The Wind Elemental Lord, Belphal, glanced at everyone and slightly nodded, saying, "I watched the Blade Dance; I don't particularly like it."
Her opening words left everyone speechless. Roa was surprised that the Wind Elemental Lord was indeed awake, while the other members were completely taken aback by her statement.
However, someone eventually reacted.
Ellis stepped forward, bowed slightly, and with rare seriousness, addressed the Wind Elemental Lord, "I am your devotee; my spirit and my swordsmanship are all granted by you."
The Wind Elemental Lord looked slightly surprised, her curiosity evident as she gazed at the girl before her.
Contrary to the rumors, the Wind Elemental Lord was not an old man or a warrior; she appeared to be a delicate girl.
The girl lacked solid muscles, her slender wrists supporting her head as she looked with interest at the girl below.
"The wind has told me that you are my believer. So, devoted follower, victor of the Blade Dance Festival, what kind of reward do you wish for?"
Ellis's face turned red, her eyes sparkling with excitement, but she struggled to articulate what she wanted.
Prosperity for her family? Her family did not need her wish to ensure their prosperity.
The honor of a knight must be exchanged for the sacrifice of others' descendants, at least that was how her father viewed it.
So what was left?
Power? Authority? Or perhaps love?
At this thought, Ellis discreetly glanced at Roa.
The boy's dazzling golden hair swayed gently, the golden sunlight illuminating his handsome face, his features strikingly defined.
He stood there, and she could reach out and hold his hand.
Sighing, Ellis stepped aside and bowed to the Elemental Lord on the throne, saying, "Thank you for your generosity, but please fulfill the wishes of my companions first."
Roa remained standing at a distance, quietly observing. He did not step forward or directly say, "Let me take care of you," or "Where is the mad Elemental Lord?" He simply watched the Elemental Lord above.
Her long hair swayed gently with the wind, and the long spear on her right was as indestructible as the wind that wrapped around it.
The authority of the wind was in the hands of this Elemental Lord before them.
The journey had not been smooth; there were many troubles of various kinds.
Roa secretly resolved these troubles, whether they were the kingdom's schemes or the Elemental Lord's plots. For someone with great strength, these were merely minor issues.
Even assassination could be resolved in a matter of moments.
The young girls were unaware of how many troubles the boy before them had intercepted for them.
Greyworth was indeed strong; her useful strength was beyond doubt, but even so, she was already a woman in her forties.
Even if she wished for eternal youth from the Elemental Lord, the aspect of being a spirit user was still in decline.
The deeper layers of the nobility had long set various traps, waiting for Greyworth to fall into them, and the target of these traps was naturally Roa.
After secretly quelling the academy's rebellion, Roa was labeled as Greyworth's accomplice by various rebels. To some extent, Roa was also a victim of misfortune.
Not wanting to waste time with those small fry, Roa would leave a few alive.
But later, when he found that some guys liked to test the limits of his patience, he would directly eliminate them one by one.
Roa had always been ruthless and would not show mercy just because the opponents were beautiful young ladies.
In the end, as long as someone was confirmed to be from the opposing camp, Roa would not hesitate to strike them down, or he would simply throw those girls into the sky as fireworks.
It was precisely because of Roa's decisive style that those lurking in the shadows and the rats in the sewers finally ceased their probing.
When all conspiracies faced absolute strength, everything became illusory.
Yet even so, Roa felt restless.
Just attending the Spirit Blade Dance Festival made it clear how dire the situation in this world was.
Humans were still too comfortable, and conflicts between nations were ever-present.
In this world where the Elemental Lord rarely showed herself, humans were the dominant force.
For their own interests, the kingdoms acted independently, each looking askance at the other.
And then war broke out.
Even without Solomon, wars would erupt, and in a sense, Solomon's appearance could be seen as a good thing; at least his presence shifted human conflicts onto him.
Belphal gazed at everyone, beginning to inquire one by one.
"What do you wish for?"
Belphal's voice echoed across the empty island, her tone cold and clear as a bell, her emerald eyes fixed on everyone.
Claire was the first to lose her composure, stepping forward excitedly to voice her long-buried question, "Why did my sister betray the Fire Elemental Lord?"
"The Fire Elemental Lord?"
Belphal's gaze flickered, a strange light appearing in her eyes. She did not rush to respond but began to observe the girl below.
"Such matters, you must ask the Fire Elemental Lord."
After a long pause, under Claire's expectant gaze, Belphal spoke leisurely.
Claire felt disappointed upon hearing this.
However, Belphal's next words conveyed an even greater message.
"Although, it doesn't matter whether you ask or not; that guy is not in a good state right now."
Claire felt confused, her simple mind unable to comprehend the riddle, and she directly asked, "What do you mean?"
Ignoring Claire's gaze, Belphal turned her attention to the only male spirit user present.
After pondering for a moment, Belphal sat up, her previous laziness vanishing. She looked at the boy and asked, "So, what is your wish?"
Belphal's first notice was Roa; in her perception, the divine might surrounding him was like an abyss.
Even as the Wind Elemental Lord, she felt a sense of fear.
Her gaze fixed on the dazzling boy before her, the wind swirling around Belphal's right hand.
"My wish?"
Roa looked around at the people beside him and said, "Could you please have them step aside? My matter might be quite significant, and I don't want them to know."
Upon hearing this, the group erupted in an uproar. Claire shouted in dissatisfaction, "What? That's so unfair!"
However, the response to Claire was Roa's unprecedented serious gaze.
At that moment, Claire noticed that the boy had somehow activated his Golden Eyes.
His eyes, brilliant like molten lava, stared directly at the Elemental Lord above.
The time had come, the restrictions had been lifted, and the weakened buff was no longer present. In some sense, Roa was even more terrifying than he was in the world of Mushoku Tensei.
Despite not fully understanding, the group that had spent so much time together sensed that something bad was likely to happen next. Ellis opened her mouth to intervene, but the words got stuck in her throat.
Est and Restia appeared at Roa's side almost simultaneously, one black and one white, standing together, while the Elemental Lord above merely watched coldly.
"Well, you must be that Dark Spirit, right? Speaking of which, I feel like that girl over there looks somewhat familiar."
Belphal's gaze lingered on Ren Ashbelll for a moment.
"It seems you've changed masters. Is your wish the same as hers?"
Belphal's lips curled into a smirk, her exquisitely beautiful face displaying a teasing expression as her emerald eyes looked at the person below, waiting for a response.
Roa paused for a moment, then nodded, saying, "Yes and no. I'm here to help you, to free you."
Belphal's smile faded, her right hand gripping the long spear beside the throne, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
The so-called liberation naturally referred to directly killing the other party.
And in that instant, the atmosphere became tense.
Claire was at a loss, while Ren Ashbelll silently contemplated, her right hand already gripping the spirit magic device at her waist.
Her memories had fully returned; while others might not understand why, she was completely aware.
Est transformed into the Demon Slayer Holy Sword in Roa's right hand, the snow-white blade flowing like liquid silver.
Just as Roa was about to strike and punish the being before him, Belphal smiled again, the previous strange atmosphere dissipating once more.
Belphal looked at the spirit user who dared to offend her, revealing a self-deprecating smile, "Speak your wish."
Roa was taken aback, staring at the green-haired girl before him, and he voiced his demand: "I want to kill the mad Elemental Lords."
The girls surrounding Roa looked at him in shock, their faces displaying disbelief and astonishment.
"Well, is that so?"
The reactions of the crowd did not affect Belphal; she merely looked at the boy before her and said, "I know my time of consciousness won't last long. I also know that power is continuously eroding us. Human, I know you are strong, but are you really prepared?"
Roa remained silent, coldly staring at her.
Belphal continued, unfazed, "We are not enemies. Everything begins and ends with us. I am not the true body of the Wind Elemental Lord; I am merely her avatar, one of her few conscious fragments. Your blade should not be aimed at me."
Roa's gaze was deep, his brilliant crimson-gold eyes fixed on her, waiting for her next words.
"My goal is the same as yours; I have been waiting for someone who can liberate us."
After giving everyone time to think, Belphal paused for a moment before continuing, "Then let me guide you."
Air currents enveloped Belphal's body as he floated in mid-air, looking down at the golden-haired boy below.
The wind continuously gathered from all directions of the island, converging towards the position where Roa stood, and at the same time, a formation appeared beneath Roa's feet.
This was yet another teleportation formation.
Roa looked up at the girl in astonishment, unable to comprehend the current situation.
"Next, you will meet the true Elemental Lord. However, just to be safe, I think it would be better for your companions to accompany you. What do you think?"
She spoke as if to herself, not giving Roa any time to respond.
Before Roa could react, light began to gather, and the next moment, when Roa opened his eyes, he found that the floating island was no longer in sight.
A massive door stood before him, engraved with ancient and intricate patterns that made one feel dizzy at a glance.
Roa stood before the door, still holding the Demon Slayer Holy Sword in his right hand, while beside him stood Claire, Ellis, and Ren Ashbelll.
They all came?
Standing before the door was Roa's team.
A hint of gloom flashed in Roa's eyes, and his expression turned grim.
To be honest, Roa truly did not wish for any casualties among his team.
If he were to face the Elemental Lord, he had no confidence that he could kill them all in an instant.
Even using the Sword of Light might not be enough.
He did not know the strength of the Elemental Lord; if they were to engage in a direct confrontation, once things got chaotic, he might not be able to protect these girls.
Amidst his complicated thoughts, a gentle breeze surrounded Roa, and a voice echoed in his ear.
"This is the door to the alternate space, the 'Infinite Corridor.'"
"What do you want? Why did you involve them?" Roa asked coldly.
However, the response came from the Wind Elemental Lord, indifferent.
"Isn't your goal to liberate us? It's impossible to do it alone. After all, there are five Elemental Lords sitting on the stage, although currently in a dormant state, our powers are not at their peak, but we are still Elemental Lords."
The Wind Elemental Lord's words left Roa in complete silence.
The silence did not last long, as Claire nudged him, glaring in dissatisfaction, "Why? Why did you wish to assassinate the Elemental Lord?"
In the eyes of the spirit users in this world, the Elemental Lords were equivalent to deities. They were unaware that due to the spirit users' own reasons, the Blade Dance Festival had already developed loopholes because of human scheming.
Claire did not know the inside story, and Roa had no intention of letting her know; for ordinary people, these matters were too heavy.
However, Roa forgot that Claire was one of those persecuted by the Fire Elemental Lord. Regardless of the choices made, as long as Claire participated in the Blade Dance Festival, she would ultimately face that mad Elemental Lord.
Roa did not answer Claire directly, casually saying, "I'll tell you later; it's a long story. By the way, can't you hear her voice?"