Dekan Is Back

When Dekan groggily opened his eyes.

He instinctively rubbed his fingers together, only to find that the letter in his hand was gone.

It's like having a short, pleasant dream, leaving only a faint memory after waking up.

"You're back."

Dekan's gaze gradually focused as he looked at the pitch-black space, the familiar threshold of the Shadow World settlement.

Soon, the task interface began to update, just like it had done before.

[The Throne of Wind, Snow, and Thorns in the Shadow World has been completed]

[Calculation in progress]

[Evaluation being generated]

[Since this is for single-player entry, individual payment will be used.]

[Challenger: Dekan]

[The mission was accomplished with a high degree of historical accuracy within this story-driven Shadow World.]

[The following achievements have been made]

[A Healer's Heart - May You Never Have to Touch Medicine Again in This Life]

[Great Love Demon Lord SSS--Taming 3 seventh-tier demons (Demon Officer), Releasing 1 eighth-tier demon (Demon Realm Hospital Director), Abducting 1 eighth-tier demon (Talomati the Shelter), Dominating 2 eighth-tier demons (Puser of the Abyss, Olive of Purgatory), Sacrificing 1 ninth-tier demon (Irenos of Ruin)]

[The Demon Race's Nightmare SSS - Becoming a legendary demon race that truly inspires fear in all demons]

[Etiquette and Music Improvement C - This time you still didn't damage any pianos, and you learned how to properly use the baking tools]

[Historian S has determined that the predecessors of both the Sun God Church and the Resurrection Church were the Holy Rite Church, and has preliminarily established the relationship between the Holy Kingdom, the Demon Realm, and your world.]

What is kidnapping?

The Master's voice echoed in Dekan's mind.

She was clearly very dissatisfied with the Shadow World's evaluation.

Dekan: "So, a brother who became wealthy in a foreign land and searched for his Severe Injury sister who had been separated from him for many years during a time of war, and went through countless hardships to bring her home, can that be called kidnapping?"

Master: "?"

Your story seems a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?

Do you think I haven't seen the plot?!

[Achievements summarized, evaluations generated]

[The war between the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm has raged to this day, threatening the world with either collapse or rebirth. Countless tears have brought forth the shadows of nightmares, the quiet flow of time yearns for a new future, a thousand sorrows have been shed amidst cruel blood and tears, but unwavering faith will ultimately save souls. The heroes of the Holy Kingdom, who have steadfastly upheld their will, have finally written a new chapter in the epic saga of the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm.]

[As peace and prosperity dawned, the end of one story coincided with the beginning of another. The strange changes in the Holy Capital and the decline of the Holy Rite Church all pointed to a long-lurking evil spirit deep within the Holy Kingdom...]

[Overall Personal Rating: SSS]

[Rewards Settlement: Rank Increase (Dekan Tier 5 → Tier 6), Delois's Treasure (Tier 6 Legendary Material)]

Dekan, who had been expecting another epic card, was startled when he saw the red, hazy light appear before him after the last paragraph of text floated up.

"You scared me! I knew it couldn't possibly be a legend."

Dekan quickly realized what was happening.

"You're dreaming. If the Shadow World could truly produce Red Legend, the world wouldn't be unable to confirm their existence."

The Master seized every opportunity to dampen Dekan's spirits.

"However, it is said that achieving high contribution and evaluation in the eighth and ninth tier Shadow World may indeed yield Crimson Epic Cards or Legendary Materials."

For example, the ninth-tier Crimson Epic [Fate Divination] of Sion and the ninth-tier legendary material [Spatial Star Stone] of former Pope Agamemnon are both products of the ninth-tier Shadow World.

The Master's focused attention clearly showed how much he cared about this legendary-grade material.

With Dekan and her card-making skills combined, even if it were made into a card, there's a high probability it could be Crimson Epic!

"Delois's Treasure, could it be...?"

Dekan murmured to himself, brushing aside the red halo before him, and carefully took the floating material into his hands.

After seeing the true nature of this legendary material, Dekan's expression seemed both surprised and completely unsurprised.

[Delois's Treasure]

[Clodia's letter to Delois.]

[After being treated with a special paint by Delois, it has become a material that will never decay.]

This letter is exactly the same as the one Dekan held in his hand when he left the Shadow World.

"Why is this letter paper considered a legendary material...?"

Dekan could understand what Delois considered a treasure, but he wondered why this piece of paper possessed such a high grade of magical material.

However, upon closer inspection, Dekan discovered—

This letter is not the same as the one Dekan received when he first entered the Shadow World.

Instead, Delois carried it through many years before it became the one in his hand.

The letter was engraved with Magic Power incantations that even Dekan couldn't comprehend at first!

But it seems to be an unfinished product, not even a half-finished magic scroll.

The Master had now taken over Dekan's right eye, observing the magical formula within.

Her attention seemed completely absorbed by Delois's masterpiece, and Dekan's golden right eye remained unblinking for a long time.

"As expected of my older brother..."

The Master murmured as if waking from a drunken stupor.

"Um?"

Dekan swiftly grasped the problem in his Master's words.

"!"

"Hmm, but it seems that even Delois couldn't complete this spell for some reason. If it could be perfected into a magic scroll, it could be used as the core material for creating Spell Card."

"Although it's complex, many of the principles behind it are the same as those you've used to make cards, so we can figure it out."

The Master suddenly realized that he had subconsciously said something strange, and changed the subject without any sense of incongruity.

During her six months in the Shadow World, she always watched the past interactions between the siblings from Dekan's perspective.

Occasionally, I might even unconsciously mistake it for my own experience.

This process also seemed to be filling in the gaps in her memories.

"Wait, could you call me 'brother' again, like Talomati did in the Shadow World?"

Dekan clearly didn't intend for his Master to play dumb; he'd just treat it as today's daily task.

Provoking the Master (1/1)

However.

After a brief silence.

The Master conveyed a soft thought:

"... Let's talk about it after I regain my memories."

This time it was Dekan's turn to be stunned.

Then he clutched his head and shouted:

"Oh no! It's miracle! My unruly Master, when did you become so gentle? I thought you were going to give me a good scolding!"

The Master's blood pressure immediately spiked.

Dekan's scumbag behavior is clearly quite different from Delois's.

In the past six months, they learned about Delois's past behavior and found that Delois was significantly colder and more profound than Dekan.

Of course, Master didn't have much right to criticize Dekan either, and she was much more lively than Talomati in the Shadow World.

"You...! I really can't treat a piece of trash like you as a brother. Seeing your attitude towards Talomati in the Shadow World, I thought you would be a decent brother. As expected, you're the kind of guy who would abandon his sister for over a decade."

The Master angrily transmitted his thoughts.

"Actually, acknowledging that I'm your older brother has a huge benefit for you that you probably haven't realized yet."

Dekan spoke very rationally and slowly.

"What?"

Although the Master knew that Dekan wouldn't say anything good, she didn't know how to get angry without asking him directly.

"I'm 17 years old now. You call me brother, and you're also my twin sister, so you're 17 years old too."

Almost two years have passed since Dekan enrolled in the Royal Capital.

Now, we are in the height of summer, in August.

He'll be an adult in a few months.

What are you trying to say?

The Master's tone gradually turned cold.

"No teenager in this world would call their younger sister an old woman, you understand?"

Dekan explained earnestly, as if giving a scientific explanation.

Master: "?"

Dekan: "(✿>◡❛)"

A few minutes later.

Dekan passed through the Void Gate of the Shadow World and returned to the real world.

The temporary Void Gate vanished instantly within the Devil King Tomb after Dekan left.

The moment Dekan stepped into the flowers and plants, the Devil King Tomb seemed to welcome its master back, and even the sky brightened amidst the rising wind and clouds.

The flowers and leaves drifted in the wind, bringing a faint fragrance.

The demonic Magic Power that sealed Sion gradually dissipated, revealing her true form.

She staggered twice before finally collapsing to the ground.

Having been sealed away for half a year, if it weren't for the fact that Sion was a ninth-level Astrologer, he would probably have already passed away.

"Teacher Da Zhan, it's been a long time. This Shadow World took a full six months to develop."

Dekan laughed as he watched Sion fall down, looking just like a clumsy reporter.

He used the Demon King's Magic Power to pluck a few fruits from a nearby tree and handed them to Sion.

Without saying a word, Sion started eating, observing Dekan as she munched on the Demon Realm's special fruit.

Besides looking more like a young man, his demeanor has also changed slightly.

How come you have such a big teeth mark on your hand?

Sion's focus is clearly different from that of most people.

"... I bit it myself."

Dekan seemed somewhat at a loss for words, as this was his angry sister controlling his body and retaliating against him.

"Yes, Pope, this is very painful. When the pain gets intense, he doesn't even spare himself."

Sion gave a thumbs up.

Dekan originally wanted to make a few Taunt to Sion, but considering how long Sion had suffered waiting for him at the Devil King Tomb, he decided against it.

"Tell us what you've learned from this Shadow World; it should keep you entertained for a while."

During the year that Sion spent in the Devil King Tomb, his biggest feeling was boredom.

Nothing could be worse than being imprisoned.

Dekan nodded, sat down on the ground, and began to tell Sion about the series of events that happened to him in this Shadow World, as well as the strange traces they discovered in the Holy Capital at the end.

The mysterious entity that Clay mentioned, which might be the source of the chaos, had vanished without a trace long before they arrived in the Holy Capital.

Just like the methods of the Chaos God in the present world, they erased as much evidence of their existence as possible, disguising it as a flawless man-made tragedy.

However, Dekan was absolutely certain of this tactic.

That guy was also a Chaos God.

He didn't want to engage in a direct confrontation with Lunn using [Chaos Unleashing].

Furthermore, Dekan believed that the Chaos God who had been hiding in the Holy Capital was not the former Pope Agamemnon.

It is something with even more disgusting powers.

In the final moments of the Shadow World, Delois, at Lunn's request, embarks on a long journey to investigate the whereabouts of the Chaos God.

"Then the next Shadow World will probably be the final chapter in the story of the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm. The Chaos God's conspiracy, and the storyline connecting to the [Heaven-Piercing World-Destroying Battlefield], should all be in the next Shadow World."

After hearing Dekan's story, Sion murmured to himself.

A year ago, when they were first imprisoned in the Devil King Tomb, she had already Dekan the question Dekan had raised—

Is the tenth-tier Shadow World that will soon arrive in the present world the [Heaven-Piercing World-Destroying Battlefield]?

The result given by [Fate Divination] is "affirmative".

In other words, the present world, perhaps in the near future, will witness the [Heaven-Piercing World-Destroying Battlefield].

Before that, it is crucial to thoroughly investigate the information about the Chaos God and the [Heaven-Piercing World-Destroying Battlefield] in the Holy Kingdom storyline, as it may even directly determine the outcome!

"However, our most important task right now is to return to the mortal realm, regain control of the Kingdom Association, and end this war. You should already have a way to repair the [Spatial Leap Gate], right?"

Sion also learned about the current situation from Dekan, which was roughly what she had expected.

However, at this moment, Dekan looked somewhat troubled.

After a moment of silence, he sighed and finally spoke:

"The current situation is that if I want to purify the Demon King's Magic Power and turn it into enough usable universal energy to power the [Spatial Leap Gate] to take us all out, it will probably take at least a year, and at most several years."

The energy consumption of Spatial Leap Gate unit is related to the unit's strength and the teleportation distance.

Therefore, when Agamemnon needed to transport himself and several other bishops to the southern Philoven Kingdom, he needed the largest energy station in the Northern Nations to do so.

Dekan teleported himself, Agamemnon, Sion to the Devil King Tomb, which was even further away, using the energy hub of the entire Southern States.

If we want to send him and Sion back to the kingdom's territory now, not counting the time it would take to repair the [Spatial Leap Gate], by the time the Demon King's Magic Power is purified, the world map will probably only have the Salon Empire left.

"It's just overload, right? I'll send you out first, and I'll replenish your energy with my own, which will shorten the time it takes to gather energy."

Sion waved his hand, looking indifferent.

The energy required to remove a sixth-tier Dekan is less than a fraction of that required to remove a ninth-tier Sion.

"But you promised you'd come back to save me, and you have to do it as soon as possible. Being sealed away for half a year is just too unbearable!"

Although Sion laughed, her smile was somewhat wry.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be too long. Maybe by the time I come to rescue you, the Salon Empire will already be taken care of."

Dekan's face was full of the confident smile of a sixth-tier expert.

"Hiss--"

Sion did indeed discover a problem.

The sixth-tier Dekan has indeed received an epic buff!

He can now equip the Tier 6 Spell Card [Forced Dispel] himself!

If anyone tries to use [Pain Shield] against Dekan, Dekan can immediately [Forced Dispel] the [Pain Shield] on the other person and then follow up with a series of Underworld judgments!

Without a doubt, Dekan is now at the level of a super-bishop!