The storm that had stirred silently behind the veil of peace was now beginning to make its ripples known. Within the hidden dimension of the Akatsuki base, Avi sat in silence at the core of the palace's inner sanctum. He stared into a crystalline orb connected to the very threads of space and time, showing fragmented glimpses of the future, distorted by opposing wills—his own, Lucius', and the lingering will of Zagred.
Avi (thought): "The balance is shifting. The war isn't coming… it's already here. It's just wearing the face of order."
The attack on the Magic Knight Gathering had shaken the kingdom. Fuegoleon Vermillion's grievous injury had sent ripples through the nobles, citizens, and the Wizard King himself. But what none of them knew was that the true target hadn't been Fuegoleon — it was a cursed mark meant to awaken something in the royal bloodline, a seed planted long ago by Zagred's cult.
Avi had intervened just seconds before the curse latched onto Fuegoleon's soul, manipulating the spatial dimension subtly, absorbing the curse into a sealed relic now buried deep within the Akatsuki base. None had seen his intervention, not even Julius.
Avi (thought): "One piece moved. Hundreds of consequences prevented. But the threat is accelerating."
---
Back in the Akatsuki war room, the magical map flickered violently.
Asta: "There's too many red points lighting up!"
Yuno: "That's devil residue... it's increasing all over the continent. Are we tracking too late?"
Avi: "No. This is controlled. Someone is directing them toward specific regions — especially abandoned dungeons and forbidden ruins. They're preparing a ritual."
Asta: "So what do we do?"
Avi: "We investigate the ruins quietly. Not as a squad, but as shadows. We must not alert the perpetrators or the Clover Kingdom. If Julius gets involved too early, Lucius will accelerate his own plans."
With that, Avi handed the two cloaks imbued with stealth arrays and teleportation nodes. For the next week, the trio split into teams. Avi's clones accompanied both Asta and Yuno separately, guiding them subtly while suppressing their true presences.
---
In one ancient dungeon near the Spade-Clover border, Asta discovered a strange monument etched with forbidden language — and bones too twisted to be human.
Asta (thought): "This isn't just dark magic… this is devil sacrifice magic. Are they… summoning something?"
He was ambushed by cursed beasts, but with his anti-magic blade and Avi's cloaked clone aiding from the shadows, he dismantled the threat, and more importantly, collected the sigils left behind.
In the Forsaken Zone, Yuno discovered a frozen ruin where a mana distortion threatened to crack the natural leyline. With Sylph's aid, he contained it long enough for Avi's covert magic circle to collapse the structure safely. Yuno never saw the clone casting alongside him.
---
Returning to base, Avi analyzed the collected sigils.
Avi (thought): "These are remnants of the Elves' forbidden resurrection glyphs. But someone is trying to overlay them with devil mana. They're not just trying to revive Elves. They're trying to create hybrids… Elf-Devil vessels."
He turned to the dimensional core and infused the base with greater barriers. He could no longer allow orphans, farmers, or allies to remain without stronger protection.
Meanwhile, he enhanced the simulation system for training. Avi replicated devil pressure fields within an isolated zone of the dimension. Asta and Yuno trained under this suppressive environment, building resistance to infernal magic while unaware of the system running simulations in the background—predicting possible future battles.
---
One night, Avi sat alone under the crystal canopy of the dimension.
He summoned a familiar — a sentient crow-like creature imbued with recording runes — and sent it flying into the real world.
Avi (thought): "Follow Nacht. Observe the Black Bulls. I suspect Lucius is already planting seeds through cursed dream spirits."
He then switched into his masked second identity, disappearing into the Royal Capital. Behind the scenes, he began altering magical seals on noble residences, disrupting spy networks, and planting protective glyphs around those who might become Lucius' pawns. His manipulations were so subtle that even Julius, in his immense wisdom, could not detect them.
As Lucius spoke with hidden followers in the Spade Kingdom's ruins, murmuring about the future of purified souls and devil-flesh vessels, a dark butterfly passed through a window and vanished into shadow — Avi's watching eyes never blinked.
Lucius: "The timeline favors me. The Elves will awaken. The Tree of Qliphoth shall rise. I shall be God."
Back in the dimension, Avi whispered beneath his breath.
Avi: "Then let a god fall... as a puppet to his own ambition."
[To be continued...]