Swish!...
Swish!...
Swish!...
Without the slightest deviation, in Ethan Hayes' eyes, the five wind arrows struck almost simultaneously.
Each one pierced through Patolli's body, penetrating cleanly and then dispersing into the air without losing any momentum.
Watching Patolli fall from the sky, Ethan's face remained expressionless.
To be fair, Patolli was truly strong.
Among the nine Magic Knight squads, his light magic alone was powerful enough to defeat at least three captains in solo combat.
Only a select few could fight him on equal footing.
And his most infamous achievement—at least in the original story—was slaying the Wizard King.
Although saying he killed him isn't entirely accurate. It was more like Julius willingly sacrificed himself.
Threatened by large-scale magic that endangered the entire Clover Kingdom, Julius, as the Wizard King, had no choice.
Or rather, he had made his choice long before.
His own life versus the lives of the entire kingdom. He chose the latter.
If it were Ethan in his place before, he would've absolutely chosen the former.
But now? Even if he couldn't quite become someone like Julius yet… there were people he absolutely couldn't lose!
Everyone here today—each and every one of them!
"You... you're really Ethan Hayes?"
As he landed, Noelle ran toward him but hesitated, her voice trembling in disbelief.
After all, Ethan had been gravely injured and on the brink of death—something not just she, but everyone present had witnessed.
Now, suddenly back on his feet and full of energy, who wouldn't be stunned?
Not to mention, both his appearance and physique had undergone dramatic changes.
"You did well, Noelle. I saw everything. Looks like you'll have to be disqualified from the Red Cross from now on."
At his words, the tears in Noelle's eyes could no longer be held back. They gushed out uncontrollably.
The very next second, she sprinted into his arms and hugged him tightly.
This caused Mimosa nearby to blush, and Ethan himself felt a bit awkward.
Still, he gently wrapped his arms around her and comforted her by patting her back.
Even while on the brink of death, he had been fully aware of what happened outside.
By that point, there was no running away—either way, he would've died.
Yet Noelle didn't let fear stop her. Instead, she stood in front of him and launched an attack that went beyond her limits.
The feelings she had shown him in that life-or-death moment were as real as they could be.
Funny thing is, Ethan couldn't even pinpoint when Noelle started liking him.
But the truth was right in front of him—just like that cheesy song, "It came too fast, like a tornado."
"Alright now, keep crying and you'll turn into a little panda," he teased, gently pinching her cheek—though dusty, still soft to the touch.
Noelle's face flushed red as she pulled back and turned her head aside.
"Hmph! I-I'm just glad you're not dead. Don't get the wrong idea. As your comrade, I was only worried!"
Classic tsundere twin-tails!
Ethan just smiled and shook his head. Then his expression grew serious as he looked over at Patolli lying motionless on the ground.
Hit by five spirit-infused wind arrows—forget Patolli, even he wouldn't walk away from that unscathed.
It would've taken another round of Dragon Vein Power just to survive it.
So odds were, Patolli was completely dead.
And if he was dead, the entire storyline would now veer dramatically off course.
Without Patolli leading the charge, the collection of the elf stones would stall.
Without the stones, the "Elf Reincarnation" ritual couldn't proceed.
Without the reincarnation, the Word Devil hiding in Patolli's grimoire would never get a chance to manifest in the human world.
In short, this could very well be the final battle. The perfect wrap-up.
He could go home, plant a farm, raise some kids, cuddle with his wife…
Life would be absolutely amazing.
But was it really going to be that simple?
The Word Devil had started planning since the era of the first Wizard King.
Now, with Julius as the 28th Wizard King, that's hundreds of years of scheming.
Compared to some ancient gods playing chess with the universe, maybe it's nothing.
But Ethan knew better than to assume such a long plan had no backup contingencies.
If it were him running such a plan, he wouldn't leave any fatal loopholes.
Still… up until now, nothing strange had happened with Patolli.
Although he still had a bit of breath left, it was clear he wouldn't last much longer.
"Maybe… I'm just overthinking it..."
Shaking his head, Ethan decided not to dwell. He started gathering wind energy to finish Patolli off with a final blade.
But right as the wind blade reached Patolli—
A cloud of black mist suddenly appeared and blocked it.
And then the mist began to rapidly spread outward.
"Careful!" Ethan shouted.
He pulled Noelle and Mimosa back with him.
Asta and Yuno reacted similarly, pulling Gauche and Klaus to safety.
Ethan knew very little about devils. He wasn't going to take any chances.
He fired off a few probing spells into the black mist.
Unfortunately, his magic seemed completely ineffective—like a breeze against a storm, harmless and powerless.
This reminded him of something from the original storyline.
Devils weren't native to this world. They came from another realm entirely.
Their magic wasn't just powerful—it was fundamentally different.
Very few mages in this world could match it.
The only things that could nullify devil magic were Asta's five anti-magic swords.
In essence, it was a matter of world-tier differences—rendering most magic ineffective.
Only a handful of top-tier powerhouses could break that rule:
The First Wizard King. The real Licht. And maybe the fully evolved Yuno in the late stages.
Ethan had reached captain level now, but fundamentally, he was still too weak against devils.
"So the question is… fight or flee?"
He hesitated, weighing the risks and opportunities.
But just as he considered his options, fate made the choice for him.
The black mist abruptly contracted and disappeared within seconds.
And along with it—Patolli vanished too.
The devil had escaped!
"Damn it, he got away!" Ethan cursed, stunned at first but quickly realizing what happened.
If the Word Devil could simply possess someone outright, he wouldn't have waited for the elf reincarnation ritual or needed to breach the Shadow Palace.
Full resurrection clearly required certain conditions.
What just happened was likely just a diversion.
Even if he did possess Patolli, the strength would've been minimal.
And Ethan had fallen for it.
Clicking his tongue in frustration, Ethan muttered, "I can't believe I got bluffed."
But he couldn't really blame himself.
Devils were shrouded in mystery. The intel on them was minimal.
If that thing had been able to resurrect without a price, Ethan charging in would've just handed him a free kill.
"Whatever. Either way, you're destined to die sooner or later."
Ethan wasn't worried. Even though the devil had escaped, Patolli was effectively dead.
In the original story, Patolli got thoroughly thrashed in the end.
Now, with Ethan in the mix and the modern Wizard King Julius on their side?
If that devil dared show up again—
Even his own mother might not recognize him by the time they were done!
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