Cloud Thinking

Chapter 341 Beneath the firelight, only ashes remained.

"Helia—!"

Mobius's roar drowned out the clamor of the downpour.

He was like a lion that had been completely enraged, his body erupting with almost white flames that instantly vaporized the several water-men who were trying to get close.

The old man rushed over, knelt down, and with trembling hands checked her breath. When he sensed the faint but still present breath, his fingers clenched tightly.

He lowered his hand, his fingertips rapidly drawing one fiery rune after another around her body. A solid yet flickering barrier of flame suddenly rose up, separating the unconscious girl from the malicious rainy night.

After doing all this, he slowly stood up straight, looked warily at the pitch-black expanse where the sky almost blended into the darkness, and proceeded cautiously.

He knew that the enemy was lurking there and could launch a deadly attack at any moment.

Exhaustion was etched on his brow, but his eyes burned with a will more intense than any flame—a will to protect, a determination to never allow tragedy to repeat itself after enduring such pain.

"Hoh..." A low, inhuman howl came from the side, and a monster formed from black water, resembling a multi-headed hound, pounced, its huge mouth, drooling with corrosive liquid, lunging at his neck.

Mobius didn't even turn around completely; he simply swung his hand back, and a highly compressed white flame lance precisely pierced the monster's core, instantly vaporizing it.

But before the steam had dissipated, on the other side, the water on the ground suddenly rose up, turning into countless fine water needles that shot towards the unconscious Helia like a sudden storm!

Despicable and vicious!

The opponent's attacks were always focused on restraining and wearing him down, with the ultimate goal of making him watch his students die!

Mobius roared and had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​pursuing. He retreated rapidly, blocking Helia's path, and instantly created layers of fire barriers.

The water needles struck the barrier, producing a continuous hissing sound, as the black mist and white flames annihilated each other.

With each wave of attacks he withstood, Mobius's face grew paler.

He felt his magic draining away at an unprecedented rate, just like when he faced the endless defensive forces of the Association headquarters alone. That suffocating feeling of being surrounded and helpless gripped him once again.

The water ghost man hid in the shadows, the filthy water clinging to him intimately as if it were alive, but he did not make a move, instead watching from afar.

He seemed to admire Möbius's perseverance, a faint hint of curiosity flashing across his inhuman eyes.

"So, professors at Carter's College are going to become royal watchdogs too?" His voice was flat, yet it was more biting than direct mockery.

New, more aggressive water monsters coalesce from the black water, their contorted forms filled with malice towards life.

Mobius took a deep breath, and flames burst forth from his palms, transforming into whips and barriers that clashed fiercely with the approaching monsters.

Each clash caused the flames and black water to violently vaporize, emitting a hissing sound.

His disadvantageous attributes made things extremely difficult for him; his flames required several times the usual amount of magic power to purify the venomous poison contained in the black water.

Even more critically, he had to spare some of his attention to maintain the protective barrier around Helia, which flickered precariously under the onslaught of rain and malicious attacks.

"boom!"

A water monster disguised as a rock suddenly exploded, and splashing black water shot towards Helia like sharp arrows!

Mobius's pupils contracted sharply. He moved to the side to block the barrier with almost instantaneous speed. The fire shield opened instantly, evaporating most of the black water, but a small drop still penetrated the defense and splashed onto his arm, immediately corroding a small, charred pit that was chillingly cold.

The excruciating pain made Mobius's mind exceptionally clear.

The association… he finally understood.

The long-standing neutrality of Carter's Academy has begun to waver due to the enrollment of Helia, the imperial princess, and her close relationship with the academy, with signs even emerging that it is leaning towards the royal family.

This is something the Magic Association would absolutely not want to see.

Not to mention that this time Helia actually wants to seize power from the Association and hand it over to the Academy.

They couldn't openly lay a hand on the imperial princess, as that would trigger uncontrollable political turmoil.

But eliminating Mobius, the once audacious "madman" who burned down the association's headquarters, and now the "strongest fire mage" who could become a key factor in Carter's Academy's alignment with the royal family, would be a precise and vicious move.

Killing him would not only eliminate a huge potential threat, but also serve as a severe warning to Helia, making her understand the price of going against the Association's will and potentially pulling Carter's Academy into the royal camp.

This was a vicious scheme that killed two birds with one stone, precise and cruel, carrying the association's consistent cold-blooded calculations.

The one who carried out this wicked plan was none other than the monster before them—a being that was neither human nor ghost, born from countless resentments in the filthy river.

The association's shadowy operators, using some forbidden methods, subdued the aggregate of malice in this world, transforming it into a poisonous blade with no past, no future, existing solely for the purpose of killing.

It is naturally able to restrain fire magic, which is known for its violent and scorching nature. The polluted river water has a pollution and annihilation effect on flames, which makes it difficult for Mobius to fully unleash his power to burn cities, despite having the ability to do so.

"boom!"

A dark shadow, like a ghost, silently fell from the dilapidated dome above Mobius's head—it was the Water Ghost Man!

His arms had completely transformed into two flowing scimitars, their edges shimmering with a spatial-tearing black light, slashing towards Mobius's head! This attack, long prepared, was as fast as lightning!

Mobius, constantly alert to his surroundings, suddenly leaned back, his feet filling with flames as he fiercely kicked upwards! This was not an elegant magical confrontation, but the most dangerous close-quarters combat!

"clang!"

The flames clashed violently with the black water scimitar, producing a piercing sound like metal striking metal.

Mobius used the recoil to slide backward several meters, his feet carving two charred tracks in the ground. The water ghost man, on the other hand, landed lightly with a somersault, his inhuman eyes revealing a rare expression of "surprise."

He seemed to have not expected that a mage known for his devastating ranged magic would also be so swift and fierce in melee combat.

This is all thanks to the association.

Mobius sneered inwardly.

After the infamous "Burning of Headquarters" incident that shocked the mainland, he was met with relentless pursuit.

During those dark and relentless years of escape, he had long understood how pale pure magic was when faced with ruthless assassins.

Dean Philip secretly protected him, and it was that experience that forced him to hone his fire magic to the point where it could be applied to life-or-death situations within a limited space.

It wasn't as glamorous and carefree as Helia had initially imagined. That period was almost the most painful and darkest time of his life.

However, the gap in strength and the advantage of elemental attributes cannot be completely overcome by skill alone.

The water ghost man's attacks were like a relentless tide, and the weapons formed from the black water sometimes became knives, sometimes whips, and sometimes exploded into countless poisonous spikes.

Mobius was struggling to stay afloat, and his wounds kept multiplying. Although he avoided vital organs, the corrosive effects of the black water were accumulating, and his movements slowed down noticeably. His breathing was like that of a broken bellows.

The most dangerous moment came when the water ghost feigned an attack on Helia, and just as Mobius was forced to retreat to defend, the real killing blow suddenly erupted from the ground—a sharp black water spike pierced through Mobius's foot!

"Ugh!" The excruciating pain almost made Mobius kneel down. He swung out a ring of fire to force back the water ghost man who was trying to pounce on him. Looking down, he saw that his entire foot was corroded and a mess.

The water ghost man stood not far away, the black water in his hand reforming into the shape of a spear.

He seemed to be enjoying Mobius's pain and embarrassment.

“Resisting will only prolong your suffering.” His voice was icy. “Cartes can’t protect you, and neither can Philip. Those the Association wants to eliminate can never escape.”

Mobius knelt on one knee, relying on his burning will to keep from falling.

He glanced back at Helia; the girl's pale face looked like fragile porcelain in the firelight.

No, he absolutely cannot fall here.

The tragedy of that year must never be repeated!

He took a deep breath, a glint of madness and determination flashing in his eyes, as if he had made a momentous decision.

His remaining magic began to converge frantically towards his heart in an unusually dangerous, almost self-destructive manner...

-

Helia's consciousness sank in boundless darkness and excruciating pain.

The icy chill from the polluted river water on her shoulders and the lingering resentment from the bone blade in her abdomen were like two venomous snakes, tearing and entwining within her body.

When the physical pain reached its peak, she became numb, and her mind was pulled into a deeper vortex of memories and obsessions.

The surroundings were no longer the ruins of the tower and the cold rain, but a chaotic space flowing with a dark red glow, like solidified flames or dried scabs.

An atmosphere of sorrow and anger filled the air, with low murmurs and suppressed sobs coming from all directions.

"Who is this...Mobi's child...?"

"Are you blind...? How could that scoundrel possibly have such a beautiful daughter..."

"Look at that red hair and blue eyes... could they be royalty...?"

"He will repeat the same mistakes...because of his arrogance, we have already..."

The voices were mixed, filled with resentment, yet strangely intertwined with a trace of unwavering concern.

Helia struggled to lift her head and saw several blurry figures of light and shadow emerging from the chaos.

They have no concrete form; they are more like clusters of condensed emotional fragments—there is a woman's gentle sigh, an old man's stubborn silence, and a young man's hearty yet distorted laughter.

They originated from that bone blade, the last traces left in the world by Möbius's deceased relatives and friends.

As the bone blade pierced her body, it also brought the imprints of these remnant souls into her consciousness.

“You… are the teacher’s…” Helia said weakly.

"Teacher?" A relatively clear, somewhat sharp female voice scoffed, "That little rascal, does he even deserve to be a teacher? In our eyes, he'll always be that arrogant, hot-tempered brat, Mobi!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

In the chaotic space, a vivid scene unfolds like a scroll: a blond-haired boy, wearing a slightly oversized apprentice robe from Carter's Academy, stands atop the academy's highest tower, arms outstretched towards the rising sun, laughing wildly.

His eyes blazed with an undisguised, burning ambition and confidence, as if the whole world was in the palm of his hand.

That was the young Möbius, sharp as a newly unsheathed peerless sword, radiant with brilliance, yet dangerously prone to cutting himself and those around him.

"Look at his behavior!" another slightly aged but doting voice rang out, "He always thinks he's the most important person in the world, and that those old fogies in the Magic Association are all scum who should be buried."

"Back then, his flames were golden, warm and bright, just like him—a scoundrel, yet genuinely endearing."

The scene shifts, showing moments between Mobius and his friends: in his humble dwelling, he and his companions are passionately debating the principles of magic, their spittle flying as they speak.

He secretly copied the high-level magic scrolls that were strictly controlled by the association and gave them to like-minded friends;

He put his arm around an old man's shoulder and boasted that he would burn down all the old customs and establish a new order for free magicians...

At that time, he was full of vigor and fearless, believing that he could change everything with his own strength and the support of his partners.

"Who does he think he is?" the woman's voice choked with sobs. "Does he think the association is a paper tiger? Just because of his damned, inviolable 'ideals'!"

The scene suddenly turned dark and bloody.

The magnificent building, the headquarters of the Magic Association, was engulfed in flames, but the flames were no longer golden; instead, they were a dark red, carrying an aura of destruction.

The young Mobius stood before the sea of ​​fire, his face filled with a mad and gratifying sense of revenge.

However, what came from behind him was not cheers, but shrill screams and desperate wails.

"He succeeded...and he also completely destroyed us..." The old man's voice was filled with endless sorrow.

The screen shattered, transforming into a series of rapidly flashing, heartbreaking images: a familiar home was massacred by a mysterious assassin, and companions who were just laughing and chatting in the scene lay dead in pools of blood.

The old monk who had once supported him was found "committed suicide" at home;

The woman who was like a sister to him was found unrecognizable in the filthy river that flowed through the city...

Retribution, a cold, ruthless, and familial reprisal from the Magic Association, swept over Mobius and everything around him like an icy tide.

Helia saw that the arrogance and light in Mobius's eyes in the image were extinguished at a visible speed, replaced by immense terror and disbelief, and finally turned into a deathly silence and desolation.

Like a stray dog, he began a aimless escape.

His former partners and respected elders died because of him, or severed ties with him.

The flame he was so proud of could no longer bring warmth, only reflecting the blood on his hands and the irreversible tragedy.

He became silent and gloomy, his once straight spine seemed to be bent by an invisible burden, and his brilliant red hair seemed to have lost its luster.

"He escaped...hiding like a rat...we risked our lives to save his..." The woman's lingering soul's voice was filled with complex emotions, including hatred, resentment, and an unyielding attachment.

“It was that good-natured Philip from Carter’s who withstood the pressure from the association and secretly took him in, giving him a place to hide and the identity of a ‘teacher,’ allowing him to survive like moss in a gutter until now.”

"The strongest fire mage?" The young man's remnant soul laughed with a chilling sarcasm. "Haha... Yes, the strongest. The 'strongest' built with all of our lives and blood!"

"Beneath his fire lies the ashes of us all!"

Helia was deeply affected by these fragments of memories intertwined with pain, love, and hate.

She finally understood why her teacher always inadvertently revealed a deep weariness and detachment; why he would occasionally stare blankly at the flickering flames, his eyes filled with complex and unfathomable emotions; and why he always harbored an almost obsessive protectiveness towards his student—

He was using protecting her to make up for the regret of not being able to protect his relatives and friends back then, and to fight against the karmic fire called "regret" that was devouring everything from his past.

What she knew was Mobius, the seemingly cynical but actually powerful and reliable "strongest fire mage".

And what unfolds before her now is the real Mobius, whose pride has been crushed by fate, who carries a deep-seated hatred, and who struggles to survive in the ashes.

Outside of dreams, in reality, Mobius is burning his life force in a desperate struggle against the water ghost man who represents the Association's endless malice.

Within the dream, Helia, through the eyes of her beloved's soul, saw clearly the teacher's numerous wounds and heavy past beneath the firelight.

This realization was like a heavy baptism, adding a profound understanding and heartache to her feelings for her teacher, beyond just respect and dependence.