Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods! - Chapter 546

Chapter 546: Chapter102-The Elder’s True Identity
“Hurry up! He hasn’t gone far yet. Follow the residual trail of his magical energy and catch up with him—quickly!”

The black-robed woman’s voice urged Alan forward.

He didn’t waste another second. After sensing which direction the dark element was most concentrated in, Alan immediately set off in pursuit.

As he hurried along, he couldn’t help but ask the black-robed woman in a curious tone, “I don’t get it. That mysterious figure who attacked the church is incredibly powerful—why would someone like that care so much about a single tier-diamond magic skill?”

The black-robed woman paused for a moment, then explained it to Alan in simple, understandable terms.

“Imagine you’re a mage who has trained in fire-element magic and reached the pinnacle—a level few can ever dream of, tier-diamond.”

“In that case, what do you think you’d need most?”

Alan pondered for a moment and replied, “To keep improving my strength?”

“Wrong,” the black-robed woman said flatly. “Once a mage or magus reaches a certain level of power, they’ll inevitably hit a bottleneck. It’s no longer about simply getting stronger.”

“What they need most at that point,” she continued, “is variety in their combat skills. Let’s say that fire-element mage encounters a foe who specializes in water or ice. What then?”

“Elemental counters are something every mage has to deal with. And for a tier-diamond mage, those counters can be especially troublesome.”

“They’ve committed to one path and gone to the extreme with it. That means they often struggle even more when forced to face elements they’re not familiar with.”

“In that kind of situation, a tier-diamond magic skill—especially one of a different element than their specialty, and better yet, one that happens to be a legacy from a Forbidden Magus—don’t you think they’d be tempted?”

Realization dawned on Alan. “So that’s why. I always assumed that once someone reached tier-diamond, they’d already mastered every element.”

The black-robed woman gave a soft chuckle. “How could that be? Human focus and energy are limited. To refine just one element to its highest form is already an incredible feat. Trying to master several—especially elements with opposing natures—is nearly impossible.”

As they talked, the two of them finally reached the source of the dark energy.

There, behind a massive boulder, lay the gray-robed elder—covered in blood and completely unconscious.

Alan approached cautiously, nudged him gently with his fingers, and when he saw that the man wasn’t waking up, he grew bolder and began to search him thoroughly.

But after a while, Alan had practically turned the old man’s body inside out—yet found no trace of any Sealed Artifact.

“Senior, I don’t think he has that artifact you were talking about,” he said, slightly disappointed.

The black-robed woman furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. “That’s strange. The residual aura of the Sealed Artifact on him is real.”

“That means… not long ago, it must have been kept very close to his body.”

“You mean… physically close?”

Alan picked up on her implication right away. Without hesitation, he crouched down and ripped the gray robe to shreds.

But what he found beneath the robe stunned him.

Instead of a withered, aged body, what was revealed was a strikingly beautiful and youthful woman, her skin pale and smooth like polished pearl.

Most eye-catching of all were her ample white curves, which seemed to exert a magnetic pull on Alan’s gaze.

“Watch out!”

The black-robed woman’s sudden warning came just a second too late.

The “elder,” who had been faking unconsciousness the whole time, suddenly sprang up and pinned Alan to the ground.

She hadn’t fainted—she had been pretending the entire time!

With one hand, she wiped the blood from her face. As she did, the action also loosened the human-skin mask she wore, revealing half of her true face beneath the disguise.

It was only then that Alan saw her for who she really was—a stunningly beautiful woman whose charm was masked beneath an aged veneer.

Her eyes gleamed like sapphires, a deep, vibrant blue.

Her slightly curled gray hair was reminiscent of the snow pines native to Snowguard City.

Her sharp brows gave her a fierce and imposing air, yet this only added to her allure.

She stared at Alan coldly, clearly unaware of the thoughts racing through his mind.

With a chilling voice, she asked, “Are you here to kill me too?”

Alan quickly shook his head. “Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?”

The woman, unsurprisingly, didn’t believe a word.

And why should she? She couldn’t sense even a single trace of mana from Alan’s body.

She was a tier-diamond mage, with perception far superior to most. If even she couldn’t detect anything, then the power hidden within this young man must be unfathomable.

What she didn’t realize was that the reason she couldn’t sense anything at all was because the black-robed woman was secretly concealing all of Alan’s presence.

Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the distance—reinforcements from the Church of Steam and Magic.

The gray-haired woman instantly grabbed Alan by the throat and hissed, “If you don’t want to die, take me to Kent Kingdom!”

Panicking, Alan called out to the black-robed woman in his mind, begging her to step in and help.

But this time… there was no response.

It was as if she had fallen asleep.

Or… deliberately chosen to remain silent.

…

As dawn broke, the plains outside Ironblood City were swept by cold winds carrying sand and dust.

Alan and the gray-haired woman walked in silence, one leading, one following.

Neither spoke a word the entire time.

It looked peaceful from afar, but Alan knew better—any misstep, and the woman behind him would kill him without hesitation.

Even though she had clearly sustained severe injuries during her fight with the church’s elite, the power she still possessed was more than Alan could handle.

He had to hold back.

He repeated this to himself over and over: Don’t be reckless. Don’t do anything stupid.

But suddenly, he heard a faint cough behind him.

Turning around, he saw the gray-haired woman had collapsed onto the ground, coughing up streaks of blood.

“You okay?” he asked, feigning concern as he approached.

But as he got closer, she shot him a vicious glare. “Don’t come near me!”

Alan froze, standing still where he was.

Yet moments later, her coughing grew worse. She struggled even to stand.

Seeing this, Alan decided not to hesitate any longer. He stepped forward and helped her up from the ground.

She scowled, but didn’t protest. Truthfully, she needed the support.

Still, the situation now made Alan deeply uncomfortable.

Her body was incredibly alluring to begin with—and since he had ripped most of her robe earlier during the search, much of her skin was now exposed.

Now, with the two of them so close, the warmth of her bare skin against his body sent shivers down his spine and stirred primal instincts deep within him.

But Alan didn’t dare make a move.

No matter how tempting her appearance, this woman was someone who had just gone toe-to-toe with the upper echelon of the Church of Steam and Magic.

And to make matters worse, the black-robed woman, who had promised to be his support and protector, still wasn’t responding at all.

Right now, Alan was truly alone.

No one to call.

Nowhere to run.

And the storm… was only just beginning.