The words had barely left Dave's lips when the air around Fuegoleon shivered.
A ripple, almost imperceptible, bent the light—then tore it open. Space twisted like a mirror shattering, and in the blink of an eye, black chains of warped mana coiled around Fuegoleon's body. His eyes widened—not in fear, but in sharp recognition.
"A Spatial Mage—!" he began.
But before the spell could collapse fully around him, Dave moved. Silver light surged across the ground like lightning given flesh, and in less than a breath his hand caught Fuegoleon's shoulder.
The spatial fissure swallowed them both.
The world twisted.
Stone streets, firelight, and screams vanished. They emerged into a chamber of still air and pale glow, far removed from the capital's chaos. The walls shimmered as though made of condensed mana, a void carved out for secrecy.
And standing before them, cloak brushing the floor, was Licht. His four-leaf grimoire floated at his side, radiating pure light magic. His golden eyes locked onto them, calm, unwavering.
Fuegoleon steadied his footing instantly, his aura flaring like a controlled inferno. "So it was you. You orchestrated the attack on the capital." His words were level, but his fists tightened, flames already dancing around his arms.
Licht inclined his head slightly. "Yes. My name is Licht." His voice carried no shame, only certainty.
But Dave's eyes narrowed, a faint edge of silver cutting across his gaze. His words came low, sharper than any blade."Licht, huh? Funny. I know you're not him. You're just wearing his name."
The four-leaf grimoire pulsed faintly, as if reacting to the weight of the truth.
Dave took one step forward, his presence dimming the glow of the chamber itself.
"I know the real story. Licht was turned into a monster last time—because of a Devil's hand. And you're walking the same path."
For the first time, the composure in Licht's eyes flickered. "What do you mean?"
"I know you are an elf. You must think that it was the humans who stole your people's magic, who betrayed and killed your kin. But there was someone else who manipulated the humans into that massacre—it was the Devil."
"The Devils in our world can't use their magic freely. To do so, they need a five-leaf grimoire. But a five-leaf grimoire cannot form naturally—it can only be created by corrupting the owner of a four-leaf grimoire, driving them to the brink of despair. At that time, only two people had four-leaf grimoires. One was the Wizard King—but he was too powerful and too joyful to let the Devil corrupt his heart and push him to despair.
The other… was Licht. He watched his people slaughtered, his pregnant wife—the Wizard King's sister—die before his eyes. That despair drove him to the edge. That's when his grimoire was corrupted into a five-leaf, and he was turned into a monster while the Devil took root inside. But at the right time, the Wizard King's assistant sealed him away using forbidden magic.
But even then, the Devil used its own power to send one elf into the future, so that he could be unsealed once again."
Dave's voice sharpened. "You're just being used as a pawn, whoever you are. The Devil is only waiting. If you don't believe me, you can never redeem your leader Licht. And if you do… I will help you."
Fuegoleon, listening at Dave's side, was stunned by the weight of revelation. His hand trembled, fire burning faintly along his arm.
"You will… help me redeem Licht?" the false Licht asked quietly.
Dave extended his hand. "Give me your pendant."
Fuegoleon hesitated, then nodded and took out his own. "This is the Firestone you need, right?" Dave asked. Licht looked at the stone in Dave's hand and gave a small nod.
"You can have it," Dave said as he tossed the stone to him.
Licht caught it, eyes narrowing as he searched for deceit, but Dave did nothing.
"One more thing," Dave added, his tone sharp. "Don't try to use it to revive all the elves. If you do, the Devil will be unsealed. Use it only to redeem your leader Licht, and you will learn the real truth. If you don't belive me… surely you will believe your leader."
The false Licht kept looking at him as he said " I don't belive your kind so I will revive my leader and asked him about the truth but to do so I need more of these Magic Stone"
"I will help you," Dave said firmly. "As long as you don't kill innocents. If you must kill, then take the lives of nobles who conspired with the Devil to steal your people's magic. But no innocents. The other humans are innocent. They are not the ones who colluded with the Devil."
The false Licht studied him for a long moment, then finally nodded. "Very well. I will listen. I'll gather more stones." With that, he vanished into the shadows.
Fuegoleon turned sharply toward Dave. "What did you mean by that? You gave him permission to kill nobles?"
"Relax," Dave said calmly. "No other nobles have these stones. You were the only one I saw with a Firestone. He doesn't need to go after anyone else. His power is equal to the Wizard King's, and unlike him, he wouldn't care about other lives. If he were to fight recklessly, he might use others as shields and the Wizard King would lose. What I gave him was just bait—to keep him from harming anyone unnecessarily."
Fuegoleon's eyes narrowed, but he slowly nodded. "I see. But later, you'll need to explain everything—about Licht, the elves, and this Devil."
"Hm." Dave gave a short nod, his expression unreadable.
The space around them cracked, light breaking through like shattered glass. In the next instant, they were pulled back into the capital.
"You two are back?" They stepped forward and saw Captain Yami along with other captains as well.
"When you just got sent away, we thought something bad happened. I guess you two are fine," Yami said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Were you even fighting—or just… wandering?" he asked as the other captains noticed.
Fuegoleon replied, "We have some important matters to discuss. Let's go back and convene a meeting."
The others nodded in agreement.
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