I am the Archmage

Chapter 138 crisis

The pain… it’s unbearable, truly unbearable.

When I awoke from the endless darkness, the first sensation I felt was pain. Unrelenting, excruciating pain. Every muscle, every joint, every meridian in my body felt as though they were being seared in boiling oil, a torment so intense it felt as though even my soul might tear itself away from my body.

Through the searing agony, I vaguely saw a familiar figure. Her delicate hand rested on my chest, and a strange rhythmic chant emanated from her, though the sheer pain I was enduring made it impossible to discern what she was saying.

My body suddenly felt a wave of warmth. A faint red glow appeared on my chest, spreading gradually to the slender arm pressed against me. As the red light coursed through me, the overwhelming pain began to subside. This sensation felt so familiar, just like…

A sudden flash of realization struck my mind like lightning. My God! This was Deathly Conversion! The art of transferring another’s injuries into one’s own body…

This recognition jolted me out of my pain-induced haze. The scene before me suddenly became crystal clear: Aya, looking pale and exhausted, was pressing her hand against my chest. Faint red light rippled like waves along her arm, flowing from my body into hers.

“Aya, no!”

In desperation, I summoned a surge of strength from somewhere deep within and pushed her away with all my might. Aya, clearly not expecting me, who had been unconscious until now, to suddenly push her, froze in surprise and was thrown backward. She collided hard against the wall several meters away.

A soft, pained cry escaped her lips as her delicate body slumped to the ground, motionless.

The sight sent a jolt of terror through me. I struggled to get up, but the moment I managed to lift myself, a flurry of dazzling stars filled my vision, and I collapsed face-first onto the ground. And just like that, I lost consciousness again.

No, I can’t pass out like this! Aya needs me…

Though my body was weakened to the point of unconsciousness, my soul refused to give in. It cried out, over and over. Somehow, my mental strength broke free from the confines of my physical body and began radiating outward.

“Master, what happened?”

“Master, something feels strange about you…”

One by one, voices filled with concern and questions reached me, directly connecting with my soul. These voices… they were from Lai Lai Bug and the others!

This was my first time communicating with my summoned beasts on a soul level. I could feel their deep concern for me, and it was clear that my current condition could not be hidden from them.

The melodic voice of Chacha Bird, as clear as a heavenly tune, came through:

“My heavens! Master, your body is completely wrecked. What in the world happened when we lost our mental link earlier?”

I hadn’t even had time to respond before a cold, sharp voice cut in:

“Chacha Bird, stop wasting time! The master is in critical condition right now; what matters is figuring out how we can help him immediately!”

This was Silver Magic Wolf, Knife. To think this usually aloof guy was genuinely so worried about me—it was surprisingly touching.

Ripples of soul energy began to pass between the souls of my summoned beasts. Clearly, they were discussing something, but as their soul-level communication was beyond my hearing, I could only sit there anxiously, wondering what they were planning. I was curious about how this group of summoned beasts, trapped in an alternate dimension, could possibly save me. I knew my injuries well—my current state was so dire that no magic short of the Holy Light system’s ultimate healing spell, Radiance of Life, could possibly save me.

Their discussion ended quickly. Lai Lai Bug’s voice reached me:

“Master, your condition is extremely grave. Your body is teetering on the edge of death. Without your summons, we cannot break through the dimensional barrier to manifest ourselves. The only option left is for us to exit our dimension in soul form, bypass the restrictions of space, and enter your body to repair it from within. Do you agree, Master?”

My heart tightened. I immediately retorted:

“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there? Leaving your bodies and crossing dimensions in soul form is incredibly dangerous. One mistake, and your souls could be completely annihilated, disappearing forever. Don’t think you can fool me just because you assume I lack theoretical knowledge. Lai Lai Bug, I forbid you from doing this! Do you hear me? Absolutely not!”

The summoned beasts fell silent for a moment before Lai Lai Bug’s voice returned:

“I’m sorry, Master. We cannot obey this command. This is our only chance. There won’t be another—if we even survive this one.”

I tried to argue further, but suddenly, the space around me began to ripple. My fragile soul was involuntarily forced back into my body, and the heart-wrenching agony came flooding over me again.

The pain was beyond what any mortal could endure. Thankfully, this time, I had mentally braced myself beforehand; otherwise…

Just as I was about to succumb to the unbearable pain, tiny cracks began to appear in the space around me. Moments later, six pure soul energy forms forced their way through these cracks and appeared beside me.

It was Lai Lai Bug and the others. Even though my consciousness had been dulled by the torment of pain, I could still sense their presence. However, their soul energy had been weakened to an almost unbelievable extent. Even the once-mighty Hell Black Dragon, Lai Lai Bug, now had a soul energy level no stronger than that of Rejella when I had first rescued her. As for Chacha Bird and the others, they were even weaker.

Lai Lai Bug’s voice sounded again:

“Master, stay alert. We’re about to begin! Unlike us, Goldie isn’t a pure elemental life form and cannot separate its soul from its body, so it remains in the alternate dimension. Master, please take good care of my son in the future.”

Before I could respond, it dove straight into my body. The remaining five elemental holy beasts—Earth Bear Rotten, Deep Sea Dragon Blue Skin, Silver Magic Wolf Knife, Fire Phoenix Chacha Bird, and Thunder Beast Dullhead—each followed suit, entering my body one after another.

Immediately, a surge of intense heat spread rapidly through my body. The stabbing, unbearable pain increased exponentially under this onslaught of heat, to the point where it felt geometrically magnified.

I clenched my teeth and endured the excruciating pain with an unyielding will, refusing to let out a scream. However, in the end, I still lost consciousness.

As I lay silently unconscious, monumental changes began to take place within my body. These were transformations brought about by the self-sacrifice of six holy beasts, giving their lives to bring them forth.

★★★★★★

“Hundred Blazing Piercing Strike!”

Puxi let out a fierce battle cry as the knight’s lance in his hand unleashed countless piercing shadows, scattering like rays of sunlight toward the angel warrior in front of him. At the same time, his powerful mount, a land dragon, opened its mouth to release a blazing burst of “Dragon Flame” at the same target.

The angel warrior swiftly countered. His right hand brandished a shining sword that formed a rain of light blades, meeting Puxi’s Dark Spear Art technique head-on. In his left hand, a dazzling white glow materialized as he cast the protective spell, Shield of Light, to withstand the impact of the Dragon Flame.

This was the first time Puxi, Dino, and the others were participating in actual combat. After a series of ferocious assaults, the demon army had pushed the angelic expeditionary forces back to the edges of the demon realm. This battle was likely to be the final great conflict on demon territory. To give the rookies, Dino and the others, a proper baptism by fire, Yu Yi allowed them to participate. Of course, their opponents were carefully chosen: the lowest-ranking angel warriors.

Though Puxi’s strength had grown exponentially under the grueling training of Rovi and Lahalte, he was still no match for even the weakest angel warrior. Fortunately, Yu Yi and her team had handpicked an exceptionally fierce land dragon as his mount. With its assistance, Puxi managed to hold his ground in a grueling stalemate.

Dino, Abao, and Lexington found themselves in similar situations. Although each was embroiled in fierce battles, they faced no true danger thanks to the calculated arrangements made by Yu Yi and her comrades.

Ultimately, Puxi was still just a greenhorn. Despite being the lowest-ranked angel, his opponent’s overall combat skills far surpassed his own. After enduring Puxi and his dragon’s relentless onslaught, the angel warrior seized an opportunity to counterattack. His sword transformed into a curtain of light, wave upon wave, bearing down on Puxi.

Caught off guard, Puxi panicked. While desperately defending with his lance, he flung a series of mental magic attacks—Fear Spell, Illusion Spell, Slow Spell—at the angel warrior. However, angels were naturally highly resistant to mental magic, and these attacks proved almost entirely ineffective.

“Clang!”

The angel warrior’s sword struck with such force that it knocked Puxi, along with his lance, off the back of his land dragon. As Puxi fell through the air, the angel warrior merged with his weapon, diving at him in a deadly assault.

Sensing the imminent danger, Puxi quickly reached for his chest and tore open his armor. “Save me, Black King! Breathe fire!” he cried out.

From within his armor, a small black shadow shot forth—a tiny black dragon, no larger than a human hand, flapping its pudgy wings energetically. It was adorably petite, yet its open mouth unleashed a thin stream of black flame, no thicker than a finger, aimed at the diving angel warrior.

The angel warrior scoffed at the diminutive creature’s attack, assuming it posed no threat. With a casual wave of his left hand, shielded by his Shield of Light, he attempted to deflect the insignificant black flame.

What happened next, however, left him utterly stunned. The unassuming flame pierced through the Shield of Light with ease and, in an instant, reduced his left hand to ashes. Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, the angel warrior plummeted to the ground.

Ordinarily, such an injury would not have caused an angel warrior to lose his composure or fall from the sky. However, the black flame contained an incredibly pure dark energy. The natural opposition between light and darkness made the damage from this flame especially devastating to the angel warrior.