Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 54 Heavenly Palace Arc: Prequel "Farewell to the Eldest Princess"

Ming looked up at Allen in the sky, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Hmph, the strongest? You were just born in an era without me." With that, he tapped the ground lightly with his cane, and the black flames around his body surged even more fiercely.

Behind Ming, spiritual energy formed a series of circular, pitch-black magic circles, from which weapons of various types slowly emerged.

【Flame Treasure】

Numerous weapons, simply constructed from black flames, extended and were all aimed at Allen, who was looking down at him from the air. Then... a volley of arrows was unleashed.

In a flash, Allen moved with lightning speed, passing through the gaps between each weapon thrown at him, and appeared in front of Ming!

She moved so fast that it was as if she had only left a fleeting afterimage where she had just been.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling golden sword shadow streaked through the air, as brilliant as a shooting star. This sword shadow, carrying a sharp aura and unparalleled power, struck straight towards Ming's neck.

Ming didn't even have time to react; he only felt a slight pain in his neck, a sensation so mild it was almost negligible.

However, the next moment, something terrifying happened—his head, the only part not covered and protected by the spirit armor, fell off his body so easily!

His head rolled to the ground, while Ming's body lay like a puppet without support.

With a swift and decisive sheathing of his sword, Allen looked at the elf he had defeated in a single move, his eyes devoid of any emotion, and calmly said:

"Is this your power? It seems that in front of me, the strongest in the world, you elves are nothing but 'that woman'." After saying that, she casually kicked the headless Ming.

In an instant, the gruesome headless corpse burst into flames without warning!

The raging black flames instantly engulfed its entire body, and then, as if controlled by some mysterious force, the headless corpse...

Suddenly standing up without a head, Allen was about to draw his sword when he saw Ming, who had already split up, gracefully bow to him in the firelight before rapidly disintegrating.

As the decomposition process continued, countless streaks of black fire shot out from inside the corpse, eventually transforming into beautiful yet eerie flame butterflies.

They flapped their wings, their bodies radiating intense heat, and sped off in all directions.

Allen frowned slightly, clearly not expecting this turn of events from the headless corpse. She quickly deployed the mechanical wings behind [Pendragon] and chased after several of the Flame Butterflies.

However, the number of Flame Butterflies was large and they dispersed very quickly, disappearing into every corner in the blink of an eye.

Allen hovered in the air, her cold gaze sweeping across the scene below. "Trying to escape? Not so easy!" she muttered to herself.

"Isaac, can I borrow the Japanese satellite surveillance system in your conference building?" She then took out a pair of goggles from the display device and put them on.

Through satellite images, she saw those fiery butterflies flitting about in every corner of the city.

Some of the Flame Butterflies flew among the tall buildings, attracting passersby to stop and watch; others darted into narrow alleys, as if searching for some kind of shelter.

However, one by one, the Flame Butterflies began to dissipate, gradually turning into sparks like candles flickering in the wind.

Just then, in the dimly lit restroom inside the conference building.

A finger that had been resting quietly on the toilet bowl suddenly burst into flames. These eerie black flames didn't spread wildly; instead, they burned rhythmically along the shape of the finger.

As time went by, the black flames slowly took on the outline of a person, and Ming emerged from within them.

Having just recovered his body, he simply used his spiritual power to conjure a set of clothes, put on the medical goggles and cell phone that were placed on the toilet, and then gently pushed open the door of this high-class restroom.

"Heh, I wouldn't challenge someone like that without being completely confident. She's a magician who can defeat Tohka at full power and Tenka after her reversal and have a 3:7 score. All I need to do is have Kurumi find an abandoned building to wait for me."

Ming thought to himself, stretching his severed head. "I admit, I didn't react in time to that blow. In fact, I'd say I could have defeated him if... I had activated my half-beast form..."

“But if I do that, my consciousness will definitely start to go berserk, and if I forcibly suppress it, I don’t think those magicians left in the conference building will leave me, this ‘extremely evil elf,’ alone.”

Whether they care about an invincible beast or a beast that has already been shot in a vital spot by a hunter is another matter entirely. In the end, the best outcome for oneself would be dissection and modification, which would not be surprising.

Just as Ming was deep in thought and pushed open the door to return to Princess Angelica's side, a familiar bespectacled man who had also pushed open the bathroom door met his eyes.

"Uh?"

"what?"

"You are……"

"You are……"

Upon seeing each other, Ming and the man both instinctively took a step back, then exclaimed in unison:

"That American magician who served as the bodyguard?"

"That British magician with a delusional, pretty-boy personality who serves as a bodyguard?"

Silence fell again.

After a few awkward seconds of eye contact, the two simultaneously revealed wary expressions.

"What are you doing here?" Ming asked first, his eyes filled with wariness.

"Hmph, this doesn't seem to be your business. But seeing you sneaking out of the restroom like that, are you perhaps planning to temporarily put aside the boss you're supposed to protect and take the opportunity to secretly observe that Pokémon?" The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses and replied.

Ming chuckled inwardly. Since he'd been misunderstood like this, he might as well play along. So he feigned panic and said:

"You found out. That elf must have countless secrets. I wish I could be the first to discover them."

"Hmph, you think you can beat me to it?" The bespectacled man sneered disdainfully. "I've already made my plans. Do you think you can get there before me?"

Ming suddenly understood, but he still pretended to be calm. "What do you mean by that? What exactly is your conspiracy?"

The bespectacled man crossed his arms and was about to leave, thinking to himself, "Luckily, I didn't tell the truth at first. I just made up a question to trick this guy... But judging from the noise, the commotion in the conference room has stopped. It seems I should go back too."

Thinking of this, the man carefully lifted his foot and stealthily walked towards the toilet door.

However, this man, who thought himself clever, was completely unaware that just as he left his seat, a figure flashed behind him like a ghost.

This person was Ming. He nimbly and silently reached into the man's pocket and easily stole the identification documents.

At this moment, the man was only thinking about escaping this place as soon as possible, and he did not realize that his most important possession had fallen into Ming's hands.

Upon opening it, I saw his name and a company name that sounded somewhat familiar.

The words "Asgard Electronics' top technical magician employee, Bai Mu Zhong" appear.

Upon seeing the name, Ming's eyelids narrowed slightly as he strained to think, "Asgard Corporation? Asgard Corporation? I remember..."

"Wait, Asgard Electronics! Elliott Baldwin Woodman, the Chairman of the Round Table from the original Fraxinus!" Upon realizing this, Ming immediately threw the ID card into the toilet stall where the man named Hyakumu Zhong had just been.

He then immediately returned to the conference room where Angelica was.

As soon as Ming stepped into the conference room, Angelica greeted him with concern in her eyes, "How are you? Mr. Klein, are you alright?"

Ming shook his head slightly, not revealing the truth, but simply said, "There's nothing unusual for now."

Meanwhile, Bai Mu returned to the restroom and was horrified to find his ID missing, behaving exactly like a socially awkward person.

The meeting about the elves ended shortly after their arrival.

High-ranking officials from various countries had all left, and Ming also sent Princess Angelica back to the base station of the private jet that had picked him up.

Ming led Angelica toward the private jet base station, the two remaining silent the entire way.

Suddenly, Ming felt a strong gaze fixed on him. He looked around warily but found no one suspicious.

Upon arrival at the base station, the crew was already prepared. Ming was about to turn and leave when Angelica tugged at his sleeve. "Mr. Klein, are you really not coming with me?" Her eyes shone with reluctance.

Ming gently patted her hand, then bowed gracefully again and said tactfully, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, our journeys are not the same. Your future is to become the Queen of England and enjoy a life of wealth and honor..."

"As for me... unfortunately, that path is not the one I choose. The path I must take is a dangerous one filled with thorns, and as I said on the plane, I already have a treasure that I will risk everything to find... Farewell, Your Majesty."

Angelica slowly released her hand, tears welling in her eyes. "I hope you have a safe journey, Mr. Klein." Ming nodded expressionlessly, and the plane quickly took off after being greeted by another SSS magician.

After the plane took off, Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright." Ming nodded to the plane one last time, then turned around and looked at the dilapidated building not far from the airport. "I should also go find Kurumi... classmate."

Ming carried his suitcase and walked slowly toward the dilapidated building, each step carrying a sense of determination.