Chapter 384: Anomalies in the Northern Region
Today, Solitär-Flamme wore a neat grey mage's casual outfit with a dark blue short robe over it. Her long black hair was tied back neatly, revealing her smooth forehead and beautiful black eyes.
She had been conscientious and responsible in the Association over these centuries, perfectly filling the void left by Flamme's absence.
However, because she appeared frequently in public and her appearance hadn't changed at all over time, she had aroused suspicion among many.
After all, ever since the great God-slayer Rhodes published the immortality magic runes, no one had achieved true immortality in all these years.
Even the most talented mages could only use these runes as a base to create magic that barely extended their lifespan by about five years, which was already the limit.
And now, a young girl who didn't age suddenly appeared in the Magic Association. Suspicion was inevitable.
Over the years, quite a few people had targeted Solitär-Flamme, hoping to extract the secret of immortality from her, but all failed without exception.
After all, Solitär-Flamme wasn't weak; she was merely forbidden from killing by Rhodes's order.
Moreover, the secret of her longevity was simple: she was a demon. Her lifespan was naturally incredibly long, unrelated to any so-called immortality magic.
But this was Solitär-Flamme's most important secret. Currently, only Rhodes and Serie knew it in the entire Magic Association.
"Lord Rhodes, Master Serie," Solitär-Flamme walked into the room and stopped a few steps from the desk. "Apologies for disturbing you at this time. There are two matters you need to know personally."
Serie looked up, tucking her loose long hair behind her ear, revealing a slightly curious expression. "Oh? Solitär-Flamme, it is rare to see you so formal. Trouble?"
Over the years, Serie had gradually stopped being hostile toward Solitär-Flamme. After all, she performed very well, so there was no need for continued hostility.
Besides, she wasn't worried about any secret plots.
She had long established a mental contract magic with Solitär-Flamme. If the demon dared to make any strange moves, Serie could kill her easily.
"Not internal Association affairs." Solitär-Flamme shook her head gently, turning her gaze to Rhodes and cutting straight to the chase. "The first matter concerns abnormal movements in the northern region of the continent."
"Over the past few decades, the frequency of demon activity in the North has increased noticeably. Especially low-level monsters show a vague trend of migrating northward."
"More importantly, a few months ago, a mage saw an extremely powerful demon in a valley near the ruins of the old Demon King's Castle. The demon used magic capable of turning objects into gold."
"After searching historical archives, the Association confirmed that this matches the description of one of the Seven Sages of Destruction who vanished over five hundred years ago: Macht of the Golden Land."
"Macht?" Serie straightened up from her lazy posture, putting down the magic book in her hand.
Most demons had gone into hiding over the years. Hundreds of years ago, the famous Seven Sages of Destruction, except for those who died, had all disappeared. Macht was one of them.
Serie had briefly fought him back then. His gold magic had left a deep impression on her.
Unfortunately, he was accompanied by several other Seven Sages-level mages at the time; otherwise, Serie would have killed him right there.
Rhodes showed no special reaction after hearing this.
Actually, Serie was just somewhat emotional, not troubled. In their current eyes, a mere Sage of Destruction was simply too weak to warrant their personal action.
"Didn't he disappear after we dealt with Annelise? It has been centuries; why pop up in the North suddenly?" Serie asked Rhodes.
"Accurately speaking, he disappeared before that. He didn't appear at all during the war between the demon army and the allied forces back then," Rhodes corrected. "Confirmed to be Macht himself?"
"The sighting report is somewhat vague," Solitär-Flamme answered. "The mage was very far away and only saw powerful golden magical brilliance. After the demon left, he found land and trees turned into gold."
"He dared not pursue and retreated immediately. The local mage organization has sent people to verify, but there is no definitive news yet."
"Gold magic..." Serie leaned back in her chair, her tone mocking. "Interesting. With his strength, hiding for a few hundred years without being found is normal. Just... why appear suddenly? Nostalgic for the past glory of demons?"
Rhodes didn't answer Serie immediately but looked at Solitär-Flamme. "Any other reports on demon activity? Not just Seven Sages level."
"Yes," Solitär-Flamme nodded. "Several areas in the North where demons rarely appeared have reported frequent attacks by low-level demons in recent years. Although small in scale, the frequency is slowly rising."
"Furthermore, based on current information, the number of demons in the northern continent far exceeds other regions by several times. It is as if these demons are waiting for something."
Serie looked thoughtful. "Waiting... waiting for what?"
Rhodes finally spoke. "Remember Carlo?"
"Carlo?" Serie froze for a moment, then realized. "That guy who successfully reproduced your magic centuries ago? What about him? Could he be—"
"He used that magic to absorb the life force of others and lived until now," Rhodes continued.
His magic was a by-product created for researching the essence of life, and its flaws were obvious.
Extending oneself by draining the life force of others might work in the short term, but used long-term, the caster's soul would gradually be polluted, eventually losing their self and becoming some kind of monster neither human nor ghost.
This was a major reason why he hadn't used this magic on Norne back then.
And Rhodes had told Serie about this hundreds of years ago.
Solitär-Flamme chimed in appropriately, "According to records left by Flamme, there are signs that Carlo stayed in the North. But the North is desolate and full of monsters. If he survived by constantly draining life force, and the targets were—"
"Demons." Serie understood, her expression becoming subtle. "A human mage living for centuries by draining demonic life force... his soul and mana have likely become closer to a demon's than most demons."
"Could Macht's appearance be related to him?"
"A powerful individual is indeed an attraction for demons accustomed to following the strong," Solitär-Flamme analyzed. "Especially when this individual carries an aura of their own kind that is both familiar and strange to them."
"You mean... the demons might mistake Carlo for a new Demon King?"
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