Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2440  Danger

The ominous warning from Cthulhu echoed in Emery's mind, forcing him to halt mid-step.

His instincts screamed that continuing forward would be a fatal mistake.

His heart pounded as he processed the weight of the message. There were only two known Khaos Champions: the ruthless Drow Kieran, who claimed Ezekiel's War Gate, and Talaro, the fearsome grand magus who controlled the Death Gate. Emery felt certain it was the latter who had come for him.

All his instincts screamed at him to avoid a direct confrontation. Memories of Ezekiel's relentless pursuit through spatial portals surged forth, reminding him of how close he'd come to death in that encounter. And now, Talaro, a figure shrouded in even greater menace, was after him.

Emery's mind raced, calculating the possibilities. He couldn't simply run—Talaro's mastery over space and the ability to track and follow his waypoints would render any straightforward escape futile. Assessing his options, Emery knew he needed a more strategic approach. He immediately began burrowing deeper into the earth, the loose sand and compacted layers of rock enveloping him as he descended. The suffocating embrace of the desert offered some solace; here, he could conceal his presence, even if only temporarily.

In the meantime, Emery turned to VIA, to seek any information bout Talaro.

The response was swift yet disheartening.

Talaro Malic's name surfaced in VIA's data streams: a warrior who had ascended to the rank of high priest and founded the Void Stalker order. His loyalty to the Abyss Queen Azzhara was absolute, and his missions carried the highest level of secrecy. Unfortunately, this left Emery with little concrete information about the enemy he faced.

However, VIA managed to intercept recent transmissions—distress signals from the Magus Alliance reporting the arrival of an elven mothership at the moonbase. The latest update confirmed a grand magus elf breaking through the Homebase portal.

"That's him, he blocked my way out!!" Emery muttered grimly. Caught between an elder dragon hunting him and the looming threat of a Khaos Champion, Emery's anxiety spiked. He was running out of options, and the odds stacked against him were overwhelming. But VIA delivered one piece of good news: reinforcements from the Magus Alliance were expected to arrive within an hour, their goal to engage the dark elves' mothership. Among them, Emery hoped, would be someone capable of standing against Talaro.

With grim determination, Emery began to devise a plan.

#####

Not long after, the elder dragon was finally able to track him, its senses honing in on Emery's location.

ROAARRR!!!

The earth above him trembled violently as the dragon unleashed a salvo of fireballs. Massive explosions rocked the ground, turning rock and soil into a collapsing cascade. The sandstorm that raged across the desert only added to the chaos, obscuring visibility and churning the landscape into a roiling sea of debris. Emery shot upward, breaking through the crumbling earth with his light wings flaring brilliantly. He darted into the storm, his body weaving through the turbulent winds as he sought to outpace the monstrous beast.

The dragon, however, was not so easily shaken. Its colossal form surged through the storm with terrifying speed, each powerful wingbeat cutting through the gale. Its roars were deafening, a proclamation of its intent to annihilate him. Emery glanced back, his heart sinking as he saw the fiery glow of its maw preparing another attack.

Knowing he couldn't outrun it, Emery acted swiftly. He hurled a [Cthulhu Bomb], the chaotic energy spiraling through the air before detonating in a spectacular eruption of otherworldly force. The explosion couldn't hurt the fiery beast, but its poison effect momentarily disoriented the dragon. The reprieve was short-lived, but it gave Emery the precious seconds he needed to gain distance.

The reprieve was short-lived. As Emery surged forward, a figure materialized in the distance, directly blocking his path. The air around the figure rippled with the oppressive weight of spatial magic.

It was Talaro.

The dark elf's presence was suffocating. Dressed in dark robes adorned with glowing runes, his aura was a black void that seemed to swallow all light around him. A cold smirk played on his lips as he regarded Emery with predatory eyes.

"I finally found you," Talaro said, his voice calm but brimming with menace.

As expected, Talaro closed the distance between them in an instant, his presence warping the very air around him.

To Emery's surprise, The elder dragon, a relentless pursuer mere moments ago, now halted abruptly, landing with a low rumble on the cracked sands. Its massive body coiled with unease, its fiery rage tempered into deference at the dark elf's presence.

The sight sent a chill down Emery's spine. For the mighty dragon to yield without resistance spoke volumes about the authority Talaro commanded, adding yet another layer of peril to Emery's predicament. Talaro's gaze turned toward Emery, and suddenly his piercing eyes narrowed with a frown.

It appears he just realized something. But Emery quickly replies by swiftly activating his [Twilight Transformation], his body surging with newfound strength and speed. His claws shimmered with light energy as he charged at Talaro with everything he had.

The dark elf sidestepped effortlessly and with a flick of his wrist, Emery was encased in a spatial prison—a translucent barrier that shimmered faintly in the air, locking him in place. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I'll break this apart!" Emery howled, channeling his wolf's innate ability. His muscles bulged as he slammed against the invisible walls, but the prison held firm, unyielding to his efforts.

With a grunt of frustration, Emery unleashed his wolf-imbued howl once more, focusing every ounce of his strength into the attack, but even his Immortal Gate couldn't shatter the force surrounding him. The spatial prison held firm, mocking his every effort.

Emery's body remained suspended within the crushing grip of the spatial prison, his muscles straining uselessly against the invisible force. Despite the agony etched on his face, a sudden, unexpected calmness overcame him as he said.

"Alright! You are much stronger than I expected! Is there no way we can talk this out?"

However, his captor showed no interest in engaging in a dialogue. Talaro's piercing gaze was as cold and unyielding as he raised his hand.

The spatial prison responded instantly, its walls closing in with an audible hum. The air trembled as the invisible force compacted Emery's form. The pressure intensified in mere moments and then came the sound—an audible, sickening crunch that echoed through the desert. The prison collapsed inward completely, crushing Emery's body into a crimson mist. Blood splattered the invisible walls before they dissolved into the ether, leaving nothing behind.

Talaro turned to the massive elder dragon, "You fool… " Talaro hissed, his tone filled with disdain. "This was only a clone."

The dragon, as mighty as it was, lowered its head slightly as if acknowledging the mistake.

####

Far beneath the surface of the desert, nearly a hundred miles away, the real Emery exhaled a shaky breath. The clone's destruction fed back into him, its final moments providing a grim tapestry of what he was up against. It had been a calculated risk, one that confirmed several troubling truths. Talaro wasn't just powerful; his abilities extended to levels Emery hadn't anticipated.

Although his true clone only had about 70% of his strength and was at Immortal Gate Stage 8, he could still sense how powerful Talaro's spatial prison was.

It was also confirmed that the dragon followed Talaro's orders, meaning finding a chance to make them fight each other was not an option.

The most worrisome discovery, however, was Talaro's advanced spirit-reading ability. Despite Emery's deliberate infusion of a massive amount of Khaos energy into the clone—enough to emulate his presence convincingly—the dark elf had seen through the ruse effortlessly.

This, paired with Talaro's ability to teleport vast distances, such as his leap from the Homebase to the battlefield miles away, left no doubt: hiding was no longer a viable option. Yet despite the overwhelming odds, the gamble wasn't without merit. The clone had bought him precious time and delivered critical insights about his adversary

"Time for Plan B," Emery thought, steeling himself for what was to come.