Inside the arcane prison, a tall, slender blonde young woman was repeatedly striking the magical barriers around her with a long sword glowing with mysterious power, trying to break free. Each hit caused ripples of energy to appear on the shimmering walls.
Although the arcane prison remained stable, it was clear from the woman's expression that she wasn't too worried.
Just then, a handsome young human man quietly entered the area where the prison was held.
It was Josh, who just returned.
The blonde woman immediately grew cautious. Although he looked like a fellow human, the respectful attitude of the surrounding robots toward him made it obvious that he held a special status.
"Should I call you Adora, or She-Ra?" Josh asked with a smile from outside the arcane cell.
"Who are you? I'm She-Ra, not Adora!" the blonde woman replied, surprised that she could even hear his voice. Just earlier, she had found that no sound or image could pass through the strange barrier.
What she didn't know was that normally, an arcane prison blocks all sound and vision, but the caster can adjust that.
Now, the blood elf archmage who had cast the spell had removed the restriction, allowing She-Ra to hear Josh.
"I'm the one you wanted to meet. The leader of Ouroboros—Josh Kahn," he introduced himself calmly.
"So you're the leader of this group. Why did you capture us?" She-Ra asked, shocked at first, then angry.
"Haha... So this is the so-called Guardian of Etheria? The great She-Ra? Breaking into someone else's home, getting caught, and then blaming them for it?" Josh was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.
She-Ra was at a loss for words, her face turning red with embarrassment.
She had acted purely on instinct, viewing herself as a righteous force while infiltrating Hordak's strongholds. She had forgotten that this time, they were the ones who invaded someone else's territory without permission.
"My subordinates didn't treat you badly, did they? And yet you killed quite a few of them. Sure, they were just robotic soldiers, but is that how your so-called Rebellion treats its hosts?" Josh continued, mocking her.
"Hmph! You only got attacked because you decided to join forces with that evil Hordak. Anyone who sides with the Horde deserves to be punished!" She-Ra retorted, clearly irritated.
"That's even more absurd. We're a neutral group. The Horde attacked us first, and we simply fought back. Now that they've asked for peace, why should we keep fighting just because you say they're evil?" Josh was at a loss. He remembered She-Ra from the cartoons as someone logical. But seeing her in person, she just seemed so... naïve.
"...Forget it, I can't out-argue you! Now that I'm in your hands, do whatever you want!" Thankfully, She-Ra wasn't really that foolish. Knowing she was in the wrong, she stopped arguing with Josh. "But working with the evil Horde? One day, you'll regret it!"
"Who said I'm working with the Horde? Her?" Josh waved his hand, and a tiny fairy-like creature with butterfly wings appeared, looking a bit weak in his grip.
"Loo-Kee? Let her go right now!" She-Ra shouted anxiously when she saw the small, exhausted figure in Josh's hand. (TL/N: Loo-Kee: Translated as Lablina previously, already changed in the previous chapters)
"Don't worry, she's fine. She just wore herself out banging against the arcane cage. But to be honest, someone like her who gives false reports in wartime would normally be sentenced to death under my command," Josh said as he shook the tiny creature.
Already woozy, the little one became even dizzier.
"I said put her down!" Seeing Josh treat her so roughly, She-Ra became furious. Her sword flared with brilliant light, and she slammed it hard against the arcane barrier. The force of the strike made the entire cage flicker and tremble violently—it looked like it might not hold much longer.
She-Ra immediately tried to strike again to finish it off.
But Josh simply placed his left hand on the cage, and instantly it regained full stability.
Her second strike not only failed to shake the cage, but triggered a strong rebound force that sent her flying across the cell, slamming hard into the opposite wall.
"She-Ra, no!" the little creature cried out in alarm.
"You see now, Adora? You still don't seem to understand who's in charge here," Josh said coldly as he looked down at She-Ra, who had collapsed to the ground.
"I told you—I'm She-Ra, not Adora! She is our leader, and she will lead our army to defeat you and the evil Horde!" She-Ra insisted stubbornly, forcing herself back to her feet, glaring at Josh.
But deep inside, she was shaken.
How did this man know about her being Adora?
Even her longtime enemy Hordak and most leaders of the Rebellion didn't know that secret.
"Oh? That's a bold claim. But it's just a fantasy. If your brother could see you now, he'd probably be very disappointed," Josh said with a mocking smile, unfazed by her threats.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" She-Ra was startled at the mention of her brother but still tried to keep a straight face.
"The great champion of the universe, He-Man. Prince Adam of Eternia. Former guardian of your home world. It's a shame—he asked me to take good care of his sister. But it seems like someone doesn't want that kindness." Josh smirked as he looked at her.
"What?!"
"What?!"
Both She-Ra and the tiny fairy in Josh's hand cried out in shock.
But while the fairy was shocked that Josh knew He-Man's identity, She-Ra was even more stunned that he knew Adam was He-Man—and that He-Man had entrusted her to him.
Loo-Kee's shocked reaction was because she had just learned He-Man's true identity—for as She-Ra's close friend, she already knew She-Ra was actually Princess Adora of Etheria. But she had never known that He-Man was her older brother, Prince Adam.
Even though their disguise in the cartoon seemed flimsy, in the real world, both He-Man and She-Ra had kept their identities remarkably well hidden.
"That's impossible. You're lying!" She-Ra immediately rejected Josh's claim. "And if He-Man really asked you to protect me, why are you negotiating peace with Hordak?!"
"That's exactly because I want to help you!" Josh's mocking expression suddenly disappeared. With a wave of his hand, the arcane prison crumbled to nothing, and he even released Loo-Kee from his grasp.
The little creature gave a cheer and immediately flew back to She-Ra, hiding deep within her golden hair, only peeking out to shoot Josh a cautious glance.
Josh couldn't help but smirk—this little one was oddly cute, and might make a fun pet.
"To help us?" She-Ra was left confused by Josh's sudden release, surprised that he would let her go so easily.
Could he really be telling the truth?
"I know you have a lot of questions," Josh said with a calm smile. "But let me ask you just one—what do you think your chances are in a head-on war with Hordak's full army?"
"…Fine, I admit it. Our chances are less than thirty percent… unless my brother comes back. Have you really seen my brother? He's not dead? Then why hasn't he returned?" She-Ra started answering sincerely, but her concern for her brother quickly took over the conversation.
"Don't worry. He-Man's alive and well. When I met him, he hadn't yet found the way home. Coming to this world was an accident—we didn't even realize this was Eternia at first. And when we met, he was in the middle of dealing with something very important… something that might affect the safety of the entire universe. He didn't tell me the details," Josh explained with a sigh.
"I see… If it kept him from coming home, it must be something really serious." She-Ra fell deep into thought. After a long pause, she took a deep breath and asked, "Alright, I'll believe what you said about my brother for now. But you also said your peace talks with Hordak are to help us. How does that make any sense?"
"You already admitted your Rebellion has less than a thirty percent chance of winning against Hordak's army. So what about when reinforcements from the Horde Empire arrive?" Josh asked, hitting her with another dose of harsh reality.
"Less than ten percent…" She-Ra responded, deflated at first. But then, remembering how Josh's Ouroboros army had defeated the Horde fleet in such a short time, she added, "But if you help us, we'll definitely have a chance to defeat the evil Horde Empire!"
"Exactly. With my help, you could shift the tides of war. But what's the cost? Tell me, what kind of price would Ouroboros have to pay to defeat not just Hordak, but the full might of the Horde Empire?" Josh suddenly raised his voice, pretending to be emotional.
She-Ra stayed silent, unsure of how to respond.
Earlier, when Ouroboros fought Hordak's troops, it had been a small-scale victory. Hordak had only sent a local garrison, since most of the Horde's forces were already spread out across Eternia—defending occupied territories and keeping an eye on the Rebellion.
In this situation, even while spread thin, Hordak's army was still locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle with Ouroboros. They were only slightly at a disadvantage—and even that had cost Ouroboros heavily.
If Hordak concentrated all his forces, She-Ra couldn't even imagine what the battlefield would look like. She dared not boast.
"So, what do you think we should do?" She-Ra asked with a sigh.
"It's simple. You surrender," Josh said with a smile, delivering a suggestion that stunned her.
"No, that's impossible!" She-Ra shouted in outrage.
"Calm down, young lady. Let me finish," Josh raised his hand to stop her. "Think about this. What if your Rebellion dressed harmless civilians in elite armor and had them 'surrender'? Then your real elite troops disguised themselves as ordinary refugees and hid among the crowd. Then, you stage an official surrender ceremony. Don't you think Hordak would fall for it?"
"You mean…" She-Ra's eyes lit up.
"Add to that our participation as Hordak's supposed allies at the ceremony. If we strike together, at the right moment, do you think Hordak and his men could resist us? It would be a total surprise attack—and we'd suffer far fewer losses. What do you think of the plan?" Josh grinned, revealing his full strategy.
"This… this is brilliant! No wonder you wanted peace talks with Hordak. If we really pull this off, we could wipe out his entire army in one move!" She-Ra was completely fired up.
"Exactly. But you'll have to endure some temporary humiliation," Josh added.
"That's fine! If we can destroy the evil Horde, a little humiliation means nothing! I can't wait to share this plan with the others!" She-Ra said excitedly. "Oh, right—what about my friends?"
"Don't worry. They're fine. I'll take you to them right away," Josh said.
"Thank you, Mr. Kahn!" She-Ra said gratefully.
"Haha, don't mention it. You're He-Man's sister, which makes you like a sister to me. Helping you is only right," Josh said warmly.
"Oh, and Mr. Kahn—my friends still don't know the truth about me and my brother. Please keep that a secret." As she spoke, She-Ra transformed back into her simpler form—Princess Adora.
"Of course. I understand." Josh nodded with a gentle smile and turned to lead her away.
But the moment his back was turned, that smile twisted into something darker—cold, calculating.
Helping the Rebellion ambush Hordak?
What a joke.
If Josh now held both sides' plans in his hands, why not use this opportunity to wipe them both out?
This move had only one name: the house always wins.
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