The Mighty Mage
Chapter 253: The Truth

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: The Truth

This time, however, Gu Jin did not attempt to drain her life force—she couldn’t risk overloading herself.

The woman screamed, her body twitching as the crushing vines squeezed tighter.

She tried to retaliate, but her strength was quickly failing, her movements sluggish under the immense pressure.

"You will not touch them," Gu Jin said coldly.

The woman’s eyes flared with fury, but there was fear beneath her defiance now. "You... think... this is over?" she gasped, blood trickling from her mouth. "More will come... You cannot stop us all!"

Gu Jin’s gaze hardened. "Let them come."

With a final squeeze, the vines crushed the life out of the parasite leader, and her body crumbled into dust like the others.

The other parasites were stunned.

With their leader gone, they were speechless for a long time and didn’t know how to react.

"Nine Pillars!" Gu Jin threw an advanced rank fire spell.

Nine fire pillars emerged from the ground, surrounding the parasites completely.

The parasites panicked and some even thought of running away but before they could move plant vines and walls blocked their way of exit.

One by one the pillar exploded.

The parasites screamed in terror, their bodies engulfed in flames as they desperately tried to escape.

But there was no way out—Gu Jin’s plant vines and walls had sealed off every exit.

As the last parasite disintegrated, the basement fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the crackling of the dying flames.

The smell of burnt flesh and ash filled the air, but the danger had passed.

Gu Jin stood at the center of the destruction.

Her expression was calm and serene.

She asked the space to check if there were any parasites, and once the space assured her that there was no one, she withdrew the plant vines.

With the plant vines gone, Song Hancheng hurriedly walked toward Su Qing and held her in his arms.

"I am so sorry, Qing’er," Song Hancheng whispered, his voice cracking.

"I failed you... and our child. I couldn’t protect either of you."

Su Qing, though unconscious, seemed at peace, her breathing steady.

Her hand still rested gently over her stomach, as if instinctively shielding their unborn child.

Gu Jin stepped forward, her expression softening as she placed a reassuring hand on Song Hancheng’s shoulder.

"You did what you could," she said quietly. "It wasn’t your fault. These parasites are far stronger than any normal person can handle. But why didn’t you cast any spell?"

This was the question that bugged Gu Jin the most.

Song Hancheng had a bitter smile on his face as he revealed the truth,

"Only those below Super Rank could use their power."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gu Jin was confused.

Song Hancheng explained,

"A week ago, all the mages suddenly lost their power. They couldn’t cast spells even if they tried to.

Only later did everyone realize, that only those above Super Rank couldn’t cast a single spell.

Everyone guessed that some kind of artifact was used to suppress the power of those who were above the Super Rank.

At first, no one understood why...but later when the parasites attacked us, we realized it was a part of their scheme."

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow,

"This artifact is too strange...if it wants, it should suppress the power of all the mages, why leave out the mages below Super Rank."

Song Hancheng nodded, still looking pained.

"That’s what’s so strange. It’s like the artifact was designed to specifically target those with greater power while allowing weaker mages to retain their abilities.

At first, we thought it was just a glitch or some kind of mistake. But after the parasite attacks began, it became clear—this was deliberate."

Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed in thought.

"It sounds like a strategy. By taking away the strength of the most powerful mages, they’re weakening the strongest defense the city has.

The parasites probably knew they’d struggle against mages above Super Rank and devised a way to neutralize them first."

Song Hancheng nodded solemnly.

"Exactly. Without our magic, we’re forced to rely on physical strength and basic tactics. But against creatures like them... it’s hopeless."

Gu Jin frowned.

"So the mages below Super Rank... why leave them unaffected? There must be a reason."

Song Hancheng let out a weary sigh.

"That’s what we can’t figure out. Maybe they see the lower-rank mages as no real threat. Or maybe they have some other plan we haven’t uncovered yet."

Gu Jin paced, her mind working rapidly.

"Either way, this artifact is a problem. Do you know anything about its location or how it works?"

The easiest way to deal with the situation was to destroy the artifact.

Once the mages above the super rank could fight back, would they still need to worry about these parasites?

Song Hancheng shook his head,

"I don’t know. I tried at first, but all attempts to trace the artifact have failed," Song Hancheng said, his voice thick with frustration.

"The artifact’s location is highly protected, likely hidden somewhere none of us would expect."

Gu Jin paused, deep in thought.

"If it’s this well-hidden, then it’s probably not just the artifact suppressing your power. The parasites must have multiple layers of protection around them."

Song Hancheng didn’t comment.

"Oh right...Qing is pregnant, right? I have a space place to bring but you can’t leave the place until I tell you to."

"Safe place?" Song Hancheng’s eyes lit. "Boss you send Qing’er to that place I can fend for myself. Maybe I could even help you."

Gu Jin shook her head,

"No. If by chance the baby of the father dies...I would not be able to face Qing ever again."

Song Hacheng hesitated,

"But won’t that make me completely useless?"

"Hm? No. Don’t worry." Gu Jin insisted.

She already had a plan in her mind.

Once she shifts Song Hancheng and Su Qing into the space, she will change her appearance.

Moving forward she would use her necromancy element and to avoid any complication she needs to mask her identity while doing so.

She doesn’t want to be arrested the moment she destroys the artifact.

After much insistence, Song Hancheng relented.

Gu Jin wrapped a black cloth around Song Hacheng and Su Qing’s eyes and brought them into the space.

To make sure nothing goes wrong, she even secretly burnt a knockout incense.

The moment Song Hancheng opened his eyes he saw a beautiful house.

The house gave off cozy vibes and his tense nerves relaxed.

Walking toward Su Qing he checked her and found that all of her wounds were treated. After working in an alchemy shop for 4 years, Song Hancheng learned the basics of being a doctor.

After taking Su Qing’s pulse he realized that Su Qing’s pulse was steady, stronger than before.

Song Hancheng let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

Song Hancheng stroked Su Qing’s hand, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.

"You’ll be safe here, Qing’er," he whispered, his voice filled with hope.

Slowly he felt his vision turning blurring and he fell on the floor.

Gu Jin outside the space, wore a mask and a black cloak to hide her body.

In this way, no one would recognize her.

..........

At the same time, in the center of the city

Two figures dressed in white cloaks and wearing a white masks were talking,

"Are you sure she will appear here?" The first figure who was a bit short in height as compared to the second figure asked.

"Yes." The second figure nodded.

"But...a week has passed...if she was about to appear here... she should have arrived a long time ago. To be honest I found her...a bit...selfish. if she truly wants to save the city why wait till so long before taking action?" The first figure said in a dissatisfied tone.

"Hey! You talk about her like that!" The second figure scolded

"Huh! I am telling the truth-"

Before the first figure could finish her words, a growl sounded and their attention turned toward the source of the sound.

As expected they saw 5 to 6 human-like figures who were eyeing them as as if they were delicious food.

"Tsk. Tsk. I am not dealing with it. Since you are the one who attracted them...you go ahead and deal with it." The second figure said and leaned against one of the walls.

The first figure rolled her eyes and suddenly tilted its head left and right.

"Alright. Since I am feeling so angry...I should just...vent it somewhere."

Once the first figure completed its words, it suddenly made some hand gestures and a white magic circle appeared in front of the first figure.

Whoosh.

The parasites tore open their mouths to attack the first figure using their tongue, but before they could react the white magic circle passed them one by one.

At first, none of the 6 parasites could react but later...all of them fell one by one.