---
The Cracks Appear
The war had reached a boiling point.
The once-proud Spade Kingdom's military might was beginning to fracture under the constant coordinated assault. Though outwardly the Dark Triad still held much of the battlefield, behind the curtains, invisible forces steadily dismantled their advantage.
Inside the floating dimensional chamber, Avi sat cross-legged in front of the massive holographic projection map. Dozens of glowing data streams danced in the air around him—each one representing ongoing battlefield situations, troop movements, mana flows, devil activities, and ritual energy fluctuations.
> [System Interface Active]
[Qliphoth Tree Disruption Progress: 78%]
[Enemy Supplies Remaining: 42%]
[Captured Ritual Nodes: 23 of 27]
Avi (quietly smiling):
"We're approaching the threshold. Soon, the entire structure will collapse like a house of cards."
Every successful sabotage strengthened Avi's grip on the entire war. His puppets had infiltrated not only the outer war zones but deep into the Spade capital itself. He could see nearly every move the enemy made.
---
A New Intrusion — The Second Devil Layer Activation
Suddenly, one of the alerts flashed in crimson:
> [Emergency Update: Qliphoth Phase 2 Initiated — Second Gate Devils Released]
The ritual chamber below cracked open further, allowing multiple high-tier devils from the second layer to slip into the mortal world.
Massive dark clouds billowed over the Spade Kingdom as dozens of grotesque, horrific devil forms surged across the battlefield, turning the tide sharply back toward the Dark Triad.
Explosions of cursed mana rocked entire divisions of Clover Kingdom soldiers.
---
Fuegoleon's Frontline Struggles
Fuegoleon stood at the forefront, his Salamander roaring in rage as waves of devils rushed toward his squadron.
Fuegoleon (shouting):
"Hold the line! Burn them down!"
He summoned towering pillars of flame, incinerating multiple devils instantly. But more kept coming, their grotesque forms regenerating under the heavy cursed mana.
In the distance, Jack the Ripper and Nozel battled fiercely to hold other sectors. Yet even their impressive strength was starting to be tested.
---
Asta and Yuno Face the Elite
In the sky above, Asta and Yuno faced an even greater challenge — the sudden arrival of high-ranking devil hosts under Lucifero's faction. These elite soldiers had waited for the second gate's opening.
Elite Devil Host:
"You pests were doing well against the trash. But we are not like them."
Asta gripped his anti-magic swords tightly, feeling the oppressive cursed mana trying to crush him. Yuno summoned Spirit Dive, his wind armor glittering as Sylph's power flowed into him.
Asta (gritting teeth):
"No matter what you send... we'll cut through it all!"
The intense aerial battle commenced — anti-magic slashes carving through cursed spells, while Yuno's Spirit of Zephyr sliced through their defenses like a divine blade.
---
Avi's Quiet Intervention
Watching the overwhelming shift in power, many commanders feared the worst. But Avi remained calm. This was exactly the scenario he had accounted for.
> [System Command: Phase 3 Countermeasures — Initiate Stealth Puppet Protocol]
Suddenly, dozens of invisible Origin Puppets — those kept dormant until this moment — silently activated across the battlefield.
They interfered in small, precise ways:
Redirecting falling debris away from injured squads.
Creating thin dimensional distortions that slightly weakened devil attacks.
Quietly deflecting certain cursed mana waves to prevent complete squad collapses.
Intercepting mortally wounded captains and shifting them into protected zones.
It was subtle enough that no one noticed direct intervention, but the battle's balance subtly stabilized.
Avi (calmly):
"I cannot stop the battle's chaos. But I can control its survival rate."
---
System Update — Origin Mind Eye Activation
> [System Notification: Origin Mind Eye (Version 2.0) Active]
[Future Outcome Prediction Rate: 92% Accuracy]
With his enhanced prediction system, Avi could now see dozens of probable futures unfolding.
In some, Fuegoleon would have been severely wounded by a devil ambush.
In others, Asta and Yuno would be overwhelmed during a specific combination attack.
But Avi's timely interventions quietly prevented those outcomes.
---
Nacht's Growing Suspicion
Far across another battlefield, Nacht Faust, while leading infiltration teams, continued sensing the anomalies.
Every time they reached the brink of defeat, an impossible coincidence would occur — an enemy's fatal strike missing by inches, an explosion being blocked by random debris, teammates rescued from certain death.
Nacht (thinking intensely):
"No... this isn't coincidence. Someone's bending fate itself."
He had begun to theorize that a force — separate from Julius, separate from the devils — was orchestrating the flow of battle at an invisible level.
---
Lucius Watches the Shadow Master
And still, above it all, Lucius Zogratis continued his observations.
Through his own time manipulation and clairvoyant abilities, he glimpsed fragmented shadows of Avi's interventions.
Lucius (smiling softly):
"You grow bolder. You guide the outcome without ever taking the stage yourself. But soon, you'll have no choice but to reveal yourself when the final key turns."
---
Avi's Internal Dilemma
Even Avi, for the first time in many chapters, felt the strain of prolonged manipulation.
His mental map of the battlefield constantly updated.
> [System Load: 78%]
[Origin Mind Eye: 92% Stable]
[Dimensional Anchors: 83% Secure]
He whispered to himself inside the chamber:
Avi (whispering):
"This is approaching the limit of what I can manipulate without exposure."
He had to walk a razor-thin line — always intervening just enough, but not so much as to draw attention to himself.
---
A Hidden Crisis — The Sudden Move by Morris
Without warning, one of his Origin Puppets near the Spade Capital transmitted an emergency feed:
> [System Alert: Morris Initiating Emergency Ritual Override]
Morris had discovered backup rituals that would stabilize the Qliphoth acceleration, undoing much of Avi's prior sabotage.
In his madness, Morris sought to unleash even higher devils immediately.
Morris (laughing maniacally):
"Let us pull down the entire world into the Underworld!!"
---
Avi's Swift Counter
Without hesitation, Avi initiated his most secret backup protocol.
> [System Command: Activate Origin Sub-Dimensional Collapse — Morris Node]
A controlled, localized spatial collapse ripped through Morris' hidden laboratory — destroying his emergency override ritual without destabilizing the rest of the structure.
Morris barely survived, crawling from the wreckage as his devices exploded around him.
> [System Report: Morris Ritual Override — Neutralized.]
Avi (coldly whispering):
"Not today, lunatic."
---
The War's Momentum Shifts Again
The collapse of Morris's override caused severe instability across the remaining Qliphoth nodes.
The Dark Triad's faces twisted in rage as they felt their ritual losing stability once again.
Vanica (screaming):
"Who keeps sabotaging us?!"
Zenon (clenching fists):
"This war isn't being fought on the battlefield alone."
They began searching desperately for signs of internal betrayal — still blind to the real manipulator.
---
Julius Makes a Cryptic Observation
Back at Clover HQ, even Julius noticed the increasingly strange patterns in the war reports.
Julius (quietly):
"Certain outcomes seem... too convenient. As if someone rewrites disaster moments before they occur."
His gaze briefly landed on Avi, who sat silently beside Asta at the base council.
For a split second, their eyes met.
Julius (internally):
"You... might be far more interesting than even I realized."
---
Lucius' Ultimate Move Approaches
Far away, Lucius finally stood from his throne, as his Time Magic pulsed like a beating heart.
Lucius (grinning):
"Enough testing. It's time to begin my entry into this stage."
The true puppeteer behind the Spade Kingdom began preparing his first true direct move — not against Clover Kingdom… but against Avi Caesar himself.
---
Avi's Final Preparation
Inside his dimensional world, Avi ran simulations at maximum speed.
> [System Simulations Running: Multiple Parallel Scenarios Analyzed]
[Threat: Lucius Zogratis — Priority Level: Absolute]
Avi (thinking deeply):
"Your game starts now, Lucius. But you underestimate one thing — I've always prepared for shadows beyond the shadows."
The stage for the ultimate battle of masterminds was finally approaching.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED]