Drake proved he deserved to speak with Rhya as an equal, and they finally had a calm conversation.
Rhya scratched his head. "First, you seem to know a lot. I'm curious where you got your information."
Rhya was surprisingly perceptive. Although Drake had made it seem like his knowledge was based on deduction, Rhya was suspicious.
Drake waved his hand. "There are things I can't explain! But I won't harm you."
Rhya, sensing Drake wasn't lying, said, "True. It's all troublesome; it doesn't matter if I don't know. What do you know?"
Drake replied, "You've felt the abnormality in your bodies! That ominous power isn't from the reincarnation magic; it's from something more dangerous. Or rather, is the reincarnation magic what you think it is?"
Rhya's eyes sharpened. "Impossible. Licht used it to revive our people…"
Drake countered, "What kind of person was Licht… the elf king, in your memory?"
Before Rhya could answer, Drake continued, "He was gentle. Would such a gentle person use magic that pollutes souls?"
Rhya was speechless. Since his reincarnation, he'd been consumed by pain and hatred. The gentle Licht wouldn't have subjected his comrades to this.
He found the situation illogical. Licht was a genius, but he hadn't studied reincarnation magic. The Patri who impersonated Licht was also strange; how did he know about collecting magic stones to complete the reincarnation magic?
He hadn't suspected his elf comrades before, but now, he saw many problems.
Since Rhya could discern truth from falsehood, Drake spoke frankly. "It's a demon. The ominous power and the reincarnation magic—the mastermind is a demon."
"A demon?" Rhya said. "That's a legendary being. It's hard to accept."
Drake explained, "Demons live in the Netherworld; they possess powerful, forbidden magic. Manipulating humans is their greatest pleasure.
The Netherworld can't satisfy them; they want to enter the human world. Entering as their true selves is difficult. One way is to use two Netherworld mages who wield special magic as sacrifices to activate the Evil Tree magic and open the Netherworld's gates.
Another way is to drive a mage with a four-leaf clover grimoire to despair; a five-leaf clover grimoire, which demons can inhabit, will be born."
Rhya's pupils constricted; he recalled Licht kneeling in blood and fire with his wife, then remembered Asta's grimoire.
Drake confirmed his guess. "Yes. Licht, chosen by the four-leaf clover 500 years ago, became the demon's target. He incited the greedy human royals to slaughter the elves, aiming to drive your king to despair."
"What?!" Hatred flared in Rhya's eyes. "Because of that?!"
Drake sighed. "I won't excuse the royals; without their greed, the demon wouldn't have succeeded. But the mastermind was the demon. Your king awakened and stopped the demon; that's why the demon used reincarnation magic."
Rhya pondered. "The demon's goal is to drive a four-leaf clover mage to despair, creating a five-leaf clover grimoire… his target is…!"
Drake nodded. "The Eye of the Midnight Sun's leader, the elf boy impersonating Licht. Imagine sacrificing everything for your comrades, only to discover you were a tool. The destruction of one's beliefs is unbearable."
Rhya couldn't verify Drake's information, but he sensed Drake wasn't lying. Drake's explanation made sense; Rhya made his decision.
Rhya scratched his head. "You told me this; you have a plan. What are you going to do?"
Rhya was conflicted. Continuing their plan might fulfill the demon's desires. Stopping meant he couldn't see Licht and the others again.
It was a painful choice; he didn't want the demon to win, as it might break Patri, who was impersonating Licht. But he couldn't abandon his wish to reunite with his comrades.
Understanding Rhya's dilemma, Drake tossed him the magic stone.
Rhya looked at Drake questioningly. "What does this mean?"
Drake said, "Since we're negotiating, let's aim for a win-win situation."
"Win-win?" Rhya was confused.
Drake said, "We don't know what the demon left in your reincarnation magic; completely disrupting his plan might cause unforeseen consequences. And you want to see your comrades again! I'll help you complete the reincarnation magic!"
Rhya shook his head. "What's the point? The reincarnated comrades will be the demon's puppets. Let them remain asleep."
Drake shook his head. "The problem needs solving; we can't end the 500-year tragedy without defeating the demon. Fortunately, this era has the means to defeat demons."
Rhya realized. "That human kid's anti-magic!"
Drake nodded. "Yes, Asta's anti-magic can defeat the demon!"
Rhya asked, "You believe that kid can defeat a legendary demon? He has no magic power!"
Drake said confidently, "Of course! Don't underestimate Asta's power. We're preparing, aren't we? Without confidence, we should surrender!"
"True!" Rhya laughed.
Drake continued, "But we can't involve innocent people. You know the reincarnation magic's side effects; we must prevent your comrades from harming others! And you don't want them suffering because of the demon's magic!"
Rhya said wryly, "So, we need to undo the reincarnation magic? We have Licht's Demon-slayer Sword; it can undo active magic. With that human kid's anti-magic, maybe we can do it."
Drake stroked his chin. "We don't need to be so fixated. I remember your Eye of the Midnight Sun has a mage scholar. She can artificially create bodies with the same magic power. If we prepare soulless bodies, perhaps we can achieve perfect reincarnation when undoing the original reincarnation magic!"
Hope appeared in Rhya's eyes. "Can little Sally do that?"
Drake cautioned, "It's just a hypothesis; we need to research it. I can't help with that; you'll have to work on it."
Rhya sighed. "That's troublesome; our operation is about to begin; we don't have much time."
Drake learned from Rhya that the Eye of the Midnight Sun needed two more magic stones: one from the Wizard King, one from the Witch Queen in the Witches' Forest.
Fana was retrieving the stone from the Witch Queen; the Wizard King was the most challenging.
The Eye of the Midnight Sun planned to reveal their headquarters to lure the Magic Knights' elite forces, weakening the Wizard King's defenses to steal the last stone.
Drake considered delaying them. "I have more information. The elf king's children were twins; one survived the disaster but was sealed away. His descendants still live somewhere. Can you use this to buy time?"
Drake sensed Rhya's distraction during the following discussion, but they successfully agreed on a plan, and then parted ways.
Drake watched Rhya leave using spatial magic, anticipating how much he could change the future.
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