The night passed by since the whole elf fiasco ended. The elves who were turned into bronze statues by Sekke were 'purified' with the help of Willam and Asta's magic and it finally let the humans rightfully claim their bodies back.
Most things were finally settling down but the kingdom was still in chaos. Though the threat was gone for now, the populace was still hesitant about the situation.
Still, the magic knights who gave their all for the battle that occurred last night were finally able to get some well-deserved rest.
Despite that, there was a group of knights that were currently having an audience at the Magic Knight headquarters.
"Now, then...All of you worked very hard. The battle has ended, and now we can live happily ever after...or so I would like to say."
A kid who looked even younger and shorter than Asta stood in front of Asta, Noelle, Mimosa, and Secre.
All of them were in a bad state with the girls' eyes looking swollen while both of Asta's fists were swollen and covered in dried blood. His eyes were swollen as well and this easily told the onlookers that all of them were crying till not so long ago.
And that was the truth as well, if not for the order, they would not be willing to stand in front of some unknown brat who was talking as if he was some big shot.
"This ki...Captain Yami...is he..." asked Asta in a shaky voice.
"*Sigh*Yes, this brat is the old man wizard king."
"Eh?!?!"
All of them except for Secre reacted at the sudden revelation wondering how the hell the man who should be dead was standing in front of them and that too linking young at that.
All of them had that question but Asta immediately put that at the back of his mind and stepped forward.
"Wizard King!!! Please!!! Can you get Sekke out of that place?!?!" requested Asta.
Hearing the girls including Secre looked at Julius with a hopeful gaze, but Yami simply frowned. He had asked the same question earlier and he knew what the answer was going to be.
"....I am sorry Asta-kun, I don't have that kind of power...I am really sorry."
Hearing his answer the small hope that appeared in Asta's heart died down.
"....F*ck...."
For the first time in his life, Asta felt an emotion like that. He didn't know what it was but he simply wanted to let out some steam out of him.
"...Can you please excuse me? I want to be alone for a while," asked Secre who had been quiet for the whole time, and without even receiving a reply she transformed into her bird form and flew out of the HQ.
"...I want to be excused as well," said Asta and he simply bowed to the wizard king before saluting him and walking away as well.
All of them knew what Asta and Secre did was very disrespectful, but none of them voiced their complaints.
"*Sigh* Looks like I was too hasty to call them...I apologize to you two as well, Noelle-kun, Mimosa-kun. I am sorry for my inability to do something about all this. You both can go and rest as well. And thank you for the great service and risking your life for the Clover kingdom." said Julius in a dejected tone.
Noelle and Mimosa were flushed by his actions and told him that it wasn't his fault but they too were still pretty shocked because of what happened last night.
The two of them soon excused themselves leaving behind Julius and Yami in the room.
"What about you Yami? How are you feeling about all this?" asked Julius.
"....It feels pretty shitty knowing that I got saved by one of my brats....and that I wasn't able to save them back..."
"...I don't know why, but somehow I feel the same as well...Maybe it's because he saved the people of the kingdom when it was my duty to do so, and yet I am unable to help him."
"Don't beat yourself up old man in a brat's body. You did what you could, you should feel glad that you are alive. People don't usually get do-overs in life ya know."
"*Sigh* It's easier said than done..."
"I agree to that."
The magic knight captain and the wizard king sighed simultaneously and felt that they needed to be prepared for dangers that were going to haunt them.
The loss of a man who sacrificed himself time and time again for the sake of the Clover kingdom was going to cause a huge uproar and they knew that they had to face the citizens who would question their ability after such an incident, but they had to face them on. They were not going to let the kingdom that was saved by the efforts of magic knights like Sekke fall and waste the effort that they poured into it.
---------Meanwhile a certain dark lord---------
"So, do I need to poop while I am in this dragon body?" asked a certain dark lord in his dragon form.
".....So we are finally out of things to talk about, huh?" groaned Vritra.
"Well, it can't be helped, I have been feeling strangely energetic in this form and I am nowhere near depleted to be back in my human form, if that is possible," replied Sekke.
"That's one problem, my other half. What about the other problem of the exit of the palace being destroyed? How are you planning to leave this place?"
"Haven't got to that part yet, I am hoping that my space cutting works, but even Yami-san's space cutting didn't destroy the palace so...."
"....In other words, we are stuck here till death?"
"Oi! Don't jinx it, you bastard!"
"Don't call me a bastard. I am a pure-blooded dragon king of might prowess."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. The one who struck terror through its tentacle play."
"Huh? What the hell did you-"
Vritra was in the middle of a complaint when all of a sudden both he and Sekke felt a mana surge in the devastated palace.
A giant tremor occurred in the space above them and a golden portal appeared.
The dragon who was lying around peacefully simply looked up wondering if it was yet another enemy attack.
"...Divine energy...no it's similar but it's still different from divine energy. My other half, be careful.....and hope that whoever they might be, they are not into mating with animals," warned Vritra.
'...What the f*ck?'
"You can't be sure with gods and other divine creatures," replied Vritra.
Hearing his words, Sekke remembered some of the tales of gods from his previous life and subconsciously his asshole clenched.
The portal shimmered suddenly and nearly a thousand people clad in white came out of the portal.
"Wow~This place really got f*cked up pretty bad. Well, that's the issue for the construction team, now where is that juicy draconic presence that we felt earlier~"
The man who seemed to be the leader of the group that came out of the portal said in a calm tone while looking around the destroyed shadow palace.
Sekke who was quite a few floors below was not noticed by the group yet, but the words that came out of the man's mouth were heard by the dragon's excellent hearing.
"...Clench up and be ready to fight my other half. I won't forgive you if something unspeakable happens to my body," said Vritra in a serious tone.
'You don't need to tell me twice. No way in hell am I letting them anywhere near me.' replied Sekke in a serious tone as he got ready for yet another battle.