Reminder X Recall X Reason

Chrollo's coin exploded into a shower of sparks at the Max Elephant elephant's trunk. The giant elephant, in pain, turned its head, and its charging trajectory grazed Jiang Ye's side by half a meter. The resulting gust of wind made the boy stagger two steps, and the soles of his shoes plowed two shallow furrows in the gravel.

Jiang Ye steadied himself and looked up at the figure in the long black trench coat on the pile of scrap metal.

Chrollo stood with one hand in his pocket, his gray-black eyes calm and undisturbed, as if he had merely flicked away an annoying insect.

The Shalnark standing to his side and behind him fiddled with the antenna, a smirk playing on his lips, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Jiang Ye and Max Elephant.

"Commander."

The Shalnark took a half step closer and lowered his voice.

"This little devil's energy is almost depleted, and that elephant is still going berserk."

"Should we...?"

"No rush."

Chrollo interrupted him, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ye.

"Your breath is almost gone."

He tilted his head slightly, his tone indifferent.

"How do you plan to handle this elephant?"

Jiang Ye did not answer immediately.

His mind was racing.

The Max Elephant's crimson eyes had locked onto the nearest living creature again, and three standard-bearers were approaching Nubia, while Grey Elder's gunmen had re-established their defensive line in the distance.

As for himself, he had less than 20% of his energy left. Maintaining the presence of Nue and Toad was already like walking a tightrope; if it dragged on any longer, he wouldn't even be able to maintain Shadow Stealth.

Subjugation?

It's impossible.

The ironclad rules of the Exorcism Ritual flashed through his mind; the moment a third party intervened, the subjugation judgment became invalid.

Nubia and three standard-bearers made their move the moment the elephant Max Elephant, and the Grey Elder's gunmen also unleashed their firepower upon it.

This elephant is destined to remain today.

That leaves only one path.

"Chrollo."

Jiang Ye spoke, his voice more steady than expected.

"Was what you just did to me helping me or hurting me?"

Chrollo's lips twitched slightly, so slightly as to be almost imperceptible.

"Consider this a reminder."

"OK."

Jiang Ye nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He reached his right hand into the Shadow Space, his fingertips touching the safety pin of the last grenade. He paused for a moment, then released it.

He didn't take it out; he simply formed the hand seals again.

With fingers interlocked, thumbs touching, backs of hands arched outwards, middle and ring fingers bent inwards, and index and little fingers curled into an ivory shape, the shadow of the hand was cast on the gravel ground in the outline of a giant elephant with its head held high.

"Max Elephant."

Jiang Ye's voice was eerily clear amidst the smoke of battle.

"Back to the cage."

Chrollo's eyebrows twitched.

The Shalnark straightened up on the pile of scrap metal, and the antenna in his hand stopped spinning.

Nubia's pupils contracted sharply.

He didn't understand what "returning to the cage" meant, but he could see that Jiang Ye was channeling his energy into the hand shadows in an almost suicidal way.

The twelve-year-old boy's face turned from pale to ashen, cold sweat dripped from his forehead onto the gravel, and his hands trembled visibly.

What is he going to do?

The flag bearer of the Conjuration spoke with a strained tone.

"He's taking that elephant back!"

The Windblade Flag Bearer was the first to react, his expression changing drastically.

"Stop him!"

Nubia's face turned ashen, and golden flames reformed on his fist.

"It's too late, he can't hold on for a second summons..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Ye slammed his hands down, the shadows of his hands hitting the ground.

The shadow beneath my feet grew enormously.

The black shadows surged up like a tsunami, spreading across the ground towards the Max Elephant's limbs.

The Max Elephant let out a furious bellow and lashed its trunk at Jiang Ye, but Jiang Ye did not dodge.

"Muddy!"

A giant black and white dog pounced from the side, biting the end of the elephant's trunk and using the momentum of the impact to deflect the trunk's trajectory by half a meter.

"Toad!"

A massive, grayish-brown body sprang out from the shadows behind Jiang Ye, its long tongue coiling Max Elephant's left hind leg and yanking it sharply.

The Max Elephant staggered a step, and in that brief moment, the shadow had already climbed onto its four hooves, the black shadow coiling and tightening around its body as if it were alive.

A flash of rage crossed the Max Elephant's crimson eyes. With a sudden twist of its body, it flung the Divine Dog: Totality away, but the Toad's long tongue clung tightly to its hind legs.

Jiang Ye pressed his hand shadow down another inch onto the ground, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, and the speed at which the shadow closed suddenly increased.

"Give me..."

Jiang Ye squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.

"Go back!"

The screen, like a closed curtain, enveloped the Max Elephant's body from all sides.

The elephant's bellow changed from anger to hoarseness, from hoarseness to a deep groan, and finally to a muffled sound coming from the depths of the earth.

boom.

The outline of the Max Elephant collapsed and shrank on the screen, turning into a thick mass of black that merged back into the ground.

A few breaths later, only a calm shadow remained in the center of the battlefield, and Jiang Ye stood swaying precariously in the center of the shadow.

The Max Elephant have disappeared.

The entire room fell silent!

The three flag bearers froze on the spot, Nubia's fist stopped in mid-air, and Grey Elder's gunmen forgot to fire.

Chrollo looked at Jiang Ye, a hint of genuine interest finally appearing in his dark gray eyes.

He put the coin back into his pocket and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.

He took the Nen Beast back.

The Shalnark jumped down from the pile of scrap metal and landed next to Chrollo, his tone tinged with surprise.

"I thought he was going to fight to the death."

"A direct confrontation is a dead end."

Chrollo said.

He chose to live.

The Shalnark tilted his head.

"But his current temper..."

Chrollo didn't reply.

Jiang Ye was indeed about to collapse.

My legs were trembling, my vision was blurring at the edges, and the air in my chest felt like it had been drained from a pool.

Even maintaining the energy of the Toad and the nue was becoming difficult; the Toad's outline began to flicker slightly, and the nue's low-altitude circling trajectory became erratic.

But he didn't fall; in fact, he smiled.

He looked up at Nubia.

Nubia.

Jiang Ye's voice was hoarse, but every word was as clear as if it were carved in stone.

"Your standard-bearer, Tie Liao, is dead in District 13."

Nubia's face was so dark it could drip water.

"You brought two hundred men, and more than a dozen of them were trampled to death by a disobedient beast. The three flag bearers couldn't even scratch it."

Nubia clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.

"And I."

Jiang Ye pointed to himself.

"I only used one Shikigami that even I couldn't control."

"Your Dawn Society has completely lost face today."

Nubia's pupils contracted sharply.

"You're asking for it!"

Golden flames surged, Nubia charged towards Jiang Ye like a cannonball, the milky white aura covering her fist so thick it was almost dripping.

Jiang Ye didn't move.

He simply tilted his head and looked in Chrollo's direction.

"Chrollo."

Jiang Ye's voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the room could hear it.

"You just said you respect my choice."

Chrollo looked at him.

Now I'm giving you a choice.

Jiang Ye raised his hand and pointed at Nubia, who was charging towards him.

"Help me block this, and I'll give you a reason."