(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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The birthday celebration had reached its liveliest moment.
Night had completely settled over Hage Village, replacing the golden afternoon with a sky filled with countless stars.
Lanterns hung from the trees and church walls, bathing the orphanage grounds in a warm amber glow.
Laughter echoed throughout the courtyard as villagers enjoyed the feast while children continued running around without a hint of exhaustion.
Father Orsi was seated at the center of the celebration, constantly being dragged into conversations by one villager after another.
Every few minutes someone would tease him about crying earlier, causing the old priest to loudly insist that it had only been "dust."
Asta was currently locked in an arm-wrestling contest against Magna, with half the children cheering for Asta and the other half simply shouting because it was fun.
Nearby, Dorothy had created another dream construct, this time a gigantic glowing whale made entirely of dream mana that floated lazily above the church grounds.
The younger children pointed at it with sparkling eyes while several magical birds circled around it, creating a scene straight out of a fairy tale.
Even Charlotte had relaxed considerably.
She sat beside Ben while watching the children play, occasionally smiling whenever one of them proudly showed her a new toy or invited her into another game.
For a brief moment...
Everyone had forgotten about devils.
Forgotten about elves.
Forgotten about conspiracies and ancient wars.
Tonight...
They were simply celebrating.
Then—
Without warning—
The atmosphere changed.
A pulse of mana swept across the entire village.
It wasn't violent.
It wasn't explosive.
It was... overwhelming.
Every Magic Knight present instinctively looked upward.
The sky above Hage Village suddenly rippled as though space itself had become water.
A deep humming sound echoed across the night.
Then, enormous streams of dark violet mana spread across the heavens.
Like an invisible dome slowly descending from above.
The mana continued expanding until it completely engulfed the church.
Then the orphanage.
Then the surrounding fields.
Finally—
The entire village.
A gigantic barrier sealed everything inside.
The stars disappeared.
The moon vanished.
Only the strange violet light remained above them.
The cheerful sounds of the celebration died instantly.
Children stopped laughing.
Villagers looked around in confusion.
Some instinctively grabbed their families.
Others stared at the sky in disbelief.
Then—
An eerie laugh echoed throughout the barrier.
"Hehehehehe..."
It didn't come from one direction.
It came from everywhere.
The strange voice bounced off the barrier itself, making it impossible to determine where its owner stood.
The laughter alone caused goosebumps to rise on everyone's skin.
The atmosphere that had been filled with warmth only seconds ago turned deathly cold.
Every Magic Knight Captain reacted immediately.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Yami was already on his feet, his hand gripping the hilt of his katana.
Nozel's mercury surged from his grimoire in an instant, forming dozens of floating silver spears around him.
Fuegoleon's body became cloaked in flames.
Jack's blades extended from his arms.
Charlotte's briars erupted from the ground.
Dorothy's expression, usually sleepy and carefree, became unusually serious.
Even Rill instinctively stepped in front of several children, his paint magic already gathering around his brush.
Almost instinctively...
Nearly every captain turned their gaze toward one person.
Fana.
The sudden synchronization of their movements wasn't planned.
It simply happened.
Because she was the only elf present.
And the timing was far too suspicious.
Nozel's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Fana..."
The mercury spears around him shifted slightly.
Not attacking.
But ready.
Ready for the slightest hostile movement.
Several villagers also looked toward her nervously.
The sudden attention caught Fana completely off guard.
She slowly stood from her chair.
Confusion was written plainly across her face.
"...No."
She quietly shook her head.
"This isn't me."
Her crimson eyes slowly scanned the massive barrier surrounding Hage Village.
Her expression gradually changed from confusion...
To shock.
Then...
To unease.
"I've never seen magic like this before..."
She raised her hand slightly, sensing the mana flowing through the barrier.
Her pupils shrank.
"...It's unbelievably dense."
The words came out almost as a whisper.
Even she...
An elf naturally loved by mana...
Could barely comprehend the amount of magical power surrounding them.
She slowly looked toward Ben.
Then toward the captains.
Finally back toward the barrier.
"This..."
Her voice grew more serious.
"...isn't human magic."
Silence.
Then she continued.
"...And it isn't elf magic either."
That sentence immediately made the captains' expressions change.
Fana closed her eyes briefly, extending her mana perception as far as she could.
Nothing.
No familiar mana signatures.
No hidden elves.
No human mages maintaining the barrier.
If members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun had been involved...
She would have recognized them immediately.
But she sensed absolutely nothing.
When she finally opened her eyes again, there was something the captains had never expected to see in them.
Concern.
Genuine concern.
"If this barrier was created by either race..."
She slowly shook her head.
"...I would have recognized the mana."
Her gaze remained fixed on the shimmering dome above the village.
"But I don't."
A heavy silence settled over everyone.
Then Fana uttered the words that made even Julius, who had been quietly observing the barrier, narrow his eyes.
"...Whatever created this..."
She swallowed slowly.
"...doesn't belong to either of our races."
The eerie laughter echoed once more.
"Hehehehehe..."
This time...
It sounded much closer.
The joyous atmosphere that had filled Hage Village only moments ago had completely vanished.
Children instinctively moved closer to the adults.
Villagers clutched their families.
The laughter that had echoed across the church grounds was replaced by an oppressive silence.
Everyone could feel it.
Whatever had surrounded the village...
Was unlike anything they had experienced before.
Ben slowly stepped forward, his playful expression disappearing completely.
His blue eyes remained fixed on the enormous violet barrier surrounding the entire village.
Even without sensing mana like everyone else...
His instincts screamed at him.
Danger.
An overwhelming one.
Then—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
[ Ding... ]
[ Emergency Quest Generated ]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Quest: The Poison Devil's Curiosity
Description:
A high-ranking devil has taken an unusual interest in you after hearing countless rumors regarding your immunity to deadly toxins and poisons.
She wishes to personally verify those rumors...
...by turning you into her newest test subject.
Target: High-Ranking Poison Devil
Name: Venomira
Objective: Survive the encounter and repel the Poison Devil.
Reward:
• +800 FP
• 10 × Null Void Shards
Warning:
The target possesses Authority over Venom and Corruption.
Extreme caution is advised.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ben's pupils narrowed.
His expression instantly became solemn.
"So..."
He muttered quietly.
"A devil."
The system never lied.
If it specifically identified the enemy...
Then there was no room for doubt.
The one responsible for the barrier—
Was a devil.
And not a weak one.
A high-ranking devil.
Ben slowly clenched his fist.
The reward itself was proof of how dangerous this opponent would be.
Eight hundred Fame Points.
Ten Null Void Shards.
The highest reward the system had offered him so far.
Which meant...
This battle would be unlike anything he had faced until now.
Meanwhile, the eerie laughter echoed once more.
"Hehehehehe..."
This time...
Everyone could clearly hear it.
It was elegant.
Almost playful.
Yet every note carried enough malice to make one's skin crawl.
Ben slowly closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Listening carefully.
Then he opened them again.
"...Female."
Charlotte, standing beside him, turned slightly.
"You can tell?"
Ben nodded faintly.
"The voice."
It wasn't merely laughter anymore.
There was amusement within it.
Curiosity.
Like a scientist finally discovering an interesting specimen.
Then—
The mysterious woman finally spoke.
Her voice echoed throughout the entire barrier, making it impossible to determine where she actually was.
"My... my..."
The words carried an almost melodic elegance.
"So many little humans..."
A soft giggle followed.
"Hehehe..."
"I was only planning to visit one..."
"...yet I received an entire village."
The captains immediately raised their guard further.
Yami's grip tightened around his katana.
Nozel's mercury floated protectively around the villagers.
Fuegoleon's flames roared brighter.
The unknown woman continued.
"I've heard... such fascinating stories recently."
Her voice sounded genuinely excited.
"Stories about a peculiar little king."
"Stories that even reached the Underworld."
Ben's eyes narrowed.
So...
News had already spread that far.
The voice laughed again.
"They said..."
"...the King of Clover is immune to poisons."
A pause.
"They said no toxin could kill him."
Another pause.
"They even claimed curses mixed with venom failed to affect him."
The laughter became slightly louder.
"Hehehehe..."
"How absolutely..."
"...interesting."
The pressure inside the barrier suddenly increased.
Several villagers collapsed to one knee under the overwhelming demonic presence.
Even experienced Magic Knights instinctively gritted their teeth.
The devil sounded delighted.
"So I simply had to come."
"I've spent centuries creating countless poisons."
"Some melt flesh..."
"Some dissolve souls..."
"Some erase memories..."
"Some keep their victims alive while every heartbeat feels like agony."
Her voice almost sounded proud.
"But..."
A brief silence followed.
"I've never met someone who could ignore all of them."
Ben quietly stared at the barrier.
His expression remained calm.
Inside, however...
He was already calculating every possible outcome.
The devil spoke again.
"So, King Benjamin..."
Her voice became softer.
Almost affectionate.
"...would you indulge my curiosity?"
A long, unsettling laugh echoed across the village.
"Hehehehehe..."
"I want to see..."
"...how long my favorite experiment survives."
Another pulse of sinister mana spread across the barrier.
Flowers around the church instantly withered into black ash.
Several nearby trees began decaying before everyone's eyes.
The grass beneath the barrier slowly turned a sickly purple.
Even the air itself seemed to become poisonous.
The devil sighed happily.
"I've been searching for the perfect specimen for such a long time..."
Then her voice became chillingly gentle.
"And you..."
"...are absolutely perfect."
At those words, every captain instinctively stepped closer to Ben.
Not because he needed protection.
But because they all understood the same terrifying truth.
The devil had not come to destroy the Clover Kingdom.
She had crossed realms...
For one person.
The King of Clover.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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Guys My New Fic name is: Karuppan: King of Openings.
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