Adam returned to the Wizard King's palace—now nothing but ruins. Yami was nowhere to be seen, and only two "elves" lay unconscious on the ground.
"We should try the power of the Sheep Talisman," he muttered.
The most important ability of the Sheep was to travel through dreams. Maybe this could help solve the problem of humans being possessed by elf souls.
Adam placed his hand on Owen's forehead, and as his ability activated, his consciousness was pulled into the dream.
"Ah! Damn humans!"
The crimson sun burned above, the sky covered by a massive golden wheel that rained down countless swords of light upon the elves below.
"Haha, now all the magic power of the elves is ours!"
On a rock far from the battlefield, several dark, shadowy figures laughed arrogantly. Their twisted smiles cut deeper than blades.
"Humans!"
"That damn species—I'll have revenge!"
Wails echoed everywhere. This hatred that reached the soul's core was the dream of every fallen elf.
"What ugly creatures humans are," said an elf who looked exactly like Owen. He simply stood and looked at Adam, making no move to attack—as if he had already let go of everything.
"You're not going to kill me?" Adam asked calmly.
"From the moment the light blade passed through your body, I knew I couldn't hurt you here," Owen replied quietly. "Without the influence of reincarnation magic, the elves' evil thoughts can't awaken. I'm already dead—I no longer want revenge."
Adam fell silent. What Owen said was likely true for most elves. Once you die, everything ends. Even if you return, nothing really changes.
And now, their souls were corroded by hatred, trapped in eternal suffering.
"I'll set you free."
Adam closed his eyes. The bloody world began to collapse, and Owen smiled faintly as everything faded into darkness.
Double Dream.
Adam opened his eyes again—this time inside a dream made of floating bubbles. The real Owen was hiding somewhere in this space.
"Don't do this~"
Adam blinked as a strange noise came from one of the bubble houses. The sound was… uncomfortable, to say the least. It felt wrong to intrude.
"Man… this is quite the scene."
After a long pause, curiosity got the better of him. Adam quietly peeked inside—only to be greeted by a terrifying sight.
"Jellyfish Magic?!"
He immediately shut his eyes. "Nope. I'm out!"
He escaped from Owen's dream in an instant.
"It's always the quiet ones…" he sighed, shaking his head.
Next, Adam used the same method to enter Marx's dream.
Once again, the world around him was bathed in blood-red light. Adam skipped past the nightmare portion and slipped directly into Marx's subconscious.
"Marx, this mission is yours," said the Wizard King, handing a scroll to the serious-faced man.
"Yes, sir."
"Relax a little."
"Yes!"
As Marx left the palace, Adam suddenly appeared before him.
"Who are you? What's your purpose?" Marx snapped, immediately activating communication magic to call for backup.
"Mushroom head, you don't even recognize me?" Adam frowned. Apparently, the dream world ignored certain memories.
"Who are you? I don't know you! Step aside—I have orders from the Wizard King!"
Without wasting another word, Adam used telekinesis to restrain him and forcibly pulled him out of the dream.
Sometimes, being direct was the best option.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Marx screamed as Adam emerged back in reality.
Adam stared at the man rolling on the ground and couldn't help but chuckle. The ever-serious Marx actually had a childish side buried deep within.
"Quiet down."
A few telekinetic smacks later, Marx blinked awake.
"Where… where is this? Oh right—where's the Wizard King?"
Adam ignored the question and studied him closely. The reincarnation magic wasn't gone, but it was temporarily suppressed.
"Adam, you—"
Thud!
Before Marx could finish, a flying stone bonked him on the head, knocking him unconscious again.
"We have to remove the magic from its source. Temporary suppression won't last," Adam muttered. Finally, he was getting to the core of the problem.
"My fellow citizens! I'm here to save you!"
The man who would soon surpass even the Wizard King in reputation—the hero of the Clover Kingdom—had finally arrived.
Outside the Floating Demon Palace
"Rill, wake up—it's me, Asta!"
"Painting Magic: Four-Headed Scaly Serpent!"
Monsters with four elements—fire, thunder, water, and poison—emerged effortlessly from Rill's brush. Possessed by an elf, her magic was completely unrestrained.
Only a handful remained conscious. Even under this disadvantage, Asta couldn't bring himself to harm his friends.
"Kid, they're probably not the people you knew," Mereoleona growled, her fists blazing.
Nozel summoned a shimmering mercury shield to protect the others.
"Die, humans!"
The possessed elves gathered energy into a massive destructive orb and hurled it toward them.
"The dragon swings its tail!"
Xiaolan burst through the wall, his huge dragon tail smashing the energy orb back.
Boom!
The explosion sent a shockwave across the field, engulfing the elves in thick smoke. Using the chaos, Xiaolan bit into the mercury sphere and escaped with it.
"Damn humans!"
Just before the blast, Rill had drawn a slime barrier to shield herself and the others. When Klaus tried to pursue, Rhya appeared and stopped him.
"No need to chase. Our destination is the same anyway."
"…Alright."
Outside, Xiaolan finally released the mercury sphere.
"Little brat, what the hell are you doing?" Mereoleona snapped furiously.
As the commander of the Royal Knights, running from battle was disgraceful.
"You should return to the capital first!" Xiaoshui said firmly. "As Magic Knights, protecting civilians is our top duty."
"Eliminating the enemy is the best defense," Nozel countered.
"The capital is under attack," Xiaoshui replied evenly. "Don't you want to ensure your family's safety first?"
That shut him up.
Xiaoshui then noticed a familiar face among them—an elf-like boy standing beside Asta.
"Hey, how did that kid get in here too?"
"When Yuno was out of it, I pulled him into the mercury shield," Asta admitted.
"My name's not 'kid.' It's Yuno," he said calmly.
"Whatever," Xiaoshui muttered. As the Water Spirit created by Adam, it understood its master's plan—and had its own mission to carry out.
"You guys handle things your way. I've got business elsewhere."
"Roar!"
Xiaoshui climbed atop Xiaolan and flew off toward a village under attack by elves.
"Back to the capital!" Mereoleona ordered.
"Right!"
Their homes were being invaded—they had no reason to fight elsewhere.
Strength should protect, not destroy.
...
Author's Note:
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