Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2404  Chase

The quiet, chilling desert night shattered as the portal ripped open above the sand, bringing a gust of wind and the faint echo of chaos from the battlefield they had just escaped.

Out of the swirling light, one by one, the figures emerged, exhausted but alive.

"We made it!" shouted Princess Miriel, her relief almost tangible in the cold air. Behind her, Grand Magus Dopa stumbled through, his breaths coming hard and fast. His massive frame, still recovering from the intense fight, was hunched slightly as he kept a vigilant gaze on Major Kouga, who emerged last. The dark-clad officer appeared even more drained than the others, his face etched with fatigue and loss.

"Major… did you succeed?" Dopa asked, his voice rough but carrying a note of hope.

The Major took a steadying breath, his face shadowed as he replied, "I lost two of my team… but their deaths were not in vain."

Princess Miriel, standing nearby, felt her heart skip a beat. Her eyes flashed with anticipation as she asked, "Major… did you kill Azazrel?"

Her voice trembled; after all, Azazrel, the dark elf commander, had led the merciless assault that laid waste to her home and slaughtered countless innocents. The thought of his death brought a fierce light to her eyes.

But Kouga shook his head. "I cannot confirm it," he said grimly. "But… if he did survive, It'll take him months to recover"

A somber silence fell over them as they digested this. The victory was bittersweet, shadowed by the loss of two Ghostblade operatives.

The Major, still panting from the chaos of their escape, placed a firm hand on Emery's shoulder, his dark eyes gleaming with gratitude. "Good work, Magus," he said, his voice heavy with both weariness and respect. "Now, what's our situation?"

Emery gave a short nod, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused his divine sense to scan their surroundings. The moment they had stepped out of the portal, his senses had immediately gone to work, mapping their position.

The rushed portals had affected him with a faint ache from the strain. Normally, his spatial magic was precise, but the urgency of their escape had left them sixty miles adrift from the other two.

"Grand Magus Helga and Elder Archie are over there," Emery said, pointing eastward into the dark. "We need to rendezvous with them quickly."

Knowing they were not out of danger, the group nodded in agreement and they swiftly sped through the desert. Emery, aware of the imminent threat, made sure to conserve his energy, intending to use his Spatial magic only after they regrouped. For Grand Magus-level combatants like them, traveling 60 miles was a mere formality—it would take no more than two or three minutes at most, even at a steady pace. However, the distance between them and the elven base was still a pressing concern. They had exited the portal nearly 300 miles away from their pursuers, which meant that in approximately 10 minutes, the elven chasers would catch up to them. Fortunately, their pursuers didn't have a clear read on their position yet, and it would take significantly longer for them to locate the group.

As they soared through the night sky, Emery's mind raced. He couldn't shake the words Azula Raine, the elven noble, had spoken to him before her capture. The knowledge she had of the Ghostblade's mission on Valaryn's planet suggested that the elves had been prepared for this assault before they had made their move.

Emery briefly relayed this information to Major Kouga, his voice serious as he recounted the unsettling revelation.

Hearing this, Major Kouga confirmed that Azrazel indeed had some knowledge about their plans, and they were fortunate to have landed a blow against the powerful elf.

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when a blinking light streaked through the sky at high speed, drawing their immediate attention.

"What is that?!" one of the group members shouted in alarm.

Emery's instincts kicked in, and he immediately activated his divine sense. His eyes widened as he quickly realized the nature of the object.

The device emitted a faint, ominous hum, a clear sign it was a high-grade tracker capable of scanning vast distances.

"I can't believe they found us so fast... This.. this is bad!!" Major Kouga barked, his tone laced with frustration. It was either they were incredibly unlucky, or something far worse was happening.

"We need to speed up—now!" he ordered, pushing the group to increase their speed.

Emery barely had a moment to respond when an overwhelming, oppressive aura surged in the distance. His instincts flared in warning as the dark presence grew closer, the power emanating from it shaking him to his core. "Something's coming… 100 miles away, and it's fast," Emery warned.

The aura wasn't just powerful; it was monstrous, a two cosmos-ranked grand magus maybe even three cosmos, someone that radiated more strength than Azazrel. Major Kouga's commanding voice cut through the panic, "Emery, create a portal the moment we reach the others! Don't waste a second!"

With Grand Magus Helga and Archie finally in sight, Emery hastily began forming the spatial gate that would carry them far from this perilous pursuit. Just as the portal stabilized, he sensed a terrifying presence closing in from 30 miles away—a presence that sent a chill down his spine.

Suddenly a beast roar unlike any other erupted across the landscape, the sound crashing over them in a wave that seemed to shake the very fabric of space. Emery struggled to hold the portal open as the power of the roar fractured it.

His whole body trembled as he fought to keep the gateway intact, forcing the spell to remain stable even as it wavered under the sheer force pressing against it.

The roar was closer now. With each pulse, the presence grew more menacing, filling Emery and the others with a dread that few beings could inspire.

"Who is it? Who could shake him and the other Grand Magus like this?"

The chaser finally came into view—and Emery's heart clenched at the sight.

A colossal crimson dragon cut through the sky, its scales glimmering like molten metal, and riding upon its back was a figure draped in ominous scarlet armor. The figure's aura was overwhelming, a blazing wrath that radiated from him like the heat of an inferno.

For a moment, Emery was transported back to a dark memory—flashes of a burning forest, an academy under siege, and a figure who had haunted his nightmares since.

He could barely force the words out. "That's… him… Agis the Red Demon."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om