"You ugly parasites… when the kingdom was in danger, you ran faster than anyone else. And now that the crisis is over, you crawl back out like maggots, pretending to be righteous."
Adam's voice was calm but cold, echoing through the hall.
He turned and pointed to Asta.
"This is the 'lowlife' you're talking about — the kid who was ready to die to protect the same rotten nobles you all are. And you think you have the right to judge him?"
The nobles fell silent.
The tension in the Magic Council chamber was suffocating.
"Stop your manipulative lies, demon!" Council Speaker Damnatio slammed his fist on the table. "You're the mastermind behind the entire Elf Incident!"
Speaker Damnatio, you are incredible.
You've done our royal family proud. Truly worthy of being one of the three great houses.
That was the thought running through the nobles' minds as they glanced toward the king—
who, of course, was already hiding behind the throne, trembling like a leaf.
Useless fool…
The nobles turned their sneers back to Adam.
If he didn't defend himself soon, maybe the rumors were right. Maybe he really was a devil in disguise.
"You're a filthy commoner without magic," scoffed Baron Tim. "The only reason you can use spells is because you've made a pact with a demon!"
"That's right! They're all incarnations of evil — kill them!" another shouted.
"I said from the beginning, letting commoners join the Magic Knights was a mistake!"
"Execution! Execution!"
The mob's voices rose in a wave of hypocritical fury.
Damnatio lifted his scales, preparing his spell, as his guards closed in.
"Asta," Adam said, almost lazily, "what do you think we should do?"
Asta unsheathed his Demon-Dweller Sword, eyes hard. Nero clutched Marie close behind him.
"Don't panic," Adam said with a smirk. "Let the bullets fly for a while~"
The nobles in the stands began pulling out their grimoires, terrified but determined to finish what Damnatio started.
They could only rest easy once the so-called "devils" were dead before their eyes.
"Fear."
Snap.
At Adam's finger snap, shadows rippled across the chamber. From beneath the nobles' feet, dark figures erupted — the Shadow Legion — slicing through the air like serpents.
Before anyone could react, the assassins struck.
One blow each. Clean. Precise. Fatal.
A few nobles managed to cast defense spells, but the ninjas were relentless — phantoms that ignored pain. Even when impaled or bisected, they reformed within seconds.
The Shadow Legion's existence depended solely on Adam's mana. But thanks to Xiaoshui's creation, his reserves were more than enough to sustain them.
Of the thirty names on his blacklist, twelve were present in the council today.
All twelve… died instantly.
"Another great thing done," Adam said softly, exhaling like he'd just finished a good meal.
The nobles froze, staring at their fallen peers — throats slit, eyes lifeless.
The towering black ninjas stood silently beside the corpses like death statues.
Then came the screams.
"Ahhhh! Help!"
A noblewoman fainted on the spot. Chaos erupted as the crowd trampled each other to flee.
"Tch… pathetic."
"Tia!" Damnatio roared, his magic flaring violently.
A green light burst skyward as he fired a beam that vaporized one of the ninjas.
"Adam!" he shouted, his voice shaking with rage and fear. "You really are a devil!"
"What's wrong?" Adam tilted his head innocently. "You look nervous."
"Balance Magic: Magic Light Wave!"
A surge of energy hit Adam, suppressing his mana while Damnatio's power spiked. The council chamber shook as the green beam shot forward—
—but Adam just grinned.
"Dragon Blast!"
A crimson inferno burst from his palm, swallowing the green light whole and exploding across the dais.
"Council President!"
"Defensive magic!"
"Iron Magic: Wall of Heaven!"
"Plant Magic: Defensive Sunflower!"
"Water Magic: Water Wall!"
Three defensive spells collided at once, barely shielding Damnatio. The impact still sent his guards flying and left him coughing blood on the floor.
"Stop it."
Adam's eyes flicked toward Xiaolan.
The tiny dragon roared, expanding in an instant — from palm-sized to a ten-meter azure dragon, tearing through the roof of the Magic Council.
Its roar echoed across the capital, shaking every heart.
The nobles froze mid-flight, crushed to their knees by the dragon's aura.
"Listen to me."
The room fell silent. Every trembling noble stared at Adam as if at death itself. None cared now whether he was a man, a monster, or a devil. They only wanted to live.
"This is just a warning," Adam said quietly. "I know everything you've done."
He held up a sheet of paper — reading names, one by one.
Every name he spoke made the crowd shudder.
"These are the beasts who orchestrated the Elf Incident," Adam declared. "Their crimes will be written in tomorrow's newspapers. Their families' wealth will be used to rebuild the kingdom they helped destroy."
He lowered the page and looked around. "Don't be afraid. As long as you serve the kingdom faithfully, the Shadow's power will never fall upon you."
His gaze landed on the king — still hiding behind an overturned chair, shaking.
"I promise His Majesty," Adam continued, smiling faintly, "That from today, the power of the Shadow will protect the Clover Kingdom. All past debts are wiped clean."
He landed beside the king, yanking him up by the collar.
"Right, my dear king?"
"Y-Yes… yes! Great Adam is right!" the king stammered. "From now on, all nobles must obey the laws of the Clover Kingdom… o-or the Shadow's wrath will fall upon us!"
Pathetic.
Adam leaned in close, whispering, "There won't be a next time."
"D-Damnatio forced me here! I didn't want—"
"Get lost."
"Yes, yes!" The king scrambled away, dragging his attendant by the arm.
Adam turned toward Damnatio, who was trembling but still conscious.
"Chairman Damnatio," he said calmly, "I've executed the true criminals for you. Now tell me — what will you do with the rest?"
"You…" Damnatio seethed. He wanted to kill Adam more than ever, but he couldn't even move.
"You should be grateful," Adam said, patting his shoulder. "Only one of your people had a dirty conscience."
And with that, Adam walked away — Asta, Nero, Marie and Fana following behind.
"Remember," he said without looking back, "there won't be a next time."
The chamber stayed dead silent long after they were gone.
"He's… gone?"
"Looks like it."
"Damn it… he's scarier than any devil."
"Even Lord Damnatio couldn't stop him…"
Then, with a thunderous boom, a new hole appeared in the shattered ceiling.
"Adam! Asta! We're here!" yelled Magna from above.
"Cold-faced bastard, I knew you'd get yourself judged early—" Yami Sukehiro froze mid-sentence.
Every noble, every Bull, every Council member… stared in stunned silence.
Yami scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh… we got lost. My bad."
Henry began charging magic to retreat, but it was too late — everyone had already seen them.
"This is too much!" Damnatio roared, face twitching.
He was ready to attack when Leopold Vermillion and Nozel Silva burst in.
"The Wizard King summons you!" Nozel announced.
Immediately, everyone halted. Julius Novachrono's name alone froze the chaos.
After Julius' mediation, the Black Bulls were assigned to investigate the lingering devil's curse as punishment for intruding on the Council.
As for the "culprits" of the Elf Incident — they became the nobles executed by Adam.
The Shadow Legion's massacre sent tremors through the noble class.
The silent, invisible nature of Adam's justice terrified them more than any open war.
For now… things were quiet.
At least on the surface.
Later that evening, at the Black Bull Headquarters, the squad finally returned.
Henry's mana was drained, so they camped in tents outside.
Asta proposed building a brand-new headquarters based on everyone's ideas.
"I want a wine pool!"
"Make it rock and roll!"
"I want my room next to Magna's!"
"Luck!"
Their voices echoed across the clearing.
Meanwhile, Adam had walked off alone.
A curtain of white light appeared before him — communication magic from Marx.
"Adam, the Wizard King wishes to speak with you."
Adam nodded. He'd been expecting this.
Julius' kid face appeared in the projection, smiling brightly.
"Yo! Adam, that was amazing!"
"…Huh?" Adam blinked. He hadn't expected that reaction.
"I often wonder," Julius said, his tone turning serious, "if sometimes a radical push is needed to wake people up. But my Time Magic can't monitor everyone, and I can't strike all at once. You, on the other hand… made your message clear."
He looked at Adam steadily. "I don't care how you did it. Just don't forget why you started down this path."
Then his warm smile returned.
"I believe in you."
Adam chuckled. "You haven't changed at all."
He respected Julius — a man who gave everything for the people.
Someone with justice in his soul.
"Be careful, though," Julius warned. "The nobles won't sleep easy now that you hold this kind of power."
"Don't worry," Adam said, smiling confidently. "Everything's under control."
The light faded.
Far away, in a secret banquet hosted by a Grand Duke, a viscount collapsed in the restroom — throat marked by a clean shadow cut.
"Ah! Someone's dead!" screamed a maid.
The nobles froze. They knew exactly what that meant.
Adam's silent warning.
They dispersed in terror, their hatred buried — for now.
But could such privileged, corrupt men truly restrain themselves forever?
Adam's smile in the dark said otherwise.
"Dragon Blast will speak for me."
...
Author's Note:
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