Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Those words sounded like thunder in the masked man's ears.

"…What?"

Sabrina's eyes flickered with a trace of emotion. But when her gaze swept past the corpses of her family members, her eyes once again turned emotionless.

A part of her died when she looked at the corpses. A part of her died when she saw her eldest son die right before her eyes. And a part of her died when she saw her youngest son... being responsible for it all.

Pain, betrayal, anger, resentment… but more pronounced than any other emotion was the boundless shock growing in her heart.

She looked at the figure of the masked man. He wore a wooden mask that concealed his appearance not just from sight but also from the magical senses. He wore dark robes and a black mantle. He stood tall and upright, radiating an aura of immense strength.

"Did you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you put on a mask?" She said, her voice tinged with overwhelming sorrow and… fury.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes turning bloodshot from rage. "So, tell me why you did it?!"

The masked man… no, Marden… remained silent for a few moments before answering, "I told you. This is the price of freedom."

"…You would go so far as to kill your own family, your brother? You did not even spare the children. Why… Just why?" Sabrina seemed to be on the verge of losing her mind.

Or perhaps... she had already lost it.

She kept pounding on the floor, causing wide cracks to appear on the marble and her palms to bleed. She kept clutching at her hair, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Seeing the death of the entire Benton Family had truly caused her to lose her sanity. And the fact that all of this was perpetrated by none other than her youngest son seemed to have been the final straw.

"Why! Why! Why!"

She kept repeating the same word, howling at the skies as tears streamed down her face.

Marden's shoulders trembled seeing her in such a state. But soon, he composed himself. His grip around the sword tightened, and he whispered:

"I'll end your misery now… Mother."

Sabrina seemed to have given up all hope. She finally stopped screaming, her shoulders slouched as she stared at the ground with a vacant look in her eyes.

"You tricked us all… you tricked me…" she muttered under her breath.

Soon, she started chuckling. "Mana Core… You became a Mana Core Magus… When… How did this happen?"

"It doesn't matter," Marden said flatly.

But Sabrina seemed to ignore his words as she kept talking to herself, "I see… You went to Europa when you were young… You changed after returning from that place… I see… So, everything was a lie."

Finally, she raised her head and glanced at her son with a deadpan expression, tears still continuing to trickle down her face.

"Was it worth it?" she asked softly.

Marden deeply looked at her. A long time later, he answered:

"…Yes."

Sabrina's lips curled into a bitter smile. "I see…"

In the next moment, she flicked her hand and a sharp dagger appeared in her palm. She gripped the weapon with both hands, aiming the blade towards… her chest.

She cast one final glance at her youngest son. There were many things she wanted to say, but in the end, no words escaped her lips.

Sabrina scanned the hall, her eyes observing the corpses of her family members. Each time, more and more of herself died inside. Her gaze lingered on her eldest son, Nash, for a few moments.

She closed her eyes slowly. Then, she inhaled deeply and plunged the dagger straight into her heart.

Marden felt a vicious jolt course through his body as he saw his mother fall to the ground. It was as if someone had lodged a knife in his own heart.

He witnessed her taking long, raspy breaths as if struggling to cling to the last vestiges of life. A few moments later, her body turned lifeless.

The masked man remained standing at the center of the great hall, surrounded by the corpses of his family members.

He had accomplished his task. All the members of the Benton Family were dead.

But at what cost?

In that moment, something inside of him broke.

Was it the chains holding him down?

Or was it… his heart?

He did not know.

Love, family, and loyalty… these weren't the journey. They were distractions. Soft lies meant to keep a person grounded when the skies called above.

Marden took a deep breath, trying his best to calm the turbulent waves of emotions churning in his heart.

"I have no intentions of being grounded," he muttered softly, his tone devoid of any emotions.

He put away his sword, then brought his hands together to form a simple hand seal. Moments later, the corpses—each bearing the Benton bloodline—began to levitate, rising from where they lay scattered across the manor.

As if guided by unseen hands, they drifted silently through the air, converging toward the grand hall in a grim and macabre procession.

The dozens of corpses of the elderly, the men, the women, and the children formed a bloody circle around Marden. Then, using the blood flowing through their lifeless bodies as ink, he etched large runes on the ground.

A pentagram enclosed inside a circle. The runes seemed ancient and full of otherworldly power. It was complex and seemed to contain countless mysteries.

Marden looked at the corpses of his family members one last time, his gaze lingering on each of them for several moments. It was as if he was burning their deathly faces into his memories. He cast a long and final gaze at his mother. Then, he turned away.

Finally, he began weaving a very long and complex set of hand seals.

As the bloody runes on the floor and the dozens of corpses lit up with a blinding crimson light, he recited a beautiful poem, one full of sorrow, longing, and ambition:

"Bound by blood.

Chained by soul.

A lifetime lost to silence and command.

Today, the seal is broken.

The wind carries my name.

I am no one's weapon.

I am Marden.

I am free."

The grand hall was enveloped in an incandescent crimson light. Streams of blood essence flowed from the corpses, slithered through the runes on the ground as if guided by magic, and entered Marden's body.

There was something else, too…

Wisps of ethereal energy rose from the corpses, drifting softly through the air like mystical streams of white light before merging with Marden's soul.

Beneath the mask, he slowly closed his eyes.

And when he opened them again…

He appeared within his spirit sea.