Celestial Era: The Rise of the Full-Time Enhancer

Caiden suddenly felt a boundless form of energy aiming to drown him forcefully.

He didn't know where it came from or how it reached him in an instant but he knows that he would die if he succumb to this energy.

He mustered all his strength and protected his body with all energy that he has left…

'W-what kind of Mana Art is this?' Caiden gritted his teeth.

Blood started oozing off his facial orifices as he tried to protect himself…

However, his resistance only lasted for ten seconds before he felt his whole body turn cold… He felt his body was being warped into something else until he realized that he was chained in a dark and cold place…

He can't even see his body as there was no light around him… He can only feel that chains wrapping up his arms and feet.

"This…"

Caiden tried to sense his surroundings but he failed to do so.

He already transformed back into his human form as he already spent all his Aether resisting the sucking force a moment ago. Nevertheless, he knows that he still has some strength to scan the surroundings…

Unfortunately, for some reason, he was unable to use any of his Mana Arts at all.

"Let me out of here!" Caiden shouted as he tried to call the person who did this to him.

"I know you're listening to me! Let me out of here…"

He shouted in anger as he felt humiliated. He is a proud Tier 3 Alchemist and has many followers. People would normally try to curry favor with him and he was used to that.

Even when he was approached by the members of the Black Magic Organization to switch sides, a few Archons bowed down to him just to invite him…

After seeing their respectful attitude, he agreed to meet with their master and was allowed to meet the Magic God who granted their desire.

However, right now, he was slowly thinking about whether it was worth it or not.

Caiden tried to call out a few more times before he started to beg…

"Please! I know you can hear me! I'll tell you everything I know… Don't kill me! I haven't done anything wrong to you!" He cried out in despair as he realized that his life or death is no longer up to him to decide.

Unfortunately for him, only the Tome of Gluttony can hear him… and even if it does hear him, he wouldn't get an answer at all.

***

Within the Reception Hall, as the demonized alchemists saw that their leader was somehow captured by a bright light, they immediately went crazy as they don't want the same thing to happen to them…

They started attacking recklessly as several cracks appeared in their Formation Art!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The Celestials immediately tried to take control of the situation but it wasn't easy… These people no longer cared about saving their Aether and spent it all to destroy the Formation Art!

Boom!

After a few minutes, the Dragon Slayer Formation Art was half-destroyed!

The magicians controlling the formation started coughing out blood as the backlash from the destruction of the Formation was turned to them…

"Not good…" Vincent then used his shrouded steps to block the Alchemists from escaping…

Apparently, the Tome of Gluttony needs a minute or two to gather enough energy to capture the Alchemists with aether energy surrounding their bodies.

"Move!"

The alchemist in front shouted at Vincent with his red eyes glaring at him with full hostility…

Vincent didn't flinch at all as he covered himself with his Celestial Armor… Although his agility will be compromised with the armor, his defense would be in the highest state while wearing this…

He then used his magic weapons to cast powerful magic continuously…

Well, since he has armor to defend himself, he wasn't worried about getting interrupted in his weapon skill activation.

He used his Tranquil Mind Crystal's Soul Shake, Aura-Forged Mythril Sword with Fatal Mind, and Madness Mask's Hypnosis…

These series of Weapon Skills would affect a small area interrupting his target especially if they have weak Consciousness or Mental Energy.

This interruption may not kill them but it's enough for the Celestials to catch up and bring them down!

Thud! Thud!

The Alchemists were soon knocked down by the Celestials… They can only struggle for a moment before their consciousness faded away.

The 15 Alchemists working for the Black Magic Organization have been eradicated!

Six of them died, four of them were captured by the Tome of Gluttony, and five of them were taken captive as they were imprisoned to be questioned later.

None of them knows how their cover was blown but it's no longer important to them.

The remaining five alchemists can only worry about their life at this point.

***

Meanwhile, Vincent immediately went to the dockyard to assist Yulia and her team.

"Lydia… What's their situation?" Vincent asked Calidia while he was rushing to the area.

"They're fine. As expected, none of those people have that Aether that you mentioned. They're only normal members of the Black Magic Organization according to Sir Guven…"

Calidia answered as she explained what happened... It seems that before they suppressed the airship's crew members, they decided to capture someone to confirm their identities.

In the end, the Grand Knights and Grand Magus that went to subjugate them were a bit too overkill. The highest-ranking officer among the enemies is only an Archmage after all.

"That's good to hear… But what's taking them so long?" Vincent asked as he can still feel the fluctuations of mana coming in the direction of the dockyard.

How come the battle is still going on even though they aren't that strong?

Vincent was curious.

"Ugh… It's about their Airship… It seems that the Alchemists Union had spent a lot of money on this airship… Even though the people inside were weak, the ship itself has plenty of arsenals they could use. It's a good thing that Professor Levent is here as she was able to dismantle most of the ship's armament with her ability."

"She has that kind of skill? Alright… I'm on my way…"

Vincent said as he was only a hundred feet away from the dockyard…

As soon as he arrived he witnessed that although the Alchemist Union's ship is already in a poor condition, it can still defend itself after a huge tree grew on its deck!

This tree seems to be alive and was only attacking the Grand Knights and Grand Magus on their side!

"They're controlling a Treant?" Vincent muttered as he realized what was going on.

One of the unpopular professions of Mana Practitioners was the Beast Tamers. After all, taming beasts can be extremely expensive as you have to take care of them and feed them quality food to ensure their proper growth rate.

Nevertheless, a Beast Tamer not only tames beasts but specifically, any creatures with mana cores.

This includes golems and treants that could normally be found in dungeons.

Crash! Crash!

The branches of the treant started growing and they were even trying to cover the whole dockyard. It was as if it gained some source of energy as it started growing exponentially…

The Grand Knights started cutting the growing vines and branches but the speed of their growth was just too much.

One of them wanted to use fire Elemental Mana Art but was immediately reminded that it might just make the matter worse.

After all, the tree can just regrow its branches and this whole place might be burned in the process… It would cause too much damage to this important area…

"Find the Berserk Treant's core!"

Yulia shouted as she commanded a group of Grand Knights dashing towards the growing treant…

They were Lar, Ross, Millie, Patriarch Leon, and the Sword Guardians of Zemin Clan, Tezcan and Evrim.

Their small group was like an arrow that was released from the bowstring as they crush anything that was blocking them…

Soon, they reached the airship's deck which is also the base of the Treant…

Vincent watched them cut and crush the treant's limbs or vines but they were just aimlessly doing this to hopefully find the core…

'Let's try…'

Vincent then used his eyes' Sensitivity to search for the core… This is the gift that Vera had given him and it isn't just capable of seeing mana but it can also detect any form of energy.

To his surprise, he did not find the core on the trunk or branch of the treant but inside the Airship!

The treant had actually started to grow from a small wooden crate inside the Airship!

If they wanted to destroy this creature they have to destroy the core on its crate or it will just continue growing and regenerating.

Vincent immediately relayed this to Yulia so she can think of a plan to do it.

"Thank you!"

Yulia briefly glanced at his location and gave a grateful smile after she heard Vincent's report from the communication crystal.

In just a few seconds, Yulia managed to create a plan to destroy the Treant's Core hidden inside the airship.