Re-Overlord: I Can Acquire Anything!-Chapter 41: Incoming Storm

"BOOOM!"

The explosion rattled the underground training hall.

Fire met ice in a head-on collision.

The resulting shockwave rippled through the reinforced structure, shaking lamps and sending a tremor through the underground city’s layers. The sheer magnitude of the clash spoke volumes of their potential.

Both Nina and Igaris were blasted backwards by the rebound. Their bodies hit the steel-lined walls with a thud, leaving cracks behind. Blood trailed down from their lips, painting a stark contrast against their pale skin.

As the vapor and steam cleared, Igaris rose shakily to his feet. His legs trembled, and his arms hung heavy at his sides, burned but rapidly healing. His gaze locked onto the battlefield’s center.

There, at the point of impact, was a crater. Not massive, but deep enough to mark the reinforced flooring. It was undeniable.

"Did I... cause this?" he whispered, his voice hoarse with disbelief.

Nina lay still within the mist, her silver hair spread like moonlight on the cracked floor. Her clothes were singed, her breathing faint but steady.

Footsteps thundered down the hallway.

Leon appeared first, his cloak billowing behind him. His expression turned grim the moment he saw his apprentice.

"Nina!" he shouted, rushing to her side.

Behind him came Marina and three guards. Their eyes immediately scanned the room, settling on Igaris—wounded, standing, and seemingly the only one conscious.

"You!" Marina’s voice cracked with fury. "I vouched for you! I protected you from the others! And this is what you do?"

"No... I didn’t—" Igaris started, but two of the guards rushed in.

"Restrain him!" someone barked.

Magical cuffs clamped onto Igaris’s wrists. He didn’t resist as he was too baffled by everything to even move.

Marina stepped forward, face twisted in pain and betrayal. "I should’ve trusted my instincts. A Dark Summoner... always ends in disaster."

"But... it was a duel," Igaris tried to explain, "Just a duel."

Leon didn’t speak. He gently lifted Nina into his arms, checking her pulse. Her injuries weren’t fatal—but serious enough to trigger alarms across the Freedom Force.

Still silent, he turned to look at Igaris, his eyes unreadable.

Was it anger?

Doubt?

Or perhaps... something else?

Whatever it was, Igaris felt it in his bones.

But just then, Nina’s eyelids fluttered open.

Marina and Leon immediately turned toward her, relief flooding their expressions.

"Nina, are you okay?" Leon asked, crouching beside her.

"I’m fine," she said softly, then shifted her gaze to Igaris—still cuffed, guarded, and surrounded.

She instantly understood what had happened.

"They misunderstood," she murmured, sitting up slightly. Then, louder and clearer: "Set him free, Master. We were just having a duel. He defeated me fair and square."

Her words dropped like a stone into a silent pond.

"What?" Marina blinked, stunned. "He defeated you... fair and square?"

Leon’s expression froze. His gaze moved between his proud, elite apprentice and the battered boy standing restrained before him.

Even the guards looked confused.

Nina nodded, brushing silver strands from her eyes. "It was a clean match. I underestimated him—and paid the price."

Silence hung for a few heartbeats.

Then Leon let out a long breath. "Release him."

The cuffs clicked open, and Igaris stumbled slightly, rubbing his wrists, eyes flickering with disbelief of his own.

"Sigh, You’ve improved... faster than I imagined," Leon said, finally speaking directly to Igaris.

Marina crossed her arms, still skeptical. "He’s reckless. And dangerous."

Whatever judgment was coming, it was delayed for now.

But one thing was certain: the Freedom Force would no longer see him as just a Dark Summoner.

He had stepped onto their battlefield.

And left a crater to prove it.

---

Afterward, Igaris returned to his designated room to rest and eat.

Hours of intense training had left him utterly exhausted. So after finishing his simple dinner, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Evernight stood silent and vigilant in his inner world, keeping watch.

Far away, in a place brimming with powerful auras and radiant light, five ancient figures sat around a grand circular table.

The atmosphere was heavy with authority and secrecy. Behind them stood Leon and Marina, their heads slightly bowed in respect.

Leon stepped forward and began to speak.

He recounted the entire incident in detail—from the moment Igaris used the VIP training room to the explosive clash with Nina. Nothing was held back, for before these figures, deception was impossible.

Even Igaris’ most dangerous secret was revealed:

His mysterious ability to steal Magical Beasts from other Summoners.

The revelation stirred the room—but not enough to ring an alarm.

"A Dark Summoner capable of stealing beasts? That alone is nothing to worry about, Leon," said one of the elders, his voice calm and deep.

"Before the fall, we saw many like him. But they never posed a threat to high-level Summoners with stronger wills. His darkness might work against the weak, but not against the prepared."

He paused, then added, "Still, from what you’ve described, the boy shows promise. Fire and Space affinity, you say? We should groom him—make him a core member of the Freedom Force."

"Yes," said another voice. He was a handsome young man with spiky golden hair and a commanding aura. "The time has come to make our move."

"That fast? I mean... shouldn’t we give the new recruits more time to prepare, Your Majesties?" Leon asked cautiously.

"No. We can’t wait any longer," the golden-haired Supreme said, his tone resolute. "The Divine has declared it: the Perfect Society must be erased. The world order must be reshaped—to save it from the vermin who are poisoning it."

Another elder, eyes shadowed beneath a silver hood, spoke grimly, "I’ve heard the Society is trying to pierce beyond this world. Using their machines to escape... or perhaps to invade. If we let them succeed, they’ll reduce everything to ruin."

"Perfect Society?" scoffed a female Supreme, her voice sharp like ice. "Last time, we were slumbering. But this time, they’ll be nothing more than a memory."

Leon and Marina both swallowed hard.

The air grew heavy with tension—an invisible pressure that screamed of an approaching storm.

War.

And with war would come destruction, sacrifice, and rivers of blood.

They had to be ready.