Cthulhu Gonfalon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Sui Xiong was a little surprised at the sight of Satan walking towards them but couldn't help smiling nonetheless.

Satan had been spending these past few years planning something big; if he was out of seclusion now, that most likely meant his plans were about to come to fruition.

"Almost done preparing?" he asked with a smile.

"There's still a lot that needs to be done, but what's left can't be done unless I'm there in person," Satan replied with a smile of his own.

This exchange left everyone else at a loss, but after barely a moment, Leon's cry of surprise cleared it up for them all.

"The legendary peak!?"

Satan's scent had caught Leon's attention from the moment he first stepped into the room. Though he'd looked gentle enough on the surface, something about him seemed to give off a faint feeling of danger.

Leon was puzzled by this. He was unsure of how a magician who was only at the junior-legendary level, despite having reached the peak of strength, could possibly be dangerous to him. Reality wasn't like in the stories; the difference between junior legendary and the legendary peak was extremely huge. Unless Satan spent ten or eight years arranging positions before trying to break through with force like some sort of madman, then even if Leon stood still and let him plot against him, at most he'd get a light injury. Even at the peak of his strength, getting seriously injured by Satan was unthinkable.

At a level like this, there was no way he could feel in the least bit threatened.

To threaten Leon, one would at the very least have to be at the mid-legendary level and carry magical objects of the same level. Only with these two things combined could one catch Leon off guard and inflict serious damage. If you wanted to kill him, being at the mid-legendary level or having low-level magical objects wouldn't be enough. You'd either need to be at the advanced legendary level with magical objects of the same level, or you'd need to be at the mid-legendary level with an official magical object; nothing else would work.

Originally, Leon had assumed Satan was hiding part of his power and was carrying a powerful magical object given to him by the Void Mask. But when Satan spoke just then, he suddenly came to a realization—there was another possibility, as well.

Mage Satan had been in seclusion for many years researching the path to the legendary level. Those who didn't know all assumed he'd yet to reach the Legendary Realm, but looking at how he was right now, it was obvious he'd entered the Legendary Realm a long time ago.

If that was the case, then what in the world had he been researching all these years? Did his coming out of seclusion at this moment mean that his research had yielded results? Or was it already completed?

Also, in regards to "that event," which Sui Xiong and Satan were talking about, Leon himself was vaguely aware of a bit.

These past few years, the Void Mask Mage Corps had been buying some magical materials through the number one strategic business town on the continent's eastern shore: Garth City. Though not particularly rare, these materials had particularly unique uses, and a large majority of them had gone missing. Leon was well aware of this happening, but he had never looked into it, thinking there was no need to.

Thinking back on it now, these materials had only had one use to begin with, one which he'd heard His Majesty make vague mentions of occasionally during idle chats.

It was the construction of an ultra-large-scale Purification Array to purify the entire Ashes Woods!

This sort of thing was definitely not something your average Legendary Master could accomplish. Keep in mind that even the "Great Mentor" Le-Peyroux from days of old would have been unable to accomplish such a feat. If he could, why would he have needed to take all those students with him to the southern plateau to establish the Country of Casters? Compared to the Magic Beast-infested southern plateau, the western forest was obviously a much more fitting area.

He feared only a mage on the level of a demigod would be able to assure he could do something like this. And if one compared the way Satan spoke with the fact that he'd come out of seclusion—the verdict was already reached.

That guy Satan had been hiding the truth all this time, quietly meditating, and had even actually made it to the legendary peak!

Having reached this conclusion, Leon couldn't help blurting it out in surprise.

Everyone was naturally shocked by his words; only Sui Xiong and Satan exchanged looks and smiled.

"You saw through me so quickly, it really makes me feel like I've lost." Satan laughed, shaking his head, the scent on his body suddenly changing. The wild feeling of power that the junior-legendary level had surrounded him with gradually calmed down, and it slowly settled into something like a silk robe enveloping his body.

This really was the legendary peak, the sign that one had hope of entering the demigod realm.

The crucial point for advancing from an average mortal to the legendary peak was that you needed to find your own path and break through mortal boundaries. This could certainly bring you formidable strength, but how to control that formidable strength would become a problem of its own.

More battle-inclined Legendary Masters were a little better-off, having strong enough bodies to accommodate this tremendous power. The situation was a little more awkward for mages, as their comparatively weaker bodies were definitely unable to handle that boundless typhoon-like might. Unless they suppressed it, this power would accompany them at all hours, turning their surroundings into a frantic whirlwind of magical power.

The more control you had, the milder your situation would be. The worst was like when Jose had first started; he was almost entirely unable to control his own power and every raise of the hand or every step he took destroyed everything around him. It was so bad that he even spat out fire when he breathed, just like a walking human flamethrower.

In the end, he'd spent an incredibly long stretch of time slowly acclimating himself to it before being able to barely count as having returned to a level where he could meet people. Even then, he'd often spit out fire by accident.

This is where the title "Red Flame Dragon" came from.

So to tame your magic power in its entirety, wearing it on your body as easily as a silk shawl was truly the ability of a master at the legendary peak. Forget the fact that he looked weaker, apparently lacking the power from when he was at the junior-legendary level. The truth was that this layer of magic held an astonishing amount of defensive power, to the point that even if you shot him at close-range with a heavy crossbow, you weren't likely to even leave a scratch.

But this defensive power was nothing compared to Leon's battle-oriented legendary peak. When a martial master reached the legendary peak, their bodies were already so strong that they surpassed most magical weapons. A certain character in a video game Sui Xiong once saw before he space traveled had a line he used with his ultimate move, and it could summarize this scene quite well.

That line was: "I am the bone of my sword."

For example, unless he deliberately suppressed his own strength, Leon's body was more unyielding than a large majority of holy soldiers' weapons. If he wanted, he could copy the Sacred Sword technique used by Capricorn in Knights of the Zodiac at any time. Even cracking mountains in half with a karate chop was within his ability.

If he entered the demigod realm on top of that, he'd become stronger to the point that unless you used a magical object, your average holy soldiers' weapons were about as useful against him as fighting empty-handed.

So aside from those lucky enough to obtain a magical object, most Demigod Masters generally went unarmed—or you could say that their bodies were their best weapon.

Leon was lucky; before he even entered the demigod realm, Sui Xiong helped him prepare all the weapons he needed.

Satan was the same.

As far as they were concerned, there was only one thing they needed to do now—strive to enter the demigod realm and truly obtain eternal, everlasting life.