The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family-Chapter 192: Ascension

The vertical shaft seemed endless, each rung of the service ladder bringing them closer to the surface yet somehow stretching the distance impossibly. Klaus's Four Eyes perceived energy fluctuations throughout the structure, patterns shifting in ways that defied conventional physics.

"The entire containment zone is destabilizing," Klaus warned, his voice strained as he climbed behind the others. "The Duke is altering the barrier's fundamental resonance."

"What does that mean for us?" Leone asked from above, helping Finn navigate a damaged section of ladder.

"It means reality itself is becoming more malleable the closer we get to the surface," Klaus replied. "Distance, time—they're becoming relative rather than absolute."

Alexandra paused, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. "You're saying the shaft is actually lengthening as we climb?"

"In a sense," Klaus confirmed. Blood continued to trickle from his eyes, leaving crimson trails down his cheeks. The strain of the Fourth Circle Magic he'd performed earlier had taken a severe toll on his body. "The Duke is warping spatial dimensions to slow our progress."

As if in confirmation, a subsonic vibration shook the shaft, causing the ladder to sway precariously. Far below, they heard the unmistakable sound of metal deforming as something massive forced its way upward.

"He's coming," Juron muttered, increasing his pace. "And he's not taking the subtle approach anymore."

They reached a sealed maintenance hatch twenty rungs higher. Leone tested it, finding the mechanism locked. "It won't budge!"

Klaus closed his physical eyes, focusing his perception through the Four Eyes of his Ten Eyes Mantra. Beyond the hatch, he could perceive a network of energy conduits leading to what appeared to be a secondary barrier control node—a potential path to the main systems.

"Stand back," he ordered, blood dripping from his chin as he manifested a magic circle before him. "First Circle Magic: Force Burst."

The circle pulsed with concentrated energy, directing a precise blast that sheared the hatch's locking mechanism without damaging the surrounding structure. The door swung open, revealing a narrow service corridor beyond.

One by one, they pulled themselves through. Klaus was the last, sealing the hatch behind them before collapsing against the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"You need to rest," Alexandra said, concern evident in her voice.

Klaus shook his head, forcing himself upright despite the tremors running through his body. "No time. The Duke's transformation is accelerating."

The service corridor led to a small monitoring station filled with diagnostic equipment. Status displays showed the containment barrier's current configuration—and confirmed Klaus's worst fears.

"The harmonic resonance is inverting," he said, examining the readings with his Four Eyes. "The barrier isn't containing the Eternal Rift anymore—it's channeling its energy."

"Channeling it where?" Leone asked.

Before Klaus could answer, the station's equipment activated autonomously, displays shifting to show live feeds from throughout Northwatch. The city was transforming before their eyes—buildings reconfiguring, streets rearranging into concentric patterns that focused inward toward the research facility. Citizens moved in perfect geometrical formations, their human pretense abandoned as they revealed their homunculi nature.

Most disturbing was the central plaza, where hundreds of artificial beings had arranged themselves into a vast, intricate pattern. From above, they formed a perfect replica of the runic array they'd seen in the underground chamber—a living diagram that pulsed with violet energy.

"It's a city-sized resonance amplifier," Klaus realized, the ancient knowledge continuing to surface in his mind. "Northwatch itself is the final component of the Duke's plan."

The monitoring station shuddered as another impact struck from below. The hatch they'd sealed buckled outward as tremendous pressure was applied from the other side.

"We need to reach the main barrier control," Klaus said, his Four Eyes identifying a route through his enhanced perception. "It's our only chance to disrupt the Convergence."

Finn, who had remained largely silent throughout their ordeal, spoke up. "Even if we make it there, what can we do against something like this? The entire city is part of his plan."

"The Convergence requires perfect harmonic alignment," Klaus explained, pulling himself to his feet despite the agony coursing through his body. "If we can introduce enough dissonance into the system, we might be able to trigger a cascading failure before it reaches critical threshold."

The hatch behind them gave way with a screech of metal, revealing a crystalline appendage that probed the opening like some monstrous tentacle. Opalescent fluid flowed through, pooling on the floor and beginning to take form.

"Time to go," Leone urged, helping Klaus toward the corridor's opposite exit.

They barely cleared the doorway before the monitoring station was flooded with homunculi, their silver bodies flowing together like mercury as they pursued. The corridor ahead split into multiple branches, each leading to different sections of the containment zone's upper level.

"Which way?" Alexandra asked, her cyan-infused blade ready.

Klaus's Four Eyes perceived energy flows throughout the structure, identifying the most direct path. "Left fork, then third right. It leads to a service elevator that should take us to the surface level."

They moved as quickly as Klaus's deteriorating condition would allow, the sounds of pursuit echoing behind them. The homunculi weren't running—they were flowing through the corridors like liquid silver, their movements unnaturally fluid and coordinated.

Reaching the elevator, Leone pried the doors open manually while Juron and Alexandra maintained a defensive position. Beyond was not a car but the shaft itself, maintenance ladders running along both sides.

"The elevator's been disabled," Leone announced grimly.

"Climb," Klaus ordered, stepping forward despite the blood still flowing from his eyes and ears. "I'll cover our retreat."

Before anyone could protest, he manifested another magic circle in the corridor, this one larger than before. "Second Circle Magic: Gravitational Inversion."

The air rippled as gravity reversed within a twenty-foot section of corridor. The pursuing homunculi were suddenly flung upward, crashing into the ceiling with bone-shattering force before raining back down in a disorienting loop of perpetual free-fall.

A familiar ding chimed in Klaus's mind, followed by another, but in his current state, he couldn't spare the focus to check what the system had awarded him. The spell bought them precious time, but the cost was steep. Klaus staggered, fresh blood erupting from his nose as the strain of maintaining so many high-level spells in quick succession took its toll. His knees buckled, and he would have fallen if Alexandra hadn't caught him.

"Enough," she said firmly. "You'll kill yourself at this rate."

"Better me than all of us," Klaus replied, his voice barely audible over the chaos of the gravity-trapped homunculi.

Leone helped Finn into the shaft first, then assisted Darius. Juron positioned himself to help Alexandra with Klaus, but before they could move him, a new presence manifested at the far end of the corridor—beyond the gravity trap.

The Duke had arrived.

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His transformed body now bore little resemblance to his original human form. Where once stood a nobleman now towered a mountain of brass, crystal, and flowing opalescent substance, easily fifteen feet tall despite being hunched in the confined space. His face—still recognizable but split perfectly between flesh and clockwork—regarded them with clinical detachment from atop a writhing mass of mechanical components and fluid mercury.

"The pursuit ends here," the Duke's layered voice announced. "Your resistance has provided valuable calibration data, but the Convergence cannot be delayed further."

With a gesture from one crystalline appendage, the gravity trap collapsed, magic circle shattering as if struck by an invisible force. The homunculi dropped to the floor, their mercury-like bodies reforming instantly before flowing toward the elevator shaft.

"Go!" Klaus shouted to the others, manifesting yet another magic circle despite the agony it caused him. "I'll hold them here!"

Alexandra's grip on his arm tightened. "Not without you."

The Duke observed their exchange with something approaching curiosity. "Loyalty. An interesting but ultimately futile sentiment." His form expanded further, filling the corridor as dozens of crystal appendages extended toward them. "Your organic limitations make your defeat inevitable."

Klaus knew they couldn't win this fight—not conventionally. The Duke's hybrid form was too powerful, too adaptable. But there might be another way.

"The elevator shaft connects directly to the barrier control systems," he said quietly to Alexandra and Juron. "If you can reach the surface and access the main console, you might be able to disrupt the harmonic resonance long enough for reinforcements to arrive."

"What about you?" Alexandra demanded.

Klaus's eyes met hers, and for a moment, she saw something ancient in their depths—knowledge and determination that transcended his youthful appearance.

"I'll make sure you get there."

Before she could argue further, Klaus closed his physical eyes and opened all Four Eyes within his mind realm. The magic circles contained within each Eye began to rotate with increasing speed, resonating with the natural mana around them to shape it according to complex magical formulas.

A massive magic circle materialized in the air before him, easily ten feet in diameter. Unlike his previous spells, this one contained formulas so complex that even experienced mages would struggle to comprehend them.

"Fourth Circle Magic: Dimensional Lockdown," Klaus intoned, his voice carrying an otherworldly resonance that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously.

Multiple dings chimed in rapid succession, the system desperately attempting to notify him of something important. Klaus ignored them, focusing entirely on the spell as the circle erupted with blinding light, expanding outward to encompass the entire corridor. Where it passed, reality itself froze—not just physical motion but the progression of time. The Duke's advancing form caught within the effect, crystal appendages halted mid-strike, opalescent fluid suspended in impossible configurations.

"Now go!" Klaus gasped, blood streaming from every orifice as the spell drained what little remained of his strength. "The effect won't last long!"

Juron didn't hesitate, practically carrying Alexandra into the elevator shaft despite her protests. Leone followed, pausing only long enough to give Klaus a grim nod of respect.

"Make it count," the veteran commander said quietly.

Klaus nodded, his vision already darkening around the edges as his consciousness began to fade. The spell was killing him—slowly but inevitably. High level Fourth Circle Magic was never meant to be sustained by a single mage, especially not one pushing himself so far beyond normal limits.

As the others climbed the maintenance ladders in the elevator shaft, Klaus maintained his position, blood pooling at his feet as he held the Dimensional Lockdown in place through sheer force of will. Through the frozen tableau, he could see the Duke's mechanical eyes still moving—analyzing, adapting, preparing to break free.

The creature's layered voice somehow penetrated the temporal stasis, though distorted and stretched. "Impressive... but... futile... The Convergence... approaches... critical threshold..."

Klaus said nothing, conserving what little strength remained. His Four Eyes perceived something the others could not—the barrier's energy signature shifting, realigning in ways that suggested the final phase was beginning. They had minutes, not hours.

Another ding chimed, this one carrying a more urgent tone, likely warning him of something critical. He could barely focus on maintaining the spell, let alone check whatever notification the system was trying to deliver.

When he was certain the others had reached a safe distance, Klaus allowed his consciousness to sink deeper into his mind realm. There, within the space where his Four Eyes resided, he focused on an untapped point of awareness—something he had never attempted before.

The Fifth Eye—a swirling vortex of raw potential.

With tremendous mental effort, Klaus concentrated on forming a new pathway in his mind realm. Pain unlike anything he had ever experienced tore through his consciousness as the Fifth Eye began to open, reality itself seeming to resist its formation.

A series of rapid dings sounded in his mind, each carrying a tone of increasing urgency—warnings, achievements, status changes—it didn't matter. Klaus was beyond caring about such things now. His entire being was focused on opening the Fifth Eye.

With a sensation like reality itself tearing open, the Fifth Eye formed within his mind realm. Unlike the previous four, this one radiated raw, untamed power—a direct conduit to magical energies that no human was meant to channel. Within this newly opened Eye, a magic circle formed instantly—vastly more complex than any of the previous four, with ancient symbols arranging themselves in patterns that defied conventional magical understanding.

A cacophony of system notifications rang through his consciousness, the dings overlapping so rapidly they became almost a continuous tone. Klaus ignored them all.

As the Dimensional Lockdown began to falter, Klaus made his decision. The Fifth Eye's magic circle spun with increasing speed, channeling power that threatened to tear his consciousness apart.

Reality itself seemed to scream in protest as Klaus channeled this impossible power through his already failing body. The rune on his palm blazed with obsidian light, and for a brief moment, he felt Greed's presence at the edge of his awareness—a faint whisper trying to reach him across their damaged connection.

{Klaus... don't...}

Too late. The Fifth Eye was open, its magic circle fully formed and spinning with reality-warping power. With it came a spell no human mage had ever successfully cast without destroying their mana circuit or their very existence—a forbidden technique mentioned only in ancient texts as theoretical, never meant to be attempted.

"Fifth Circle Magic: Reality Severance."