Chapter 327 - V4 (11)

Taegen Ellarian, forty-six years old, level 30 Wind Mage. After receiving the command from Lord Gemigio Gianella, Taegen cast [Wind Walk] spell on himself then flew outside of the mansion. He continued scanning around then decided to head into the forest where he infused more mana into his [Wind Detection] spell and detected movement within a mile away to the west direction. Taegen wasted no time and flew toward the west while chanting for [Wind Blades] spell to increase his defense just in case there was an ambush waiting for him after he detected a total of two individuals were staying close to each other in one area.

“Hmm? One was tied to a tree. I see. He kidnapped someone and used their identity to intrude into the mansion. He placed a Skeleton Warrior to stay guard for two purposes. One was to watch that person, and the second purpose was for him to instantly escape from the mansion using the [Warp Infusion] spell. If he was a real Rogue Conjurer Mage then he would have killed that person already. Perhaps there was a reason why he attacked Lord Gianella. He could use the [Conjure Ice Gargoyle] spell which means he is also on Master-tier. Haha... even if that Conjurer Mage had already reached level 30 then he will quickly die within several seconds against me.” Taegen advised himself as he continued flying toward the west direction.

Noe already knew the Wind Mage that cast the [Wind Strike] spell toward him earlier inside the mansion would have chased after him. Instead of running away, Noe decided to stay and fight with Taegen because there was no way he could have outrun a Wind Mage at his current level anyway.

Taegen arrived at the location where he saw a figure wearing a hooded dark blue to be standing still next to an unconscious man that was tied to a tree. Taegen continued using [Wind Detection] spell to fly and was ready to cast [Wind Blades] spell at any time if there was an ambush setting up nearby. After Taegen detected no one else was present within two miles radius, he landed on the ground, deactivated [Wind Walk] spell, and asked, “Who sent you?”

“I sent myself.” Noe calmly answered and all Taegen could see was an evil smile from Noe but couldn't see his full face.

“Who are you?” Tagen asked another question.

“I am no one important.”

“Why did you try to assassinate Lord Gianella?”

“I will count to three.”

“Huh?”

“Three.”

Noe activated the [Soul Bridge] technique to open a portal connected to the Hell Realm close to where Gazhorn was staying. Gazhorn was already prepared and he immediately sprinted through the portal while casting [Flame Wall] spell toward Taegen to prevent him from escaping. At level 30, Taegen was well trained and didn’t let Gazhorn scare him off. In a worst-case scenario, Taegen could easily escape using his [Wind Walk] spell. Gazhorn doesn’t have any wings which meant there was no way he could catch up to Taegen’s flying speed.

However, after seeing Gazhorn activate [Mana Infusion] and casted [Hell Fiend] spell, Taegen immediately casted [Wind Blades] spell to create three hundred blades made out of wind energy and fly around Taegen to protect him from any kind of physical harm while he was chanting for [Wind Walk] spell to attempted to fly away. Unfortunately for Taegen, being attacked by a Hell Fiend having the power of a level 35 Fire Mage together with Gazhorn, the demon warrior that also reached the physical strength of a tenth-tier warrior was simply too much. Before Taegen could cast [Wind Walk] spell again, Gazhorn had already broken through [Wind Blades] spell as his Hell Fiend cast three [Flaming Phoenix] spells toward Taegen. All Taegen could have done before he died was wish he had never agreed to work for Gemigio and should have signed up to be a professor at a Mages’ Academy instead.

Finished dealing with Taegen, Gazhorn sent the Hell Fiend to head toward the mansion to continue killing as many people as he could while Noe continued escaping from this location. Traveling with Gazhorn was too risky as it could expose his identity, Noe banished Gazhorn back to the Hell Realm after making sure no one else was chasing after him. Even if Noe was unlucky and encountered another level 30 magic caster, then he could have easily used [Second Life] spell to revive himself with a full mana pool to conjure some Ice Gargoyles to help him fight. Legend-tier magic casters are very rare to encounter and if Noe encounters one in this forest, then even Gazhorn couldn't save him anyway.

Fast forward back to when Alvisio received the bad news about his family as he was celebrating with his team in a fancy restaurant about their victory for the second match of the Intermediate Student Mages Battle Tournament. Alvisio angrily screamed and shouted at the warrior that just delivered him the bad news after learning that all of his brothers and sisters were killed on the same night by an unknown Rogue Conjurer Mage. The person that came to Alvisio’s mind as the suspect was Noe Clerico, but he quickly put that thought to a side after hearing the Rogue Conjurer Mage could conjure Ice Gargoyles. Alvisio believed himself to be a talented magic caster. He was still stuck at level 20 of Intermediate Thunder Magic so it's logical to believe there was no way an eighteen years old boy such as Noe Clerico could have advanced into level 25 of Master Conjuration Magic that early.

Alvisio and his team lost the third match in the tournament and a small part of that was because he couldn’t focus like he normally could after feeling deeply sad that his brothers and sisters were killed. The Mages Council sent two powerful Legend-tier Executioners to investigate the incident but none of them was suspecting Noe Clerico since there was no reason why Noe would have done something as foolish as that. Noe kept the secret that he had advanced into level 30 at the age of eighteen even after graduating from the Mages’ Academy twelve years after that. Noe had never attended a Student Mages Battle Tournament because he wouldn’t qualify for it anyway since he advanced into level 31 of Legend-tier Conjuration Magic at the age of twenty-two, just four years after he stepped into level 30. But of course, Noe kept that as a secret because that could expose that he was the one that killed Alvisio's family members that night.

On the day that Noe graduated from the Mages’ Academy, all the professors including the Principal believed that Noe had advanced into level 30 and made a big deal out of it by naming him one of the talented Student Mages. No one knew Noe had advanced into level 35 already except for himself. A Member of the Gray recruited Noe to work for the Mages Council but Noe refused because he was afraid of exposing his true power. Noe signed up to work for a small Mages Guild and worked his way up to be the Vice-Guild Master in just five years after graduating from the Mages' Academy. The Guildmaster didn't know Noe's real power but she was impressed with how Noe could complete all quests by himself despite him being just a Master Conjurer Mage. He then bought a mansion in Glomer city for his father to live in where he hired over a hundred maids and warriors to guard the mansion to ensure Naen Clerico could live comfortably. Naen was very happy knowing that Noe had success in life and would outlive him since Noe had already advanced into the Legend-tier of magic casting which meant he could have lived up to two thousand years.

Naen quit drinking alcohol, remarried per Noe’s request, and created another family. Noe and Naen rarely see each other because Noe has always been busy completing quests for his Mages Guild. Naen saved most of the money Noe gave him to open a fancy restaurant in Glomer city where he and his new family could have work and make money without relying on Noe’s wealth anymore. Noe continued sending gold coins to his father monthly despite Naen telling him not to. Naen died at the age of ninety-two, leaving his sixty-seven-year-old wife, four daughters, and three sons (not including Noe) to inherit the restaurant and the mansion. Before Naen died, he said something that angered Noe too much but Naen didn't know anything about it.

While still laying on the bed saying farewell to his eldest son Noe Clerico, Naen said, “Noe, I will soon see your mother. Darla and I will soon reunite in the afterlife. One day... You will be able to reunite with us again.”

Noe cried and wanted to tell his father that there is no way his father could see his mother in the afterlife. Darla’s soul was destroyed by the unknown angel that was following Saint Michael that day. Noe thought his father must have forgotten about his mother but that never happened. Naen remarried and created a new family because Noe repeatedly asked him to. Naen never once forgot about Darla, his first wife, and his true love.

Four days after Naen passed away, Noe locked himself in his room as tears kept coming out of Noe’s eyes every time he thought about what his father said about reuniting with his mother. Noe woke up after sleeping for over a day and cleared his mind to stop feeling sorry for himself.

Opening the windows to look into the clear morning sky, Noe quietly whispered, “I kept telling myself that I have avenged my mother to ease the pain in my heart. But what I have done was fool myself because I know I am too weak to fight against Michael. That was why I decided to kill Alvisio’s brothers and sisters instead. Dying wasn’t something scary as our souls could have reincarnated into the next lives. But having the soul destroyed meant a real termination to our existence. Mother… I swear one day I will find that angel and kill him then destroy his soul just like what he had done to you.”

Noe understood he needed to be much stronger if he wanted to ever have a chance of revenge for Darla. Noe quit the Mages Guild and applied to the Mages Council where he was quickly accepted to become a member of the Gray after exposing his true level. Ever since Noe created the spell of [Unlimited Life], he was favored by Watcher Zorim and she appeared inside his dream where she told him that she would open a Timeless Dungeon for Noe to participate but under one condition. If Noe survives the Timeless Dungeon, then he would have to stay in the lower realms to protect Toria Continents until she no longer needs him. Despite having the [Unlimited Life] spell, Noe knew he was too weak to go against a Devil or Archangel in a one versus one battle. That was why Noe immediately agreed with Watcher Zorim because that was the only chance he could ever obtain enough power for retaliation.

Just like Watcher Zorim had explained to Noe in his dream of when and where to go to get to the Timeless Dungeon. Noe went deep inside the Magical Forest near Verdol city in the Kingdom of Ronia where he meditated every day for three weeks before the Timeless Dungeon with difficulty rated ten raised from the ground in front of him. Without thinking twice, Noe immediately went inside and raided that Timeless Dungeon where he advanced into level 100, became a Necromancer, Awakened Monk Warrior, and gained the knowledge of how to craft Magical Rings that can imprison conjurable creatures. Noe later named it LYAUR shortened for Lock Your Ass Up Rings.

After becoming the strongest person in Toria Continents, Noe started traveling to other realms including Heaven Realm where he looked for the angel that destroyed his mother’s soul but couldn't find him anywhere. He had once tested his skills against the Devil Overlord by penetrating into the Devils' Island, killing a Devil Warrior and a Devil Mage, and turning them into his minions. The Devil Overlord was too powerful but she couldn’t kill him due to his [Unlimited Life] spell and Noe made it back to Toria Continents alive. Noe then attempted to test his skills against Saint Michael but he quickly noticed the Devil Warrior and Devil Mage minions couldn’t be used in the Heaven Realm because they were prohibited from being able to appear in the Heaven Realm by The Creator. Just like no Archangel including Saint Michael could appear in the Hell Realm regardless if they wanted to or not.

Noe knew fighting against Saint Michael who could be much stronger compared to the Devil Overlord without having powerful minions would be suicidal. Dying wasn't something Noe was afraid of, but dying without avenging his mother wasn't something Noe wanted to do. Saint Michael alone was already too powerful, not including his Archangels and all the Sixteen Wings Angel Warriors and Sixteen Wings Angel Battlemages in the Heaven Realm. Noe Clerico alone would die before he could even touch the shadow of Saint Michael because there was no way the angels would stand idly, allowing Noe to disrespect their Saint Archangel. That was also why Noe made a deal with Watcher Zorim to prevent Saint Michael from traveling to Toria Continents. If Noe couldn’t defeat Michael, then it would be better for Noe not to see him because it eases the pain of his heart even just a little.

Back to the present. Now that Saint Michael appeared in Toria Continents and started fighting against the Anwyn Richir, that angered Noe very much knowing Watcher Zorim had broken the promise she had made to him.. Not just that, the heartache came back to Noe as he recalled how his mother was killed and her soul was destroyed by that unknown angel having a big pair of angel wings on the back.