"Of course, I know I''m not as strong as him. The power he disyed is enough to show the difference between us. Even though the slightest interference would cause hismunicationwork to fall apart, I don''t think I have enough energy to break the firewall."


    Kuzon''s expression fell slightly. Ana was a genius, but that didn''t make her omnipotent. Still, the fact that she was still smiling confidently showed that there was something else... something more she had in mind.


    "You can do that for me, Kuzon. Your Arcana allows you to control stuff, right? Plus you have that strange energy signature I keep detecting and thinking is the root source of all of this. If it''s you, I''m sure you''ll be able to do it."


    The young Midas couldn''t contain his surprise at this point. A bright smile formed on his face and his heart leaped beyond what he even imagined was possible.


    This girl, Ana... she was just too amazing in his eyes.


    "So, Kuzon... what do you say?"


    Amid the chaos around them—the destruction, explosion, and numerous projectiles that seemed to never end—Kuzon knelt and softly touched Ana''s hand which was holding the device.


    His face depicted a warm sense of affinity that he couldn''t resist. The moment his hand touched hers, Ana also felt something.


    It didn''t seem like they were giving Beruel much thought at this point. They were simply lost in the moment.


    "You''re amazing, Ana." Kuzon spoke, squeezing her hands with his.


    "I know. And don''t you forget it."


    He nodded.


    If it was this girl, then he wouldn''t mind being with her after this was all over. Kuzon could feel it within himself.


    ''She''s brilliant!''


    And as much as he didn''t like the next words he was about to utter, Kuzon didn''t mind. If it was for Ana, then why not?


    "I''ll do whatever you want. So, show me."


    Ana nodded, excited to see Kuzon being very cooperative. It was one of his best traits, after all.


    "It''s simple. The device will simply resonate with your abundant energy and you''ll break the firewall with it. Then, you''ll use your Arcana to forcibly interfere with themunicationwork."


    "Hmm... but would it really be that simple? He''s also using an Arcana to control them, no?"


    "He''s using his Arcana for so many things. That should spread his control thin. You should be able to at least interfere, even if you''re not usurping control."


    Kuzon nodded at the exnation. Ana was right, after all.


    Even for him, the more targets he used his Arcana on, the tougher it was to maintain it. That was why he had needed a good deal of Aether to utilize [The Emperor] on Beruel''s clones, since there were so many of them.


    "Alright. Got it. Let''s give it a try... wha—?"


    Kuzon''s face lit up with surprise as Ana''s hand swept over his hair and she patted him lightly.


    "Good boy."


    ''W-w-wha—?!!'' His mind waspletely going through a crisis.


    With Ana smiling so sweetly and she resorting to that for the first time, Kuzon felt an indescribable emotion that caused him to lose his emotionalposure.


    ''No! Focus, Kuzon!'' He shook his head with resolve.


    Ana''s hand was soft and warm, but he had to attend to other matters first.


    Ana retracted her hand, and her face turned pink for a moment before returning her attention to the cube she presented to Kuzon.


    "L-let''s get to work!"


    *


    *


    *


    "What are they doing?" Beruel murmured.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He was watching from his safe haven, waiting for his minions to arrive so they could decimate his opponents.


    It was annoying how they had shielded themselves with such a dense barrier and didn''t even seem to worry about its stability, but Beruel didn''t feel the need to be upset about that.


    What annoyed him the most was their public disy of affection—especially in such a tense situation.


    ''Couples... those two couples...'' He gritted his teeth.


    Now he had one more motivation to get rid of them—though all his efforts so far seemed to be ineffective.


    "No matter..."


    The spikes and sters were simply to buy time, after all.


    "... Their true opponents will be arriving soo—" Beruel''s eyes suddenly popped wide open due to a strange sensation he felt.


    ''U-uh...? What''s... this...?''


    Beruel''s face paled instantly as he stared at the screen, only to see Kuzon and Ana looking directly towards him with grins on their faces.


    ''They knew? What have they done?!'' His mind raced.


    The sensation he felt was a disconnect—no, it felt more like an interference—between him and his clones.


    Without the resonance between himself and his duplicates, thetter would only end up being figurines with no action.


    ''H-how did they—?!''


    >BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM<


    Everything around him shook as the wall in front of him creaked. Even though he had further enhanced it to ensure his protection, dents stated to appear all over its surface.


    ''N-no!'' His eyes went straight to the screen that disyed both Ana and Kuzon, but only the girl was in the barrier.


    As for the young Midas—


    >BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM<


    >BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM<


    >BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM<


    —He was directly assaulting the only thing existing between Beruel and his opponents.


    With each pounding, Beruel grew even more anxious. Hemanded his security system to stop the intruder at all costs, but they were instantly decimated by his opponent''s sheer power.


    Only Beruel''s clones could stand a sliver of a chance, at this point, and they were inactive.


    ''Damnit!!!''


    >BOOOOOOOOOIOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<


    The bombardment finally broke through, and the wall came crumbling down after a couple more hits.


    ''Eeeek!'' Sweat formed all over Beruel''s face as he saw the light pierce his dark room.


    The System Window in front of him buzzed, but the Fairy King ignored itpletely. What held his total attention was the young man who floated so close to his dark room.


    His golden hair fluttered as he smiled casually. His hands were folded, and golden threads danced around him.


    "S-shi—!!!"


    "Don''t even think about moving." The young Midas named Kuzon dered, ncing away from the Fairy King for a moment.


    Ana, his partner, appeared from beneath. She was inside the spherical barrier that was sturdy enough to maintain its integrity despite the volleys of explosions that had been constantly fired.


    With both of them now standing outside the room—a miniscule distance from Beruel himself—the Fairy King felt incredibly frightened.