Holy City Magic Academy.
Veen was currently sitting in a chair, sipping tea.
“Lo—Lord Veen... please, have some tea.”
Principal Aurora felt like he had never been this nervous in his entire life.
He carefully refilled the empty teacup across from him, terrified that a single drop might spill.
This man had appeared in the Central Plaza an hour ago without any warning and walked straight to the academy. Then, he had very naturally picked out a chair and sat down.
Aurora’s mind had gone blank at the time. His body had moved faster than his brain, and by the time he realized what he was doing, he had already brewed the academy’s finest reserve of top-tier black tea.
“Mm.”
Veen picked up the cup and took a sip. “The tea is good.”
Aurora squeezed out a smile that looked more painful than crying. “I’m glad you like it. May I ask, Lord Veen, what brings you to our humble Magic Academy today?”
“Surely our academy isn’t worth a Calamity taking action personally, is it?”
Veen set the teacup down.
“I’m looking for someone.”
Veen’s gaze swept over the academy instructors who looked like they were facing a mortal enemy yet didn’t dare to approach. He added, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything out of line.”
Just then, Veen suddenly looked up at the sky, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. “Look, they’re here.”
Aurora followed his gaze and saw a black dot in the distance rapidly expanding. Soon, a figure wearing a black robe that obscured their face hovered above the academy.
The man in black! Aurora’s pupils shrank. He immediately connected this to the emergency reports from the border—an existence that was at least Rank 9.
The mysterious powerhouse who had leveled a mountain range with a wave of his hand during the magical beast riot! Why was he here? Had he sensed a Calamity descending and come specifically to fight?
A faint glimmer of hope rose in Aurora’s heart, but it was quickly extinguished.
The man in black might be strong, but the person sitting across from him was a Calamity! If these two started fighting, the Holy City could be wiped off the map today.
While Aurora was frantically praying in his heart for the two titans to find somewhere else to duel, the man in black in the sky spoke. His voice was processed with magic, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.
“Calamity, shall we speak further away?”
Veen snapped his fingers. In the next instant, both figures vanished.
Principal Aurora: “...?”
...
Inside a space of pure darkness.
This was a domain Veen had casually deployed to cut off all prying eyes.
As soon as they entered this space, the black-robed powerhouse violently pulled back her hood, revealing a pouting face.
“Veen! What on earth are you doing?!” Lilith questioned crossly.
She was utterly speechless.
Looking at Lilith, the indifference and detachment on Veen’s face vanished instantly, replaced by his usual somewhat lazy and helpless expression.
“Your Majesty, please don’t be so excited.” Veen sighed. “First of all, I know you aren’t the real Lilith.”
“Huh?”
Lilith was instantly stuck. “How did you know? When did you figure it out?”
Veen pressed a hand to his forehead. “Did I even need to look? You don’t know even the most basic magic. Even the original Lilith wasn’t very good at it, but she at least had basic common sense regarding magic.”
“However,” Veen’s tone became casual, “who you are doesn’t matter to me. The position of Demon King is decided by power. Since you inherited the throne and the power, you are the Demon King.”
“My loyalty is to the position. The original Lilith was too cowardly and unfit for the role. The demon race wanted to eliminate her, and I was to be the executioner.”
“By all rights, you shouldn’t have been able to beat her, right?” Lilith raised an eyebrow.
“Indeed. But the former Demon King left behind a sword. That sword can cut through anything, including a Demon King, but there is only one chance to use it.”
“I was just about to draw the sword when you arrived. So I gave up and decided to observe for a while.”
“So you’re saying if I had been a few seconds later, I’d be dead.”
“Also, what do you mean by running over here today?” Lilith crossed her arms.
Veen’s expression became a bit more serious. “I came to give you a reminder and a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Yes.” Veen nodded, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes. “The First of the Four Calamities is coming back.”
Lilith’s expression froze. The first? The strongest Calamity?
Veen continued, “I originally wanted that girl Luya to bring you the message. Who knew she’d mess things up.”
Lilith thought of the pink-haired, starry-eyed girl and said irritably, “She attacked me the moment she saw me. I thought she was an enemy. Also, was the Demonic Energy contamination of the magical beasts at the border your doing or your subordinates’?”
Veen’s expression stiffened, and he immediately denied it. “It wasn’t me. I’m not that bored; doing something like that is meaningless.”
He paused, his voice dropping low. “That was caused by the First’s power leaking unintentionally as he prepares to return to this world.”
“His magic is so vast, combined with the fact that he has no intention of controlling it, that it caused the magical beasts to mutate.”
Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Then how strong is the First of the Four Calamities?”
Veen’s expression became truly solemn, even carrying a rare hint of wariness.
“Very strong. Before Lilith inherited the former Demon King’s power and ascended the throne, he had already left this world to campaign in other planes. Therefore, he has never met Lilith and feels no loyalty toward you.”
“The power he possesses, while significantly less than the former Demon King...” Veen looked at Lilith with a deep gaze, “but as for you...”
He paused before getting straight to the point. “First, you have never experienced a true life-and-death battle. Second, the magic you’ve mastered is likely still at the basic stage. Aside from your terrifyingly vast magic, you have almost no chance of winning.”
Lilith fell silent. Her combat style basically relied on overwhelming force. When it came to technique and experience, she was essentially at zero.
Facing a battle-hardened Calamity...
She tilted her head and suddenly asked, “What if my base stats are far higher than his?”
Veen smiled helplessly. “In theory, in the face of absolute power, technique and experience can indeed be ignored.”
“But the key is, can you truly control and unleash that power completely?”
He looked at Lilith and finished, “I’ve said all I need to say. How you handle it is up to you. But once he descends to this realm, he will definitely seek out the current Demon King.”
“When that time comes, he will come to kill you and then... take your place.”
“Will you win?”
The domain fell into silence.
Lilith lowered her head, seemingly digesting this massive amount of information.
A few seconds later, she looked up. Her face didn’t show the fear Veen had expected.
She looked at Veen, her eyes clear and serious as she issued her pre-battle declaration of victory.
“I’ll win.”
Veen stared at her for a moment, then slowly broke into a smile.
“Very well.” He nodded. “Then I shall wait and watch from the audience.”
With that, he snapped his fingers again.
The pitch-black domain vanished.
Veen’s figure was already gone, as if he had never been there.
Only the man in black remained, still hovering in mid-air.
Aurora breathed a sigh of relief.
Right now, there was only the man in black; Veen’s presence had completely vanished.
He hurried forward a few steps and bowed deeply toward the man in black in the sky, his voice full of gratitude and lingering fear. “Thank you for your intervention, Excellency. Had you not come, the Holy City would likely have met with disaster today.”
“May I know your honorable name? My Holy City Magic Academy and the entire kingdom will surely show our profound gratitude!”
Lilith, under the black robe, waved her hand.
“No need.” She didn’t want to leave a name.
Pausing, she remembered she was currently maintaining a mysterious powerhouse persona and added, “After today, that Calamity should not return. You all, take care of yourselves.”
Without waiting for Aurora to say anything else, the black-robed figure flickered and vanished.
Principal Aurora stared in the direction where the man in black had disappeared for a long time, his heart filled with awe and gratitude for this mysterious expert.
He decided to immediately record today’s events in detail and report them to the kingdom. “Mysterious Expert in Black Intimidates Calamity Veen into Retreating”—this was definitely news that would shake the continent!
Meanwhile, Lilith, who had already slipped back into a deserted alleyway, patted her chest and let out a long breath.
“Whew... playing the expert is pretty exhausting.”
“The First of the Four Calamities... sounds like a real handful.” She clenched her fists, feeling a bit nervous in her heart.
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