"Who's there?" Witch Queen screamed.
"It's me," Ian's figure appeared in her throne room.
"What do you want?" she asked in disgust. She hated men, especially the man in front of her, because her Divination had no effect on him. Not to mention that although he was powerful, he was cursed and was simply synonymous with "imperfection".
"My curse has been lifted, so you'd better watch your tone."
She stared at him for a while and asked again, "What do you want?" This time, her tone was much softer. She still remembered the terrifying magic he released when they first met. At that time, she knew that if they really fought, she would never get anything good.
"I need you to help me find a Demons named Zagred."
After thinking for a moment, Witch Queen waved her hand, and the Crystal ball floating in the distance flew in front of her. She stared at the Crystal ball for a few seconds, and then frowned.
"I can't find him."
"No information at all?" Ian asked.
"No, he seems to have used some kind of magic to hide himself well."
Ian nodded, this result was within his expectation. Although it looks the same on the surface, many events have deviated from the original timeline in the past few years. Before coming here, he also used [Future Vision] to search for Zagred, but found nothing.
Over the years, with the help of Grimoire from Astalos, Ian's achievements in Time Magic have grown exponentially. This time Demons spent a long life developing Time Magic to the extreme and created countless spells. The only drawback is that casting these magics still requires the consumption of "stored time" as a price.
In order to solve this problem, Ian used his identity as the Magic Emperor to hunt down countless monsters to steal their time. But this once affected the ecological balance of the Clover Kingdom, and even attracted the intervention of Cosmic Will, forcing him to stop. So, he established a secret laboratory to clone these animals and steal their time. Although the clones did not have as much time as the original body, they were better than the large number. In short, he now has enough time reserves to perform Time Magic.
Ian thought for a moment. He was wondering whether to use radical means to find Zagred or to lure the snake out of its hole. In the end, he chose the latter, which was less risky.
"In that case, can you find the location of Morris Ribaldit?"
"That Mad Scholar of the Diamond Kingdom?"
"Yes."
"Shouldn't he be at the Diamond Kingdom?" Witch Queen asked sarcastically, but Ian ignored her.
"The one there is just a clone. A few weeks ago, I received information that a member of 'Dark Triad' (Dark Triad) went to see him in person. After verification, I learned that he had been transferred."
Witch Queen nodded and urged the Crystal ball again to Divination. This time, she saw the picture and showed it to Ian.
In Crystal ball, two people are standing in front of a black tree growing upside down and talking.
"How is the progress?" Lucius Zogratis, who once competed with Ian for the position of Magic Emperor, asked.
"I have said many times that creating an artificial 'Gate of the Underworld' is beyond my ability," Morris replied, "If you want to succeed, it is best to capture the leaders of Golden Dawn and Black Bulls."
"Then tell me, what should I do under the nose of that monster magic emperor?" Lucius asked, "Especially now that there are rumors that he has broken the curse. Since you are so smart, why don't you tell me?"
Morris remained silent. "In this case, we need more knowledge to have a chance of winning."
The screen ended abruptly, and Witch Queen could no longer see any more content.
"Dark Triad wants to open the door to Underworld and bring Demons into our world?" she asked, but Ian fell into deep thought and did not answer.
In the comics, Lucifero is the final BOSS. However, after he was defeated, Adrammelech ripped out his heart and gave it to Astalos. Based on this fact, Ian speculates that the latter wants to seize the power of Lucifero and Beelzebub (the other two rulers of Underworld). By then, he will completely control time, space and gravity, reaching unimaginable heights.
But because of the existence of Ian, things become more complicated, because to open Gate of the Underworld, you must have both Vangeance leader (World Tree Magic) and Yami (Dark Magic).
'The only way Morris can find this knowledge is Heart Kingdom. I can use this.' Ian needs Morris's "Reconstruction Magic" to implement one of his plans. However, that kind of magic must be blessed by Devil Power to achieve his requirements. So, he is not in a hurry.
"Where is the information about 'God' that I asked you to check?" Ian asked.
"Nothing was found," Witch Queen replied. Through the perception of "qi", Ian knew that she was not lying, so she nodded.
Over the years, he has been investigating whether gods exist in this world, but has found nothing so far. In the church, he could not find any evidence of the existence of gods. The nuns worshiped only a "concept" that represented power and kindness. Then he investigated Underwater Temple, although because it was in the Clover Kingdom is outside the territory and cannot visit in person, but the spies he sent did not find any real evidence. The people there do not know whether their Sea God is a real god or a powerful magician in the past. They only know that worshiping her is part of the culture.
Since no clues were obtained from Witch Queen, Ian left.
The next day, in Black Bulls's base, Yami was sitting in the middle of the restaurant reading the newspaper. The team members were as noisy as ever. Yami raised his hand and grabbed Asta's head.
"Boy, you are now famous throughout the kingdom."
"Ah?"
Yami handed him a newspaper. Vanessa, Luck and Magna also came over.
The title reads: <Guardians of Demons?: The story of Asta>.
Most of the newspaper's pages are devoted to the life of Asta and his contract with Demons.
"It seems that the Magic Emperor is protecting you," Vanessa said.
"Eh? Why?" Asta looked confused.
"Due to his cruel nature, Demons is not accepted in the kingdom. Most mages who are associated with Demons's power are usually arrested. Although the situation has changed in recent years due to the popularization of 'Demon Contract Ritual' knowledge, many nobles still do not trust the Demons host."
"But I'm not evil," Asta said.
"They don't care," Vanessa replied, "However, with this newspaper's positive report on you and Ian's protection, you don't have to worry about Magic Council bringing you trouble."
"Captain, you read it so carefully, what's written on it?" Luck asked, seeing Yami's serious face.
"See for yourself."
Taking another part of the newspaper, they saw a photo of Captain Purple Orcas being chained, and the article listed all his corruption crimes in detail.
"A regiment leader was arrested for corruption?" Magna shouted, attracting the attention of others.
However, Yami looked at Finral: "There is a group leader meeting, send me there." Finral originally wanted to read the newspaper, but Yami didn't give him a chance to choose. Now, he has become accustomed to serving as a means of transportation.
In the Magic Emperor's castle, the nine captains sat around a rectangular table, with only one seat missing. Everyone was talking about Zora catching another big fish this time. Soon after, Ian came in with his assistant Marx with mushroom hair. Everyone stood up and paid tribute, and did not sit down until he took his seat.
"There are two main things on today's agenda. First, as expected, we need to elect the new leader of Purple Orcas." He looked at the representative of Purple Orcas.
"The team elected me to take over," answered Caesar Granwalka, an older man with a mustache.
"No problem. Marx will handle the official documents," Ian said. "The second thing is, I'm going on vacation. During this period, I will completely cut off contact, and the security of the kingdom will be left to you."
The room fell silent instantly, and no one knew what to do.
"Sir, will you leave a clone to handle the work?" Marx asked.
"No. I will disappear completely for a while."
All the group leaders suddenly felt anxious. They had long been accustomed to the existence of Ian, and they knew that as long as this person was here, nothing really big would happen in the kingdom - especially now that he had regained his freedom. But now, this person said he was leaving.
"Will you come back?" Charlotte, the leader of Blue Rose Knights, asked.
"Of course, it's just a holiday."
"How long will it take?" Crimson Lion King Guild leader Fuegoleon asked.
"I don't know either."
"Okay, do you have any plans?" Yami asked, feeling that things were not as simple as they appeared.
"There is no plan. I have been trapped in this kingdom for decades and cannot see the outside world. So, I am going to explore now; there are some things to investigate by the way."
Subsequently, Ian discussed how to maintain the security of the kingdom, and then dissolved the meeting, leaving only Nozel·Hill Tile.