The days following the Elven spirit incident had left an unease drifting across the Clover Kingdom. While the surface appeared calm, beneath it churned chaos, plots, and the subtle echoes of ancient curses awakening once more.
Within the dimensional sanctuary of Akatsuki, the trio stood before a massive, levitating magical interface constructed by Avi himself — a simulation array that pulsed with predictions, magical anomalies, and dark mana signatures across the continent.
Avi (thought): "Lucius has yet to make his next move… but the web he's spun is far-reaching. There's something stirring in the east. Zagred's remnants… or something worse?"
Yuno: "This reading… that's not just devil magic. It's layered with time distortion."
Asta: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hit it!"
Avi: "No. This time, we tread quietly."
He waved his hand, and a section of the map expanded to reveal a hidden region near the Witch's Forest — cloaked by ancient illusions and enchantments so dense even the Magic Parliament couldn't chart it.
---
Mission Assignment: Operation Veiled Hunt
> Objective: Investigate mana fluctuations in the Eastern Wildlands. Primary Agents: Asta, Yuno Support: Clones & Surveillance Constructs Status: Unknown Threat Level
---
The boys departed at dawn, stepping into the dense, haunted foliage of the Eastern Wildlands. The place reeked of unnatural silence. Avi remained behind, eyes closed, seated in his private chamber surrounded by floating runes.
Avi (System Message):
> [NEW BRANCH DETECTED: Timeline Anomaly Present.] [Simulating alterations…] [Recommendation: Minimal interference advised.]
Avi (thought): "So it's beginning. The threads are pulling apart faster than even Lucius can predict. Let's see how far I can push without revealing myself."
He sent three wood clones under transformation spells, armed with cloaking talismans. Each would monitor the boys, ready to nudge fate back into place if things went awry.
---
In the Wildlands…
Asta and Yuno ventured deeper, encountering ruins wrapped in crimson vines — glowing softly with forbidden elven runes.
Yuno: "Asta, these markings… they're not just ancient. They're alive."
Asta: "Alive or not, we'll slice through!"
But before Asta's sword could touch them, the vines reacted, pulling back as an enormous beast emerged — a corrupted mana construct, part chimera, part elemental, created from long-lost ritual magic.
The battle exploded.
Asta and Yuno coordinated flawlessly, combining anti-magic slashes and aerial precision to wear the beast down. But the creature adapted. Its mana split — forming decoys that confused even Yuno's Sylph-enhanced senses.
Asta was hurled into a broken temple wall, blood dripping from his forehead.
Yuno (grim): "I can't sense the real core… it's changing patterns!"
High above in the sky, one of Avi's cloaked wood clones activated a hidden array, subtly shifting the wind — just enough to reveal a shimmer.
Yuno: "There!"
With blinding speed, he fired an arrow of condensed star wind magic into the shimmer, exposing the true core. Asta leapt and cleaved it in two.
The beast exploded in a whirlwind of corrupted mana.
---
Back at Akatsuki Base…
As the boys recovered, the clone returned and melted into Avi's palm, transferring the memory. He smiled faintly.
Avi (thought): "One step ahead… that's all it takes. They must grow, but never break."
He turned to his map again. New flares appeared — one near the Spade border, another deep below Clover's capital.
Avi (System Notification):
> [Anomaly Source Identified: Forbidden Chamber beneath Clover Throne] [Word Magic Residue Detected. Probability of Devil Interference: 87%]
Avi (thought): "So… the game enters its next phase. Zagred's mark lingers… and the kingdom still sleeps."
---
Meanwhile, within the Royal Capital, Wizard King Julius Novachrono sat in his tower, fingers twitching.
Julius (thought): "Time is thinning. I can feel it… something older than Lucius is awakening."
And far below him, in a dungeon sealed with magic older than the kingdom itself, a single glyph pulsed to life — a whisper echoing in a language lost to time.
Avi, watching through a magical shard embedded in the dungeon's wall, narrowed his eyes.
Avi (thought): "Word Magic is dangerous. It bends logic. I'll need a contingency plan."
---
End of Chapter 29