If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come with just a clone to spare the Demon Realm; regret stung like salt spray, and Molor slipped the net.

That strange man—his words flowed with the Dark Demon like two currents meeting; cooperation… is he their new mountain behind the storm?

The days ahead won’t be calm; I can feel squalls brewing over a black sea.

She let out a breath like a cool wind and dissolved the spatial seal; Lihai Island slid back to its old berth like a drifting reef returning to shore.

Miss Elunis, what should we do now? Their voices carried worry like light rain tapping a window as Yumigawa Senki and the others drew near.

Elunis sis, who was that man? Why did you watch the Former Demon King get carried off?

Yumigawa Nozomi spoke straight from the heart, her eyes bright like moonlit pools; in her mind, even a clone under the Elven Queen’s name shouldn’t flinch.

Because he’s far stronger than this avatar; forcing a fight would be a candle against a gale.

If I angered him, the storm could sweep you away too.

Elunis’s hand rested gently on Nozomi’s hair like a leaf on water, her smile wry as dusk.

That man felt wrong to me; his clothing was like a pattern I’ve never seen under any sky, and something in him drifted off-key like a warped note.

Senki’s thoughts threaded back through the clash with Wilsar, one bead after another: Xinuo Miss leaving over the Worldgate, Molor’s revival, then a Law Realm powerhouse wrapped in riddles.

The timing lies close like stones in a cairn—could there be a line running through them?

Yumigawa Senki makes sense; to snatch the Former Demon King and ignore Her Majesty means he stands opposite the Mizumi Clan, like steel drawn against silk.

Elyar nodded, a shadow crossing her gaze like a cloud over a hill.

Could this be the omen of another war-torn era, the wind smelling of iron again?

Don’t speak of such frightful tides.

Elunis pinched Elyar’s cheek, light as a sparrow’s peck, and her tone settled like a mountain:

So long as the Mizumi Clan stands, no war era will arrive.

So long as Sir Xino is our patron, the Mizumi Clan won’t fall; that’s a pillar you can lean on in any weather.

Sister Xinuo is the Mizumi Clan’s patron? That’s the first I’ve heard!

Nozomi’s surprise burst like fireflies from tall grass.

I’m shocked too. I knew Xinuo Miss was unbeatable, but I didn’t expect she was our clan’s backing.

Senki’s words shook with a hush, like a bell struck under snow.

Huh? You were born in the Mizumi Clan, yet don’t know this? That’s like forgetting your own shadow at noon.

Elunis’s brows lifted, mild astonishment rippling like a pond.

If possible, could you give us a rough explanation?

Senki asked, steady as a pine in wind.

No problem. You know Yugou Sage was trained by Sir Xino, right?

Elunis’s voice flowed even, like a stream over smooth stones.

Yes. The clan annals record it, ink dark as night rain.

Senki nodded.

After ending the war era, Yugou Sage soon raised house and banner—the founding of the Mizumi Clan, roots set in fertile loam.

To prevent another age of flames, Sir Xino supported the Mizumi Clan as world hegemon, an oak shading the saplings.

She suppressed other powers, laying an iron lid over a boiling pot, so one house’s dominance would quench war.

That, of course, stirred resentment like hornets; the Dark Demon is one such swarm.

But under Sir Xino’s pressure, the four great races quieted fast, like waves settling under moonlight.

And allies of the Mizumi Clan received resources from the Central Continent, grain and ore flowing like rivers, so the Mizumi Clan remained steady to this day.

Her meaning was clear as sunrise—the Mizumi Clan has stood for centuries through Sir Xino’s backing and the four great races’ aid, a bridge held by stone and arch.

Is Sister Xinuo really that strong?!

Nozomi’s gasp fluttered like a startled bird.

Nozomi, you’re still young; you don’t yet feel the weight of the Origin Realm.

Know this: even if the apex of the four great races—the Zenith of Law Realm gathered as one—strikes together, they can’t match a single blow from an initial-stage Origin Realm being.

Moreover, Sir Xino isn’t merely Origin Realm; she stands at the Pinnacle of Origin Realm, absolute like a sky with no ceiling.

You could say this world tilts at her word, like grass bending before a steady wind.

The current Dragon God, God King, and Demon King, and I, understand this to the bone; that’s why the races we lead plant their flags firmly beside your Mizumi Clan.

…

Senki, Nozomi, and Elyar stood stunned, thunder rolling behind their eyes.

If Zenith of Law Realm is a cliff, then Pinnacle of Origin Realm is a mountain range; trying to measure it felt like weighing peaks with a teacup.

Elunis glanced up at the sky, heavy as iron wool, and her invitation fell warm as tea:

Hardship breeds life; ease breeds ruin.

Even with Sir Xino here, we can’t grow lazy.

Would you come to the Elven Realm as guests and discuss how to face Molor and the Dark Demon?

Thank you for the invitation, Miss Elunis, but we have loose threads still whipping in the wind.

Senki shook her head; her resolve sat firm like a stake in soil.

My call to crusade against the Dark Demon has snowballed into something fierce; until that’s settled, we can’t leave.

That’s fair. Matters touching the Mizumi Clan’s name must be handled like glass, steady and sure.

When you’re done, if you’re willing, let Elyar bring you to the Elven Realm.

I’ll teach you, Senki, how to wield the Sacred Life Sword more effectively, like learning to sing with the blade’s breath.

All right. We’ll definitely pay a visit.

Senki’s relief dawned like morning light; she’d been fretting over how to grow stronger, and now the path shone.

It’s said the Sacred Life Sword is bound to the Elven Kind like roots to earth; the Elven Queen would know its truths better than anyone.

If there’s nothing else, I’ll return to the Elven Realm. May your path be smooth, like a river finding the sea.

With that, Elunis’s figure vanished in a hush, like a breeze slipping through willow leaves.

Yumigawa Senki, how do you plan to clean up this mess?

The question dropped heavy as a wet net.

When we arrived at Lihai Island, blood ran like a river and bones crunched underfoot; other places won’t be much different.

Having issued the call, Senki must give an answer, a beacon in the fog.

Appeasing the people and rebuilding towns—let the Emperors handle that; their hands are built for bricks.

As for us, we’ll pay with Divine Elixirs and materials, like rain to thirsty fields.

If that’s not enough, we’ll add piles of Purplegold Coins; we brought plenty, shining like stacked suns.

After a moment’s thought, a plan settled in Senki’s mind like a stone on the riverbed.