Chapter Forty: The Toad

Grand Knight Allen was known in the capital for his uninhibited nature, and it was he who first noticed that something was wrong with Andy. Drawing from his wealth of experience, Allen observed Andy for a while before finally confirming that he was, astonishingly, in heat. Recalling the sidelong glance Andy had thrown his way moments before, Allen instinctively put more distance between himself and the young man.

As he edged away, Allen muttered to himself, “So that’s why the kid has been so extravagant, guzzling magical potions like water. Turns out he got his hands on some shoddy stuff. Counterfeit goods can really be the death of you, ha!”

Just as Allen was quietly relishing Andy’s misfortune, the shout of Captain Barton rang out, “Allen, Mr. Charles, seize the king to catch the thief!”

Despite the aphrodisiac effect of the potion, Andy’s mental fortitude as an advanced apprentice wizard gave him some resistance. Though he was muddled, he did not lose his senses. Upon hearing Captain Barton’s call, Andy hurled a fireball that took down another Gillian fanatic, then abandoned the battlefield that the Knights of the Divine Wind had already gained the upper hand in. He joined Captain Barton and Grand Knight Allen, charging toward the direction of the Wizard Tower.

Meanwhile, the sacrificial rite in the plaza before the Wizard Tower had reached its final stages. As the ceremony progressed, every corpse on the square was drained of blood, the crimson fluid—together with the souls trapped by the spell—melding into a black liquid that seeped slowly into the magic circle.

This black substance, forged from blood and souls, was conducted by the array deep underground, flowing along the earth veins, deeper and deeper, until it reached a strange space several thousand kilometers beneath the surface, directly below the Wizard Tower of Dallas City.

The walls of this hidden chamber were covered with countless arcane runes, forming a tangled, intricate seal. At the heart of the formation, a colossal creature was trapped—a toad the size of a small mountain.

Over ten thousand years ago, this toad was known throughout the Dolan Continent by a resounding name: Apulexin, the God!

Apulexin had long since forgotten exactly how long he had been imprisoned here, but by his estimation, it must have been at least ten millennia. He had endured the endless solitude by slipping into deep, unbroken sleep.

The surrounding seals constantly siphoned away his power. Fortunately, faith in Apulexin still lingered on this continent. The prayers and sacrifices of his followers—especially the sacrifices—provided him with strength.

For ages, the influx of power from his believers and the drain of the seal remained in delicate balance. Over time, however, those who worshipped Apulexin dwindled, but correspondingly, the strength of the sealing array also waned.

Yet Apulexin could sense that the seal would likely last at least another ten thousand years. He could not wait so long; perhaps, before that time arrived, not a soul on the continent would remember his name. Stripped of faith, he would lose his source of power and be utterly consumed by the seal.

Apulexin was not content to wait for such an end. He had been plotting, biding his time for an opportunity to break free.

Though a creature of darkness, Apulexin possessed wisdom and patience befitting a being who had attained godhood ten thousand years ago.

At last, his chance had come! In recent years, the number of sacrifices had risen, and with them, his strength. Through the bonds of faith, he discovered the source: a devotee named Carol, one of his own warrior-maidens.

Though Apulexin was bemused by the fact that a grown man had become a warrior-maiden, he was in no position to be choosy. With sacrifices pouring in, he would not care if his follower was not human at all.

To encourage Carol’s zeal, Apulexin set the feedback ratio of power granted after each sacrifice to its maximum. Carol did not disappoint, performing ritual after ritual.

Day by day, Apulexin’s power grew, until he was finally able to project his consciousness to the surface world, where he discovered a new neighbor—Stein, the wizard who had built his tower overhead.

Successive sacrifices further increased his strength. Though still insufficient to shatter the seal, he could now, with all his might, pry open a minuscule fissure in the array—a gap that the enchantments strained to heal.

Seizing the opportunity, he split off a fragment of his soul—a divine avatar—and sent it forth. Even this shard was far stronger than any ordinary human soul. If it were to seize a human body, the vessel would be instantly destroyed by the overwhelming spiritual force.

Only a wizard, whose body had been transformed by magic, could withstand such power. Thus, Apulexin set his sights on his neighbor, Stein.

But even so, conquering a wizard was not an easy feat for a mere spiritual avatar. So the avatar sought out the ruins nearby, where Apulexin had once hidden a treasure after a disastrous defeat in ages past.

It was this very treasure that had once granted him a surge in power, though, before he could fully harness its benefits, he had been sealed away by that detestable arcanist.

Yet again, this treasure was the linchpin of his avatar’s reincarnation plan. Only with its aid could he activate a complex rebirth array to seize the wizard’s body.

After retrieving the treasure, the avatar lay in wait near the Wizard Tower for the right moment. When he discovered that Stein suffered from a grievous old wound, his opportunity arrived.

Through divine message, Apulexin contacted Carol, setting a trap for Wizard Stein. The avatar concealed itself within the treasure, waiting in the ruins for Stein to take the bait. He had left enough clues—Stein would surely find the ruins before long.

Apulexin himself did not know the treasure’s true name. For the sake of his reincarnation, he simply dubbed it the “Stone of Rebirth.”

Stein, as expected, arrived. More fortuitously, he used sacrificial rites to power the magic array. The avatar was overjoyed—all the energy from the offerings would bolster his attempt to seize the body. Stein was courting his own doom.

After Stein’s soul possessed Edward’s body, his inherited meditation techniques swiftly reshaped the vessel to accommodate a wizard’s spiritual force—and, by extension, the power of Apulexin’s avatar.

Sensing the time was ripe, the avatar lunged, seeking to wrest Edward’s body for itself.

Yet, just as the takeover began, an overwhelming aura—a trace of an unfathomable ancient power—intervened, suppressing Apulexin’s avatar as though it were nothing more than a dog!

As a being who had ascended to godhood millennia ago, Apulexin’s divine might may have waned, but he was not so easily cowed by the mere presence of a legendary strongman.

But that aura was none other than the mark of the very arcanist who had sealed him away long ago. And now, at the most critical moment of his reincarnation, Apulexin was convinced his scheme had been discovered.

Despair overwhelmed him. “What grudge, what enmity must you bear, to watch over me for ten thousand years?!”