SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar

It was horrible.

As I emerged from the swirling breach of space and darted in the direction of Legris in a quick attempt to land the first blow, I only had one thought.

… It was incredibly horrible!

My comrades and I had been traveling the worlds in search for Legris. We had done this for so long that the concept of time became less and less irrelevant the further in we went in those branches of reality.

However, in every single world we traveled, everyone alongside me could only see one thing.

Destruction!

Not all the worlds ended in sheer destruction, though, but the ones that did survive would do so to only suffer a fate worse than death.

I saw many atrocities on my way here, and the burning fury within me was evident of that.

'The horrors we saw… the ruins that awaited us…'

Everything we experienced to get here was all thanks to this man.

No, I couldn't call him a man anymore.

He was a monster.

~WHOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHH!~

As I swept through the space that separated the both of us, I already prepared a Spell to use against him.

However…

~WHUUUUSH!~

Before I could reach him, I stopped myself, teleporting back to the wormhole I had created using [The World's Resonance].

A bead of sweat instantly formed on my face as I just floated, maintaining our distance. I could not remove my eyes from him.

Rather, from the power he had in his grasp.

'What is that? Its a high concentration of energy? Did he prepare to use it against me just now?' My heart raced as I interchanged glances between Legris and the golden fragment of light that he held so tightly.

As I was still having these thoughts, Kuzon, Edward, Maria, Ana, and the rest of my allies began to emerge from the widening hole in space, until all of us finally gathered.

Initially, I had to stay behind anytime I used [The World's Resonance], as well as [The World]'s power to travel dimensions as we tracked Legris. However, once I had done it a couple of times, I could now use Spellcraft to ensure it functioned even with me venturing in first.

This way, I could explore the terrain and ensure no one else could get hurt before I got to the world.

It brought more risks to me, considering I would be in a strange new world myself for just a moment, but I considered it more preferable than having my friends take on the same risk—if not more.

The portal closed behind us as the last person emerged from it, leaving a slight buzz in the air before the dimensional energy finally dissipated completely.

All fourteen of us floated in the air, and our focus was on Legris.

'It's been a while, you bastard…' As I stared at him now, I realized just how much time had passed since I last saw him.

Despite everything, Legris looked the same as always. If I was to say, he looked even better—healthier—than before.

His pale skin glistened, and his lanky frame seemed a lot more well-built than before. He still had his tall height, and his menacing gait remained the same.

As we stared at each other, there was a look of surprise in his eyes, and he didn't bother hiding it.

"Jared… everyone… it's been a while." His voice was the same as always.

He had this calm, casual air about him. It even dripped with playfulness, though I knew fully well that what existed behind all of that was sheer malevolence.

"I'm surprised you caught up to me so quickly. I thought I would have a lot more time…"

My allies and I were connected telepathically, and they kept asking me about when and how to attack Legris now that he was right in front of us.

Serah and Kuzon were especially vocal with their intentions, but I held them back.

'Not yet. Something doesn't feel right about him. That energy shard with him… and also what his goals are. We can't be too careless.'

I had to analyze the situation properly and make even more preparations so things didn't get awry.

"I suspect Neron had something to do with it. That guy… always getting in my way…"

I narrowed my gaze on him in caution, but Legris only chuckled.

"Where is he, by the way? Neron. He won't even pop up to say hi? That's not very nice. Even though we're such old friends…"

I clenched my fist as my gaze slowly transformed into a hateful glare.

Even though I tried not to pay it any mind, I had already noticed the devastated town, as well as the powerless people that watched us from their low estate.

Just how much havoc had Legris caused here? Yet he was speaking to us so casually… like everything was perfectly fine.

"Nice to see you all again. Why is no one saying anything? Beruel? Serah? Why is everyone being so cold despite how much fun we've had together."

After hearing him spout enough of his bullshit, it was obvious that Legris was stalling for time.

"What is your goal here? Why did you have to cause so much destruction here? In all those other worlds too. To what end?"

Was it power? Was he somehow harvesting power from the chaos he wrought? Or did he perhaps gain some form of pleasure from watching people suffer?

I asked him point blank, my brows creasing together.

"Oh? So you've been to those other places! Haha… well, isn't this a little embarassing.It was inevitable that they would turn out that way. As for what I'm after… it's this."

Legris raised the hand he used to tightly grip the energy fragment I had been so wary of, waving the golden light fragment in our faces.

"You're too late, though. I've gotten what I wanted here."

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading, everyone!

We finally have a confrontation with Legris.

Will this finally mark the end of Legris? How will everything play out?

Let's wait and see.