The top dome shattered, and large chunks of stone fell. Amidst the rain of fragmented rocks, countless longswords were mixed in, coiling into a tornado like thin threads.
Amidst the rain of stones and the sword tornado, Licht simultaneously dodged the falling rocks and wielded his demon-dweller sword to fend off the incoming blades.
The Sky Elf Xiao Tong, at the Word Spirit Demon's utterance of "Get out," drew her Frost Ember kitchen knife and flew backward, then flew to Bai En's side as the sword tornado approached.
A massive rock plummeted directly towards Bai En, but just as it was about to hit, it stopped inches away, eerily suspended in the air with scattered debris. The longswords attacked, yet the same thing happened.
Dense iron swords and magic swords remained suspended, unable to advance further.
From a distance, the area where the sword shadows gathered looked like a hedgehog curled into a ball.
As ice crystals withered, the Word Spirit Demon in the air used the magic "Heal" to mend his wounds; the areas frostbitten and necrotic began to recover. He stared at the duo who had ambushed him, putting away his initial request.
"...A defensive type of magic? To be able to continuously block several of my spells..."
"The ambush used sealing magic and ice magic. This guy is no weaker than Licht, the leader of the Elf Tribe. We still don't know his true strength or magic. If that's the case..."
Without warning, the Word Spirit Demon opened his recently acquired five-leaf grimoire. Sinister, dark, and cold magic surged, and a black sun radiating countless fine threads appeared behind him.
A heavy, oppressive feeling began to emanate from the top of the Shadow Palace like sunlight.
Near the top room, Yami, who was fighting Charlotte, the captain of the Blue Rose possessed by a spirit, suddenly looked up. He frowned, his hands, which were wielding his katana, paused slightly. "What's going on? This cold and ominous magic power?!"
"What are they doing up there? Is it the end of the world, or has some disgusting bug shown up?"
"Hey, Charlotte, you felt it too, didn't you? That alien magic power up there, it's not something human Mages can wield. Is it one of yours?" Yami leaped, dodging a rose whip attack, and greeted "Charlotte" with an unsmoked cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"I am not the Charlotte you speak of. My name is Charla, and... even under the influence of forbidden magic, our Elf Tribe's magic power would never be like that—full of malice and darkness!"
The two briefly ceased their attacks. After exchanging glances, they simultaneously stepped onto the floating stairs leading upward, rushing towards the top floor of the Shadow Palace.
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On the other side, at the edge of Hage Village, atop the remains of the Demon God.
The combination of one person and one bird looked somewhat naive.
As a member of the Black Bulls, Captain Yami's designated errand boy and driver, Finral felt like he was dreaming today, dealing with Magic Knights members who were glowing golden and whose personalities had drastically changed... More importantly, Nero, the Anti Bird pet kept by the squad, actually started talking.
And it was unceremoniously ordering and urging him.
He had just finished a battle with his Captain at the Royal Capital.
Seriously... what in the world!
"W-wait a minute, Nero!" Finral bent over, supporting himself with his hands, panting heavily. "Even if I'm a Spatial Mage, moving this far in one go is exhausting!"
Nero flapped its wings and flew to the sculpture on top of the Demon God's remains, pointing its wing at the stone carving: "No time to rest! That guy has already succeeded. If we don't hurry, the entire Clover Kingdom will suffer a fatal blow!"
"It can't be that exaggerated. All the Captains have already gone to the Shadow Palace. The battle will probably end soon... Even the Wizard King, the strongest Mage in the kingdom, hasn't made a move yet..." Finral mumbled.
The Anti Bird rolled its eyes like a human, then said coldly: "The Wizard King was already severely wounded during his encounter with the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Otherwise, why do you think the Eye of the Midnight Sun managed to gather all the magic stones? And... several of the current Order of Knights Captains are also possessed..."
'Oh right, the magic stone the Black Bulls obtained was given to the Wizard King for safekeeping. The Eye of the Midnight Sun gathering all the magic stones can only mean...' Finral paused, 'The Wizard King actually lost?'
"Quickly insert the magic stone you just took from the stone tablet into the sculpture."
Listening to Nero, Finral leaned closer and coincidentally found a spot on the sculpture where a stone could be placed. He began embedding the magic stones from his pocket, one by one.
As the last magic stone was embedded, the gray-white humanoid statue began to glow with magic power.
Finral involuntarily took two steps back.
"This..."
Under the surge of magic power, the gray-white of the stone carving faded, and its colors became vibrant, just like a living person. "W-wait... he's alive?!" Finral exclaimed, pointing at the stone carving.
Wait... a legend unfolded in Finral's mind. The person carved into the stone statue on the Demon God's remains was the First Magic Emperor. So, the person now revived is—First Magic Emperor Lumiere Silvamillion Clover.
"Eh, eh, eh? The First Magic Emperor? The Mage who defeated the Demon God..."
"Welcome back, Prince. I've kept you waiting!"
Lumiere, completely restored from his gray-white stone statue state, looked into the distance. "That magic power from the Shadow Palace doesn't belong to this world. Has that guy obtained a physical body?"
Before Finral could speak, a golden spear materialized behind Lumiere. As the golden spear flew out, he pulled Nero and floated into the air, then instantly flew several miles.
"Thank you, modern Magic Knight. Just wait for your comrades to return!"
Finral looked up at the light-shadow flying away like a shooting star, scratched his head, "So... I'm done with my work? No, it's more like I was abandoned halfway through the job, right?"
"Forget it, you're right. Anyway, I wouldn't be useful in a battle like that, and I might even cause trouble."
"Hmm, hmm... Although I helped the Order of Knights Captains a lot in the battle at the Royal Capital..."
"Tch, if I went, I should be able to help too, right?"
Finral, feeling a bit awkward, sat directly on the ground to rest and recover his magic power, planning to return to the kingdom to rescue people later. 'Even if I can't go to a battlefield like the Shadow Palace to provide support, I can at least help those in danger outside the Shadow Palace, right?'
As he thought, his hand touched the white skeletal remains. The uneven texture felt strange.
Finral gently blew away the dust on it, revealing text. It was in the modern script of the Clover Kingdom, clearly carved by someone long ago. Having been born into the House of Bode, he naturally understood it.
"I haven't met you, but your reputation precedes you.
Hello, former Prince of the Clover Kingdom, First Magic Emperor—Lumiere Silvamillion Clover.
In about ten years, your subordinate will bring a Spatial Mage named Finral to awaken you with magic stones, to deal with the demon that appears in the Shadow Palace.
However, I imagine I would have already solved the problem for you by then.
No thanks needed.
—Left by a transmigrator who aspires to become the strongest, during a moment of boredom."
Finral looked at the text above, frowning. 'What the hell? Finral... why is my name on there? Is it a prophecy? And what's a transmigrator? I don't understand at all!'