The battle within the Royal Capital had escalated into chaos. The sudden emergence of a powerful elf-possessed magic knight had caught the Magic Knight captains off-guard. Citizens ran screaming through the streets, buildings crumbled under devastating magic clashes, and the sky itself was painted with flares of mana so intense they shimmered like aurora.
Amidst the battlefield, Fuegoleon Vermillion stood firm. His Flame Magic roared like a dragon's breath, pushing back wave after wave of cursed elven magic. His eyes burned with unshakable resolve, but the enemy's power was not ordinary. Possessed by ancient rage and fueled by forbidden power, the elf's spells were drawing on mana older than the kingdom itself.
Fuegoleon: "I cannot falter… The people depend on me!"
He raised his flame-covered arm and launched a Phoenix Flame Barrage that incinerated an entire block's worth of corrupted magic. But in that instant —
Boom!
A dark magic spell, hidden beneath the chaos, surged upward from under the ground. A twisted spatial rune activated. Fuegoleon sensed it — far too late.
Fuegoleon: "Wh-what?!"
The rune exploded with a concussive force, sending him flying through the air. Blood splattered mid-flight. The flames around him flickered out. He hit the palace wall and crumpled to the ground, unconscious, his grimoire fluttering down beside him.
---
But somewhere far above, unseen by all, a cloaked figure stood atop a hovering wooden platform shaped like a lotus.
Avi (thought): "So this is the moment Lucius intends to shift the balance… Using this elf reincarnation to weaken the captains, break the kingdom's defenses… and plant fear."
He extended a single finger, and an invisible pulse of Origin Magic traveled through the air, shrouded in anti-detection enchantments.
System Alert: [Target: Fuegoleon Vermillion – Fatal Blow Detected]
[Activate Life Preservation Subroutine?]
Avi (thought): "Let's not let a good man die yet."
System: [Commencing Emergency Intervention Protocol]
Within an instant, just before Fuegoleon's internal organs gave out, a nearly invisible thread of green-gold magic wove into his bloodstream. Microscopic healing formations activated inside his heart, clotting the bleeding and sealing ruptured tissues.
A hidden wood clone, masked and robed, flickered into the battlefield under the guise of debris and lifted Fuegoleon with a silent binding of vines.
---
Meanwhile, Asta and Yuno — called to support the capital defenses by royal decree — were pushing through waves of possessed knights.
Asta: "These guys are stronger than before! What the heck is going on?!"
Yuno: "Something's different. They don't just fight — they radiate hatred. Like they've lived a hundred lifetimes in pain."
Avi (via voice-transmission spell): "Don't engage the higher-ranking elves yet. Focus on civilians. Contain damage. You'll face your real enemies soon enough."
Asta: "Got it, boss!"
Yuno: "Understood."
---
Back at the Akatsuki dimension, the base stirred with motion. Avi's other wood clones activated the dimensional gate to create a direct safe route to extract injured knights. The orphanage was temporarily shielded in a crystal dome powered by origin runes.
Inside the palace's medical wing, which Avi had installed months prior under the guise of 'contingency planning,' Fuegoleon was laid down on a bed made of living mana-trees. The clone silently administered elixirs mixed with divine-grade healing herbs — all gathered by Avi from across the continent through covert missions.
Clone Avi (whisper): "You will rise again, Captain. Just not yet."
---
In the main capital battlefield, Julius Novachrono faced off against one of the elven leaders — a magic knight captain-level foe whose spatial and light magic fused into destructive elegance.
But as the battle intensified, something began to feel… wrong.
Avi (thought): "And now, the true cracks begin to show. Julius... or should I say, Lucius... You wouldn't let yourself be caught in a battle you didn't anticipate. Are you letting them weaken the captains for your eventual reveal?"
High above, a single puppeteer string formed in Avi's palm — invisible to all. With a snap, he cut a certain magic signal.
Avi (thought): "You won't trace me today, time mage."
Back in the fray, Nozel Silva rallied Silver Eagles as they fought tooth and nail to hold the eastern sector. Mimosa and Klaus helped stabilize falling citizens, and Finral zipped injured away.
And yet, across the ruined rooftops, faint elven chanting began echoing.
Unknown Elf Mage: "Awaken, those who slumber… Return to your stolen thrones…"
Avi (thought): "They're accelerating the resurrection… the next arc is being rushed. I'll need to slow them down."
He extended a scroll — crafted with Devil-Slayer inscriptions — and released a whisper of sealing magic into the leyline above the battlefield. Immediately, several awakening elven souls faltered.
---
As night began to fall, the capital lay smoldering.
Fuegoleon's injury was reported — but no one knew how he survived. Asta and Yuno were hailed as defenders of the lower districts. Julius praised the efforts of all squads.
But Avi sat alone, in his palace's strategy room, lit only by the glowing strands of magical strings connected to events across the world.
Avi (thought): "Today, I played savior. Tomorrow, I'll play the villain if needed. The world doesn't need to know who saves it — only that it can still be saved."
He pulled another scroll.
System Alert: [Lucius Zogratis – Tier 1 Disruption Protocol Ready]
Avi (smirking): "Checkmate begins in ten moves."
[To be continued...]