"Who is there?" screamed the Witch Queen.
"It's me," replied Edward as he appeared in her throne room.
"What do you want?" she asked with disgust. She hated men–especially that man since her divination was useless against him. Not to mention how powerful he was, yet was cursed: that man was the epitome of imperfection.
"I'm no longer curse, so you better watch your tone."
She looked at him for a moment before asking again: "What do you want?" This time, with a softer tone. She remembered the mighty magic power he released the first time they met. Back then, she knew she might have suffered terribly.
"I need you to find a devil named Zagrid for me."
After pondering for a moment, the Witch Queen waved her hand, and the crystal orb floating in the distance flew in front of her. Then, she stared intently at it for a few seconds.
A frown appeared on her face.
"I can't find him."
"Any information at all?" asked Edward.
"No, he seems to be using some magic to hide very well."
Edward nodded as he somewhat expected this outcome. Many events have deviated from the original timeline even though everything looked the same on the surface.
Additionally, before coming here, he used [Future Sight] to search for Zangred but could not find anything. Over the years, Edward's knowledge of Chronomancy has exponentially increased because of Astaroth's Grimoire.
The Time Devil has spent his long life span developing time magic to a truly high level, creating countless spells. The only downside to his Time Magic is that stored time is still needed as a price to cast.
Regarding this issue, Edward hunted countless magic beasts to steal their time, using his status as Wizard King. At some point, his hunting began to affect the balance in the Clover Kingdom's ecosystem, so he had to stop as he felt the intervention of the Universe Will.
So, he created a secret laboratory to create clones of these animals and steal their time. Albeit not as much as regular animals, they made up for it in quantity. In conclusion, he had plenty of time to cast Time Spells.
Edward pondered for a moment; he could use drastic measures to find Zangred or lure him out. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided on the method with less risk: luring him out.
"In that case, can you find the location of Moris Libardit?"
"The mad scholar from the Diamond Kingdom?"
"Yes."
"Shouldn't he be in the Diamond Kingdom?" asked the Witch Queen somewhat sarcastically, but Edward ignored her.
"The one there is nothing but a clone. A few weeks ago, I received the information that one of the Dark Triads personally went to see him. After checking, I learned that a clone replaced him."
She nodded her head before using the crystal for another divination. This time, she saw something before showing it to Edward. In the orb, he saw two people talking in front of a black inverted tree that grew in the ground.
"How is it going?" asked Lucius Zogratis, who once fought against Edward for the position of Wizard King.
"I told you many times that it is beyond my capability to create an artificial Tree of Qliphoth," replied Moris. "If you want to succeed, it's best to capture the Golden Dawn Captain and the Black Bulls' Captain."
"Then, tell me, how do I do this in front of that monster, Wizard King?" replied Lucius. "Especially now there are rumors that he broke his curse. Since you're so intelligent, why don't you tell me?"
Moris did not say anything else. "In that case, I need more knowledge if we want a chance at success."
Then, the divination ended as the Witch Queen could not see anything further.
"The Dark Triad wants to open the gate to the underworld and bring the devils into our world?" she asked, but Edward did not answer her as he was in thought.
In the manga, Lucifero was the final boss. However, Adrammelech took his heart after his defeat before giving it to Astaroth. Based on this fact, Edward speculated that the latter wanted to take the power of Lucifero and Bulzeebub, the other two ruling devils of the underworld.
By then, he will have complete control of Time, Space, and Gravity, reaching an unimaginable height of power. But with his presence, things have become more difficult since they require both Captain Vengeance and Yami to create the Tree of Qliphoth and open the gate to the underworld.
'The only way Moris can find so much knowledge is from the Heart Kingdom. I can use this to my advantage.'
He needed Moris' Modification Magic for one of his plans. But, that magic must also be boosted by the devil's power to reach the height necessary for his requirements. So, he was not in a hurry.
"What about the information I asked you regarding Gods?" asked Edward.
"I did not find anything," replied the Witch Queen. Through her Ki, Edward knew she told the truth, so he just nodded. Over the years, he has investigated whether Gods exist in this world, and so far, his research has yielded no result.
In the church, he could not find any evidence of God. In fact, the sisters did not worship anyone specifically; they worshiped the concept of powerful and benevolent beings that they call God.
Edward then searched in the Underwater Temple in search of the Sea Goddess. Although he could not visit there himself because it was outside of the Clover Kingdom territory, he still sent people to see and secretly investigate.
Unfortunately, he found nothing as well. The people in the temple did not know whether their Sea Goddess was an actual deity or once a powerful mage. They all know that worshiping her is part of their culture.
So, after not finding anything from the Witch Queen, he left.
The next day, Yami sat in the middle of the dining room, reading a newspaper. All the members of the Black Bulls were doing their own things, being as rambunctious as always.
He raised one hand to catch Asta by his head.
"Kid, you're famous all over the kingdom now."
"What?"
Yami then hands him a section of the newspaper. While Asta read the title, Vanessa, Luck, and Magna also appeared next to him:
"A Devil Protector?: The Story of Asta."
Most of the newspaper is about Asta's life and his contract with a devil.
"It seems that the Wizard King is protecting you," said Vanessa.
"Huh, How come?" asked Asta in a puzzled manner.
"Devils are not accepted in the kingdom because of their cruel nature. Most mages related to using their powers are often arrested. Although that has changed in the past few years because knowledge of the Devil Binding Ceremony has become widespread, many nobles still do not trust Devil Host."
"But I'm not evil," said Asta.
"They would not care," replied Vanessa. "However, with this newspaper portraying you in a positive light and with Edward's protection, you don't have to worry about the Magic Parliament trying to deal with you."
"Captain, what are you reading with so much focus?" asked Luck, who saw Yami's serious face.
"See for yourself."
After they took the other part of the newspaper, they saw a moving photo of the Purple Orca's Captain in chains, and the article referred to all his corruption.
"A Captain was arrested for corruption?" yelled Magna aloud, getting the attention of the other members who came to see the newspaper. However, Yami looked at Finral.
"There is a captain meeting, so bring me there."
Finral wanted to read the newspaper, but Yami did not give him any choice. By now, he was used to being a transportation service.
Wizard King's Castle:
All nine captains sat at a rectangular table with one seat missing. Everyone looked at Zora while talking about how he got another big fish this time.
Not long after, Edward entered the room accompanied by his aid, Marx, whose hair looked like a mushroom. Everyone stood up and only sat down once he sat.
"There are two main topics on the agenda. The first, as expected, is to elect a new captain for the Purple Orca Squad." He looked at the representative of the Purple Orca Squad.
"Do you have any idea?"
"The team has elected me to take this position," replied Kaiser Granvorka, an older man with a handlebar mustache.
"That's fine. Marx will fill out the official paperwork," said Edward. "The second thing on the agenda is that I'm going on a vacation. I will not be available for contact during this time, so you guys are in charge of protecting the kingdom."
The room became quiet as no one knew how to respond to this situation.
"Sir, will you leave a clone to do your work?" asked Marx,
"No. I will go completely off the map."
All the captains suddenly felt a little anxiety. They all are used to Edward's presence and knew that as long as this man was present, nothing truly major would happen to this kingdom–especially now that he was free.
But that same person said that he was leaving.
"Are you coming back?" asked Charlotte, Captain of the Blue Rose Squad.
"Of course, this is just a vacation."
"For how long?" asked Fugeleon, Captain of the Vermilion Squad.
"I don't know either."
"Okay, what are you planning?" asked Yami, who felt that things were not simple on the surface.
"'I'm not planning anything. I've been stuck in this kingdom for decades, unable to explore the world. So, I will do that now; plus, I have some things to investigate."
Edward then discussed how to maintain the kingdom's security before dismissing everybody besides Nozel Silva.