DRAGONBORN SORCERER-Chapter 27: Wrath Of The Sorcerer
The spot where Skyler had been standing a moments ago was now engulfed in roaring flames. Their searing heat consumed everything in their path—including him. The ’Agni Angel’ attack from the Xions had caught him off guard, leaving him no chance to evade.
The sorcerers laughed. Their amusement echoed across the battlefield as they watched him burn in those inextinguishable flames.
Leonardo and the others, frozen in shock at the sudden turn of events, found themselves just as helpless. Flame circles appeared beneath them. From those circles shackles of fire emerged and coiled around their limbs, preventing them to move—especially the healers, who could do nothing but watch in horror.
The enemy’s laughter was a haunting melody, reverberating through the battlefield like a sinister hymn. They chanted again, summoning new layers of flaming magic circles that hovered ominously in the air. Then, one after another, they leaped off the backs of their wyverns, landing effortlessly on top the floating runes.
At a single gesture from their leader, the other fourteen Xions began chanting a spell in an incomprehensible language— so ancient, so eldritch, that it felt like a curse never meant to be spoken.
Their voices merged into an unsettling harmony, distorting the very air around them. Their leader was draped in crimson robes. He scanned the battlefield with a smug grin. He settled his gaze on the adventurers, drinking in their expressions of terror. The sight of their despair was intoxicating.
"Behold," he declared, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming an unseen force. "You stand on the precipice of liberation—an absolute salvation beyond your feeble comprehension. Your sacrifice shall become the foundation of our Empress’s return. Through this ritual, she shall descend from the heavens, and in her divine judgment, all shall kneel."
Just as his words settled into the atmosphere, something sharp and impossibly fast sliced through the air, grazing his cheek. A thin trail of blood trickled down his face. His eyes snapped to the source—the flames where Skyler had been burning.
The fire wavered. Then, it vanished within the thin air as an oppressive aura overwhalmed the flames.
Skyler stood there. His form emerged from the dissipating embers. His face was darkened with soot. His robes still were alight with small, flickering flames. His skin bore deep burns, cracked and raw, the wound on his forehead splitting further with each shallow breath. He looked like a man who had walked through hell—and survived.
Yet, despite the agony that should have crippled him, there was something far more terrifying in his eyes.
It was rage.
Not just any ordinary anger, but an unfiltered, all-consuming wrath.
The pain, both physical and emotional, intertwined in a way that made his blood to boil in an extreme level. The sensation was all too familiar. It was a bitter reminder of the suffering he endured back at Zelpher— when Sylphy and her comrades tortured him in the darkness of the hell.
Back then, he was powerless. He was entirely helpless too.
But now? He wasn’t. He wasn’t the same Skyler who once fell into the trap of dreams showed to him by Sylphy. He was infuriating— rather looked an embodiment of vengeance in himself.
His golden gaze burned brighter than the flames that had tried to consume him. He ignored the system notifications flashing before him, warning him of his dwindling life force.
[Warning: Remaining HP 98/18200]
[Warning: Remaining HP 64/18200]
[Warning: Remaining HP 21/18200]
[Warning: Remaining HP 09/18200]
His health bar had nearly hit zero when, suddenly, the system glitched. The interface distorted, flashing red before displaying a new notification.
[Alert: Passive Skill ’Wrath’ has awakened. Now Lv-N.A.]
[Activating additional effects]
[Attempt: Success]
[MP cost has been prevented]
[MP cost has been prevented]
[Effects: As long as any ’Grace Wielder’ shows hostility or harbors ill intentions toward the user, MP and HP will remain frozen. During this phase, the user can cast abilities regardless of MP consumption.]
[Side-effect: The user will be unable to level up during this state.]
Skyler exhaled. His breath was uneven but filled with something darkly triumphant.
’That’s both good and bad news.’ He glanced at the interface. ’Then again... if it means I can annihilate them, I don’t need to level up.’
His lips curled into a humorless chuckle.
The other flame sorcerers were still focused on forging their grand magic circle, while their leader stood protectively before them. His presence was a barrier between Skyler and their ritual.
"You dare to interrupt my prayers?" The Xion leader sneered, looking at Skyler as if he were an insect. "Blasphemy against the divine cannot go unpunished. You must atone—lest you be denied the grace of Absolute Salvation."
Skyler spat blood onto the ground as he kept staring with his infuriating gaze.
"Absolute Salvation?" He let out a cold laugh. "There’s nothing such as Absolute Salvation. It’s nothing more than a stupid delusion— a mere ideal that you’ve been desperate to turn into reality. Actuality is deeper than your anticipation. Truth to be told, one’s salvation might be other’s punishment. Thus delivering absolute salvation is entirely impossible."
He coldly stared at the leader. And he wasn’t just finished yet
"And what you’re really doing here is nothing more than self-satisfying your own egoistic mind, hiding it under the mask of the absolutes. The bragging of salvation—" He tilted his head, widening his grin. "Hate to break it to you, but it is nothing more than a twisted dream."
The leader’s expression darkened. His veins bulged against his forehead, twitching with restrained fury.
"What did you just say?"
’Don’t look so mad dude.’ Skyler thought, seeing the fury in his eyes, ’I’m the same as you. I’m satisfying my own ego in order to accomplish my ambitions. If I have to brag myself about salvation, I won’t hesitate to do so.’
Skyler took a slow step forward, his burnt body radiating raw, unrelenting power. "Did I strike a nerve?" His tone was almost amused. "You can preach about judgment, peace, or whatever nonsense helps you sleep at night, but in the end, it’s all meaningless. Just arrogance masquerading as divinity."
As he spoke, countless glowing sigils materialized behind him, forming an intricate web of magic circles. Each one was pulsated with untamed energy.
His voice dropped to a whisper, deadly and cold. "And arrogance leads to mistakes. Those mistakes made you crossed the boundaries you shouldn’t have."
Skyler raised his hand, preparing to summon his Frost Lances—but then, an idea struck him. A cruel, brilliant idea.
’If I play my cards right, I can win Leonardo’s and other’s trust completely... and maybe even shake their faith.’
"What was that vile goddess’s name again?" he muttered to himself, pretending to recall. Then, his eyes gleamed with feigned reverence.
"Consider it an honour," he declared. His burnt lips stretched into a wicked grin. "For I, chosen by Saranavia herself, shall deliver divine retribution upon you."
For a spilt second an abnormal silence spread around the battlefield, darkening everyone’s impression— even the sorcerers casting those forbidden spells.
In the next moment, a suffocating, almost tangible tension gripped the battlefield. Even the Xions faltered. The adventurers, still shackled in flames, exchanged shocked glances.
Skyler, while maintaining his calm exterior, was internally screaming. ’Eh? Why are they acting weird?’
"...Did he just—"
"He did. He did. "
"But how is that even possible—"
"I don’t know either."
"I’ve never seen this kind if events before."
The whispers grew with a tension of disbelief. Even Leonard, Rose, and McVill were stunned.
The Xion leader’s composure cracked. "Sorcerer," he spoke again. However his voice was slower this time. "Who... no, what exactly are you?"
Skyler chuckled darkly. "Me? As I said, I’m a sorcerer—chosen by Saranavia herself."
The murmurs intensified.
"...He said it again."
"I can’t believe this."
"Is this real?"
Skyler’s patience was wearing thin. Alright, what the hell is going on?
"Something wrong?" he asked, tilting his head at the Xion leader. "Why are you all acting so... strange?"
The leader inhaled sharply. "You don’t know, do you?" He narrowed his eyes. "Speaking the name of the Goddess of Creation is strictly forbidden. Even for us, it’s impossible. The words simply... won’t leave our lips." He swallowed hard. "Yet, you did. And not just once. You addressed her directly."
Oh. Skyler fought back a grimace. Oh, that’s bad.
He forced out a nonchalant chuckle. "Well, those rules don’t apply to me. As the most beloved and cherished individual I am, I don’t need to follow such restrictions."
More gasps. Rose, on the other hand, blushed, her eyes sparkling with newfound admiration.
Skyler smirked. "You’re doubting? Then why don’t you allow me to demonstrate..."
He lifted his hand. Behind him, the countless magic circles transformed, birthing a thousand radiant blades, each crackling with divine energy.
[Light Element fused with Thunder Element. MP cost: 0 due to passive skill ’Wrath.’]
Skyler’s voice dropped into a deadly whisper.
"Tears of Divine Judgment!"
The swords launched forward at near-light speed, descending upon the enemy sorcerers like a divine storm.
