Earth's Greatest Magus

In a distant corner of the universe, on a planet far removed from the celestial ruins, a fierce and cataclysmic grand magus battle had erupted. The very planet trembled under the sheer force of the magical onslaught.

A colossal explosion erupted, sending shockwaves through the terrain, obliterating a once-hidden mountain. The mountain had served as the secret lair for a notorious bandit group known throughout the galaxy. Now, the area was a gruesome tableau of destruction, with hundreds of rogue magus corpses strewn lifelessly across the blood-soaked ground. Another multitude of surviving rogues knelt in abject terror, their leader, a grand magus of three cosmos, bearing the marks of a brutal confrontation.

With a bloodied and battered visage, the bandit leader sneered defiantly at his adversary.

"Ghost of Lynhurst... You've certainly managed to uphold your fearsome reputation," he spat through clenched teeth, each word laced with venom. "But you won't gain a thing from me!"

Unfazed by the chaos and carnage around him, the enigmatic man on the opposite side calmly retrieved a cigarette and lit it with an almost nonchalant air. Exhaling a plume of smoke, he responded coolly, "There's no need for denials. The evidence against you is overwhelming. You played an active role in infiltrating magus into the expedition... Tell me your reasons, and I might consider showing you mercy."

The defiant bandit leader couldn't help but chuckle darkly at the mention of mercy. "Huh! Mercy... you're no longer part of the Alliance Council, Delbrand. You've lost the authority to guarantee anything." His laughter grew more maniacal. "You're doing this because you realize you're running out of time... haha... you can't stop the resurgence!"

Frustrated by the bandit leader's taunts, Delbrand crushed his cigarette into smoldering ashes, preparing to resume the battle. But before he could make his move, a peculiar disturbance in space caught his attention. A ripple in the fabric of reality manifested, accompanied by a brilliant burst of light.

As the radiant glow subsided, an elderly man with a long white beard materialized in mid-air, causing the bandit leader's manic laughter to abruptly cease. "You... a supreme being... this no... you... You're forbidden from interfering..."

With an air of nonchalance, the enigmatic figure responded, "My apologies, but we truly need to know... please tell us"

Without delay, the supreme being delved into the bandit leader's memories and extracted a handful of crucial clues. However, before further interrogation could proceed, the grand magus bandit resisted to the point that his soul exploded, erasing his existence from the world forever.

Intrigued by what had transpired, Delbrand inquired, "Master, what did he reveal about this 'resurgence'?"

The supreme magus, his countenance marked by unusual anxiety, replied urgently, "I need to consult an ancient text for answers. In the meantime, warn the others; it seems they are planning to take action soon."

#####

Within the confines of the Magus Alliance Space Station, a council of faction elites and elders had been vigilantly monitoring the celestial ruins' expeditions for six days straight. The atmosphere within their chamber was a mix of anticipation and concern, as they awaited updates on the ongoing progress.

The display screens before them showed multiple information about the expedition, the first was the number of participants still exploring the expeditions.

[Celestial Ruins Points]

[Magus Alliance: 24,812 participants]

[Elven: 8,493 participants]

[Others: 28,447 participants]

Over the course of the expeditions, more than 30,000 magus had met their demise, and the majority of them were rogue magus who had ventured into the celestial ruins unprepared. As for the almost 10,000 registered as alliance members, to the elites, it was seen as a harsh but necessary culling of those who were not yet ready for such formidable challenges.

The eagerly awaited faction point ranking had finally been unveiled, confirming the Oculus faction's dominance in their enigmatic dark arts. They held the coveted first place, coupled with the lowest casualty count, as their members diligently harvested the constructs on the lower layers.

[Faction Point Accumulation Ranking]

[Rank 1: Oculus - 915 members - 1,524,170 points]

[Rank 2: Nephilim - 728 members - 1,252,183 points]

[Rank 3: Arcanum - 718 members - 1,058,127 points]

[Rank 4: Imperium - 675 members - 992,190 points]

[Rank 5: Arkaland - 658 members - 893,889 points]

These elite council members remained fixated on the survivors—those magus who had successfully claimed the illustrious gold medals, thus gaining access to the sixth layer crossover.

[Magus Alliance: 1,478 participants]

[Elven: 2,623 participants]

[Others: 399 participants]

Their attention then shifted to the dwindling numbers of grade 5 faction magus still vying for the seventh layer:

[Oculus - 175 participants]

[Nephilim - 150 participants]

[Arcanum - 115 participants]

[Imperium - 98 participants]

[Arkaland - 50 participants]

[Cross - 35 participants]

Once again, the Oculus has proven to stay on top rank, Unfortunately, the absence of any Oculus representatives at the VIP gatherings left all the elders and elites with no choice but to extend their congratulations to the Nephilim, who had secured the second position.

At the private Nephilim table, the three elder council members made an effort to wear gracious smiles as they received congratulations and praise.

"Huh! Oculus again… And their absence only shows their arrogance," remarked Elder Estefan of the Azazel family, his irritation evident.

Dolorian, the leader of the Aztebas family, casually sipped his beverage and chimed in with a smile. "I had thought that this time, your Prince Liam would bring the Nephilim to the number one spot."

Estefan's annoyance grew, and he turned to the female elder. "Maybe if the Amaerhiks do their part, we might be able to reach such a number."

Elder Serafina, who had been relatively quiet until now, decided to speak up. Despite their lower overall total points, the Amarhiks had 55 members among the 150 still participating in the sixth layer. Notably, half of these Amarhiks members had climbed the ranks of the point standings, including one exceptional half-blood talent.

"Huh, big words. We know that most of the Amarhiks participants aren't actually from the family," Estefan retorted.

Serafina's smile only widened as she responded, "Which only proves that we can attract better talent, and even if they fail, it won't truly harm the family."

Conversations buzzed among the elite members as they debated the implications of these recent developments. Some expressed satisfaction with the progress made by their faction's magus and their successful acquisition of valuable shards. The achievements of their members were a source of pride and optimism.

However, when a message arrived regarding a potential threat, it didn't garner as much attention or concern. Conflicts between dark elves and rogue magus were common occurrences both within the celestial ruins or outside all over the universe. Many regarded such clashes as routine and expected, not realizing the significance of this particular threat.