The spirit of the secret plane quickly realized the imnse threat of the newcor.
In the thousands of years the Soaring River Secret Plane had existed, the Joker had never co across anyone who could forcefully enter his domain.
And not just that, this newcor was far more powerful than any of the Mana Core-beings present within the secret plane.
The Joker, Nielk, shot out of the House of Cards at once, his figure streaking across the sky as he summoned the four Great Guardians.
At the sa ti, he manipulated the secret plane's spatial coordinates. The fabric of space twisted under his control, isolating the necor's presence.
In the next instant, Adam was forcefully displaced.
The scenery around him shifted, and he reappeared on a vast, empty plain, miles away from the children who had just entered the secret plane.
"Hmm?" Adam's brows rose in slight surprise. Such a forceful shift in
coordinates could only be done by the current owner of the secret plane - the Joker.
But why is he-
His thoughts ca to an abrupt halt when, the next mont, four colossal figures appeared before him out of thin air. Each of them stood at the Mana Core Rank!
One was a gorilla, radiating an aura of the earth elent. The second was a tiger, radiating the aura of the fire elent. The third was an elephant that gave off the aura of the water elent. And lastly, an eagle that emitted the aura of the wind elent.
The four Great Guardians surrounded Adam, each of them radiating thick killing intent.
The Joker appeared high up in the sky, dressed in his usual flamboyant attire. His colored face had twisted into a ferocious scowl as he glanced at the newcor. His lips parted, and he spat through gritted teeth:
"How dare you trespass upon my domain!"
"Eh?" Adam was a little taken aback. "Hey, it's -"
The Joker couldn't recognize Adam. And frankly, he didn't care. Anyone who forcefully entered the secret plane was an enemy.
"Kill the bastard!" Nielk roared.
He waved his hand, and the next mont, the ground underneath Adam erupted. Earthen chain shot upward and tightly coiled around Adam.
And in the next instant, the four Great Guardians rapidly cast their most powerful spells.
As Adam witnessed Rank 4 spells of the earth, fire, wind, and water elents shoot toward him with the clear intention of obliterating him, he couldn't help but sigh.
And then...
BOOOOM!!!
The entire Soaring River Secret Plane trembled.
When the dust from the four Rank 4 spells finally settled, a figure stood at the center of the devastation.
Unhard.
A faint blue barrier surrounded Adam, ford of interlocking hexagonal grids that shimred softly in the air.
The structure of the Rank 4 defensive spell from the School of Warding was precise and stable, each panel locking seamlessly into the next, distributing the force of the blasts.
Within the barrier, Adam stood calmly with his hands clasped together in a hand seal.
Not a single step had been forced out of him.
Levitating in the air, Nielk's eyes widened in disbelief. "He... blocked it?!"
Even the four Great Guardians were stunned.
Blocking a single Rank 4 spell was already a difficult feat.
But this newcor had withstood four of them at once, and not rely endured them separately. The combined force of the spells had amplified each other, their impact far greater than the simple sum of four attacks.
And yet, the raven-haired youth stood there without injury.
Without wasting another mont, annoyed that he would be attacked again, Adam inhaled deeply and then scread at the top of his lungs:
"Sir Joker, it's !!"
Nielk, who was about to go on the offensive again, suddenly frowned.
"This voice..." he murmured.
He quinted his eyes and gazed at the newcor intently. And then... his eyes
widened.
"Adam?!"
When Vulcan, the flaming tiger, heard that na, he was astonished. In fact, so were the rest of the guardians. They were familiar with that na.
The raven-haired youth deactivated the defensive spell at last. He rested his hands on his hips and teased with a taunting smile, "Is this how you greet an old friend?"
Nielk remained frozen in the air for a few monts. He then descended toward the ground and arrived right before the youth.
He blinked several tis. Then he stepped forward and grabbed Adam's cheeks, stretching them. He then pulled his nose and then his ears. He circled him several tis, lifting his hands, pulling his tunic, yanking his cape, and intently scrutinizing him.
"What the hell happened to you, lad?" The Joker's jaw nearly touched the
ground. "You grew short? And young? Way too young! What's with that face? Why do you have the skin of a child? And what's with those scary eyes?"
Adam's lips twitched. "Nice to et you, too."
"Goodness arcana!" The Joker was bewildered. "It truly is you! Fafafa!"
His smile soon vanished, replaced by a threatening glare. He grabbed the youth's collar and coldly said, "What's the aning of this? Coming to my house, unannounced! Do you have a death wish, lad! What happened to the
calling card I gave you?"
"I gave it to my sister, rember?" Adam rolled his eyes.
"Ah, that's right." Nielk took a step back and stoked his chin, nodding in
understanding.
"Speaking of..." Adam looked around. "Where is she?"
Vulcan took half a step forward and said in a deep voice, "I left her sowhere
safe when Nielk summoned us. We believed our ho was under attack."
"Are you serious?" Adam laughed. "I was the one under attack!"
Nielk's eyes squinted as he continued stroking his chin. "Hmm, I like the way
you laugh, lad."
"You do?" Adam asked with an arched brow.
"Indeed, I do." The Joker nodded.
The two glanced at one another with squinting eyes.
And then...
They burst into laughter.
Much later, after their laughter subsided, Adam turned to Vulcan. "So... where is
she?"
Vulcan pointed in a specific direction.
The raven-haired youth nodded with an eager smile and then took to the air.
Nielk and the four Great Guardians watched Adam disappear into the horizon.
A few monts later, the eagle turned to the Joker and said in a solemn voice,
"You felt it too, didn't you?"
Nielk nodded, his lips curling into a wide grin.
"Yes," he said with a nod. "The lad has grown incredibly strong! I cannot believe
it!"
In a quiet grove atop a gentle hill, a crimson-haired woman paced restlessly.
The wind tugged at her long hair as she moved back and forth between the
trees, her steps quick and impatient.
Every so often, she would stop, glance toward the distant horizon, where a thunderous explosion had shaken the sky only monts earlier. The shockwave had long faded, but the mory of it still lingered.
She resud pacing, unable to remain still. What is going on? Anna thought to herself with unease.
That explosion... just what kind of intruder are they facing?
A gust of wind gently blew through the grove, but Anna didn't notice it.
The next mont, a warm, familiar voice echoed in her ears a voice that
made her freeze.
"Long ti no see, dear sister."
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