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The Black Forest, stretching out as far as the eye could see

A faint dark light zipped through the thick forest. It was moving so fast that it appeared to be dragging a viscous band of light in its wake.

This band of light was filled with huge volumes of dark energy. In its wake, trees withered, and insects and birds dropped dead on the spot. All manner of wildlife in the vicinity fled the scene in an attempt to avoid this terrifying presence.

For half an hour, the ball of dark light had traveled 500 miles through the forest. A stone forest rose up in front of it as it approached the westernmost region of the Black Forest. Without hesitation, it burrowed itself into a crack on a stone in a secluded corner.

Beyond the crack lay a narrow passageway, which was no wider than ten inches and no higher than a foot. It was the kind of tunnel that small creatures like snakes and rodents could enter.

The tunnel was deep and winding. After taking a couple of sharp curves, a faint purple light finally came up before the dark light. As it approached, one could see that it was actually a purple, light membrane.

The dark light came to a halt In front of this layer of light. It then began to gather itself into a ball of light. The vague impression of a human face gradually surfaced on it until it resembled the Dark Magician Eugene’s face.

This was Eugene’s soul.

He had fled the far north all the way to the south. His soul was incredibly powerful. It was able to maintain its integrity for a long time without a body.

He floated in front of the light membrane for a few seconds. He then extended a tentacle-like band of light and touched a couple of flickering magical runes on the light membrane with it. There was a flash of purple light, and the light membrane was gone.

There was a five-square-foot wide secret room beyond the light membrane. The room’s walls were filled with magical runes. They made up a permanent magical formation, which ensured that the place stayed dry.

In the middle of the room stood a crystal container which was as tall as a human being. The container was filled with a green fluid. Inside it floated a sickly-looking female Dark Elf.

The female Dark Elf looked to be at least 25 years old, an age where one should be at the peak of their life. Her hair was golden. Her eyes stared out vacantly, showing a pair of black pupils. Her entire face was as dark as any other Dark Elf, but her limbs were exquisitely built, giving the impression of a painting that had come to life.

The female Dark Elf’s body was close to perfection, from her chest down to her long, slender legs. She would have been the most beautiful specimen of the female gender if she was dressed in some form-fitting clothes.

The ball of dark light swam around the woman’s body floating in the container. Finally, it came to rest on a dark rune on the lid of the crystal container.

The ball of dark light burst into specks of light, which slowly diffused into the rune and then came out of its other end. Once inside the container, the specks of light began integrating themselves into the Dark Elf’s body.

With each speck of light entering her body, the Dark Elf’s skin and vacant eyes grew even more radiant. It took ten hours for the specks of light to diffuse completely into the Dark Elf woman’s body.

Her chest began to rise and fall slightly. She was now breathing in the green fluid. This went on for another minute. Then, her limbs began to move. Finally, her eyes widened. She then stretched out her hand and lightly touched the wall of the container.

Cracks began spreading across the container’s surface like a spider’s web from where the Dark Elf’s hand was touching until they covered the whole thing. Without warning, the crystal container shattered into pieces, spilling the green fluid out. The ground immediately sucked up the fluid without leaving a single trace of it behind.

She then cast a Levitation spell on herself and floated out of the broken remains of the container towards one of the walls of the secret room.

There was a rune on the wall as well. She touched it with a hand and then channeled a weak current of Magical Power into it. The wall vanished, revealing a storage space behind it. Its contents included a magic wand, a Magician’s robe and a vial of magical potion.

The Dark Elf woman activated the Magician’s Hand spell, and the vial containing a light red potion drifted into her hand. She gulped the whole thing down and waited patiently for it to take effect. She then stretched her arms out, allowing the Magician’s robe to put itself on her.

Finally, the magic wand flew out from the storage space and into her hand.

At first glance, there did not seem to be anything special about the wand and the robe. Nobody would even bother picking them up if they were left on the street. However, when the Dark Elf gently touched a few runes on the robe and the wand, a dark golden light radiated from both items. Countless magical runes swirled in the air as well, like stars in a night sky.

“Robe of Eternal Night, Wand of Darkness, my old friends, we meet again,” said the Dark Elf. Her voice was soft and hoarse with disuse, but her tone was the same as the Dark Magician Eugene’s.

She was Eugene.

As a conniving Dark Magician, Eugene was always paranoid about people conspiring against him. As a result, he had prepared a couple of contingency plans for himself should the worst come to pass. One of those plans involved amassing a large number of bodies that were compatible with his soul.

The body he was now using had once belonged to a princess from the Dark Elf royal court two hundred years ago. She possessed an extraordinary talent for magic and had a bright future ahead of her. She could have even grown up to be a pillar of Dark Elf society.

She was only 24 years old when Eugene met her. She was already a Level-6 Magician, which was a rare thing at the time. What caught Eugene’s attention was the fact that his soul had a certain resonance with hers. He even felt as if he was able to read her mind as he got close to her.

Eugene was an expert in Soul Magic. He immediately realized that the Dark Elf princess was a perfect vessel for his soul. The only problem was that it was a female body. However, it was nothing he could not handle. He simply needed to adapt to a new life as a female Dark Elf.

That year, he was already a Level-11 Legendary master. There was no way he would let such a perfect specimen escape him. It did not matter that the body belonged to a princess.

And so, this talented Dark Elf princess had vanished from the face of the earth.

The princess’ disappearance remained unsolved to this day among the Dark Elves.

Though the vessel was flawless, the power it possessed was only Level-6. Eugene was only able to raise it to Level-8 even after drinking his specially-brewed magical potion. To a former Level-13 Legendary Magician, this was no more different than being a cripple.

He had Link to thank for his present state.

Taking a deep breath, Eugene said to himself, “I’ll admit that you are a better Magician than me. I was never a match for you, nor shall I be for a long time to come. However, your enemies are everywhere, and they also happen to be my allies. I would like to see just how long you’ll be able to survive our plots and schemes!”

When he was finished, he turned back and walked towards the crack in the stone. He then pointed his wand at it and activated the Stonesplitter spell. The stone began to crumble on both sides of the crack until it formed a long tunnel.

Eugene began walking down the tunnel until he reached the exit. He chuckled as he saw the dark forest in front of him and felt a cold breeze blowing from the North.

“Dark Elves, the prodigal princess has returned.”

Eugene’s Body Possession spell was flawless. No one would be any wiser as to who was inhabiting the Dark Elf princess’ body. She had returned to the Black Forest with Level-8 power. With her innate potential for growth, she would be able to easily rise up the ranks in Dark Elf society, especially considering the emaciated state of the Dark Elves at the moment.

…

Just as Eugene emerged from his lair in a new body, ready to enter Dark Elf society, a Silver Storm Sparrow battleship had entered the Dark Water port on the western side of the Black Forest.

An elegantly dressed High Elf with white sideburns stood silently on the deck. It was the High Elf King, Mordena.

Two Warriors dressed in crimson leather armor, the leader of the Dark Elf Magicians Lawndale, the priest Molina and a powerful Legendary Fallen Angel had come out on the dock to receive the High Elf King.

When the Silver Storm Sparrow entered the port, Molina was first to greet Mordena as he disembarked from the ship. She said in a low voice, “The lord of Ferde has the Book of Creation fragment.”

Mordena’s body quivered. He had braced himself for such an outcome, but still, he shuddered as he heard the news with his own two ears.

Composing himself, he said, “That’s one of the reasons why I have come here today. I think it’s time we start discussing about an alliance between us!”

* **Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio**
* **Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio**