Chapter 1053: Almost There
Leon and Rafael kept discussing the details of their transcription—how to identify the alchemical array's runes, nodes, and even the critical symbols in key locations...
But everyone else was completely lost. As Leon and Rafael's conversation grew more and more arcane, the others couldn't keep up at all.
Soon, the rest of the group retreated to the side, leaving the space to Leon and Rafael. The three remaining mages from Skyhold Fortress began preparing various tools according to Leon and Rafael's instructions.
As the exchange continued, the shock and admiration in Rafael's eyes only deepened. The three Skyhold Fortress mages couldn't help but look at Leon with newfound respect. Whatever Leon said, they followed it to the letter—no need to double-check with Rafael anymore.
Time passed as Rafael and Leon worked together transcribing the alchemical array. Discarded drafts piled up like a small mountain, and they'd gone through dozens of bottles of ink.
They broke the entire alchemical array down into over a hundred segments, carefully transcribing each structure and detail. It was incredibly time-consuming—and the calculations involved were astronomical.
At first, Rafael led the three Skyhold Fortress mages. But as things progressed, the three could only help out—their transcription and calculation speed was just too slow.
If they kept at their pace, it would take at least four or five months to finish. But with Leon's magical apparatus and the Arcane Wheel, his calculation speed outstripped Rafael's by twenty or thirty times. Before even a tenth was done, Rafael had already started assisting Leon instead.
Even so, it still took ten full days to transcribe the entire alchemical array. Over a hundred sheets of crystal paper came together like a massive jigsaw puzzle, each representing a part of the array.
The three-dimensional structure of the alchemical array—even the hidden parts buried beneath the earth—was all deduced and laid bare.
Rafael and Leon began to study the array, and after half a month, their research hit a bottleneck.
"Archmage Leon, we've pretty much hit the limit of what calculations can do. Without running experiments, we can't get the critical data."
Rafael looked at Leon with genuine respect. Nearly a month of research had shown him just how terrifyingly skilled this absurdly young man was in alchemy.
Many results that should've required hands-on experiments with the array, Leon was able to brute-force with sheer calculation.
This kept the risk to a minimum. After all, what was sealed down there was a Demon Overlord, and the array had already been modified. One wrong move and that Demon Overlord would be unleashed—everyone was doomed. Even if too much of its power leaked out, they'd all be dead, too.
"That's about it. Now we have to try modifying the array. It's gone dormant—there's a lot we just can't deduce without testing."
Leon thought for a moment and agreed to Rafael's suggestion.
But then, Leon added one more thing.
"We only understand the array's operating principles and most of its construction. A lot of details still need to be confirmed by experiment. Modifying the array could be dangerous—better call everyone over."
Rafael nodded and immediately went to gather the other factions from the Odin Kingdom.
Half an hour later, a group of people returned to the gorge. Rafael and Leon hovered in midair, surrounded by a pile of crystal sheets transcribed with the array's structure.
"Let's try modifying it here. This spot isn't a crucial part of the array, so even if something goes wrong, we can fix it quickly."
Leon gestured toward one of the crystal sheets—a segment far from the array's core. This area was mainly structural, not part of the energy circuit, so any issues could be easily patched up without major consequences.
Rafael agreed, and the two of them took out a stack of pre-made alchemical metal plates. Each was inscribed with runes and alchemical patterns, and the material included a bit of Eternium. For ten thousand years, these plates wouldn't rot, and even losing their function would take several tens of thousands of years.
Leon and Rafael floated in the air, separated by over six hundred meters, each controlling a dozen metal plates. They placed them in the designated spots, following the predetermined sequence.
Each metal plate sank into the ground as if dropping into a swamp, slowly vanishing beneath the earth.
Leon stood high in the air, runes flickering in his eyes as he rapidly constructed the array's framework across hundreds of meters below. As the metal plates merged with the earth, they began to fuse with the local array segment. Leon's runes shifted swiftly, and his Mana Harness ran at full throttle, crunching the numbers and capturing critical data.
When more than half the plates had merged, the ground across hundreds of meters began to tremble. Wisps of evil black smoke seeped up from the earth, and as the final plate fused into the array, the whole structure began to change violently.
The ridgeline over hundreds of meters began to rise and collapse in places. From above, it looked like a massive serpent arching its body.
This local change triggered a reaction in the entire array—the whole mountain range shuddered, and a roar echoed as if from another world. In the gorge, a column of black smoke, hundreds of meters thick, shot into the sky, and a three-dimensional Abyssal rune, wreathed in black flames, appeared within it.
The Abyssal rune looked like a tetrahedron, each face inscribed with a rune, and from different angles, it would shift into new symbols. Just that one three-dimensional rune seemed to contain countless runes within.
As the rune exploded, a furious roar rang out from the black smoke—a Purple-Eyed Demon Overlord swung its massive claws and stepped forth, followed by a dozen or so Lesser Demon Overlords with purple eyes.
Rafael hovered in midair, closely watching the array's changes. Sweat beaded on his forehead—especially after hearing that otherworldly roar, his very soul trembled.
"Archmage Leon, is everything alright?"
Leon kept his eyes on the ground, runes whirling madly in his gaze, and replied to Rafael in a perfectly calm tone.
"It's fine. Modifying the array always causes changes like this. The Demon Overlord sensed the shift and tried to break free, but he can't escape. Only a trace of his power leaked out—enough to summon the lowest-tier Demon Overlord, nothing more."
Rafael breathed a sigh of relief and went back to recording the array's changes. Leon didn't even glance at the summoned Demon Overlord—he was too busy tracking every data shift. The crucial data was right here!
Meanwhile, as soon as the Purple-Eyed Demon Overlord appeared, Dida La—who'd been waiting—transformed into a dragon-headed elemental and charged straight in.
A raging sea of orange flames swept across both sides of the gorge, rising high and forming a massive wave tens of meters tall, crashing down hard on the Purple-Eyed Demon Overlord.
A purple, sinister moon appeared in the Purple-Eyed Demon Overlord's gaze. Smirking, he slashed at the wall of fire with his two metallic claws.
The orange flames were instantly torn apart, the searing heat twisting the air. When the fire scorched the Demon Overlord, it only slightly thinned the black smoke around him—not much real damage at all.
Instead, that colossal figure, over a hundred meters tall, charged forward. In just a few steps, he was fifty meters from Dida La. A purple crescent moon appeared before the Demon Overlord—a weapon thirty meters wide, which he hurled at Dida La.
With a sizzle, a thin spatial rift split the air—the moon blade, like a giant edge, ripped through the air and appeared before Dida La. Its terrifying cutting force even tore a hundred-meter-long crack in space itself.
Dida La's orange sea of fire was split in two, and the thin spatial rift unleashed a massive suction force, devouring dozens of meters of flames nearby.
Dida La's face was cold as he instantly flashed away, reappearing dozens of meters off. The moon blade sliced past his side and shot hundreds of meters ahead, cleaving through a mountain ridge as if it were an illusion—nothing could slow it down.
After splitting the ridge, the moon blade's glow slowly faded. The ridge itself was cleanly bisected from top to waist, a palm-wide crack running all the way through. The cut gleamed glassy, the stone compressed to crystal by sheer force.
Dida La smirked and kept retreating, but the Purple-Eyed Demon Overlord chased relentlessly. After a kilometer, the others suddenly appeared from both sides.
The three Skyhold Fortress mages piloted floating fortresses, each over ten meters wide, unleashing spells at the dozen Lesser Demon Overlords in the rear. Joey, Heron, and the Skyblade Sword Saint led their teams to help the Skyhold mages hunt down the rear demon lords.
On the Odin Kingdom side, only the leader of Dunespire Tower and Diras came to help Dida La.
As an incantation was chanted, the earth beneath the Demon Overlord's feet rapidly turned to sand. Endless grains surged upward, covering his legs, and a giant sand hand grabbed his massive tail.
The Demon Overlord roared, his arms bulking up, and the purple crescent in his eyes became a full, evil moon.
He slammed his claws into the ground, sending a shockwave outward. The sand was instantly scattered, unable to hold together—just ordinary sand now, spilling everywhere.