Merin returns to his new home in the capital, his mind drifting to the child he had with Valerie.
It will be his fifth child, yet that doesn't lessen his care; first or last, it makes no difference—he would love them the same.
So why isn't he trying to rescue the child now?
Because he doesn't know where she is.
Rescuing her blindly may push her into dangers still hidden from him.
As for the Cross Lady occupying his child's body, Merin could block it.
But to kill the Cross Lady, she must first separate from the dimension's will.
That only happens once she enters a body.
And the most suitable body will very likely be his child, most likely a daughter.
Witches tend to give birth to daughters more often than sons.
Once the Cross Lady enters his daughter, she wouldn't destroy the girl's soul instantly.
She'd need to merge with it.
Only with full integration could she gain perfect control.
That process wouldn't be instant—it would take months, maybe years.
And the moment the Cross Lady detaches from the dimension's will, Merin would know.
He'd strike immediately.
He's prepared to kill her soul even if it's inside his daughter's body.
His comprehension of souls has deepened after mastering soul, spirit, and dream-related witch spells.
He believes—truly believes—he can kill the Cross Lady without harming his daughter.
Or he can capture the Cross Lady's soul.
Getting her soul would help him quickly understand the law of this dimension.
Still, his mind turns over every option to protect his child.
Every way.
Except one.
Returning to the Origin World with his daughter.
That… that would truly keep her safe from the Cross Lady.
But he hasn't considered it.
Not even once.
After that, Robert comes to visit Merin.
After exchanging pleasantries, he asks, "Sir Adam, can you help me advance to the next realm of the magic apprentice realm?"
Merin thinks in silence for a few minutes before replying, "I haven't given any mind to it. If I make progress, I'll inform you."
Robert nods. "Thank you, Sir."
Then, after a pause, Robert asks, "Sir, I heard that Valerie has given birth to your child."
Merin says, "I don't have proof, but it's very likely. Otherwise, she wouldn't be captured and hidden from me."
Robert asks, "Then what should we do?"
Merin answers, "Search with fanfare. Let the whole world know Valerie is missing."
Robert nods again.
Merin projects a map of the Holy Cross Continent and marks five locations.
"She may be in one of these five places. Confirm which one."
Robert says, "Okay, Sir. Then we'll rescue her."
Merin nods. "Yes, attack them. But only bring Valerie out. Leave my daughter behind."
After some more discussion, Robert leaves, thinking to himself that Sir Adam truly seems uncaring—even to his own daughter.
From the next day, Merin begins examining the magic apprentice cultivation method.
He created it five years ago, but it was only theoretical then, and he hadn't witnessed its full practical results.
He reads through all the changes made to it over the past five years and finds that most were minor corrections.
For ordinary people to absorb magic energy, they must first visualise and meditate, allowing their spirit to grow and sense magic energy.
Then, using their spirit as a guide, they draw in the magic energy and circulate it within their body.
This circulation causes subtle changes in the body and increases the individual's affinity with magic.
Eventually, the body begins to absorb magic energy on its own, stepping into Rank 1.
From Rank 1 to Rank 5, the cultivation involves increasing both the spirit's strength and the amount of magic energy stored in the body, up to the limit of physical development.
But to advance beyond that realm, simply increasing magic energy isn't enough—because the body reaches a point where no more energy can be absorbed.
To go further, the body itself must be transformed to increase its capacity.
Merin starts thinking deeply about how such a transformation could be achieved.
A week later, he arrives at two possible methods—one, to further refine the gaseous magic energy into an atomised state; the other, to transform a physical organ into a magic organ.
He reveals both ideas to all Rank 5 magic apprentices in the capital and allows them to debate which path to take.
The discussion spreads rapidly across the continent.
One month later, a consensus forms—they want both methods.
Merin ponders if the two approaches can be combined and makes a surprising discovery: they actually complement each other.
To transform an organ into a magic organ, a large amount of magic energy is needed, far beyond what an apprentice can sustain, making the process painfully slow.
Meanwhile, refining gaseous magic energy into an atomised state requires a strong spirit and a reinforced body to hold the denser, more potent energy.
Thus, refining the energy and transforming the body go hand in hand—one fuels the other.
It takes Merin a full year to develop the unified method and another six months to verify its effects and spread it.
He names the new realm with a simple, direct title: Official Magician Rank 1.
But Merin doesn't stop there—he immediately begins pondering the next breakthrough.
He doesn't need to think long.
The path is clear: transform more organs into magic organs and refine the atomised magic energy into a liquid state.
For Rank Three, the transformation continues—reshape the entire body into a magic body and condense the liquid magic energy into a crystal core.
This marks the end of the Official Magician realm, corresponding to Professional Rankings 6 to 8.
All of this takes four years, leaving a decade before the final battle.
Merin doesn't focus on his personal cultivation during this time.
He no longer needs to train in the same way—his core strength now deepens through comprehension of the world and through the process of creating the Official Magician realm.
Magic energy permeates the dimension and originates from its source energy, so understanding magic energy increases his understanding of the dimension itself.
Driven by this, Merin begins creating the next cultivation realm.
It takes him eight years.
He names it Bright Moon Magician.
In this realm, the magician's crystal core rises from the body into the sea of consciousness and becomes a protective sanctuary for the soul.
He names it Bright Moon because, in the sea of consciousness, the crystal core appears like a luminous full moon, illuminating everything around it.
He applies the cultivation system to himself, raising his Earth Transformation Realm from the intermediate stage to the late stage—Professional Rank 10.
He has finally reached the same tier he held in the Dragon World.
There, he failed to reach Rank 11.
But in this world, he aims to do what he couldn't.
The knowledge he gains will be invaluable to his main body.
So after reaching Rank 10, he begins to contemplate how he might advance to Rank 11.
He discovers that the breakthrough is impossible within this dimension—it simply doesn't support it.
Even the vampire and werewolf kings have only reached the peak of Rank 10.
So, with both anticipation and unease, he waits for the final battle.
Two years later, the moment arrives—he becomes aware of his daughter's birthdate, 18 years ago, as the Cross Lady detaches from the dimension's will.
In that instant, he sends a thought across the capital, ordering a full-scale assault on the empire.
Then he vanishes, streaking through the air at extreme speed toward the ancient forest—
—the place Robert identified as the location of Valerie and his daughter.
In the ancient forest, Valerie lies shackled by an inhibitor that suppresses her magic, her wrists gripped tightly by two male Devourers.
Before her, her daughter sleeps atop a stone altar, while four female Devourers move in a slow, eerie ritual dance around her.
Valerie screams and thrashes—the shackle tears her skin, blood trickling down her arm—but she doesn't stop.
A single thought haunts her: would things be different if she had told them Adam was her bonded mate?
Maybe she would've received better protection—not from the Republic, perhaps—but surely from the supernatural factions.
Maybe she wouldn't be here, bound and powerless.
It was her overconfidence that led to this.
If only she could turn back time.
Suddenly, her daughter's eyes snap open.
Allison sits up slowly.
Valerie's panic turns to hope—maybe the possession hasn't happened, maybe Allison is still herself.
But then the child stands and speaks, her tone mature and twisted:
"My servant, you've done very well."
All the Devourers drop to their knees, bowing in unison.
"Welcome back, Mother."
Valerie breaks free of their grip and bolts toward her daughter—but stops dead in her tracks, frozen by an invisible barrier.
Allison—or rather, the voice using her—tilts her head and says, "You gave birth to a talented daughter for me. Rejoice, you've fulfilled the prophecy. Now the world will change."
She laughs—wild and unhinged.
Then a calm voice cuts through the air.
Even after eighteen years, Valerie knows it instantly.
"Tell me," the voice says, steady and cold, "how exactly do you plan to change the world?"
From the tree line, Adam walks into view.
Behind him, Republic troops emerge and encircle the clearing in silence.