In the capital's changing room, Asta was preparing to put on the Royal Knights' uniform when he suddenly noticed Charles standing there.
Asta rushed over and said, "Charles! Where have you been this whole time? I was really worried about you!"
Charles smiled and handed him a long, rectangular box.
Puzzled, Asta opened the box to find an old, tattered sword inside. The blade was ancient in style, and only at its rounded tip was there a clover-shaped crest.
Charles said, "Think of it as a gift to celebrate you joining the Royal Knights. You'll need the power of that sword very soon."
Asta picked up the sword and smiled. "I don't really get it, but thanks! Wait, you still haven't answered my question!"
Charles shook his head. "There are some things you'll understand later. But there's something I need to ask of you."
Saying that, he reached out and grabbed Nero, who was perched atop Asta's head.
Asta looked confused and was just about to ask more when he heard Noelle shouting from outside, calling him to assemble. He turned his head to reply, and when he looked back, Charles had vanished again.
…
With Nero in hand, Charles approached Rhya, who was waiting for him. As soon as she saw him, Nero started struggling violently.
Charles ignored it and asked Rhya calmly, "How's everything? Is it all ready?"
Rhya nodded. "Once Patry retrieves the magic stones and activates the reincarnation magic, I'll use telepathic magic to gather everyone at the floating dungeon. Don't worry, I won't let them run around causing destruction."
Charles nodded. "Smart move. But how did you guys manage to get all your comrades involved in this mission?"
Rhya grinned. "That? It was simple. The one in charge of organizing the teams this time is the guy Patry's possessing. I just told him there was a curse seal on Licht and that we'd need the help of all our comrades to undo it. After that, he handled everything."
Charles gave him a thumbs up. "Nice work."
Rhya continued, "Don't celebrate too early though. Since most of the Golden Dawn are our reincarnated comrades, transferring them all would've been suspicious. So some were left in the capital. We might still run into trouble because of that."
Charles waved it off. "If it's just a few, it's not a problem. The captains who didn't go on the mission will definitely be summoned to the capital when the attack happens. With them around, we'll be fine."
After Patry's assault on the Magic Emperor, any captains not involved in the dungeon mission would be called back to the capital. Just Yami and Jack the Ripper of the Green Mantis squad would be enough to hold off rampaging elves.
Charles had also recently visited the still-unconscious Fuegoleon. At first, he worried that losing the fire spirit Salamander might affect Fuegoleon's recovery, but he found that concern completely unfounded.
Fuegoleon's life force and magic were both undergoing a metamorphosis. When it was complete and he awoke, he would be even stronger than before. Even without the fire spirit, he could overcome it through sheer strength.
That said, his awakening would take longer than it did in the original story. Charles wasn't sure if he'd make it in time for the final phase of the plan—but if he did, he'd be a powerful ally.
Moreover... Charles had another reason not to worry: the elves' first targets wouldn't be commoners but royals, their greatest source of hatred.
And to be honest, Charles didn't particularly feel like worrying about the safety of those royals.
Rhya seemed to catch on to Charles's thoughts and said, "You're surprisingly ruthless, huh? But I don't dislike that about you."
Charles just smiled and changed the subject. "The reincarnation magic's stone tablet is at the demon skull, right?"
When Rhya nodded, Charles looked down at Nero and said, "That makes things easier. Once the reincarnation spell activates, we can finally revive the First Magic Emperor. His power will be crucial in fighting the devil."
Nero, who had still been struggling moments ago, suddenly went still and locked her eyes onto Charles. He was surprised to see such a shocked expression in a bird's gaze.
Charles chuckled. "I grew up in Hage Village, didn't I? How could I not notice that the empty slot on that stone statue perfectly matched the shape of a magic stone? Even if five hundred years have buried the truth, if you're determined to find it, there are always clues. Especially when you see a suspicious reincarnation spell and get some intel from the elves—it's not hard to piece together the truth."
Of course, Charles was only saying all this because he already knew the outcome and had worked backward. Otherwise, Nero—the girl who had persisted alone for five centuries—wouldn't have believed him so easily.
But Nero truly was stunned. She had assumed the boy who grew up right under her nose was just a somewhat talented mage. She never expected him to have such terrifying intelligence, capable of reconstructing the events of five centuries ago with no clues at all.
If Charles knew that, in Nero's mind, he had become a figure "as terrifying as he is brilliant," he'd be flattered beyond belief.
Rhya confirmed the next phase of the plan and then departed. The critical part was about to begin, and he had a lot to do.
Charles placed Nero on his shoulder and said, "Let's get moving too. If we head to Hage Village now, we can get all the magic stones in one go."
With that, he unfurled his wings and flew off toward the border village of Hage.
…
Halfway there, Charles suddenly felt a powerful surge of magic. A massive magic circle, too large to fully perceive, appeared in the sky. Countless beams of glowing swords emerged from the circle.
There were so many swords that they looked like a solid sheet of white light from a distance.
This was Patry's spell—Judgement Sword—used to counter the Magic Emperor. It could only be cast after he released his full magic power. Its range covered the entire Clover Kingdom.
This kind of over-the-top magic could tear the entire kingdom apart. But it was useless against someone who wielded time magic like Julius. That man didn't earn the title "strongest in the kingdom" for nothing.
Unfortunately, it wasn't just Julius facing the spell—he was the Magic Emperor. As the Emperor, there was no way he could let his country be destroyed before his eyes.
But even Julius couldn't fight Patry while simultaneously neutralizing such an immense spell.
Just as the swords began to fall, a ghostly clock appeared below them. As its hands began to turn backward, the swords unraveled and vanished, and the sky returned to normal. Soon after, the clock's image also faded.
"It's done over there too, huh," Charles muttered.
It seemed like in every world, the truly overpowered characters who could solve everything had to get nerfed, go offline, or hold back, just to let the main characters step up and save the day.
Typical examples were that certain always-sealed sword captain, and that nearly-dead holy swordsman who only exploded when it was too late.
Then again, if those powerhouses were allowed to go all out, the villains wouldn't stand a chance.
Charles turned back and continued on. He had never expected to rely solely on others—he would keep moving according to his own pace.
His speed was tremendous. He could already see the outline of the demon skull in the distance.
Just as he was about to arrive, a pillar of light suddenly shot up from the skull, then scattered into countless smaller lights that flew in two directions.
The reincarnation magic... had successfully activated!
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