1 Death and Angel

"Alex, give up! You might be the strongest mage in the world but you don't have enough power to rival ten of us." A man wearing a purple shirt stood in front of a bloody man.

Near him, ten other people had incredible energy flowing out of them. The energy was manifesting itself in different colors. The man in the middle was letting out red energy.

His entire body was covered with blood and scar. But, there was burning killing intent in his eyes.

"Stone, you are really a bastard. Never in my life, did I think you would be the one to betray me." Alex spoke as he gasped a few times.

"Alex, you can't blame me. You were the one who took me and taught me to become the most powerful mage. But, don't worry, after we get that artifact from you, we will still remain the strongest academy in the world." Stone let out a cruel grin as he spoke.

Alex clenched his fist and suddenly, scrolls appeared in his hand.

Seeing those scrolls, their eyes widened. Just when they try to say anything, the flames burst out of Alex's hands and burned those scrolls.

"From this moment on, none of you are the teachers of Blazing Youth Academy. As the founder, I will erase all of your names from my academy. As for the artifact, come and get it."

Alex took out a ring and instantly wore it. Seeing this, those people freaked out and spread out their hands. A huge amount of energy came out of their hands, each releasing a different kind of attack.

The fiery dragon, giant wood statue, lightning bolts, and all kinds of attacks moved toward Alex. But, on Alex's face, there was not a single trace of fear.

He simply clenched his fist and muttered.

"Strength Enhancement- 50 times"

Splash! Splash!

His body suddenly leaked out blood. His cell was detonating faster than he thought but his mana was overwhelmingly strong. It instantly boosted his physical strength by fifty times.

Bang!

Alex punched forward with all of his strength as he managed to break all of their attacks in a single punch. Not just that, he also managed to shake them.

"Damn it! That ring is boosting his mana. Use everything you got. He won't be able to survive for long." Stone shouted as he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Forbidden Magic- Demonic Flames of Hell"

The mana burst out of his mouth as he spits out a powerful stream of purple flames. These flames weren't something that could be extinguished easily. The flames accompanied by lots of different magic moved toward Alex.

Alex looked at his ring and muttered "It seems like this is my final moment."

"Strength Enhancement- 100 times."

Suddenly, the red vapor emerged from his body. It was his blood, turning into vapor and leaving his body. But, at the same time, his strength was insanely boosted.

His body was slowly breaking like a rock but he didn't stop there. He smashed another punch against those attacks.

Bang!

His fist broke those attacks but the purple flames remained around his body, slowly burning his broken skin.

"Hahahaha! Alex, you might be strong but these are the flames of hell. There is nothing in this world that can extinguish them."

Alex raised his burning face and said "I know that."

Suddenly, Stone and others noticed a strange change. At this moment, Alex borrowed an immense amount of mana from the ring. It was so much so that his body started crumbling.

"We won't let you kill us."

"Forbidden Magic: Seven Gates of Hell"

"Forbidden Magic: Golden Barrier of Buddha"

"Forbidden Magic: Heavenly Dragon Guard"

Three of the mages instantly released their strongest defensive magic. Seven giant gates appeared in front of them. A golden barrier covered everyone and the dragon scales further merged with the barrier.

Alex looked at those defenses. He was on the verge of crumbling but he knew he had to take these people down. He clenched his fists and uttered his final words.

"Strength Enhancement- 200 times"

At this moment, he simply landed a punch. He didn't even wait for his mana to properly merge with his fist. This led to the punch that didn't come out for a moment. And, his body slowly started crumbling into ashes.

Bang!

But, a few seconds later, an impact came out from his hand before it turned to ashes. The impact broke the seven gates of hell into dust and managed to break the scales and the barrier instantly.

But, it didn't stop there. The impact of the punch struck all ten of them at once. Even though they used extra barriers, it didn't work. 200 times strength enhancement from one of the strongest mages in the world!

It was something they can't block.

'Damn it! I won't die. Alex, you pushed me to use this. I will never die.'

Stone crushed a jade and suddenly, his body started crumbling before the punch hit him. His eyes also turned white as if he was already dead.

The other nine weren't lucky enough. While Alex died, he took nine of them with him. His ashes remained on the hill as his soul slowly transcended toward heaven.

But, suddenly, the ring flew out of his ashes and got attached to his soul. Alex was unconscious so he didn't realize it. After a long time, Alex's soul slowly regained consciousness.

"Oh! You are finally awake. That means we can start the ritual now." A voice rang in his ears, startling him.

'Am I still alive? I was pretty sure that I died. How come I can still hear the sound? No wait, I can't feel anything. Let's see if I can move my body.'

Alex didn't panic but questioned himself. He started moving his hand but he didn't feel anything.

"You are indeed dead. This is your soul body. Since you are at the Vault of Heaven, you won't feel anything. But, you can move and talk."

Hearing these words, Alex slowly raised his upper body and looked at his figure. He was like a cloud taking a form of a human. He turned his head and saw a man standing next to him.

But unlike him, this man was completely different. He was like a human but with white wings.

Angel!

It was the first thought that came to his mind.

"Yes indeed! I am an angel but my job isn't to lead souls to heaven. I am here only because of you."

"Me? Why is that? Is it possible to talk like this after death?" Alex asked.

The man shook his head and said "Once you die, your soul simply vanishes into nothingness. Though you are a special condition because of that."

When he said that, he pointed at his finger.

Alex looked at his right hand and seeing that golden ring on his index finger, he was stunned.

"How can it be?"

"Good question! It's because this is the key."

"Key?" Alex looked at the man with confusion.

The man nodded his head and said "This is your second death but during your previous death, you didn't come here rather directly got reincarnated into the body of that dean."

"You achieved everything thanks to the talent of that dean but you had something of your own. It's just that you never realized it because you didn't have the key till now."

"I still don't understand many things. Can you explain it properly?" Alex asked. He was truly curious about this. He didn't understand why he was brought to this Vault of Heaven or why did he get a chance to meet an actual angel.

Though he regretted that this angel wasn't a lady but a man.

The man didn't say much. He turned around and his hand formed a strange seal. When that seal broke, the surrounding around them instantly disappeared.