Nolan, Elina, Rafine, Luvistar, and Ishtar finally arrived at the port. Ishtar glanced at the two ships anchored ahead and asked, "Are these the warships?"
Rafine gave a small nod. "Yes, those are the two. You can start casting your magic on them."
Ishtar didn’t reply—she simply nodded and raised her right hand. A white magic staff instantly appeared in her grasp.
It was long, covered in ancient carvings from end to end. Its presence alone seemed to weigh down the air, as if suppressing everything around it.
"Stand back. I won’t be responsible if you get hurt," she warned coldly.
Rafine, Elina, and Luvistar immediately backed away about twenty steps without protest.
Only Nolan remained where he was, looking indifferent, even with a faint mocking glint in his eyes.
This woman is really good at acting, he thought, quietly chuckling to himself.
When a mage casts magic, no one nearby should be harmed—mages have complete control over their spells. But on rare occasions, control slips, and chaos follows.
Malverna, however, was no such case. As the Demon Empress, her mastery over magic was beyond question.
That’s why Nolan knew she was only pretending. Still, he felt no irritation—he was the one who had asked her to act flawlessly so as not to draw suspicion, especially from his younger sister, whose instincts were as sharp as a hound’s.
"Brother, what are you doing over there? Come here quickly! You might get hurt!"
Elina’s worried voice rang out from behind.
Nolan snapped out of his thoughts, shot Malverna an amused glance, then turned and walked toward the three.
Under the watchful eyes of Elina, Luvistar, Rafine, and the fifteen hundred soldiers behind them, Ishtar lifted her magic staff high.
She began to chant, her voice weaving mysterious incantations incomprehensible to ordinary people.
Buzz!
Ten pitch-black magic circles suddenly formed above the two ships. They glowed brightly and rotated slowly.
Their appearance darkened the sky in an instant. Blue lightning crackled behind them, accompanied by thunder that rumbled with a force that seemed to shake the soul.
"What terrifying magic!" Luvistar exclaimed, horror flashing in his eyes.
He had once seen the Seven Mages of the Constellations unleash their might, yet compared to the power before him now, they seemed almost... lacking.
"Could there be differences among the Celestial Mages? Aren’t they all supposed to be the same?"
Since he wasn’t a mage, it was only natural he lacked a deep understanding.
After all, only mages truly understand mages—and likewise, only swordsmen truly understand swordsmen.
Beside him, Elina was just as awestruck. But the memory of the terrifying power once displayed by the Singularity of Chaos helped her regain her composure.
Malverna’s magic was indeed formidable—yet compared to the Singularity of Chaos, it was nothing at all.
That’s amazing. Compared to the Sage mage we hired the other day, this is hundreds—no, maybe thousands—of times more terrifying, Rafine said in admiration.
A Sage was one rank below a Celestial mage. While the gap seemed small on paper, in reality it was like heaven and earth—impossible to compare.
A Celestial mage’s mastery, control, and raw power were far beyond that of a Sage. In fact, one Celestial mage could defeat fifty Sages at once.
The difference was truly staggering.
Whoosh!
From the ten magic circles, ten beams of black light shot downward, striking the tops of the ships. Almost instantly, a massive barrier began to take shape over them.
Its formation was steady—not too fast, not too slow—allowing every onlooker to witness the process clearly.
Five minutes later, the barriers were complete. They shimmered briefly before vanishing from sight, as if they had never been there.
However, anyone sensitive to magic could feel it—the two ships were now protected by an immensely powerful barrier.
Ishtar lowered her staff, and the ten magic circles vanished in an instant.
She approached and said, "I’ve coated both ships with my magic. Don’t worry—you’ll be safe. No sea monster will be able to collapse or destroy them."
Rafine stepped forward and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for your help, Mage Ishtar. Your assistance is invaluable to us."
With the barrier magic shielding both ships, Rafine finally felt at ease. At the very least, the same incident wouldn’t repeat—and now they had the confidence to win.
"You’re welcome," Ishtar said casually. "I only helped because Theo ordered it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered."
Her blunt words made Elina, Rafine, and Luvistar exchange embarrassed smiles.
"Alright then, I’ll be going. My business here is done," she said calmly.
"Wait a minute!" Rafine quickly called out. "Can I ask you a favor?"
Ishtar glanced back. "If it’s about the monster, I’m sorry—I can’t. That’s your problem, and you should deal with it yourselves."
Before Rafine could respond, she looked away, and in the next moment, her figure simply vanished.
"Huh..." Rafine let out a disappointed sigh. "She has such a mysterious temperament. I can never tell what she’s thinking."
"You’re right," Elina agreed with a nod. "A woman like that hides too many secrets. We must keep good relations with her—otherwise, it’s not impossible she could become a threat to the eastern region... or even the entire Empire."
Rafine simply nodded, then glanced back—only to realize Nolan was nowhere in sight.
"Where’s Nolan? When did he disappear?"
Her question startled the others. Luvistar and Elina quickly looked around, scanning both sides, but there was no sign of him anywhere.
***
"Good job, Malverna. I didn’t expect your acting to be that good," Nolan said as he walked with both hands tucked into his pockets.
His eyes settled on the black-veiled woman standing a short distance away, her entire figure concealed.
The woman removed the veil from her face, revealing the striking beauty of Malverna beneath.
Her expression was cold and indifferent, as if devoid of any emotion.
"I was only doing what you told me to do," she replied flatly, though a trace of annoyance lingered in her voice.
Nolan merely smiled and shook his head. Stopping in front of her, he gave her a slow once-over and teased, "By the way, you look very attractive in that. Where’d you get the idea to wear it?"
"You..." Malverna froze at his words. Her emotionless face flushed red, and embarrassment washed over her. With a cold snort, she said, "These are the garments worn by mages from an era a thousand years ago."
"Oh?" Nolan raised an eyebrow. "I didn’t expect that. Does it also include the magic you use? If I’m not mistaken, it’s called ancient magic, right?"