To Ye Chui and their astonishment, the ones leading the group were none other than the president of the Bullhead Magic Guild, the Magic Swordsman Thorne. In the garden, he had been severely injured by Jirga and had quietly vanished from the battlefield. Now, reappearing, he seemed fully recovered, but what shocked them most was his pair of blood-red eyes. Ye Chui and Debbie exchanged a glance, realising that the devil’s disappearance was likely connected to Thorne.
“I can hear the roar of the dragon. It’s in that room. Hand it over, and I’ll grant you power,” Thorne stepped forward, speaking in a sharp voice utterly unlike his usual rough tone.
His red eyes coldly fixed on the gates of the Goddess’s Palace.
These words confirmed Ye Chui and Debbie’s suspicions: Thorne was now the Red Devil.
Debbie silently took out her summoning key. A holy, radiant door appeared beside her. As it opened, white wings unfurled, and a Valkyrie in a white battle dress stepped out, majestic and imposing. She nodded to Ye Chui and Debbie in gratitude for summoning her again, then turned to Thorne. Unlike the magic guards that operated like simple AI through magic arrays, she could easily discern the devil’s aura.
In an instant, she conjured a radiant sword, her powerful presence erupting as she pointed it at Thorne, letting out a battle cry: “Jijijijijiji—”
“Yargh!” the devil Thorne roared in anger, swinging his massive fists as if venting frustration. He drew the black longsword from his back and advanced toward the Valkyrie, shouting to the others, “Kill them, slaughter them all!”
Bilith, Edel, and Tumu appeared altered, as if partially under the devil’s control.
Yet Tumu, remembering his duty as a Shadow Swordsman, employed a sudden assault technique. His body blurred with afterimages as he charged at Mayor Cass. As the Valkyrie Jiji clashed with the devil Thorne, Tumu reached the platform.
Then, with a flash of swordlight and a gust of wind, Cass swung his greatsword in a wide arc. Amid a “clang” of impact, Tumu’s attack was deflected, and he crashed into a decayed low table, shattering it.
Cass, gripping his greatsword, advanced toward Tumu.
His fighting spirit reignited, not just from the motivational words Ye Chui had forced upon him, but because he had awakened, transforming back into the Storm Swordsman of three years ago.
He let out a mighty roar: “Come on, let’s fight to our heart’s content!”
Shadows began to writhe before the Goddess’s Palace as the Shadow Mage Edel sought to sneak inside.
Ye Chui had tried storing the dragon egg in his magic book’s [Storage Space], but for some reason, perhaps due to its unique nature, the book couldn’t contain such a powerful divine object. So, Ye Chui and Debbie had hidden the egg in the Goddess’s Palace, in a place no one would guess: Debbie had stuffed it into the golden toilet in the palace’s bathroom.
A figure suddenly blocked the palace entrance, the Spatial Mage Green. Looking at the indistinct shadow in the darkness, Green said coldly, “I won’t let you pass, Edel.”
“Heh, Spatial Mage, you think a weakling like you can stop me?” Edel mocked, a hand gripping a dagger emerging from the shadows, swiftly attacking Green.
Then, with a whoosh, a cloud of grey powder filled the air, followed by coughing. Edel’s arm retreated, and the shadow seemed to step back: “Cough, cough… what is this?”
“Pepper powder,” Green said, somewhat embarrassed. He waved his hand over his magic book, producing another handful of grey pepper powder. “I’ve heard that shadow magic, at its highest level, can merge the body completely with shadows. But you’re not at that level. You may vanish from my sight and suppress your presence, but you’re still physical. How’s the pepper taste?”
Green, a Spatial Mage, had never prepared his spatial magic for combat. His magic book’s [Storage Space] held everyday items useless for battle, like gambling tools and picnic supplies. The Blue Horn Guild relied on him for utensils and condiments during outings.
“A dirty trick! You think this can stop me?” Edel roared.
“I’ve got chilli powder, salt, and fennel powder. Want to try those too?” Green asked.
“Aaah!” Edel screamed in fury. He wasn’t usually so quick to anger, but the devil’s temptation seemed to have altered his personality. A gust seemed to rise from the dark shadows, strong enough to keep the irritating powders at bay. The dagger extended from the shadows again.
Then, crash, smash, bang! Dice, playing cards, and a pile of unrotted bowls, plates, jugs, and cups Green had collected from the low tables were hurled out, raining down on Edel like a storm of junk.
Edel let out another furious “Aaah!” and retreated further.
Before the palace gates, Green held an armful of junk, raising a broken cup and saying earnestly to Edel, “I’ve got plenty more where that came from.”
To fight Edel, he had prepared thoroughly, collecting a heap of rubbish.
“It seems he’s found the Spatial Mage’s way of fighting,” Ye Chui, watching from the side, couldn’t help but say.
Debbie nodded, “It’s got your style.”
Er, did that mean shameless enough?
At that moment, Ye Chui and Debbie turned their attention from Green to Bilith, who was approaching them.
Bilith’s alluring face now carried an eerie, ferocious air. He let out a grating, shrill laugh, pointing a delicate finger at Debbie: “Little girl, I’ll give you one more chance. Hand over the Platinum Knight’s contract. You can’t summon two spirits. Since you’ve called the Valkyrie, you’ve no fighting strength left, right?”
Behind him, a grotesque giant made of mud appeared, a magical creature born from Bilith’s twisted fantasies, an evil summoned beast. It felt far more terrifying than the tentacle monsters or giant worms he had summoned before. Clearly, Bilith had succumbed to the devil’s temptation, his power now far greater.
Ye Chui looked at Debbie.
Debbie smirked, her small face brimming with confidence: “Ignorant summoner, pretending to be noble. You’re not worthy! You clearly don’t know about a type of spirit called the ‘Possessing Spirit,’ do you?”
“Possessing Spirit?” Bilith faltered.
Debbie took a deep breath. Her black hair began to flutter, and her dark eyes slowly took on a wild green hue. Her petite frame seemed to gain strength. She continued, “A Possessing Spirit merges with its host, becoming one. In this state, it doesn’t count toward the spirit summoning limit. For example, now…”
As she spoke, Debbie’s fair face grew paler, as if covered in thick powder. Dark eyeshadow appeared under her eyes, and her lips turned blood-red. She flashed a manic smile.
She now resembled a clown.
Her clown spirit had five forms: joy, sorrow, anger, madness, and terror.
Ye Chui had seen the first three. Debbie had mentioned she could summon the mad clown, but it was uncontrollable, leaving her with bad memories from the one time she tried. Now Ye Chui saw what the mad clown was: it possessed its host, turning them into the Mad Clown.
“Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh heh…” Clown Debbie let out a strange laugh, waving her hand to produce a delicate knife. Her small hands juggled it, her eyes fixed on Bilith. At that moment, Bilith felt a chill. Though the girl was nearly two heads shorter, he sensed an overwhelming danger.
“Debbie?” Ye Chui asked, surprised.
Clown Debbie’s head twisted at an odd angle, flashing Ye Chui a creepy smile. The next moment, she vanished, not teleporting, but moving with incredible speed in this state. With a cry of pain, Bilith collapsed, Debbie standing atop him.
“Heh heh, I’ve had enough of that face. I’ll crush it, crush it, crush it…” Muttering to herself, Debbie’s feet stomped on Bilith’s face like a jackhammer, slap slap slap slap.
“Enough!” Bilith shouted.
The mud giant he summoned charged, its massive hand grabbing for Debbie.
But Debbie nimbly leapt off Bilith, landing on the giant’s side. Her delicate knife stabbed into its leg with lightning speed, accompanied by her own sound effects: “Shoo shoo shoo, shoo shoo shoo—”
The mud giant’s mouth split into a terrifying gash, as if roaring, its hand reaching for its leg. But Debbie dodged again, leaping to its back, attacking its other leg: “Shoo shoo shoo, shoo shoo shoo—”
Ye Chui, watching: “…”
Truly a mad clown, acting like a complete lunatic.
He also noticed that where Debbie’s knife struck the mud giant, the material collapsed, as if losing its ability to hold shape. He quickly realised, “Debbie can steal her opponent’s magic through attacks!”
Powerful spirits often had innate attributes, like Jirga’s gold transformation or Jiji’s holy aura. The Mad Clown’s attribute was magic absorption.
“This is how Debbie said she’d handle magic!” Ye Chui understood.
The Valkyrie Jiji was fighting the devil Thorne, Cass was entangled with the old swordsman Tumu, and Green was holding off the Shadow Mage Edel with piles of junk. Clown Debbie seemed capable of handling Bilith. As per their agreement, Ye Chui turned to the remaining eight foes, five swordsmen and three mages.
These eight, also under the devil’s influence, glared coldly, exuding evil and savagery.
Ye Chui placed a hand on his iPad-like magic book, slowly approaching them.
