Three years ago.

The French kingdom of Elrios, the beneath the pure white city.

The great King Elrios had absolute self-confidence, and no matter what kind of schemes the two juniors in front of him hid, it was impossible to pose any threat to him.

Awakened from an incomparably long slumber, King Elrios recovered less than half of his peak mental strength. He didn't prepare any spells, and all the magic items on his body were invalid. Even so, King Elrios did not suspect that—

He will always be the most powerful mage in the world. He had high hopes for his opponents, hoping that they would do even the slightest damage to him, but in exchange for only disappointment after disappointment. He teased his foe, camouflaged a few flaws, and then shattered his foes' illusions without mercy.

is such an invincible king of mages...... For the first time in his life, there was a heartfelt amazement and appreciation between his eyebrows.

The person who was knocked down by himself before was not worth mentioning, and he was not even qualified to be his subordinate. However, this kid named Palamedes is very good, and if he is willing to submit sincerely, he is qualified to be his right-hand man.

It's a pity that such a genius mage is also arrogant. If you don't crush his arrogance, you can't make him fall at his feet.

"The arrogant one is you, King Elrios," Palamedes stepped forward, "you underestimate us. Time can't wear away your unrivaled power, but neither do we. ”

"Do you want to defeat Yu?" King Elrios exclaimed, for the first time he had met a young man who could fight with him, "but you're almost at your limit." Your strength is strong, but you are not yet above it. ”

"I know," said Palamedes calmly, "that I wouldn't even be able to fight you on an equal footing if you weren't so weak." ”

"You are not stupid," said King Elrios, "and you knew from the beginning that you would not have any chance. Even if there is a 1 in 10 or 1 in 10,000 chance, you will not be able to touch the rest of your life. Mortals can't kill more...... You can't even reseal Yu. ”

"Conceptual operations?" Palamedes laughed, "You have broken this concept of 'not to be killed' and 'not to be sealed' into your own existence? ”

"If only there was more time left," said King Elrios indifferently, "even the curse of the gods could be dissolved." At that time, Yu will be able to completely remove the concept of death from Yu's body and become an eternal existence without the concept of death. The remainder is there, the remainder is always there, and the remainder is forever. ”

"Your pride is greater than that of the gods of the past," Palamedes said, staring directly into King Elrios' bottomless black eyes like the abyss, "but allow me to trespass once." O king, you must not step out of this secret room. You are not of this world, you are not the protector of the people, you are just a wretched creature who blindly resists death and only seeks self-satisfaction. ”

Anger crossed King Elrios' face.

"Yu has changed his mind," he said, putting the idea of recruiting Palamedes behind him, "Young man who speaks out, Yu will let you know that offending the king will be eternal torment until the end of time." ”

Palamedes shook his head.

"You still don't get it?" He said, "You...... In front of us, already defeated. ”

Mutation, steep rise.

Unlike King Elrios and Palamedes, a third powerful spiritual force began to emerge in the vault.

It was a crown.

……

The "Lord of the Crowns" Corbrian is skilled in crafting all kinds of magical items, especially the tiaras. He modeled a powerful crown from a broken artifact from the Age of the Gods, and wore it every day. No one knew that Corbrian had perfectly repaired the artifact, and that many of the techniques he had found were attached to it.

And today, Corbrian wears the crown of the artifact that he has strengthened. Neither Erios nor Palamedes found out.

And now...... Corbrian's crown shone faintly at King Elrios' feet.

At the moment when Corbrian was "killed", his soul came to his crown. The crown contained spiritual power far beyond the legendary mages of this era, and just as King Elrios crossed the crown and approached Palamedes, Corbrian's soul in the crown fought with all its might, triggering the last spell it could trigger.

The soul burns. There is no "skill" to speak of, just simply using endless spiritual power as a backing to consume King Elrios's spiritual power.

Doing so is extremely damaging to the soul. I'm going to die because of it. However, if Palamedes fails, King Elrios will be distracted to check the crown, and he will be dead. Since it is not as good, it is better to do everything to create an opportunity for Palamedes.

Corbrian's crown shimmered with an azure glow. The light was like a cage, enveloping King Elrios in it, but allowing Palamedes to pass through freely.

……

If Elrios were in his prime, he would have laughed at Corbrian's plan for being unscrupulous and stupid.

Attacks that all end up in the same ...... Can't shake yourself at all.

Even in a state of weakness that is close to running out of oil...... With such brute force alone, he can't even weaken his ability to cast spells. Even if he is "unprepared to cast a spell", Erios is able to consume mental power to the lowest value of theory. He cast the high-level spells of the blue ocean casually, and the amount consumed was not even comparable to the speed at which he naturally recovered.

He is immune to almost all "attacks" and "seals" that mortals can cast.

However......

For the first time in his life, King Elrios' face showed a look of horror.

Palamedes is already approaching.

Since the beginning of the battle, the Lord of the Black Levitation has been working hard to shorten the distance between himself and King Elrios. King Elrios knew that he probably had a killer legendary spell that had to be cast at close range, and he had been secretly careful not to let him get close.

But Corbrian's "sneak attack" broke the balance between the two great masters. Palamedes walked up to King Elrios.

His hand finally pressed on King Elrios' shoulder.

……

Then, King Elrios finally understood the true effect of Palamedes' technique.

"It's ......!"

It's not an "attack".

Nor is it a "seal".

It is called "turnaround".

On the premise of not hurting King Elrios, return King Elrios's body and memory to the state of his youth.

That is, to find a false youth.

"Turn around, go back," Palamedes' chant echoed through the chamber, "When the gods fall, and the king's hegemony will eventually return to dust, you who wake up from a long sleep should not be accompanied by ambition." ”

The "Turning Technique", which backtracks the target's body and memory, was originally limited to 30 to 40 years at most. The subject's body and memories will rewind to a point in time at the same time.

But King Elrios who has been using the Time Seal on himself for a long time and maintaining his body in a youthful state...... His body was already "in the prime of life", so Palamedes' "Turning Technique" would be used almost entirely on his memory.

And King Elrios relied on to protect his memory and soul - under the consumption of the long slumber and the death of the crowned lord, it was no longer enough to resist the "turn".

"May a purer heart be with you, King Elrios," Palamedes' eyes gleamed with determination, "go back to your youth, King Elrios. ”

"You transgression ......!"

At that moment King Elrios understood.

…… He paid the price for underestimating the enemy. The fleeting resistance had taught him that even if he resisted with all his might, memories and knowledge would still be reminiscent of his youth.

At that time, his strength may not be as good as Palamedes.

King Elrios did not hesitate. So far, there is only one way he can walk.

While he can still cast legendary spells, force Palamedes to let go. However, just as he has long been saved from earthly "killing", physical attacks are also helpless against Palamedes.

"Then Yu Ye, fulfill your ......!"

King Elrios' finger pointed at the heart of Palamedes.

"Curse, scream," the new "Wedge of Ideas" began to take shape in King Elrios' palm, "If you consider yourself the guardian of this world, let this world punish you!" ”

Palamedes silently cast his spell. The two most powerful spiritual forces in the cloud world are in conflict with each other.

"All beings will forget your good deeds; Your soul will be dyed black and linger forever at the lowest levels of hell. You will be the cause of all evil, and your name will be spurned by the world. You will become the Dark Lord in the hearts of the people, destroyed by the hands of what you are trying to protect. ”

Vicious words erupted from King Elrios' mouth, and an incredible legendary spell began to take shape.

Idea transfer. There is an indelible link between the idea of "Palamedes" and the idea of "sin".

……

The world is changing.

Hiding in the Okard Wilderness, the mage who conducts evil research alone "remembers" that he has been blessed by a "Mister Palamedes".

Many of the middle-level members of the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds" "recalled" the infiltration of the Lord of the Black Floating City into them.

A sanctimonious mage Elrios opened his basement and secretly thanked "Palamedes" for providing them with all kinds of forbidden "resources" through underground channels.

Even the "Emperor of the Eternal Night", who had just been expelled, had an extra memory in his mind that "the teacher noticed him, but still let himself go".

Just like in the future, his disciple Goth gave up the concept of his mage identity, and he didn't even remember it.

Under the influence of King Elrios's legendary spells, Mr. Palamedes himself also had a glimpse of the many evil things he had "done".

Killing innocent people and using the suffering of others as a ladder to their own lives.

Is that your doing? No......

Gradually.

Even he himself began to lose track of what was true and what was false.

……

"Make a pact with the Offah," King Elrios snapped, "and you and I will let go at the same time!" ”

But Palamedes didn't move. His soul had begun to be twisted by the bottomless darkness, but his eyes shone with eternal light.

"I believe that people are good-minded," Mr. Palamedes said mildly, "and I will not let you out of here." ”

The arcane light in his hands grew brighter and brighter. The blue-purple arcane brilliance gradually turned into a dazzling bright white.

"Stop," King Elrios grew more and more frightened as he felt the fading memories in his mind, "do you want to keep going?" No matter how strong your willpower is, the person who walks out of the room today is bound to be an evil mage. Even you can't resist ......"

"Then I can't resist it." Mr. Palamedes smiled relievedly.

The crown of the ground no longer shines. Corbrian had exhausted the last of his strength, and his soul had completely dissipated.

"King Elrios," said Palamedes calmly, "you have lost. ”

The King of Mages, who created Elrios and laid down the rules for the white-robed mages, is in itself a satire on the kingdom of law.

However, is this because King Elrios is by nature? Was he so cruel and hypocritical because he was influenced badly, or was evil engraved in his soul when he was born?

"Start all over again, Elrios," said Palamedes, "from when you were a child, a blank sheet of paper to start drawing again." You will have new teachers, new friends, and a bright future ahead of you. ”

Overdrawing his mental power to the fullest, another spell took shape in the hands of Palamedes. He erased the memories of King Elrios. Even if it can't be turned back into a pure and immaculate baby, at least the creator of Elrios will be able to return to his teenage years with greater plasticity.

He's going to prove it...... Elrios' sins are not innate.

"What's the point, Palamedes?" King Elrios's voice gradually lowered, "The curse of aging in Yu's soul is still there, showing Yu's true age. Even if you start from nothing and start teaching again, forgetting everything...... I ......"

His self-perception began to be confused. The most powerful mage king knew that being the "King of Elrios" would soon be "dead".

"We ...... It is impossible for one to start over. The next one I found ...... I actually...... When it was me, he would ...... Resentment against you. He would...... Revenge on you. And you become...... You can't ...... like this Teach him well. Will you ...... You'll ......."

King Elrios stopped speaking.

……

Less leaning.

Two rays of light dimmed at the same time. King Elrios, who was reversed, fell to the ground, and his already young appearance became even more immature. Palamedes' last additional memory erasure will cause him to wake up again and not even remember his name.

And Palamedes ......

He has the means to preserve correct memories on the Alien Plane that legendary spells can't reach. In this way, he maintains the coherence of his mind and avoids being influenced by legendary spells.

But even so, his soul was stained with darkness that could not be purified, and he became both good and evil.

"Sleep," he said softly, "it is fitting that I, who is both good and evil, and neither good nor evil, should teach you." I'll show you that if you have a choice, you won't go down the wrong path. ”

The greatest mage ever seen in the cloud world, the guardian of the world, picked up the boy and smiled kindly.

"May fate favor you, Simon, my last disciple."