In Earth-land (Asland), the official organization responsible for regulating Magic Guilds, punishing Dark Mages, and maintaining order in the magical world is called the Magic Council. The Council's reach spans several continents; on Guiltina, it's known as MNP, and on Ishgar, it's called the ERA.
The Ten Wizard Saints are ten mages selected by the ERA Council for their immense power and exceptional contributions to the continent of Ishgar.
Originally, ten people were granted this title, but as years and eras change, the previous generation grows old and a new generation steps up, so the number isn't always fixed at 10.
The most recent Saint selection took place in X782, two years ago. That year, the Alvarez Empire from the Western Continent launched a probing attack on Ishgar. In the end, they were deterred by powerful weapons like the Etherion and FACE, preventing an all-out war.
But the people of Ishgar were not to be trifled with. Afterward, to demonstrate their strength, the Council selected several outstanding mages to fill the vacancies. Jura and Jellal became Saints at that time. Before that, there were only seven Ten Wizard Saints, and Cornas was one of those seven.
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At the same time that Hyberion defeated Zancrow, a much more dangerous battle was raging in another corner of the academy.
Cornas was shrouded in black Magic Power, her Age-Apotheosis Magic operating at its peak. Any person, object, or even energy body like Magic Particles that touched this black, mist-like substance would rapidly age, decay, and crumble into dust in a short amount of time.
The surrounding ground was pockmarked and ruined. Several piles of weathered wood lay scattered, looking like superheroes who had been 'snapped' out of existence—they would simply scatter with a gentle breeze.
The most conspicuous thing on the battlefield was a giant tree, though it was now toppled over. The remains of the fallen giant tree were broken into several chunks, leaving only a meter-high stump still connected to the roots. The fractured surface looked like it had been severely eroded by time, crumbling easily at the slightest touch.
Azuma leaned weakly against one of the large tree fragments, utterly exhausted of Magic Power. More importantly, he was missing his right leg, and blood was gushing from the severed limb.
Anything with substance struggled to resist this overpowering force of decay.
In the past ten minutes, he had attempted both physical and magical attacks, but neither had any effect on the woman before him. Instead, he himself had gotten too close to the black mist, causing his right leg to be touched by the Age-Apothehesis Magic.
In the blink of an eye, everything below his knee was reduced to bare, white bone, and the black mist was still spreading upward. Azuma acted decisively, transforming his right arm into a wooden blade and ruthlessly severing his leg to save his life.
"You were quick to cut off a leg to save your life. Otherwise, you'd probably be dust now, bones and all." A cold, sharp voice came from the figure shrouded in black mist. "Committing evil deeds and speaking disrespectfully—that is the price!"
'This girl... is she mad because I called her 'elder' just now?! Are all the Wizard Saints this weird? As I thought, she's not the kind of strong person I'm looking for! Why would a true powerhouse obsess over getting old? Besides, she doesn't look that young to begin with…'
Naturally, Azuma would not say this out loud. He wasn't the type to worry about age, and it certainly wasn't because he was afraid of losing another leg.
Azuma clearly lacked experience in handling this kind of situation. After a moment of silence, he simply said, "I don't recall saying anything disrespectful."
"Hehe... Still trying to argue!"
It was proven that you should not reason with an angry woman, especially when the topic involves age, and particularly when she is a woman sensitive about how old she appears.
Azuma's heart sank again. All attempts at reasonable argument seemed utterly futile against Cornas's soft laugh.
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Among some of the top figures in the magical world, especially her fellow Wizard Saints, many knew that Cornas and Hyberion were both graduates of the Demesol Academy of Magic. Given the timeline of their fame, it was speculated that they were from the same class. In reality, Cornas is much younger than Hyberion.
Cornas entered Demesol Academy at the age of 8. Thanks to her superb magical talent and learning ability, she completed the eight-year curriculum in less than two years. Recognized by the Headmaster at the time, she was granted access to ancient magical texts.
Subsequently, much like Sherria learned Sky God Slayer Magic from Grandeeney's ancient texts, Cornas acquired a never-before-seen magic from one of these ancient books: the Lost Magic, Age-Apotheosis Magic!
If we view the abstract concept of time as a straight line, it can roughly be divided into three parts: Past, Present, and Future. In the magical world, mages categorize the magic that targets these three time periods into three major schools of Time Magic. For example, Dimaria Yesta's Time Magic, being one of the Spriggan 12, belongs to the Present school, while magic that doesn't fit into any of the three, like Ultear's Arc of Time, is called the Fourth School.
Age-Apotheosis Magic belongs to the Future school, a high-level form of magic that is extremely difficult to learn and control.
After leaving the library, this powerful, dangerous, and uncontrollable force caused considerable trouble for the academy's teachers, students, and buildings. To solve this problem, Cornas spent ten years mastering the magic of Age-Apotheosis.
Powerful magic always comes with unavoidable side effects. The side effect of Age-Apotheosis Magic was that, before it was completely mastered, the user's own body and Magic Power would also undergo rapid maturation. This caused Cornas to possess the appearance of a woman in her late thirties when she left the academy and began to make a name for herself across the continent.
Though she later managed to slow down the aging of her body and somewhat catch up with her actual age, she remains especially sensitive about topics related to her appearance and age.
Cornas spoke again: "For the disrespectful comment, I'll leave you one leg. Consider that score settled..."
Hearing this, Azuma breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now then, let's settle the score for attacking the academy!" Cornas's aura surged again. Her immense Magic Power reformed into a sky-darkening black mist that completely blocked out the fierce early-autumn afternoon sun. The oppressive black clouds of power rushed toward Azuma, giving the distinct impression of a shadowy siege overwhelming the city.
The Age-Apotheosis Magic closed in. Azuma struggled to get up, but the pain and the weakness in his right leg caused him to fall again. In that brief moment, he was entirely trapped, with no room to evade.
"Is this it... Dying at the hands of a powerhouse like this isn't too embarrassing..."
He chose a relatively comfortable position to lie in and gave up resisting.
Just then, a figure with a long braid and a white cape, accompanied by an invisible, radiating, and air-distorting gravity field, broke through the thick black mist of decay and slowly walked onto the scene!
Invisible, formless gravity spilled forth from Bluenote Stinger, swirling around him and creating a circular area several yards wide. This Magic Power shot straight into the sky, pulling down the clouds and forming a moving pocket of sunshower rain.
"Bluenote?" The familiar Magic Power reignited the hope that had been extinguished in Azuma's heart, but quickly, his spirits sank again. A question lingered in his mind: "Can gravity beat decay?"
Azuma had no certainty because he couldn't defeat either of them and couldn't tell who was stronger.
Within Grimoire Heart, the guild members refer to Bluenote as a "mage who rivals the top Wizard Saints." His appearance here was undoubtedly Azuma's only hope for rescue!
"Are you the Headmaster of this academy?"
"Another enemy?" Cornas noticed someone intruding on the battlefield and tearing an opening in her magic. She didn't dare to be careless. She turned her head and said coldly, "This one looks stronger. Grimoire Heart truly is unfathomable..."
"To be able to defeat Azuma, you must indeed be the academy's Headmaster. I assume an enemy like you must know how to fly?"
Though the words sounded like praise, her tone conveyed a fierce fighting spirit and a strange confidence.