After attacking Shenlong Temple, the Puppet King vanished without a trace. Charles could only wait for new intel.
During this waiting period, Charles also casually resolved the mock war between the Kingdom of Vermillion and Quedolan.
More precisely, after Charles caught Quedolan's prince John's ultimate slash technique, "Royal Galloping Oak," with his bare hands, the battle lost all suspense.
After that, Charles and Stella set off to return to the island nation.
On one hand, Stella still had to continue her studies. On the other, Charles had received word that the Puppet King had appeared in the island nation—and this ti, it was confird to be his true body, not a puppet.
Riding on Zhongming, they flew toward the island nation. But before even entering its mariti borders, Charles spotted a massive fleet cruising the sea below.
The flags flying from the aircraft carriers revealed the identity of the fleet—an overseas strike force from the White Eagle Nation, one of the three major Axis powers of the Alliance.
Charles frowned as Moonshadow Moya's earlier warning about the shifting international situation resurfaced in his mind.
That the White Eagles had sent a fleet here was already telling enough.
Charles couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Moonshadow Moya. Not only had a vicious criminal like the Puppet King surfaced dostically, but now there was a foreign fleet parked at their doorstep. This truly was a ti of chaos.
As Zhongming soared over the fleet, Charles failed to notice that inside the command room of the mothership, a bespectacled Westerner was watching the screen intently, his eyes gleaming as he saw the two of them.
Upon returning to Bujin Academy, Charles and Stella imdiately sought out Shinomiya Kurono.
Though she didn't approve of Moonshadow Moya's thods, Kurono had still decided to lend her strength for the sake of the country.
Especially now, when the nation was in such dire straits both internally and externally—she couldn't sit idly by. But the ti apart had clearly taken a toll on her. She looked noticeably haggard.
Upon seeing them, she finally let out a breath of relief and said, "Good, you're back!"
Charles took Stella's hand and sat down opposite her. "No need for small talk. Has the Puppet King's location been confird?"
Kurono shook her head. "Ever since he was spotted on the streets of Shinjuku, there's been no further intel.
He is a Majin. If he wants to hide, it's nearly impossible to find him. But we can be certain—he's still sowhere in the island nation."
Charles frowned as well and asked, "What about that 'unexpected incident' you ntioned earlier?"
It had been Kurono who inford Charles about the Puppet King's appearance. During their phone call, she'd alluded to so unusual developnts but hadn't gone into detail.
That had made Charles curious about what was serious enough to warrant such caution.
Looking troubled, Kurono began, "To explain that, I'll need to start from the beginning.
You already know about the necessity of the organization Rebellion, don't you? Both the Alliance and the Federation have infiltrated Rebellion to so degree.
One of the Twelve Apostles—Kozou Kazami—was our contact inside. But recently, he reported that he'd lost all contact with Rebellion's headquarters.
That's when he discovered that the entire Rebellion HQ had been annihilated. So he asked Minister Moonshadow to use his ability to investigate what had happened."
Charles nodded. "Minister Moonshadow's powers are indeed convenient. So what did he find?"
Kurono shook her head again. "Nothing! Moonshadow-san left to investigate and never ca back. Kazami disappeared too.
Mr. Nango Torajiro and Miss Nishimiya went abroad to search for them. That's why the situation here has beco so dire!"
Charles couldn't help but nod. Those two were the only publicly known Majin in the island nation. With both gone, the nation's upper-echelon combat strength was indeed stretched thin.
Kurono added, "Fortunately, Mr. Kurogane is still here. That's the only reason things haven't completely fallen apart."
The "Kurogane" she referred to wasn't Ikki or Ouma—it was their father, Kurogane Gen.
Though Yakushi Kiriko's healing abilities were outrageous, she still wasn't the strongest water mage in the nation.
That title belonged to Kurogane Gen, already awakened as a Majin and current head of the island nation's Magic Knight Alliance branch.
In this dire situation, having soone like "Ironblood" in charge was an imnse relief.
Looking at the exhausted Kurono, Charles said, "I understand the situation. Let know as soon as the Puppet King is found. I'll take care of him."
With that, he and Stella left Kurono's office.
To be honest, the current crisis wasn't entirely unrelated to Charles. He wasn't going to shoulder the bla for the White Eagle fleet, but the Puppet King had clearly co to the island nation because of him.
Charles had long known that the Puppet King was a twisted lunatic—but he hadn't expected this level of madness. Just to target Charles, the man had dared provoke one of the Alliance's top-ranked mber nations.
And even now, Charles couldn't understand why the Puppet King was so obsessed with him.
Was it because he had defeated him once before? But the man didn't strike Charles as the kind who would obsess over the outco of a battle.
Still, Charles didn't dwell on it. There was no need to understand the mindset of such an opponent—all he had to do was beat him.
He suddenly felt the hand in his tighten. Looking to his side, he asked Stella, "What is it? Worried about the battle ahead?"
Stella shook her head. "No. I believe in you. No matter who the enemy is, I know you'll defeat them. But this ti, I want to fight beside you!"
Charles understood what she ant. She wasn't so delicate girl who could only hide behind him—she was his partner, soone who could stand at his side in battle.
He smiled and tightened his grip on her hand. "Of course! There's no one more reliable than you, Stella."
Stella bit her lip. "But… I'm still not strong enough. When I face Majin-level opponents, I still feel powerless."
Charles's smile faded. The reason she was saying this was rooted in what had happened before they went to Vermillion.
She hadn't been able to get over her loss to Ikki. And for so reason, Moonshadow Moya had told her about Majin—even though she hadn't awakened yet.
Wanting to experience that level of power, she had privately asked Nishimiya to let her experience what it was like.
Charles had only discovered what had happened after noticing sothing off about her condition.
Though Stella's strong-willed nature allowed her to recover quickly, Charles knew that the shadow of Majin wasn't sothing that could be cast off easily.
What's more, just knowing about the existence of Majin drastically increased the difficulty of awakening as one. The more pure and untainted one's resolve and beliefs, the easier it was to break free of fate's shackles.
But once soone desired to beco a Majin, that desire itself could beco the greatest obstacle.
At that thought, Charles wished he could find Moonshadow Moya and give him a solid punch to the face.
Their next opponent was also a Majin. That's why Stella was so troubled by her own weakness.
Charles couldn't ignore her feelings—and if he could help her, he would do everything in his power to fulfill her wish.
"…Alright then. Let's begin special training!" Charles declared.
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