Supreme Magus

"Swear it on Valtak's name." Lith said.

Quashol blushed at the request, not liking to be caught red-handed.

"I would never stoop so low to try and steal the secrets of a Hatchling like you, Verhen." He lied through his teeth. "Now stand still."

A brief examination with Eternal Winter confirmed that Lith's core was indeed bright violet and depleted at that. His life force was still cracked and his body battered beyond belief.

According to Quashol's readings, the Tiamat should have been unconscious.

"I stand corrected. Verhen was telling the truth. There is no alteration in his life force that can explain what we have witnessed." The Elder Wyrm didn't like apologizing but the Tiamat's determination had earned his respect.

"What about the spell? The one that made Silverwing's Annihilation look like a joke?" Orion asked.

"A Blade Spell I devised based on my own magical research and Silverwing's spells." Once again, a sliver of truth before a cargo of lies. "I can't cast it without a weapon stored in my pocket dimension.

"That's why I didn't use it before rescuing Solus. In case you are wondering, I didn't share the weapon's design not out of pride but because it would have been useless. The power core requires rare ingredients that vary depending on the user.

"Like all Blade Spells, the weapon is attuned to me and my mana flow. It doesn't work for others and we didn't have the time to experiment on how to adapt it to someone else."

Everyone nodded, considering the matter closed.

Those who had mastered Blade Magic knew that each spell was unique and couldn't be passed on like regular magic. Those who had failed to learn Blade Magic, instead, didn't dare to assume they would grasp something even more complex.

"This sort of makes sense, but what about master Menadion?" Orion asked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she is the secret behind your many Forgemastering achievements despite your young age."

"Like I would share my knowledge with a random runt." The displeasure in Ripha's voice broke the last doubts about her relationship with the Tiamat. "Now, before I forget…"

Menadion struck the ground again, releasing a shockwave that reversed the effects of Flames of the Forge and turned the quasi-Blade Weapons back to their normal enchantments.

"Fuck!" Eldritches, Liches, and Divine Beasts cursed as one.

Dragons and Liches were those who almost went mad with fury. They had been so busy fighting the World Tree's minions first and collecting their loot later to bother studying the changes that Menadion's spell had wrought upon their equipment.

The Liches reacted like expected. They bawled their eyes out, screaming injustice and stomping the ground like a five year old who had just lost his favorite toy.

Phoenixes fared better, but only because they served under Salaark and they could learn Blade Magic as long as they demonstrated their valor to the Overlord.

As for the Eldritches-monster hybrids, they had been studying the quasi-Blade Weapons from the moment the fight had ended. They didn't care for anything but strength and Blade Magic was one of the few things on Mogar they still lacked.

On top of that, none of them doubted for a second that Tezka had already collected from the battlefield all the resources the Master's research might need. The Suneater possessed an omni pocket and with his dimensional abilities storing an enemy right after killing them was child's play.

"Then what brought you back, master Menadion?" Ananta cupped her hands and gave the First Ruler of the Flames a bow. "Verhen faced several struggles in the past and called upon his Demons many times, yet you never answered."

"Why would I? I don't know nor do I care for him." Ripha's words oozed so much resentment that the Mother of All Black Dragons would have thought Lith had personally wronged Menadion.

Yet that was impossible. The Ruler of the Flames had died seven hundred years ago and Lith was only twenty years old. He had become a famous healer since he was a teen, there was no doubting his origin.

"With all due respect, that doesn't answer my question." Ananta wasn't willing to drop the matter. "Why here and why now?"

"I didn't come back for him but for her." Menadion gave Solus a side hug and took off her helm, revealing her visage.

With their build and faces so similar and the identical seven streaks amid their golden hair it was impossible to miss the resemblance. With Menadion's Demon form reverting her to her early twenties, they looked almost like twins.

Everyone gasped in surprise, those old enough to remember what Menadion looked like even called themselves idiots for not noticing it earlier.

"Solus…" Ripha swallowed, barfing more than speaking the next word. "…Verhen is my last descendant. My bloodline would have ended with her and that's something I couldn't allow."

Once again, the lie made perfect sense. No one even considered Solus could be Elphyn. Even if she was still alive, Elphyn Menadion was supposed to be over 700 years old and close to the end of her life.

Also, those who had met her knew she only had orange and silver streaks.

Her affinities were limited to the elements of creation, something her mother had always been proud of. On top of that, Elphyn was famous for having reached the violet by herself at just twenty years of age.

Solus Verhen, instead, was young, stuck at the bright blue, and had the legendary seven elemental streaks. Many had thought her to be related to Silverwing, not Menadion.

"What? How?" Even the Liches stopped throwing their tantrums and questioned the news.

"As you know, my daughter had a morally questionable behavior before turning over a new leaf." Ripha said, throwing an approving look at Lith for no apparent reason while he sent her a stream of lies through the black chain connecting them.

Everyone nodded while Solus blushed wildly without anyone caring for her anymore. Compared to the awe-inspiring First Ruler of the Flames, her descendant was just a nameless mage of little talent.

'I can't believe my past has to be thrown in my face like that.' Solus thought. 'I changed the moment I realized I was acting like a stupid brat and-'

"What no one knows is that such change didn't happen overnight for no reason. Epphy cleaned up her act because she got pregnant young and out of wedlock." Everyone gasped in surprise except for Solus who did it in horror, the difference barely noticeable.

"It's the truth." Bytra took it as her cue and chimed in. "All the students belonging to master Menadion's inner circle knew about it and swore secrecy to protect her reputation."

"Why did we never hear about it even after the murder?" Quashol asked.

"I can't speak for the rest of the apprentices, only for myself." Bytra replied. "I just assumed that whoever had killed master Menadion, Elphyn, and stolen the tower, had also killed the baby. There was no point breaking my oath."

"This explains everything!" Dragons, Liches, and everything in between murmured to each other.

'No, it doesn't!' Solus wanted to die. 'My reputation as Elphyn Menadion was already bad and now is destroyed. This couldn't get any worse!'