters.

But by then, no one cared anymore.

'We're doomed, Titania is doomed.' This was the thought of every Titan.

"Master, we're doomed!" Garfield screamed.

Adam was silent, looking up at the sky. The Devourer had fully turned into energy. He was completely gray, with every small part of his body being a vortex, constantly consuming all energy. Only a small purple-gold flame flickered weakly in his head.

When he completely digested the Origin, the Devourer would fully ascend to level nine.

Lord Svorsi was not dead.

"Adam, my friend, I'm sorry you have to die with us," he said, with no blame or anger, only sincerity and calm. "We were always wary of you, wary of the world behind you. How foolish, we never stood a chance against the Devourer, our first enemy, yet we worried in vain that you were the second. I'm sorry, you have always been trying your best to help us."

At this moment, the crystal barrier of this plane completely shattered.

"Precisely locating Explorer Adam. Coordinates calibrated. Final jump prepared."

"Abnormal energy detected. Identified as a level eight Dilus entity, extremely dangerous."

"Target detected in the process of advancement. Emergency protocol activated. A Great Archmages will power the magic array."

The cold voice of the Mage Network was music to Adam's ears. The sense of impending doom vanished instantly.

Meanwhile, Lord Svorsi was still rambling, "I really can't bear to leave this world. There are so many unknowns in the void we haven't explored..."

Adam let out a heavy breath, interrupting Lord Svorsi's sentimental speech, "We are not done for, the mages are about to arrive."

Lord Svorsi looked at Adam in shock and said anxiously, "Tell them to go back! The Devourer is about to become a god, he is invincible!"

"Invincible?" Adam shook his head. The Devourer might seem invincible to transcendent beings, but Adam had heard that a Great Archmage was powering the magic array. Adam didn't know how powerful the Great Archmage were, but he was certain of one thing:

"Rest assured, we are safe now."

...

In the distance, ripples appeared in the void. This strange sight filled Adam with joy but made the Devourer uneasy. He suddenly writhed, causing all of Titania to tremble.

Every flying creature lost the ability to fly, crashing to the ground in waves. Even the floating fortresses lost power, embedding themselves into the massive cracks in the ground.

The Devourer let out a roar. Gray waves of energy spread out in all directions. He was trying to smooth out the spatial ripples and once again seal Titania.

However, he had only succeeded before because he was within the Origin, devouring the Origin's information. Now, having broken free from the Origin, he no longer had that ability.

Adam's expression changed. He urgently said to the Royals, "Construct a defensive field, now! This energy is too much for ordinary Titans to bear."

But it was too late. Though the Royals tried to mitigate the damage, many lower-level Titans were disintegrated by the shockwave.

Fortunately, their Flames did not dissipate. The Royals gathered the remaining members into the crevice where the Titan God's relic had fallen, creating a defensive field as they awaited the mages' arrival.

The Devourer grew anxious. He was one step away from advancement, almost fully consuming the Origin. His energy form had already mostly turned back to solid. He should have been focusing on devouring energy, but now he had to waste energy to disrupt the void, attempting to prevent the mages from arriving.

Gray energy spread like waves, forming a thick layer that seemed like a second crystal barrier.

However, this was useless. The Second Tower's ability to manipulate space was far beyond the Devourer's capabilities.

The Mage Network's voice echoed once again:

"Final jump initiated."

"Magic array activated."

A rift appeared in the void, emitting a white light. Within the rift, a massive hexagram radiated a brilliant light, swiftly dispelling the gray energy.

An intimidating presence flowed through the magic array into the void.

The Devourer roared in terror. He knew where this presence came from, a fear deeply etched into his soul made him tremble all over.

Sensing imminent danger, he tried to flee Titania with the Original Flame.

He almost succeeded, with half of his body disappearing from Adam's sight.

But at that moment, the hexagram vanished. An arm reached out from the void rift and grabbed the Devourer's tail.

"Where do you think you're going?"