Elias stood in the grand, shadowed throne room, his eyes locked onto King ric, whose regal form was now twisted by a dark, demonic presence. The once-noble king sat upon his throne with an eerie stillness, his eyes glowing a sickly red that betrayed the malevolence within.


    The air around him seemed to hum with a sinister energy, thick and oppressive, pressing down on Elias like a suffocating shroud.


    King ric leaned forward, a twisted grin ying on his lips. "What are you waiting for, Elias?" he taunted, his voice a haunting echo that reverberated through the chamber. "Every moment you hesitate, the refolk inch closer to their doom. They don''t have much time left, and you know it."


    Elias felt a jolt of shock, hisposure momentarily faltering. His heart raced as he processed ric''s words, and his mind whirled with the implications. The refolk were still alive? He had believed them dead, sacrificed in some cruel ritual or ughtered outright. His brow furrowed, and he stared at the possessed king, his shock barely masked beneath a re.


    "You mean... the refolk aren''t dead yet?" Elias''s voice was low, his disbelief mingled with a spark of hope. Perhaps there was still a chance to save them, to undo the damage ric''s demonic corruption had wrought.


    King ric chuckled, the sound a dark and mocking melody. "Judging by that look on your face, I see you had no idea. How delightful!" His eyes glinted with sadistic amusement as he continued. "No, I''m not so heartless as to simply wipe out an entire race with a flick of my wrist." He paused, letting the tension hang in the air before he sneered. "I am that heartless, don''t get me wrong.


    But where''s the fun in that? No, this is a game, Elias, and I want to savor every moment of it."


    Elias''s jaw clenched, frustration bubbling beneath his calm exterior. He knew the man ric used to be—honorable,passionate, a ruler who fought for his people. But now, that king was long gone, reced by a twisted puppet dancing on the strings of a demonic master. Every word ric spoke was filled with malice, every action calcted to inflict maximum pain.


    "Where are they?" Elias demanded, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging within him. He needed answers, needed to know how much time was left. The refolk''s lives hung in the bnce, and he couldn''t afford to waste a single second.


    ric''s grin widened, a grotesque parody of joy. "Oh, they''re safe for now, if you could call it that. Locked away in the deepest cells of this very castle. But here''s the twist—there''s a little surprise waiting with them. A poison sac, slowly releasing its deadly contents into their air supply. With every passing second, the sac weakens, and the poison seeps further.


    Soon, very soon, it will be toote."


    Elias''s mind raced a, but his expression remained calm. The longer he waited, the closer the refolk came to death, their bodies sumbing to a slow and agonizing demise. ric was toying with him, dangling the lives of the refolk like a cruel puppet master. Yet, in his arrogance, ric had also revealed a critical piece of information: the refolk''s location and the nature of their danger. Enjoy new adventures from mvl


    The king''s overconfidence might be his undoing.


    "If you want to save them," ric continued, his voice dripping with mockery, "you''ll have to beat me first. Do you have what it takes, Elias? Are you willing to risk everything to try?"


    Elias couldn''t help but smirk at the irony. For all of ric''s cunning, he had made a critical error: underestimating Elias''s abilities and assuming he would y by the rules of this twisted game. ric might think he had the upper hand, but Elias had no intention of fighting on ric''s terms.


    "Thanks for the tip, ric," Elias said, his tone deceptively light. Without another word, Elias activated his teleportation ring, vanishing with a sucking sound. He reappeared in the damp, darkened cells. The air was thick with the acrid stench of decay and the faint, bitter scent of poison.


    Elias''s heart sank as he took in the sight before him: the refolk, huddled together like livestock, even livestock weren''t treated like this. They were delirious, their eyes zed, barely aware of their surroundings.


    Elias''s gaze shifted to the poison sac suspended above the cells, a viscous, sickly fluid slowly dripping into the room. He could see the subtle shimmer of mana and poison miasma around it, designed to spread the poison insidiously. Without hesitation, Elias leaped to the ceiling and carefully snatched the sac.


    The refolk remained unmoving , their breaths shallow, but they were alive. Elias felt a wave of relief wash over him; there was still time to save them fully. He nced over the prisoners onest, Loria specifically and his heart ached at their condition, but he had no time to linger. With a determined nod, Elias teleported back to the throne room.


    King ric was lounging on his throne, a look of impatient boredom on his face. When Elias reappeared, the king''s eyes flicked up with a mild curiosity. "Ah, there you are. Where did you go?" ric sneered. "For a moment I thought you ran, if you did I wouldn''t have med you"


    Elias''s response was swift and wordless. He tossed the poison sack toward ric, who caught it instinctively. The king''s expression shifted from smug confidence to confused fury as he realized what had happened.


    "Looks like your n didn''t quite work out the way you wanted," Elias said, his voice edged with a controlled anger. "You want a fight, ric? Fine. I''ll give you the beating you crave, ."


    ric''s eyes zed with a dangerous light, his demonic nature ring as he crushed the poison sack in his hand, the vile liquid oozing between his fingers. His calm, collected demeanor cracked, revealing the wrathful expression beneath. He rose from his throne, the air around him shimmering with demonic energy.


    "You insolent wretch," ric hissed, his voice distorted by the demon within. "You think you''ve won anything? You''re nothing but a pawn, Elias. A pathetic, weak fool ying at heroism. I''ve torn through men far greater than you. Do you truly think you can fight me, Acadia: the demon King of Sloth?!"


    Elias stood his ground, his magic swirling around him in an aura of defiance. He could feel the weight of ric''s power, the oppressive force that aimed to crush his spirit. But he wouldn''t back down. Not now, not when so many lives depended on him. He met ric''s gaze, unflinching.