The Filthy Magic, and the Royal Secrets

In the study, Carlton found himself cornered by three opponents at once.

After Ophelia restored the flow of magic, Luo Wei was finally able to contribute in combat. Though his magic was nowhere near the level of Tilis, he could at least give Carlton some trouble.

No sooner had Carlton countered Eleya’s divine strike than Luo Wei’s spell followed in quick succession. The two left him no room to catch his breath.

Meanwhile, Ophelia continued her efforts—the magical energy grew denser, and the range of her domain expanded steadily.

"Yes, just like that!" Luo Wei thought with excitement. If Ophelia kept this up, Carlton’s demise would only be a matter of time.

"Hmph." Carlton, of course, saw through their plan. His gaze locked onto Ophelia, and he directed nearly all his attacks at her alone.

But Luo Wei and Eleya wouldn’t let him have his way. They shielded Ophelia from front and back, ensuring not a single strand of her hair was touched.

This only darkened Carlton’s expression further.

"Ophelia..."

After enduring relentless divine and magical assaults, his movements grew increasingly desperate.

"Do you really think this is enough to defeat me?"

"Do you believe such petty tricks can break my anti-magic domain?"

Suddenly, he halted his futile attacks, his figure vanishing into the shadows.

"Let me teach you how this domain is truly meant to be used!"

Though his form had disappeared, his cold voice echoed through every corner of the study.

Luo Wei scanned the surroundings warily. The endless expanse of the study twisted violently before his eyes.

Then, an indescribable force surged forth like a black tidal wave, crashing toward Ophelia’s domain.

"No…!" Ophelia’s eyes widened in alarm.

"The magic is fading?" Luo Wei turned to her. "What’s happening? What’s wrong?"

"He’s corrupting my domain…" Ophelia stared around in shock. "Wait—something’s off. The magic feels… wrong."

The moment she realized what was happening, she shouted at Luo Wei, "Stop casting! Luo Wei, don’t use any more magic!"

But the warning came too late—Luo Wei had been maintaining a [Spellward Shield] to protect them both.

To his horror, the once-pure glow of his magic suddenly darkened with a tainted aura. A backlash force clogged his mana channels, spreading through his body like a virus.

"Is this… corruption?"

Then, whispers of madness crept into his ears. His vision twisted into chaos, his head throbbed as if splitting apart—

His entire being began to unravel, his sanity crumbling.

"Luo Wei, are you alright?!" Ophelia grabbed his trembling hand. "You’re shaking—what do you see?"

"I’m fine…" He shook his head and hastily pulled out several vials of potions from his pouch.

It had been so long since he last needed these. He was always the one purifying others—never did he expect to be the one needing relief from corruption.

This was the ancient scourge that had plagued mages for millennia: corruption and backlash.

The reason magic had stagnated for so long lay precisely in this. Once the source of power was tainted, every spell cast became a gamble—a risk of sudden madness. That was why the magical world favored "crystal magic," which relied on external conduits.

This was Luo Wei’s first time experiencing it firsthand…

"What did he just do? Why has the magic become so foul…?"

"I don’t know…" Ophelia shook her head repeatedly. "I only felt the magic growing denser, closer to what Tilis and the others described as the source of miracle energy… I thought it was my doing. Turns out, it was him all along…"

Luo Wei’s gaze shifted to the endless darkness around them.

It seemed Carlton understood this domain far too well…

Thankfully, Ophelia hadn’t expanded the domain further—if it had reached the mages outside, the consequences would have been dire…

A burst of manic laughter erupted from the darkness. The shadows writhed, faintly forming the colossal, aged face of a man.

"You overestimate yourself, Ophelia!"

Carlton looked down at her from above, his grotesque visage twisting into a hideous grin.

"You think simply adding more magic is enough? How naïve!"

"You understand nothing! Sixteen years—this is my life’s work, perfected over sixteen years! While you were still learning to speak, while you played with servants, I locked myself in this study day and night!"

"No one in this world understands magic better than I do! This is my magnum opus!"

Ophelia stared at Carlton in silence, not daring to release any more of her domain’s power.

If this was true…

Expanding the domain infused with magic would only backfire—she’d doom everyone.

"And what of it?" Luo Wei sneered.

"It took you sixteen painstaking years to figure this out, while she grasped it in less than a day. By comparison, you seem like a rather slow-witted fool, don’t you?"

The enormous face in the sky fell silent for a moment.

Then, a crushing force suddenly blasted toward Luo Wei.

His smirk only widened as Eleya stepped in front of him, deflecting the attack with a divine barrier.

"Ophelia, stopping isn’t an option." Luo Wei turned to her, meeting her hesitant gaze. His expression hardened. "Even with the risks, you have to try. This is our only chance to turn the tide!"

"I know, I know…" Her face twisted in conflict. "But if I restore the magic again, he’ll just corrupt it… I need another approach…"

"Foolishness!" The giant face let out a derisive laugh. "Supernatural power is the root of chaos in this world! No matter how you alter it, this force will always lead to corruption and madness! Did you think I created this domain for any other reason?"

Ophelia looked up, startled. "You… you despise supernatural power that much?"

"Of course!" Carlton’s voice was icy. "You think I spent my days mingling with Hawkins and those court mages, shut away in this study researching the arcane, because I enjoyed it? No! The opposite!"

"If not for supernatural power, the royal coup forty years ago would never have happened. The massacre that claimed a quarter of the capital’s population could have been avoided!"

"Do you all assume that because the throne eventually fell to me, I was the mastermind behind it?"

"Dead wrong!"

"The truth is—they lost their minds! Power corrupts, but supernatural power? It drives men to literal madness!"

"My father was obsessed with researching the bloodline power of the Wigner royal family, delusionally craving the formidable strength of our ancestor, Antius! He even invented something called the 'Dragon Devouring Ritual'!"

"Do you know what the Dragon Devouring Ritual is?" Carlton sneered. "It's consumption—consuming one's own kind! That so-called 'Mad King' devoured my uncle alive, and he even tried to devour me!"

Ophelia's eyes widened in disbelief.

As a member of the royal family, she had, of course, heard of the title 'Mad King,' but she never imagined the truth would be so horrifying.

No wonder, in the Antius Dragon Tomb, their ancestor always roared about 'hunger'—now it made sense. It must have been an instinctive cry in his unconscious state...

No wonder, when she secretly flipped through the family records, she was puzzled by how few members there were in the previous generation. At first, she thought Carlton had erased them all after seizing power...

So this was the truth...

The Wigner family... was actually such a monstrous existence...

"Ophelia..." Luo Wei watched the shift in her expression, his brow furrowing slightly. Something felt off to him...

Carlton had no reason to reveal all this...