In a medical chamber deep within the Spade Kingdom—
"Ahhhhh—! My three years of research…!"
Half-burnt and barely conscious, Decan lay on a reinforced bed as a healing mage treated the severe burns across his body. Yet the physical pain was nothing compared to the humiliation of failure—the destroyed artifact, the lost ancient demon, the years of research wasted with moments of carelessness.
Caught off guard, he was knocked out by the ancient demon but In the final instant before the explosion consumed him, he had activated the marker from his original magic, barely escaping to a hidden research facility within the spade kingdom.
"I will return this humiliation tenfold… you mages of the Heart Kingdom… ahhhh—!"
His voice broke as unconsciousness reclaimed him.
"Oh my, he seems to be in terrible pain," a young woman said lightly. "Big Brother Dante, should I just kill him?"
The speaker was Vanica Zogratis, her tone disturbingly cheerful.
"He still has some use," replied Dante Zogratis, a cigarette in his hand. "But I didn't expect even an ancient demon to be repelled by Heart Kingdom mages. I assumed its rampage would have wiped them out and he should be able to abduct the Queen in all the chaos but that is good as well."
"Does that mean I get to go to the Heart Kingdom next?" Vanica asked, eyes gleaming.
"No," answered Zenon Zogratis coldly. "It means the plan to abduct their queen is postponed. You haven't even stabilized fifty percent of your devil's power."
"That's not fair…" Vanica pouted.
"Unless you want one of us accompanying you," Dante added lazily. "For now, focus on synchronizing with your devil. Among the three of us, you're still the weakest."
He turned and left, leaving Vanica scowling as Zenon remained silent.
***
Back in the Heart Kingdom—
[Rewards Acquired]
1) [Card Rank: A]
Ability: All Elemental Manipulation
Original Holder: Avatar Aang (Peak)
Effect: Grants advanced control over fire, water, earth, and air. Further Tap into Avatar State which greatly enhances power, precision, and instinct.
Weakness: Avatar State requires 2,000 Xeni Coins and extreme emotional triggers to activate.
Condition to Copy: Unlock all Seven Chakra Points of your body (00/07).
Time Limit: 30 minutes.
Subsequent activation: 5,000 Xeni Coins + 72-hour cooldown.
2) [Xeni Coins Rewarded: 2,850]
[Balance Xeni Coins: 15,220]
3) [Card Rank: B]
Ability: Boogie Woogie
Original Holder: Aoi Tōdō
Effect: Swap positions with a target by clapping.
Range: 200 meters.
Condition to make permanent: Correctly guess Aoi Tōdō's preferred type of woman (3 guesses remaining).
"Oi oi oi… is today my lucky day or what?" El muttered, grinning as his mission exhaustion and disappointment evaporated instantly.
"What do you mean, El?" came the gentle voice of Lolopechka.
He blinked back to reality. He, Gaja, and Potrof were still reporting the mission details.
"My apologies, Queen Lolopechka. My thoughts wandered somewhere else, I think after a little rest I will be fine. I'll leave the rest of the briefing to my comrades."
He bowed slightly, winked at Gaja and Potrof, gave a thumbs-up and vanished.
"El—wait—!"
Too late. Lolopechka rose hastily from her throne and tripped, hitting her head.
"Oh my poor Lolopechka… Why are you so clumsy?" Undine sighed, gently helping her back up as Gaja continued the report.
For the first time in years, El felt truly exhausted.
The wandering. The battles. The tension.
He returned to his secluded dwelling in Elysia and collapsed into the deep, dreamless sleep he had earned.
Seasons passed in the Heart Kingdom.
Though El continued learning from Lolopechka and Undine, the peace grew repetitive. No missions triggered within the kingdom.
Two more years slipped by.
At twelve years old, El spent more time outside the kingdom than within it.
With his new offensive ability [Avatar Aang] in reserve, he began secretly infiltrating the Spade Kingdom, probing its secrets. Yet his instincts often warned him away from the most dangerous territories.
During these ventures, he crossed paths with Nacht several times. Occasionally, he even assisted him—freeing captured citizens, sabotaging human experimentation facilities, ambushing lower-ranking officers of the Dark Triad. Causing Small disruptions.
And then—
On what seemed like an ordinary day in his absence—
A Pair of Clover Kingdoms Royal Siblings arrived in the Heart Kingdom for an apprenticeship.
For better of worse, the quiet, predictable rhythm of El's days was about to change.
El had been napping in his quarters within the Heart Kingdom when the gold ring embedded with a dull, colorless gem began blinking green, mana leaking from it in faint pulses.
The device functioned as both voice and visual transmission. Similar tools already existed, but they were large and expensive. In any other kingdom, this would have sparked a frenzy of buyers but not in the heart kingdom.
People of the Heart Kingdom still preferred flying on brooms and meeting face to face. The ring felt almost unnecessary in a land that valued presence except for emergency and official purposes.
El rubbed his eyes and glanced at it.
Queen Lolopechka.
Green light. Not urgent. Red would have meant normal emergency and Black meant Kingdom level emergency.
She had insisted he call her "Big Sister" or at least "Sister Lolopechka," but for reasons even he didn't understand, he always held himself back and addressed her as Queen. Perhaps he was wary of growing too attached.
With a quiet sigh, he changed out of his sleepwear, pulling on his usual white long-sleeved shirt before draping the Heart Kingdom robe over his shoulders. A moment later, he teleported to the palace.
She sat upright on her throne, dressed in full royal attire, radiating that carefully constructed regal aura she displayed to outsiders—usually under Undine's strict insistence.
"…What's the occasion?" El muttered under his breath.
Only then did he notice the two figures standing before her — a girl and a boy clad in expensive robes embroidered with the Clover Kingdom insignia.
Ah.
"Apologies, my Queen. You summoned me." El bowed, posture straightening as he grasped the situation.
"No need to be so formal— I mean, khm…" Lolopechka stopped then began at a subtle signal from Undine.
"El, I have a task for you. We've received exchange students from the Clover Kingdom. I would like you to help them become familiar with the Heart Kingdom," she said, voice gentle yet carrying authority.
"Why me— I mean, I do have some prior arrangements to handle. If you could assign someone else…" El replied smoothly.
"Is that so? No worries, I will—"
"What arrangements?" Undine cut in sharply. "You've been lying around in your room for three days reading scrolls and sleeping. That is all."
El froze, It has been 4 years and she is still keeping an eye on him.
"It's fine, Undine, if he doesn't wish to—" Lolopechka began softly.
"I'll do it," El said immediately, shooting the water spirit with a narrow look.
Undine returned it with a knowing, almost vicious smile.
And in that moment, El was certain this entire summoning had been her idea from the start.
"I will pay you back for this," El muttered under his breath.
Contrary to Undine's accusation, he hadn't been lazing around for the past few days— or even the past few years. He had been searching for any trace of the Dragon Balls. Even when he privately asked Queen Lolopechka in Undine's absence, no record existed.
Instead, she had given him handwritten scrolls and ancient texts from her wisdom library— detailed accounts of demons and the ancient war. He had been studying them diligently.
…With occasional naps.
He exited the royal palace, the two royal siblings following behind, whispering to each other.
El stopped and turned.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm El. A rogue mage."
Both siblings blinked.
"But the Queen said you're one of the finest mages of the Heart Kingdom…" the girl said, visibly confused.
"Did she?" El straightened slightly. "Then I suppose I'm the finest mage of the Heart Kingdom. Now, your introductions."
The boy spoke with unsettling composure.
Instinctively, both El and Mimosa Vermillion took a subtle step away from him.
"I am Kirsch Vermillion of the illustrious House Vermillion, wielder of Cherry Blossom Magic. I am not here to learn, but to observe the aesthetic refinement of the Heart Kingdom's magic. I hope its standards are… adequate to receive me."
El's mouth twitched.
Beside him, Mimosa covered her face with both hands, cheeks flushed crimson, before stepping forward quickly.
"P-Please forgive my brother. He… tends to speak more grandly than necessary."
She bowed politely.
"My name is Mimosa Vermillion. I've come to learn from the Heart Kingdom and deepen my understanding of natural mana. I would be grateful for your guidance."
El glanced at her, then back at Kirsch.
"There's no need to apologize. Everyone has flaws," he said calmly, looking at Kirsch. "Though it would be better if some learned to keep theirs to themselves."
He turned to walk.
"How curious," Kirsch replied smoothly. "A provincial guide presuming to lecture a royal on restraint."
He adjusted his posture, looking down at El—despite them being the same height.
"Kirsch, that is en—" Mimosa began.
El cut her off without turning.
"I thought nobles carried their status quietly. Repeating it so often makes it sound… uncertain."
Silence.
Then—
"Fufufu…" Mimosa failed to suppress a soft laugh.
"How dare you—"
Ignoring whatever threats Kirsch Vermillion continued to spew, El walked ahead while Mimosa hurriedly restrained her brother.
The siblings mounted a magic broom and followed, but El activated the enchanted robes and lifted into the air ahead of them.
He spent the day guiding them across the regions of the Heart Kingdom, introducing them to its guardians and people. Wherever he went, villagers greeted him warmly; the rune arrays he had designed had eased irrigation, reinforced homes, and improved daily life in countless small ways.
They met the Spirit Guardians one by one.
El was on good speaking terms with all of them.
But truthfully, aside from Gaja, the others did not inspire much confidence. The kingdom's true pillars were few — Gaja, the Water Spirit Undine, and Queen Lolopechka's vast knowledge.
Though even Lolopechka had once confessed to him, in private, that she knew no true offensive spells. Since El had warned her about the movements of the Spade Kingdom and the threat of devils, that fear had only deepened.
Setting heavier matters aside—
Mimosa had not yet received her grimoire yet. At twelve, she was still waiting. Yet her magic already showed strong plant affinity — unsurprising, considering Kirsch's cherry blossom magic was of the same branch.
El had already received his grimoire when he was five years old. When Mimosa learned that, her eyes widened in admiration but Kirsch dismissed it as exaggeration.
By evening, exhaustion finally caught up with them.
"Oh, I'm tired… but the Heart Kingdom is so beautiful. Even more than the Clover Kingdom, if I must say," Mimosa Vermillion said, lying back on the cool grass beside the river, watching squirrels quarrel over a nut in the riverside.
"Hm. While Clover Kingdom's refinement remains unmatched, I will concede… the Heart Kingdom possesses a certain unpolished charm," Kirsch replied, surprisingly restrained.
The three of them lay beneath the open sky, dusk painting the clouds in warm hues. Despite his earlier claims, El found that he did not dislike their company.
"I suppose that's why I never left," El said quietly. "Once you stay here long enough, you grow attached — to the land, to the people… to the way it feels."
Mimosa pushed herself up leaning toward him. The fading sunlight framed her features softly.
"But where do you live, El?" She asked.
For a moment, he hesitated — faint color rising to his face as he met her gaze.
"Would you like to see?" he asked.
Both siblings agreed without hesitation.
"I have many places I call home, but I will take you to the one where I spend most of my time."
El stood and held out his hand toward them.
Both Kirsch Vermillion and Mimosa Vermillion took it.
The next moment, space distorted.
They reappeared in the region somewhere close to Elysia.
A long circular clearing opened before them in the middle of vast jungle.
At its center lay a vast, pristine lake filled with highly concentrated natural mana — denser than anything the nobles of the royal realm had encountered.
Fireflies drifted slowly in the air.
Unknown exotic creatures moved quietly among trees bearing fruits seen only in ancient books.
Beside the lakeshore stood a three-story wooden cottage, simple yet serene. The atmosphere was tranquil — the kind of place lovers wished to stay forever.
As the sun set, mana stones embedded around the lake and trees began glowing softly, painting the sanctuary in dreamlike light.
"El… I was wrong about you," Kirsch said slowly. "You are a man of culture."
Mimosa said nothing, simply absorbing the beauty around her.
"You might want to look back," El said suddenly.
He tapped their backs.
When they turned—
Their souls nearly left their bodies.
Before them stood the skeleton of an ancient demon, nearly seventy meters tall though dead, its bones still radiated faint, ominous aura.
Mimosa, being shorter, tilted her head upward.
The demon skull looked down at them with hollow eye sockets — but El had positioned the skeleton strangely… harmless pose.
The skull was slightly tilted, as if curiously observing visitors.
The jaw rested loosely.
It was terrifying.
Yet oddly… cute.
"What is this monstrosity— wait, I have seen this before…" Kirsch murmured, recalling the similar skeletal head displayed in the Forsaken Realm of the Clover Kingdom.
"It is a trophy. The ancient demon I defeated two years ago."
El puffed his chest slightly.
"At first I placed it on the Heart Kingdom central mountain as a show of victory, but citizens were terrified. After receiving numerous complaints, I moved it here."
Kirsch narrowed his eyes.
"You are lying. The only magic you said you use is teleportation. How did you defeat it? By dropping it into a volcano?"
"That is an interesting idea," El said thoughtfully. "But considering how powerful it was alive, I doubt lava alone could have harmed its body."
"I don't believe you," Kirsch said. "The first Wizard King is said to be the only one who defeated an ancient demon five hundred years ago."
El placed a hand on both their shoulders.
The world shifted.
They appeared atop the smooth, bald skull of the demon skeleton, high above the ground looking at the scenery from high point.
"Then let me tell you how I defeated the ancient demon."
El sat cross-legged between them, watching the sunset while recounting the mission in detail.
"And then he was like— 'Ahhh… I will pay you back…' Slap."
By the time the story ended, night had fully fallen.
They slept atop the demon skull, discussing the battle as the stars shone above.
"Now I believe you," Kirsch admitted. "But if you hadn't known the Elvish tongue, you would have been screwed."
Mimosa did not respond.
From her expression, it was clear she had never doubted El from the start.
"I had to learn it," El said quietly. "Besides being an adventurer… I suppose I am something of a nerd."
Late into the night, they slid down the demon bones— not by teleportation, but by carefully gliding along the smooth bones of his.
At night the lakeside sanctuary felt almost otherworldly.
Every tree, plant, and creature glowed with faint multi-colored light.
The area was protected by a barrier to keep weak intruders away. Stronger beasts avoided the place instinctively, fearing the residual aura of the ancient demon's remains. Even in death, its mana nourished the land.
El did not intend merely to conquer the world.
He wanted to turn it into a paradise.
And this place was the beginning.
They entered the wooden cottage.
Inside, the three floors were filled with books, notes, and scrolls written in ancient languages.
El assigned Mimosa the top floor and Kirsch occupied the middle floor.
El took the ground floor, for the first time allowing guests inside his home.
And he was genuinely glad, because they were his friends.