A FREAKING Elemental Guardian? Trevor thought to himself while looking up at the purple sky. The Thunderbird was already gone in the sky, but he could still feel its presence. Are you kidding me? How can someone who's not me own an Elemental Guardian?

Tsk.

He was annoyed because back when he was still a normal human, he used all the resources that his family had just to look for the four famed Elemental Guardians. But of course, to no avail. To think that he would get to see one in this era…

I don't want it if it's not mine.

"Brother…

"

He turned to Rufus Quinzel and almost rolled his eyes when he saw the duke on the verge of crying.

Tsk, he clicked his tongue again.

I can't believe he's the same person who threatened to kick me back to hell if I didn't bring him to where His Majesty is.

"Trevor, what are you doing here?

" His Majesty asked as soon as he and Rufus Quinzel landed in front of the emperor.

"I thought I made it clear to you that I want you to stay in the office and pretend to be me in the meantime.

"

"Change of plans, Your Majesty,

" Trevor said seriously, then he pointed his thumb at Rufus Quinzel whose eyes were still glued to his older brother.

"He came and realized that I wasn't the real you right away. Then, he threatened me so I had no choice but to bring him here.

"

His Majesty scoffed.

"Rufus may have threatened you. But I'm pretty sure you just gave in easily because you wanted to follow Neoma here.

"

He just smiled

"innocently

" at the emperor before changing the subject.

"Your Majesty, I won't stop you if you want to waste your time here. I'll just go ahead and become Princess Neoma's demon-in-shining-armor.

"

The emperor glared at him, then he turned to Rufus Quinzel.

"Rufus,

" he said. But the duke didn't seem to hear His Majesty.

"Rufus Quinzel.

"

Rufus Quinzel, who finally heard the emperor's firm and stern voice, flinched before turning to His Majesty.

"Forgive me for my late greetings, Your Majesty,

" he said, then he bowed.

"I, Rufus Quinzel, have returned.

"

"Welcome back, Rufus,

" His Majesty said.

"Don't ask me about how your brother came back to life because this is also the first time that I saw him. But I've already confirmed that the person right in front of us right now is the real Gavin Quinzel. He came here with Nichole, so we can assume that he's on the Devil's side now.

"

The duke looked shocked by what the emperor said.

"I need to go and stop Neoma from running wild. The crows are also here,

" the emperor said. Then, His Majesty turned more serious and colder than usual.

"Rufus Quinzel, as the emperor of this continent, I order you to apprehend Gavin Quinzel and bring him to me before sunrise.

"

Rufus Quinzel bowed to the emperor.

"I received your order, Your Majesty.

"

"Your Majesty,

" Gavin Quinzel said sternly.

"Are you running away?

"

Trevor whistled, amused at how brave the former commander was for provoking that emperor that way. It's childish but it usually works, especially between rivals. If the young chef or Lewis Crevan used those words to provoke me, I'd be pissed and I'd probably bite the bait–

"Yes, I'm running away,

" Emperor Nikolai said nonchalantly, shocking all of them who heard him.

"I lost my mind for a while but I'm sober now,

" the emperor said while speaking directly to Gavin Quinzel.

"Gavin, if it will boost your ego, then you're free to think that you won this round– you won the fight against the emperor of the continent tonight. My daughter is more important to me than this fight.

"

Trevor slowly clapped his hands.

"Well said, future father-in-law.

"

Of course, His Majesty glared at him.

"You're not going anywhere, Your Majesty,

" Gavin Quinzel said in a threatening voice, his Mana spiking up.

"I will bring Neoma to our side tonight!

"

"Brother!

" Rufus Quinzel yelled angrily, his Mana spiking up as well.

"How dare you speak Princess Neoma's name casually?

"

He wanted to watch the fight between Rufus and Gavin Quinzel.

But when Emperor Nikolai turned his back on the Quinzel Brothers and walked away, he immediately followed his future father-in-law.

"Your Majesty, you shouldn't turn your back on the enemy as casually as you did.

"

The emperor scoffed at what he said.

"Rufus is there. Why should I be worried?

"

It was true that Gavin was a lot stronger than Rufus in the past.

But that may not be the case anymore. Rufus had never stopped getting stronger ever since his older brother

"died.

" He had faith in Rufus.

"Duke Rufus Quinzel, no matter how loyal he is to you, is still Gavin Quinzel's little brother,

" he warned his future father-in-law.

"Your Majesty, blood is thicker than water.

"

"Exactly,

" the emperor said with a smirk.

"Now that Gavin is back, Hanna Quinzel's position as the heiress of the Shadow Beasts is threatened. You probably don't know this yet but Hanna Quinzel needs to master the technique of their family to fix her heart.

"

"Oh, really?

"

"Yes, that's the case,

" the emperor said while nodding his head.

"I won't argue if you say that Rufus still loves his brother despite everything. But between Gavin and Hanna Quinzel, who do you think Rufus would choose?

"

"Since Duke Rufus Quinzel is known as a fool for his daughter, then I'd say he'll choose Hanna Quinzel.

"

"That's correct…

" Emperor Nikolai said, then he paused to turn to him with a glare.

"Why are you walking beside me?

"

Trevor just laughed it off, then he took five steps backward before bowing to the emperor. He couldn't lose to the owner of the Elemental Guardian. Thus, he had to suck up to his future father-in-law by acting polite as much as he could.

"After His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Nikolai of the Great Moonasterion Empire.

"

***

"STAY BACK,

" Juri Wisteria said as she hid Greko behind her.

"Jeno Dankworth, if the situation gets worse, take the child and run away from here.

"

"Huh?

" Jeno Dankworth asked.

"Are you saying that you can't beat those small fries?

"

She glared at the young lord.

But then, she realized that he was correct.

She didn't want to admit this but she panicked a bit when a legion of enemies came out of the fortress. All of them had their faces covered with different weird-looking masks. They also varied in size. Some of them didn't even look human anymore.

There were even three (medium-sized) giants at the back of the army and a few winged creatures (that looked very ugly especially if compared to the Thunderbird) flying above them.

The loud jeers of the enemies were also quite intimidating.

There's a reason for my hesitation!

Although she was used to getting into fights, this was the first time that she faced so many enemies. It was true that she and Jeno were stronger than most of the enemies before them, but that didn't change the fact that they were outnumbered.

I think there are more than one hundred enemies gathered in front of the gate…

"Just plow through those small fries,

" Jeno urged her casually. Then, he opened his hands. A few moments later, the arrogant jerk was already holding a rifle in his arms.

"Why are you afraid when I'm here to back you up?

"

The smug look on the jerk's face snapped her back to reality.

Yeah, why should she be afraid of those

"small fries

" anyway? Quality versus quantity! She and Jeno might pull this off.

Right?

"I-I will also support you,

" Greko said. His round body was trembling and so was his voice. But the child's face looked determined.

"I can make a shield for you, Sister Juri.

"

Ah, she should be ashamed of herself.

An abused and an enslaved child was offering her support when she was supposed to be the one protecting them.

She slapped both of her cheeks.

It obviously surprised Jeno and Greko. Moreover, her cheeks sting at the moment. But thanks to that, her mind was clear now.

I can't act like a coward when Princess Neoma is alone inside that fortress.

"Let's go,

" Juri said firmly, then she opened her right hand. When her iron sledgehammer manifested, she grabbed it right away.

"Our master is waiting for us.

"

Jeno and Greko, who suddenly looked more determined after being reminded of Princess Neoma, nodded and answered at the same time.

"For our master.

"

***

"I WANT kimchi fried rice with wagyu cubes and egg on top,

" Neoma told Veton that was still seated on her palm. The Thunderbird, after completing its last task, was now saying goodbye to her. But before it leaves, the mystical bird wanted to know what she wanted to eat after all of this was over.

"Some soondubu jjigae would be nice, too. Ah, it's similar to kimchi stew. The difference is soondubu jjigae has soft tofu in it.

"

"Thug prince, what the hell are you saying in front of your little enemies?

" Tteokbokki, still in his red dragon form, asked in a bored voice.

"Can we please start burning them to ashes now?

"

She glared at her Soul Beast.

"Don't say such violent things in front of Veton. Don't corrupt his innocence.

"

The red dragon looked like he wanted to breathe fire at her.

"Wow. I can't believe you're treating that stupid bird better than me!

"

"Tteokbokki, jealousy doesn't look good on you.

"

Her Soul Beast thumped his fist against his chest with a frustrated look on his face.

"I'd probably be the first dragon in history to die of chest pain because of the frustration from not being able to strangle his master.

"

"What a drama king,

" she complained, then she turned to Veton with a smile.

"Tteokbokki is acting weird so I guess it's best if you leave now, Veton. Please return to your master safely.

"

Veton made a soothing hum before it burst into a warm, purple light.

And now that the Thunderbird was gone…

It's showtime.

She smiled at the people in front of the room where Veton led her to.

"Thank you for waiting, everyone.

"

The leader of the pack was a tall and lanky dude with orange hair and hazel eyes. The man had a terrible posture and fashion sense but she wouldn't comment on his latex suit. But she would commend the way he crouched while looking at her with sharp, glowing eyes.

This must be Prism– the one Jeno Dankworth described as Lewis's kidnapper.

And judging by the puppet-like redheaded people behind the man called Prism, she could say that they were the dead Red Fox clan members that Prism stole Beads from.

So, it's safe to assume that this man could reanimate his dead clan members.

"Welcome to my floor, Prince Nero,

" Prism greeted her in a delighted voice.

"I've been waiting for this moment– the moment to finally meet you.

"

"I understand,

" she said while nodding her head.

"If I were you, I would want to meet myself, too.

"

The red fox looked shocked by her response. Then, he laughed while clapping his hands.

"You're really a fun person, Prince Nero!

" he said, now hopping in joy.

"Please accept me as Lewis Crevan's replacement, Your Royal Highness! I can serve you better than him anyway!

"

"Do you want to serve me that badly?

" she asked with a raised brow.

"Is that the reason why you hurt Lewis?

"

He grinned and nodded like a child.

"That wild fox doesn't deserve you, Prince Nero!

" He patted his chest.

"Please make me your slave instead of Lewis Crevan!

"

She let out a deep sigh while shaking her head.

"I was planning to maul the face of the person who mauled my son's face. But looking at your face now, I can see that it already looks unfortunate.

"

The bastard finally stopped grinning like an idiot.

"I'm sorry but I only accept good-looking people. You're too ugly for my taste,

" she said, provoking the red fox. Then, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Just looking at you is enough to make me want to puke.

" She acted like she was disgusted, then she waved her hand dismissively.

"I refuse to waste an ounce of my Mana on you.

"

It wasn't that she was merely disrespecting Prism.

She just honestly didn't have the time to

"play

" with him. And yes, she was conserving her energy. She wanted her full strength when dealing with the person who bought Lewis.

"Don't underestimate me, Prince Nero,

" the red fox snarled at her.

"If you don't fight me seriously, I might end up killing you!

"

"I won't underestimate you, but I still won't fight you,

" Neoma said. Then, she gathered her Mana in her heart. Her eyes turned glowing red, and she could also tell that the strands of her hair turned pink (with some strands darker).

"Lisica and Rustin Crevan, come out.

"

***

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***

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