Chapter 50

52. Zero’s Space

Little Miss Shaya transformed into a flash of light and, without hesitation, charged into the black hole of “Zero”.

To those outside the magic domain, this scene looked like a poor little girl under the protection of the Hero, now desperate to save the Hero and recklessly throwing herself into danger… merely adding another regrettable victim.

Livra sat limply on the ground, eyes wide open, completely unwilling to accept the grim truth that Miss Shaya was most likely doomed…

God… oh God…

If You can hear me, please protect the Hero, please protect Miss Shaya!

……………………………….

At this moment, inside the now fully formed black hole space.

From the outside of the domain, what one could see was a black sphere floating in mid-air.

But inside “Zero”, all around appeared an endless expanse of pale whiteness, like a vast winter snowfield stretching beyond sight.

This was “Zero”.

Jeffriel’s inherent magic domain had no defined boundaries, no air currents, and even time within it was sealed. Anyone who entered this space could not escape, nor had any chance of survival.

Having finished casting the spell, Jeffriel slowly descended from the upper layer of the black hole space.

His heavy magic boots landed on a ground shimmering with faint white light. The purple thunder staff in his hand dissipated into motes of magical light.

At the same time, Jeffriel lightly raised his hand to his mouth and coughed twice. He clearly did not appear to be at ease.

“Cough… cough, cough… ah, truly, I am getting old… cannot deny it anymore… His Majesty the Demon King was right, I am growing old, indeed growing old…”

The fatigue he felt after casting “Zero” was, of course, largely due to the immense consumption involved in unleashing an inherent magic domain.

But beyond that… the more important reason was that it had been nearly a century since he last faced an opponent worthy of requiring this magic.

Simply put, he had grown a little rusty.

Even so, the effectiveness of the magic was not diminished in the slightest.

Jeffriel’s now even older gaze turned to the left and right.

The Holy Sword of the Hero still emitted a radiant light, illuminating “Zero’s” space, yet amidst this vast whiteness, that golden light seemed far less imposing, let alone threatening.

Its brilliance had already stilled; no matter how immense the Holy Sword’s magic power, it was of no use in this boundless space.

On the other side, the middle-aged man Eclight, holding a broad sword, was also frozen in place. His time, for now, had ceased to flow, enveloped by the pale whiteness of the space.

For the time being, as long as the domain remained active, these two tenth-rank powerhouses of the Kingdom would be unable to perform any combat techniques.

Jeffriel was still willing to call them strong.

At least ten or twenty years from now, if they were to wield their swords again, they would surely surpass their current level.

Especially the Hero of today…

This golden-haired young girl executed every move cleanly and sharply, without a trace of unnecessary motion. If her total amount and purity of magic power had been fully honed, she might have truly posed a threat to him.

Even without relying on the Holy Sword, she had already developed her own combat style.

Moreover, the Holy Sword in her hand was still flickering with light at this moment, as if ready at any moment to attempt breaking through the restraints of “Zero”.

This was an anomaly Jeffriel had never encountered before… magic power actually attempting to forcibly break through the domain?

Truly terrifying potential.

He had indeed underestimated the Holy Sword and the Hero a little…

It was no wonder that the First Demon Princess had been defeated by the Hero. The young Princess Sheffy still lacked sufficient combat experience.

As if regretting something, Jeffriel sighed softly. Then, between his palms, purple crackling lightning erupted once more.

With his palms crossed, the direction of the surging purple lightning pointed toward Eclight on one side, and toward Xiarette on the other.

Jeffriel felt genuine regret about having to kill such young, potential warriors. In his heart, he did not wish to do this.

But alas, they were enemies of the Demon Domain.

Since none of the higher races had intervened, it was better to take this opportunity to clear obstacles for the Demon Domain’s future.

An old man like him, at least this trip would not have been in vain.

Forgive me.

Young ones.

“May the great cause of our Demon Clan never see sunset, may…”

“Stop stop stop stop stop!! Don’t chant! Don’t chant yet…!!”

A crisp and youthful voice suddenly burst forth in this boundless space!

Due to the unique nature of the space and the considerable distance, the voice was not entirely clear — but it had definitely appeared, of that there was no mistake.

“Who?!”

Jeffriel, the old demon, was completely stunned.

The purple lightning in his hands scattered instantly into dazzling motes of magical light, vanishing without a trace due to his startled mind.

One could not blame even this battle-hardened old Six-Winged Demon for being so shocked.

Because this was something utterly impossible!

“Zero” was his inherent magic domain. In this space, Jeffriel could be considered the very “god” of this realm.

Even if a member of the higher races stepped into this space, they would be locked within the infinite and simultaneous “zero” time. Apart from Jeffriel himself, no living being should be able to move or make any sound in this domain.

Yet this exceptional situation was now happening.

Jeffriel, on high alert, spread his detection magic throughout the surroundings, attempting to locate the source of the voice…

“Mmph!!”

“Found it!!”

Before he had time to search for the source…

Jeffriel’s waist suffered a violent impact.

He felt as though his old waist had nearly snapped in two!

To describe it… it was like being struck at full speed by a rapidly flying drill, or like the wild charge of a raging bull — only, if it were a bull, it would have to be the angriest bull in the world to produce such force!

By the time he realized what had happened, Jeffriel was already sent flying backward.

With a swift motion of his palms, he transformed his magic into a staff to support his body, barely avoiding an undignified tumble in his own domain.

And at the spot where he had just been struck — Miss Shaya was now standing there.

She stood there dazed, patting her own head. That hard skull of hers had just been the culprit behind this disastrous scene.

Yes, Shaya had been desperately searching for the others, frantically flying through this seemingly infinite space by tracking the auras of Xiarette and Sylatrella. Very quickly, at an astonishing speed, she had found Jeffriel’s position!

Good heavens… Uncle Jeffriel had clearly intended to strike a lethal blow!

Shaya would never allow that to happen. At that moment, since she had been flying too fast while searching and could not stop her momentum in time, she simply chose to dive forward and ram with her head!

And what was this called?

This was called a super headbutt!

Jeffriel, who had been sent flying hard, struggled to straighten up while clutching his waist. His first reaction was to assume that a supreme powerhouse from the higher races had joined the battle.

And at such a moment, no less…

What an immense physical impact… not only had it broken through his magical barrier, but the close-combat proficiency was also this refined. Just what kind of race and being could possess such power…

Lowering his head, he pretended to appear weak while secretly gathering his magic once more, preparing to unleash another inherent magic spell.

However, just then, a clear voice of complaint came through due to the now close proximity…

— yet all the dark purple magic surrounding Jeffriel instantly dispersed.

“I say…! Uncle Jeffriel, aren’t you going a bit too far this time! The people you’re trying to kill here include my friends! Oh, sorry… you probably didn’t know that, but now I’m telling you, so now you do!”

“Princess… Princess Sheffy?”

53. Trustworthy

Her appearance had changed, her hair color had changed, and even her voice had subtly changed.

But this way of speaking — completely lacking in respect for elders…!

There was no mistake, it was Princess Sheffy!

Jeffriel didn’t even care about his waist anymore. Using his magic staff for support, he immediately knelt on one knee as a subject should when facing royalty.

There was no need for that. Naturally, Sheffy dismissed such formalities!

“Stop…! Uncle Jeffriel, your fragile old waist had better not break!”

“Heh heh heh… it really is Princess Sheffy, it truly is Your Highness. Your words are as harsh as ever! Wonderful… so You were not captured! But why did You transform into this appearance, and why did You hide Your magic aura?”

Just a moment ago Jeffriel had seemed lifeless, but now his emotions were completely different.

Upon hearing this, Sheffy shuddered like a startled cat.

She slowly turned her head to the side and began blowing a small whistle she couldn’t actually whistle.

At the same time, her black hair, as though steeped in starlight, gradually reverted to its original silver color, temporarily restoring the true appearance of Sheffy, the Demon Clan Princess.

“Ahem, before we talk about that, I say, Uncle Jeffriel, let’s discuss something first, shall we?”

“Please speak freely. It is the duty of us subjects to share the burdens of the Royal Family.”

“That’s great! Then listen carefully — just assume I was captured by the Hero of the Kingdom of Aurus. I was indeed captured, and I wasn’t here today at all, hmm! No doubt about it! Is that acceptable?”

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