"This is..."
Lynn looked around, his eyes slightly narrowing.
He hadn't entered the next labyrinth. Instead, he found himself standing in the middle of a vast prairie.
Behind him lay a tranquil forest, while before him stretched a boundless, open grassland.
Yet at this moment, a scene unfolded upon the prairie that gave Lynn a sense of temporal dissonance.
High in the sky, a majestic black dragon, exuding a formidable aura, soared gracefully through the air. Standing atop its back was a mesmerizing figure a purple-eyed witch whose cold and striking presence commanded attention.
"Aestry... the Black Dragon Witch?"
Lynn murmured, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Even more shocking was the sight of two terrifyingly powerful figures standing opposite Aestry they were none other than the Lord of Nightshadow Fortress and the Master of the Bitter Heart Sect.
The three of them stood locked in confrontation, their magical energies clashing violently. The sheer force of their battle twisted the sky, making it seem as though the entire world was tilting.
Below, chaos reigned.
Apprentices and official Wizards of the Furnace clashed fiercely against the forces of Nightshadow Fortress.
On the battlefield, the Furnace's side was clearly at a disadvantage, struggling against the overwhelming numbers and power of their foes.
Lynn's heart pounded as he took in the scene this was the very battle of Nightshadow Fortress that he had participated in months ago!
The landscape, the people, and even the details were the same!
The only difference was that this time, the Nightshadow Fortress forces were far greater in number, making the situation for the Furnace Wizards even more dire.
"Far-Sight Eye."
Lynn quickly chanted an incantation, casting a vision-enhancing spell on himself.
A strange glow flickered in his eyes this was a sorcery from his own magical system, allowing him to observe and scout from a great distance.
With the help of the Far-Sight Eye, he could see every detail of the battlefield ahead.
Among the Furnace forces, he spotted several familiar faces Wizard Drey, Wizard Black Serpent, his senior apprentice-brother Colin, and even Riley, the foe who had harbored ill intentions toward him and attempted to attack him multiple times.
Just as Lynn's gaze fell upon Riley, a lightning spear suddenly descended from the sky, striking Riley and instantly tearing him to pieces!
"Dead... just like that?"
Lynn's eyes flickered with surprise.
However, in the next moment, Riley's scattered remains rapidly reassembled, reforming into a complete human shape.
But now, his expression was twisted in agony, as if he were experiencing unbearable pain.
"So... you can't truly die? But you can feel endless suffering…"
Lynn muttered under his breath, his mind rapidly analyzing the situation before him.
The scene was simply too bizarre, filling him with doubt.
Instead of acting rashly, he remained hidden within the forest, continuing to observe.
Recalling the strange phenomena he had encountered in the previous three labyrinths, Lynn couldn't fully trust what he was seeing.
He began to suspect that he had fallen into some kind of illusion within this eerie realm that perhaps, what he was witnessing was merely a reenactment of events he had once experienced.
"I'll wait a little longer... and see what happens next."
Lynn made his decision after a brief moment of contemplation.
He chose to keep watching, to determine whether any further changes would occur in the battle before him.
Below, the forces of the Furnace had been surrounded. It was clear that every single one of them would soon be slaughtered, only to revive again.
However, in a world where power was concentrated in the hands of the extraordinary, the battles between low-ranking individuals were of limited consequence.
The true deciding factor in this war was the clash between the high-level Wizards.
Above the battlefield, Aestry stood atop her black dragon, her graceful figure radiating divine authority.
She raised a single finger, and in an instant, numerous crystalline purple arrows materialized around her.
"This... is incredible."
Lynn marveled inwardly, his eyes locked onto the dazzling display of amethyst arrows.
A second later, the arrows shot forward, slicing through the air, hurtling straight toward the Lord of Nightshadow Fortress and the Master of the Bitter Heart Sect.
The Black Dragon Witch's power was already well known she was capable of fighting both of them at once.
In the previous battle, she had suppressed them single-handedly.
Had it not been for the intervention of a mysterious Third-Level Grand Wizard, the Furnace forces would have long since overrun Nightshadow Fortress.
But now, that enigmatic Grand Wizard was nowhere to be seen.
With no need to hold back, Aestry unleashed her full might, completely overwhelming her two foes.
Boom!
The black dragon let out a deafening roar, unleashing several blazing fire arrows from its maw.
These fiery projectiles shot forward alongside the crystalline purple arrows, all aimed at the Master of the Bitter Heart Sect.
The sheer force of the attack tore through his waist in an instant!
"Aaah!"
The Master of the Bitter Heart Sect let out an anguished scream, the pain so intense that it seemed to shatter the air itself. His entire being convulsed in agony.
Yet, just like the battle below, death was not the end.
Even though he had suffered a mortal wound, his life would not be extinguished here.
A fatal injury meant nothing though the wounds were grievous, the pain unbearable, and his body would slowly recover over time.
But the process of revival would come with unbearable suffering and torment.
"Aestry! You're going too far!" The Master of the Bitter Heart Sect's voice trembled with pain as he gasped, then shouted in fury.
"I've been awake for a month now, and you've been hunting us down this entire time. What's the point of all this? We're all trapped in this damned place no one can kill each other! Instead of fighting, we should join forces and find a way out!"
The Lord of Nightshadow Fortress also spoke up,
"Our grudges can be settled once we leave this cursed place. For now, let's work together to track down that damned Lionheart Knight. I'll tear his mouth open, shatter his teeth one by one, and extract the method he used to get here!"
"You two pathetic fools! You wanted to ally with the Lionheart Knight to stand against me…"
Aestry sneered, her purple eyes flashing with murderous intent.
"And yet, you got played for fools and ended up trapped here. Tell me, what reason do I have to cooperate with useless trash like you?"
Her eyes glowed with icy malice.
"Yes, killing you here won't be permanent but I wonder, after dying hundreds, thousands of times, will the pain finally break your spirits and shatter your very souls?"
"When you're dead, I'll take your corpses with me. After all, Third-Level Grand Wizard corpses are valuable research materials."
"You're pushing this too far!"
The Master of the Bitter Heart Sect glared at her, his tone still fierce, but there was an unmistakable hint of apprehension in his voice.
"If we fight with everything we have, the outcome is still uncertain!"
The Lord of Nightshadow Fortress echoed, his eyes filled with killing intent, yet there was a faint trace of fear within.
Aestry merely scoffed at their threats.
"I've already experienced death myself. If not for that mysterious Lionheart Knight, do you think the two of you alone were ever qualified to stand against me?"
Her face remained cold and resolute, her purple eyes gleaming with unfathomable depth.
When she spoke of "death," she wasn't referring to being killed.
She was talking about a month ago the strange, timeless state in which she had been trapped, unable to distinguish friend from foe, past from present, thought from emptiness.
Her current predicament was directly linked to the two before her.
And now, given the chance, she was determined to make them suffer for it.
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