Chapter 89: Butch
The vast banquet hall transformed into a terrifying, dark abyss.
A suffocating pressure, like a tsunami, threatened to crush everyone, starting from their toes, devouring them whole.
The boundless sea surged and churned.
Black tides spread, filling the entire hall with boiling black water.
Moore couldn’t run, the black mist clinging to his legs, pinning him to the floor.
His previous bravado had been a facade. He was an Imperial Prince, how could he die in such a place? He wouldn’t accept defeat, wouldn’t accept dying at Lena’s hands!
The fear of death drove him to madness. He quickly released his mind control, lessening the burden on his body, even kneeling and begging for forgiveness.
But Lena didn’t stop.
Her half-human, half-demon form was the first thing everyone saw when they regained their senses, like a newborn chick breaking free from its shell, a terrifying sight seared into their minds, a lingering nightmare.
“…What happened?”
“Lena! Lena has gone mad! Everyone run!!”
“Run?”
Those too slow were swallowed by the black tide, more and more disappearing into the darkness, as if erased from existence.
Thanks to Lena’s remaining sanity, the black tide parted around Angel, flowing towards the Blood Raven members.
Lena had a target, a clear objective in her hunt.
This was a game of cat and mouse, her favorite game…
“She can actually control the Black Tide?!”
Professor Witch held Agnes tightly, who in turn held Diana. They were both shocked by Lena’s display of power.
“[Black Tide], a sixth-rank Necromancer’s ultimate area-of-effect spell, is incredibly difficult to control, requiring a massive amount of magic power to sustain.” Professor Witch analyzed, then looking up, she noticed Lena’s form, realizing, “Your… your magic power isn’t at the sixth-rank level…!”
Rank seven… no, rank eight!
She couldn’t understand where Lena’s magic power came from, like a bottomless well, its depths and secrets unknown.
“The Black Tide is under Lena’s complete control, it’s deliberately avoiding us…”
Agnes shielded her face with her hand, preventing her hair from obstructing her view. “Such precise control requires immense calculation and accuracy. Lena is like a precision instrument, a single mistake could lead to a complete collapse, losing control of the Black Tide… She’s controlling the battlefield, from the very beginning…”
She covered her mouth, suppressing a sob.
Diana, seeing Agnes’s tearful expression, also felt like crying.
“I think Senior Weakling is using this opportunity to make a statement, like a political show of force. The stronger she appears, the more her enemies will fear her, changing their tactics from assassination to alliance…”
As royalty, Diana had a different perspective, having witnessed many such power plays. Her analysis was sharp and convincing. “Senior Weakling is clearly using my brother to announce to the world that Lena Falmouth is gone, only the head of the Falmouth family, the master of this Black Tide, remains.”
…
Vanessa, standing on a high platform, was suddenly swept away by the “boiling” Black Tide. Just as her consciousness began to fade, she accelerated the process, finally connecting the spatial portal’s coordinates to the distant Devil’s Sea.
Boom—
A distant rumbling sound, like rolling thunder, the crashing waves against the rocks creating a suffocating pressure, followed by the sound of someone pounding on the portal…
It seemed… someone was knocking?
A peculiar way of knocking, without rhythm, just pure brute force.
The person on the other side seemed to defy the laws of space, forcing open a crack in the stable portal, their hands reaching in, tearing it open.
The terrifying force made the scene flicker like a faulty screen, spatial fragments falling.
Finally, the portal to the Devil’s Sea was opened!
A tall, sturdy young man with a determined expression strode out, carrying the scent of the salty sea breeze.
His chest was wrapped in bandages, but his strong muscles were still visible, his entire being radiating a powerful aura.
He grabbed Vanessa’s hand, pulling her out of the Black Tide as easily as lifting a chick.
“Oh, the young lady of the Cavendish family, the last time I saw you, you were still a little bean sprout. You’ve grown up.”
Butch stared at the unconscious Vanessa for a few seconds, then grinned, revealing his white teeth. “My little sister is getting bolder, using such dangerous magic, clearly testing my rescue abilities.”
With that, he casually tossed Vanessa into the air, his body flashing as he punched the surging Black Tide.
The force of his punch split the all-consuming black wave in two, creating a path almost a kilometer long.
Black rain fell from the ceiling, blurring the vision.
Butch jumped up, catching Vanessa and placing her on his shoulder, clicking his tongue. “Good thing I’m not wearing a suit, how could I see my little sister looking like this?”
He casually waved his bandaged fist, the wind scattering the falling rain.
And the path he had created through the Black Tide was widened by the force of his punch.
Coincidentally, the end of the path led directly to Professor Witch.
Their eyes met.
Professor Witch was surprised. “Butch?”
Butch kicked off the ground, leaving a deep crater, his speed astonishing.
He stopped before Professor Witch. “It’s been a while. The last time we met, we were still classmates. What should I call you now, Dean Witch?”
“Just call me Witch, like before. We’re of the same generation, no need for formalities.”
Professor Witch relaxed, as if seeing an old friend, finding solace in his presence.
“Are you here to clean up your sister’s mess?”
“How can you call it a mess…” Butch handed Vanessa to her, stretching his arms, his bones cracking. “My little sister is just providing me with a training ground. Tsk, tsk, it’s been a few years, she’s changed so much…”
“You too.” Professor Witch sensed Butch’s magic power, her eyes widening in surprise. “Rank eight?”
“Just a step away.”
“Heh, quite impressive.”
“I’m about to reach the legendary rank, I can feel it.” Butch chuckled, flexing his arms. “You, on the other hand, haven’t progressed at all. It seems teaching has softened you, oh great ‘Harbinger of Death’.”
His teasing had no effect, as Professor Witch was still processing his words…
Legendary.
Was the Almeria Empire finally going to have a legendary rank expert?!
Above rank eight was the legendary rank, and legendary professionals could face calamity-level monsters head-on. If Butch truly reached the legendary rank, the Falmouth family would surpass their status as one of the empire’s three pillars, becoming one of the world’s top families!
