「地獄空」攝影集即將在八月中元節前出版，由知名設計師與攝影家黃子欽設計，內附在下二位高徒精美繪製符咒、心經版畫書籤、愣嚴咒牌、尊勝咒語...等，感恩十方大德助印，希望疫情退散，平安喜樂，後記如下：

野放台灣五十餘年，貪狼獨坐，三方四正殺破狼格局，少年多舛，白手起家，隨展覽雲遊四海，如閒雲野鶴常持各類底片機流連廢墟、山川、宮廟忘返，遂設幻影堂自詡堂主，一日三省「凡所有相皆是虛妄」，常宅於暗房沖片放大通宵、鍾情黑白世界之單純，彩色照片俗世繽紛花俏做作甜美甚至比現實更現實故少拍也。知天命之年有餘，了悟人生一瞬、眨眼即逝，雖非仙人，亦無道骨，初聞離垢地生清淨心，但離華嚴「不動地」尚遠，待修持也。
2017年盛暑拍畢《巨神連線》，心律不整差點心肌梗塞向閻羅王報到，意識死神隨伺在側，人生苦短，如何了生脫死、盡斷煩惱、無所罣礙、遠離顛倒……總不得解，蒙釋迦摩尼佛開示飆淚三晝夜，聞佛法數載始知自我渺如塵埃，甚感慚愧。閒暇乃參訪名寺古剎，禮敬焚香佛陀菩薩羅漢諸神天仙王爺媽娘，台灣宮廟千奇百怪、宗派錯綜複雜（佛教、道教、一貫道、天主教、基督教、齋教、回教＆大同教、儒教鑾堂、天帝教＆天德教、慈惠堂＆勝安宮、軒轅教、道院、理教、萬國道德會、會靈山……）、神棍橫行（依人不依法、偶像崇拜、斂財、邪淫），因歷史變遷、社會動盪、政治鬥爭、意識形態等因素導致佛道混雜，但地獄造景稀少，後專注拍攝各殿閻王、判官、陰司、獄卒、七爺、八爺乃至一切罪人，各寺造景巧妙、耐人尋味，意境乖張溢於言表，造型扭曲非常人所能塑也，然匠心獨運、自成一格，專研西方藝術數十載方知真誠樸拙最美，絲毫不輸喬托（Giotto di Bondone，1267～1337）乃至米開朗基羅（Michelangelo Di lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 1475 ~ 1564）矣。

創立於1986年的石門金剛宮風景優美可眺望北濱，雖主祀四面佛，儒釋道眾神尊也不含糊，可過七星橋解厄、繞行五百黝黑羅漢敲鑼印心、跪拜亞洲最大臥佛涅槃像，安太歲自不在話下，甲子太歲爺雙眼長出手掌印象甚深，1994年經閻羅王指示廟公建造一條肚內設極樂世界及陰曹地府之神龍，行走暗黑通道觸動感應機關，只見面容猙獰受刑者呼天搶地喊冤、身邊盡是血肉糢糊殘肢敗屍腦漿塗地，十殿閻羅各司其職、威儀攝人。新北市林口區青嶺湖北文紫祥宮包公廟則以壁面彩塑地獄浮雕獨步全台，粉嫩色彩搭配卡漫風格，尤為造型簡直恐怖到可愛透頂，該廟主祀森羅殿閻羅天子包拯（包青天），陽世冤屈者可至此參拜祭解，求破懸案者眾，逢中元普渡皆以紙紮船渡亡魂至彼岸，全台唯一閻羅天子巨像籌備中，四周環繞墓地，適合修不淨觀也。台灣首尊彰化八卦山大佛旁南天宮（1971）地府則是首座電動地府，規模精小但驚嚇度破表，略顯破敗但五光十色仍蠻凶悍，出自已故台南大道長金登富之作，而電動神明起始可追溯至1960年代北港朝天宮。倒是嘉義水上鄉白人牙膏觀光工廠「戴相府」、「將軍府」設置十殿地府出乎意料之外，乾淨亮麗、ㄧ殿ㄧ間、簡單樸實。由高雄蓮潭龍虎塔龍口入內可見全臺唯一交趾陶地獄牆面，尊尊栩栩如生，續入龍身乃進聞聲救苦白衣觀音大士三十三化身浮雕隧道，造型設色甚為古錐。高雄大岡山超峰寺入口處「西方三聖蓮池海會」（阿彌陀佛、觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩巨像）旁設靜態十殿閻羅（1970年代初），雖略為陳舊然韻味猶存，續往上行可抵「證菩提道－釋迦如來應化事迹」雕塑園區，一攬世尊畢生精華。如來年邁時，琉璃國王為報長期被釋迦族輕蔑之傲慢心，世尊雖三次單獨伽跌坐 阻擋大軍進攻之路，但因緣果報無法逆轉，昔日婢女所生王子瞋恨無以復加，還是滅了祖國。自持神通第一目犍連不忍無辜百姓慘遭屠殺，遂以缽盛救度五百族人，最終卻化為血水，佛言神通廣大仍不敵千百劫業力，因緣果報屢試不爽。其母死後墜入餓鬼道飢餓難耐，目犍連遂展神通救渡，但所食尚未入口皆化為赤火，佛陀囑咐農曆七月十五日僧眾解安居自恣日，於盆中設甘露美食供養十方僧眾，因此超度亡母。後世「盂蘭盆法會」乃至「水懺法會」、「瑜珈焰口法會 」皆為消業障、斷塵垢之超渡儀軌，既渡亡魂也自懺悔。

台南麻豆代天府規模宏大、造型豔麗，不但可遊十八層地獄尚可逛天堂（1979年興建，1983年開放)，燈光絢爛、聲響駭人，獨自漫步宛如觀落陰、地獄走一回。先過「心頭山」、入「清心池」、進「陰陽界」、抵「交簿廳」、達「鬼門關」、遊「補經所」、探「枉死城」、行「奈何橋」，至ㄧ殿泰廣王照「孽鏡台」現造惡原形，睹抱柱、火床等小地獄。二殿楚江王開「陰查簿 」判案定奪，觀糞尿泥、餓鬼、舞池、寒冰、膿血、鞭韃、舌犁、劍葉、戟腹拋接、砧截……等小地獄。三殿宋帝王刑罰為倒吊、銅鐵刮臉、挖眼、搗樁、倒烤、吸血、穿肋、抽筋、蛆蛀等小地獄……兼遊「四生（胎、卵、濕、化）回魂府」。四殿五官王掌管腰斬、拔舌、沸湯、刺嘴、剝皮、箭樹、車崩、射眼……等十六小地獄。隨五殿森羅王豋「望鄉臺」回眸親人最終眼後觀擊膝、誅心、刀山、飛刀火石……小地獄。六殿卞城王別稱「大叫喚大地獄」，轄火牛、虎啖、噬腎、鉗嘴含鍼、釘喉、磨摧、砍頭……等小地獄。七殿泰山王為「熱惱大地獄」，窺烙手指、抽腸、頂石蹲身、油釜滾烹、割舌穿腮……等十六小地獄。八殿都市王掌管「大熱惱大地獄」兼火狗、鐵汁、鐵蛇、鋸劈斷肢、釘板、灸脊、鐵丸、磅秤……等小地獄。九殿平等王直轄十八層「阿鼻大地獄」，直透地心、內中陰森、不見五指、滿溢地漿，皆為極犯，另轄紫赤毒蛇鑽孔、夾頂、鐵鴉、針雨、蜂蠍……等小地獄。至十殿輪轉王上「觀生臺」、「轉劫所八司」（查驗司 、稽善司 、考過司 、恩怨司 、壽命司 、支配司、掌劫司 、授生司）後至「孟婆亭」飲「醧忘湯」忘盡前塵往事，依前世功德過金、銀、玉、石、木、竹六種橋樑至「轉輪臺（紫河車）」入六道輪迴轉生投胎。據《十八泥犁經》記載，人過世後七七四十九天為「中陰生」，經閻羅王審判善惡業力判定去留或懲罰百千萬劫，犯五逆重罪則墮入「無間地獄（阿鼻地獄）」永劫不復。地藏王乃幽冥教主，統轄十殿閻羅，逢三曹普渡便在各殿設「講道所」超度尚存善根之鬼魂。

人類居於五趣（阿修羅、人、傍生、餓鬼、地獄）雜居地五濁惡世之堪忍世界，犯十惡業（殺生、偷盜、邪淫、妄語、兩舌、惡口、綺語、貪慾、嗔恚、愚痴）者必墮三趣惡道。如何出「三界」（欲界、色界、無色界）二十八天？凡人無此意識，別說能破「十二因緣」（無明、行、識、名色、六入、觸、受、愛、取、有、生、老死）還滅門，更別想斷除「四聖諦」（苦、集、滅、道）集地八十一品見惑與八十八使思惑（五利使-身見、邊見、邪見、見取見、戒禁取見、五鈍使-貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑），了悟「五蘊」（色、受、想、行、識）本空、「十二入」（眼、耳、鼻、舌、意、色、聲、香、味、觸、法）空、「十八界」空，破俱生我執與分別我執、法執甚至空執，生十一處「善心所」（信、精進、慚、愧、無貪、無瞋、無痴、輕安、不放逸、行捨、不害），降二十六處「惡心所」（貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑、惡見、忿、恨、覆、惱、嫉、慳、誑、諂、害、憍、無慚、無愧、掉舉、惛沉、不信、懈怠、放逸、失念、散亂、不正知），須知善根斷盡則陷永劫輪迴、無垠轉世之苦。

地獄可能空滅嗎？若地獄空乏人間多鬼怪，地獄淨空世間何嘗非淨土？若能證空性何處現地獄？

地獄曠古來便廣泛流傳各部族間，老死生滅為自然運行之基礎、宇宙意識之核心，然今文明昌盛如咱城邦並非慾望消弭之所，惡性所及實無可根除，礙於憲法國家法律社會軍隊企業公司學校家庭團體之層層束縛不亞於十八層，乃遁於壓抑、束己情懷，暗埋心底、日久貪嗔痴慢疑怨噌會疊穢。而六塵未熄，心多妄念，妖魔鬼怪魑魅魍魎孤魂閃靈出沒於荒郊乃至人間，會靈於曠野密林以增性靈乃出世高人修煉之舉，我等凡人擅闖宛如迪士尼般之人造地獄，三魂七魄尚不足以出竅，驚邪恐怖淒厲猙獰倒滿足了自以為是的慚愧，豈不謬哉？

病毒肆虐年半有餘，全球確診者逼近一億八千萬，枉死者近四百萬，堪比戰爭規模，望眾生發慈悲心、令往生者安息、善待其他物種、平等有情眾生。地獄本空，唯妄念生起一切羨慕嫉妒恨而地獄現前。盡以此書作為世界新冷戰獨裁者、超限戰者、暗網駭客、陰險狡猾冷嘲熱諷落井下石者之良知備忘錄矣。

姚瑞中寫於2021年端午節

Postscript

I have been living recklessly in Taiwan for more than fifty years. According to Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology), Tan Lang is the sole star in my house of Self. This star, which represents xxx, forms an equilateral triangle with that star Qi Sha and Po Jun on the square chart and constitutes a Sha Po Lang pattern. The pattern indicates a kind of turbulence and change, a life of wandering with ups and downs and it tells a lot about my life. After my ill-fated youth, I started from scratch and traveled around the world with exhibitions that I participated. Like a flaneur, I wandered around ruins, nature, and temples with every type of film camera obliviously. Thus, I founded the Hall of Illusion and claimed to be the master of the hall. Several times a day, I pondered a quote from the Diamond Sutra, “Everything with form is unreal.” In addition, I usually stayed in the darkroom developing film and enlarging those negatives overnight. However, I treasured the simplicity of the black and white world. The earthly, gaudy, garish, phony and pleasing qualities within colored photos make the images even more realistic than the real world. It is not my cup of tea, so I seldom took colored photos. In Confucian thought, the age of fifty marks the stage knowing the mandate of Heaven. I am now at my fifties and realize how ephemeral human life is. However, I am not an immortal, nor having sagelike characteristics. I just learned that the stage of stainless (the second bhūmi) and develop a pure mind that is free from doubt and defilement. However, I’m still far from the immovable state and need to practice.

In the summer of 2017, after filming the work Incarnation, I experienced a severe heart rhythm problem which almost triggered myocardial infarction and could have killed me. Consequently, I realized that death was waiting for me and the life is too short to figure out how I can liberate myself from the cycle of Birth and Death. I couldn’t comprehend how to be free from all afflictions and worries and how to avoid delusive ideas. I wept for three days and nights after being enlightened by Shakyamuni Buddha. Up to the moment, I felt ashamed that I failed to realize that the self is as insignificant as dust after these years learning and practicing Buddhism. Since then, I have visited famous temples and monasteries in my spare time, worshiping Buddha, Bodhisattvas, arhats, and all the deities and immortals. Taiwan’s temples are myriad with a enormous number of sects, including Buddhism, Taoism, Yiguandao, Catholicism, Christianity, Chinese religions of fasting, Islam& Baháʼí Faith, Confucianism, Tiandiism& Tian-De Teachings, Xiwangmu cult, Yellow Emperor Sect, Precosmic Salvationism, Liism, World Wide Ethical Society, séance cult, etc. Some people even claim that they can mediate communication between the deities or spirits of the dead with human beings, having their believer rely on themselves instead of the orthodox dharma or dogma and pay excessive respect and admiration for the mediums or objects, accumulating wealth through such an unfair means or even harassing their believer sexually. Due to Taiwan’s historical changes, social turbulence, political struggles, and ideological issues, Buddhism and Taoism are somehow mixed. However, there are few emphases on the concept of the hell. As I took photographs of Yama of each court, judges, wardens of the underworld, jailers, General Fan and Hsieh (the ghost escorts) and all sinners, I found few temples cleverly created hellish scenes that are intriguing, exaggerating, and extraordinary. However, the creations are unparalleled unique. I have been studying Western arts for decades and then I came to realize that simplicity makes the most beautiful works of art. These hellish scenes can even compete with works of Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) and Michelangelo Di lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564).

Jingang Temple Shimen District, founded in 1986, overlooks the beautiful North shore. Although the temple is mainly dedicated to Phra Phrom (the Thai representation of Mahabrahma), spirits of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism can also be founded in the temple. The worshipper can go cross the Seven Star bridge to relieve bad luck, walk along the five hundred arhat statues and knock on the gong to affirm one’s Buddha nature. Furthermore, the worshipper can also prostrate themself before Asia’s largest statue of Buddha in Nirvana (the Reclining Buddha statue) and pacify the Taoist Tai Sui deity of the year. I was impressed by the Jia-Zi Tai Sui General that a pair of palms grow out of his eyes. In 1994, the biō-kong (the person taking charge of the temporal affairs of a temple) received a divine inspiration from Yama (the King of Hell) that he had to build a sacred hall in the shape of a divine dragon, with the interior designed according to the World of Ultimate Bliss and the Underworld. When the visitor walks in the dark hallway, they will see the tortured people (dioramas, of course) scrunching their faces and crying bitterly and loudly in excessive grief as the visitor triggers the mechanism. One will even find them in the midst of flesh, body liquid and blood, mutilated limbs, and rotten corpses. While each of the ten Yamas are focusing on their own duties, showing their sacred dignity that collect visitors’ attention. The Baogong Temple in Linkou District, New Taipei City exclusively features colorful depiction of hellish scenes in relief in Taiwan. With its pastel shades and cartoon-like style, the relief is both grotesque and adorable at the same time. This temple is dedicated to Bao Zhen (also known as Justice Bao) representing the incarnation of Yama. Living people who have been treated unjustly can come worshipping Bao Gong and receive exorcism. Therefore, many people come here for seeking to solve unsolved cases. In Zhongyuan Festival (the ghost festival), the temple will burn the Zhizha (paper craft) boat to ferry the ghosts to the other shore, which is the shore of enlightenment. The only giant statue of Yama in Taiwan is still in the making. The temple is surrounded by a cemetery, suitable for meditating on the loathsomeness and impurity. Nantian Temple (1971), located next to the Eight Trigram Mountains Buddha in Changhua, features the first animatronic underworld. Despite the small size, the animatronic underworld is intensely shocking. Though it’s slightly worn, the colorful dioramas are still brutally ferocious. The creator was the late venerable Dao Zhang (Taoist priest) Jing Deng-fu while the origin of animatronic deities can be traced back to the 1960s Beigang Chaotian Temple. On the contrary, the Whiteman Toothpaste Tourism Factory in Shuishang Township, Chiayi, features ten Yamas with individual booth. The place is unexpectedly clean and polished yet keeps a simple and modest tone. Then, the Dragon Pagoda of the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Lake in Zuoying, Kaohsiung, holds the only relief of hellish scenes made of Kochin ceramic. All the figures are vivid and life-like. If one goes further into the pagoda, they will see a relief tunnel of the thirty-three incarnations of the white-robed form of Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) on a white lotus, with a lovely and interesting design. Another Hall of Yama is built in the 1970s next to the entrance of Dagangshan Chaofeng Temple, located in the Alian District of Kaohsiung. Visitors will also see three statues of the Three Holy Ones of the Western Pureland (Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta) which assemble at a lotus pond. Although the hellish scene looks somewhat antiquated, you may still find its previous charm. If one goes further, they will reach the sculptural garden of “Attaining the Bodhi Way: the Incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha,” where the visitor can see the essence of Bhagavato’s (meaning the Blessed one, one of the common epithets for Buddha) life. When Tathāgata (another epithet for Buddha) was old, the king of Kosala wanted to avenge the arrogance of the tribe of Shakyas who had long despised him, regarding him as a son of a maiden. Although Buddha has sat in lotus position alone three times to stop the army from attacking his tribe. However, one can never reverse the cause and following karma. The prince born of a maiden was so furious that he eventually destroyed his homeland. Maudgalyāyana (one of the Buddha’s closest disciples), who is said to have had supernatural abilities that surpassed the other disciples, could not bear to see the slaughter of innocent people. Thus, he saved five hundred people of his tribe with a pātra (an eating utensil of Buddhist monks). Unfortunately, everything he did was in vain, those who were saved eventually turned into a puddle of blood. The Buddha said that the supernatural abilities cannot surpass the power of karma. The cause and effect work all the time. When Maudgalyāyana’s mother fell into the path of hungry ghost, he used his supernatural abilities to save his mother from hunger. However, all the food turned into fire before being fed to his mother. Later, the Buddha commanded the monks to put nectar and dishes in a basin on the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar for the monks from all directions to free his mother from reincarnation. In later times, the Ullambana Dharma Service, the Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance, and the Yoga Collection for Feeding the Searing Mouths Dharma Service are rituals to eliminate karmic hindrance and to cease to worldly delusions. Through such practices, one can free the dead as well as confess their repentance.

Madou Daitian Temple is a magnificent and colorful temple in Tainan. Not only can the worshippers visit the eighteen levels of Hell but also the Heaven (it was built in 1979 and inaugurated in 1983) here. The lighting and sound effects are stunning and frightening. When walking alone in the space, one may feel like taking a Guan Luo Yin trip (a Taoist necromancy which leads people’s spirits to hell and communicate with the dead ones) to visit the underworld prison. Before arriving the first court of the underworld, the visitor will walk through the Mountain of Heart Summit, the Pure Heart Pond, the Frontier between the Living and the Dead Realms, the Soul Registry Hall, the Portico of Demons, the Center for Complementary Teaching of Canonical Books, the Citadel of Premature Death, and the Bridge of Vanity. When one arrives at the first court, they will see King Chin-guang, who is in charge of the court, using the Mirror of Retribution to show the earthly form of evil creatures and also witness the sub-hell of Pillar-Holding and Fire Bed, etc. At the second court, King Chu-jiang collates the register of sins the souls of the dead have committed to impose the punishments. Here, you will see the sub-hell of Excrement and Urine, Hungry Ghost, Burning Dance Floor, Ice, Pus and Blood, Whipping, Tongue-Raking, Sword Blade, Stomach-Piercing, Chopping, etc. Next, the dead at the third court, ruled by King Song-di, will receive the punishments including inversion tortures, face-skinning with steel and copper knife, eye-wrenching, pounding, blood-sucking, rib-piercing, roasting, tendon-taking, being eaten by maggots. The visitor can pay a visit to the Palace of Soul-Resuscitation for the Four Forms of Creatures (birth from an egg, birth from a womb, birth from moisture, and birth by transformation). King Wu-guan is in charge of the fourth court. There are sixteen sub-hells at the fourth court including Waist Chop, Tongue Removal, Boiling Pond, Mouth-stabbing, Skin-peeling, Sword Tree, Burning Wheels and Cart, Eye-shooting, etc. Next, at the fifth court, sinful souls are allowed to ascend the Tower of Hometown-Viewing to take a final look of their family. The visitor will witness sub-hells of Knee-striking, Heart-slicing, Blade Mountain, Flying Swords and Burning Stones, etc. The King of Bian City takes charge of the sixth court, which is also known as the “Great Hell of Screaming,” with sub-hells including Fire Cattle, Tiger-Biting, Kidney-Eating, Mouth-Poking, Throat-Nailing, Iron Mill, Decapitation, etc. The King of Tai-shan is in charge of the seventh court, the “Great Hell of Heat and Fire.” The sixteen sub-hells at this court include Finger-Searing, Bowel-Hauling, Stone-Bearing, Boiling Oil, Tongue-Removal and Cheek-Piercing, etc. Next, the King Du-shi is in charge of the eighth court, the “Great Hell of Intense Fire and Heat,” and the sub-hells including Fire Dogs, Molten Iron, Iron Snakes, Dismemberment, Steel Spikes, Burning-Marrow, Iron Ball, Scale, etc. The ninth court is ruled by the King Ping-deng. It is known as the biggest court, Avici Hell (the Hell of Incessant Suffering), which if the lowest level of the hell realm and the interior is gloomily and terrifyingly dark. Those who committed the most serious evil deed will be sent to the Avici Hell. Sub-hells such as Poisonous Snake, Brain-Removal, Crow-Gnawing, Raining Needles, Wasps and Scorpions are included at this court. After arriving the tenth court, ruled by the Great King of the Reincarnation Palace, one can visit the “Observatory of Life on earth” and the “eight bureaus of the Reincarnation Palace” (including the Bureau of Judicial Control, the Bureau of Good-Actions, the Bureau of Bad-Actions, the Bureau of Debts, Gratitude, and Vengeance, the Bureau of Longevity and Destiny, the Bureau of Familial Ties, the Bureau of the Reincarnated, and the Bureau of Birth). The sinful one will be sent to the Pavilion of Mengpo and made to drink the Soup of Forgetfulness to forget all past affairs. According to the sinful one’s merits of previous life, they will go across one of the six bridges (gold, silver, jade, stone, wood, bamboo) to the “Reincarnation-Wheel (Wheel on the Crimson River).” Finally, one is able to reborn in the six realms. According to the Aṣṭadaśa nāraka sutra ( the Eighteen Hells Sutra), after one passes away, they will enter an intermediate and transitional state between death and rebirth, known as antarābhava in Sanskrit, for forty-nine days. The being will be evaluated by Yama, who will decide if one should get reborn or get punished at the hell. Those who committed the Five Grave Offenses (killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an Arhat, shedding the blood of a Buddha, and creating a schism within the community of Buddhist monks and nun who practice for attaining enlightenment.) will be sent to the Avici Hell and stay there eternally. Kṣitigarbha is the Lord of the Nether World, ruling the ten court of Hell. The lord will set up the “Hall of Teaching” at each court to salvage those sinful ones who still obtain few merits at the offering rituals.

Human beings live the Sahā world (sahāloka in Sanskrit, meaning “endurance of suffering,” a concept of mundane world in Mahāyāna Buddhism) where they share with other reincarnations (including beings of the hells, of the preta, and of malevolent nature spirits) with five turbidities (the Kalpa turbidity, the view turbidity, the affliction turbidity, the living beings turbidity, and the life turbidity). Those who commit the ten evil deeds (killing, stealing, adultery, lying, using immoral language, slandering, equivocating, coveting, anger, and false views) must fall into the three evil paths (animals, preta, and hell). However, how can one escape from the three realms/ twenty-eight heavens (including the six heavens of the desire realm, the eighteen heavens of the form realm, and the four heavens of the formless realm)? Worldly people who don’t have such an awareness cannot leave the cycle of the twelve nidanas (meaning causes or motivations), let alone eliminate the eighty-one afflictions (that have been produced due to misunderstanding regarding reality) and the eighty-eight illusions (including five afflictions of advanced practitioners, also known as five views: view of self, extreme view, evil view, view of attachment to views, and view of morality; and five unintelligent temptations: desire, anger, stupidity, arrogance, and doubt) of thought within the three realms and four Arya satyas (noble truths, including suffering, arising, ending, and path). They cannot realize that the essence of the five skandhas (referring to aggregates of clinging, including the matter of form, sensation, recognition, mental formation, and consciousness) , the twelve ayatana (meaning sense base, including six internal bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind and six external bases: visible objects, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects), and the eighteen dhātavah (meaning compositional elements of human existence, including six consciousness, six faculties, and their objects) are the emptiness and the void. Furthermore, they cannot dispel the two reasons for clinging to the idea of the self and the attachment to elemental constructs and even believe in the two (false) tenets that that karma and nirvana are not real and that the ego and phenomena are real. As a consequence, they fail to develop the eleven wholesome mental factors (faith, energy, conscience, being ashamed, non-attachment, non-aggression, non-delusion, calmness, equanimity, conscientiousness, and non-injuriousness) and cease the sixteen unwholesome mental factors (desire, greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, doubt, wrong view, wrath, enmity, hypocrisy, vexation, jealousy, parsimony, deceit, flattery, harming, ambitiousness, stupidity, lacking of faith, idleness, being unrestrained, forgetting, distraction, non-discernment, ). One must bear in mind that once all our virtuous roots are discontinued, they will be trapped in the never-ending reincarnation and the suffering of infinite continuity.
Is it possible that the hell will be empty one day? If the beings in hell will become extinct while evil spirits inhabit the mundane world, the world could be considered as a pure land. If we could witness the nature of the void, then hell will exist no more.
Since ancient times, the concept of hell has been widely spread among all tribes. Aging, death, beginning, and end are the basis of nature and the core of cosmic consciousness. However, the prosperous civilization as our island is not a place where desire can be eliminated. It’s impossible to eradicate evil nature. Since fetters brought by the constitution, the state, the law, society, the military, corporations, schools, families, and groups are not less than the eighteen levels of hell, the mortals repress themselves, bury their feelings. Day after day, greed, anger, stupidity, arrogance, doubt, and resentment are stacking. However, since the six dust (visible objects, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects) has not yet been extinguished, people in the mundane world are still full of delusions. The demons, devils, evil spirits, and the wondering dead exist in the wilderness, while only advanced practitioners with transcendent would attempt to make contact with the dead in the wasteland and forest. Worldly people like us trespass in Disneyland-like man-made hell. It is absurd and ridiculous that the hellish scenes cannot stop us from perpetrating evil deeds, but the horrific and cruel scenes yet satisfy our self-righteous shame.

The pandemic has been boiling over for more than a year and a half. The number of infected patients worldwide is nearly a hundred and eighty million, and the death toll has risen to four million, which is equivalent to a war crisis. I hope that we can all be compassionate, give peace to the dead, treat all sentient beings well and equally. The hell is innately empty; however, deluded and misleading thoughts would give rise to all jealousy and hatred and then manifest the hell before us. This book merely serves as a memorandum of conscience for dictators of the world’s new cold war, supporters of unrestrained warfare, dark web hackers, and those who are cunning and contemptuous and maltreat others when knowing they have problems.

June 2021,

Yao Jui-chung

Theatre of the absurd for real (Lee Yee)

Carrie Lam said last week she was not worried about “being included on the sanction list” and had no assets in the U.S., nor did she aspire to America, so without a visa, she might as well exclude America from the list of countries she would travel.

Being the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and asked whether she was concerned about being picked on by a foreign country, she should have answered appropriately that she was worried about the overall Hong Kong issue instead of uttering personal affairs. In fact, her son is doing his doctorate in America. If the sanction against her threatens his resident visa, how could she not be worried? Worse still, if the sanction is stringently put in force, the banks that service the sanctioned will become embroiled, and will thereby revoke the accounts of the latter.

Chip Tsao said on his Facebook page, “Her saying ’I have no assets in the U.S.’, deemed by netizens in the mainland an innuendo against members of the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) moving their assets to America, has unexpectedly made her one-night heroine in the mainland.” Some mainland netizens said they were moved by the firmness and unyieldingness of Carrie Lam, and if all their officials and party members were the same as Carrie Lam, no one would give a damn about the U.S.’s sanctions.

The media disseminated that the U.S. government is considering banning all CCP members and their families from traveling in the U.S. and expelling those currently in the U.S.. When White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked about it, she answered that she had nothing to announce regarding that aspect, but with respect to issues about China, they reserved every possible option. It means the abovementioned measure is not obviated.

Global Times Chief Editor Hu Xijin said on his Weibo page: “This has been the most insane envision of U.S.’s diplomatic measure made by Washington, D.C. so far, and leaking the news to the media is also an evil act”. Mainland netizens jeered at him by saying, “What are you jittering at, Hu? Now that you are so contemptuous of American Imperialism, why do you take a U.S. visa to heart? A ban on CCP members and their families from traveling in America is no big deal. We don’t care for it! It has nothing to do with ‘insaneness’ and ‘evilness’. ”

Honestly, “insaneness” and “evilness” are just words of exaggeration. In actuality, the measure pertains to U.S. domestic affairs. The U.S. Immigration Act stipulates that all subordinates to communist party and members of its affiliates cannot enter or immigrate to the U.S., surely with clauses of exemption. If the U.S. wants to do it, it can simply enforce it without unnecessary legislation.

Carrie Lam‘s “not worried” and Hu’s “insaneness” have in fact laid bare their genuine worries at heart. When sanctions befall individuals, it is all about personal interests instead of state’s interests. Carrie Lam’s son is in the U.S.; Xi Jinping’s daughter is said to be in the U.S.; a lot of other officials’ offspring and assets are also in the U.S.. It seems that the sanctions will be extended to the U.K. and other countries.

The National Security Law takes the cake. In less than a month since its promulgation, the U.S. and China have been at daggers drawn with each other. It has also put China in a situation in which it is beleaguered by countries all around the world. All of these amount to the theatre of the absurd. Everything stems from a book about Xi Jinping’s private life to be published. Then, five stakeholders of Causeway Bay Books disappeared. It was suspected that Paul Lee, one of the owners, was carted off to the mainland. Amidst an uproar in the media, the extradition amendment bill was tabled for deliberation early last year upon the question “Why can’t we nab a person in Hong Kong?” put forward by Beijing. “Extradition to China” was to be legalized by communist Hong Kong in collaboration with China so that cross-border law enforcement would be made legitimized. However, the backlash from Hong Kong people against it was unexpectedly ferocious and extensive, even making an impact on the international community. After the withdrawal of the bill, the National Security Law, which is even sterner, was then introduced. To everyone’s surprise, the evil law triggered off backfire from all around the world, followed by countries laying siege to China in tandem on end.

How to make an elephant out of a fly

What is weirdest is Carrie Lam tabled the extradition amendment bill to allegedly remedy a “loophole” in the extradition treaty with Taiwan, yet in the end she prompted those countries including the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK and Finland that have signed an extradition treaty with Hong Kong to rescind the treaties which were based on the promise that criminals would not be extradited to China. With the National Security Law having taken effect, the basis is gone. More countries are believed to follow suit.

The loophole is not remedied, but keeps on festering. There could be a complete collapse of Hong Kong and China’s diplomatic relations with the world. The calamity stems from just a little book. What else could be more absurd?

ASAKU® X Dragon Life
Part.1
All 13 chapters in this book.

Original author：Mingkun Liu
Translator: Claudia Liu @ fanyi4life
Preface: Outline of ASAKU X Dragon Life

In year 36722 on Epic Calendar...

On the surface in the Epic World, green Mirror Cores started to appear on Humans Continent, Fairies Continent, and Phantom Continent. The location differed every time it happened. Meanwhile, the center was pouring out little guarding monsters. In 24 hours, the green core would turn red and release energy of Reversal Impact in radius of one kilometer, to turn back the time. The energy released would bring even more powerful monsters, together with the supreme core monster. One Mirror Core would cause one Reversal Impact which would turn animals or monsters around berserk as well.

The Mirror Cores emerged one after another, with the intervals of three to seven days. Currently, there was no way to destroy it. Once a Reversal Impact took places, the time within the range would be turned back, as well as the lives and scenery would be restored to the previous condition. In other words, people might become younger, but those who haven’t outlived the time reversed would disappear. Things would be restored to normal once they leave the range.

When Reversal Impact happened, not only time was turned back, but plenty of monsters would pour in to protect the core. People that once lived in the time that was reversed would be brought back as well, but appeared like a reanimated corpse without a soul. Yet for others who still remembered them, it would be a moment to look forward to.

Since the time reversed could not be estimated, no one dared to risk inside the range and fight against the monsters. When the Reversal Impact took place, whoever was inside the range could do nothing but evacuate as soon as possible.

On the surface of the Epic World, the Fairies were the only ones that were invulnerable to Reversal Impact, which also explained why the Mirror Core would not be found on the Fairies Continent. The Fairies were shielded from the danger of the Reversal Impact. We were not entirely sure of the reason why the Fairies were protected, but they did not hold the power to destroy the core. The only solution the Fairies could propose was to seal the core, to stop the monsters from flooding in our world.

Delegated by Oudelos, the Fairies King, Asaku, as the Seal Priest from the Light race, led his partners to explore the world. With the Compass of No Return, which could locate the Mirror Core and calculate the time turned back, Asaku would seal the core to stop Reversal Impact and the inundation of monsters.
Chapter One: Asaku the Seal Priest

At three o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, August 12th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar...

In the Village of Eden, part of the Kingdom of Phil and located on the south-west of Humans Continent, a Mirror Core appeared and villagers started to evacuate. Troops dispatched by the Kingdom of Phil were engaged in a hard fight against monsters to ensure a safe evacuation of villagers. In the last thirty minutes when the core started to turn red, the military retreated and set up a line of defense in a safe zone outside village. Once the Reversal Impact started, the monsters would no longer be limited. All of a sudden, in front of the troops popped up a Folding Corridor from which a young magic knight walked out. The magic knight was dressed in blue with a white cloak, equipped with the Seal Knife and followed by a clown puppet and a winged lion. There was also an adorable little girl, walking with the trio toward the village. Some soldiers saw them and tried to stop them. The magic knight turned around and said, “Per order of Oudelos, the Fairies King, I am the delegate to seal the Mirror Core. My name is Asaku, the Seal Priest from the Light race. You are all useless here, so just run.”

Soldiers said, “How insolent!”

Hearing this, the little girl standing by Asaku punched him on the shoulder and said, “Asaku, that is just rude!”

Then she turned around and saluted the soldiers, saying, “My name is Ellia, and I am the animal trainer from the Soil race. Asaku is my brother, and I apologize for his attitude. May I ask: who is the general leading the troops?”

The human general stepped ahead, replying respectfully, “We appreciate assistance from the Fairies. This is General Stalul. Please kindly seal the core to prevent even more damage.

Ellia asked, “Have all villagers evacuated?”

General Stalul replied, “Yes, we have sent everyone to a safe place.”

Upon hearing this, Asaku said, “Great! So now I can do anything I want freely!” Then he rushed into the village with the clown puppet and the illusion lion, in the direction where the core was with all the monsters.

Ellia saluted General Stalul again and explained, “I am here to investigate the reason why monsters have gone berserk. Even the generally gentle monsters are turned violent by the core. Please proceed with caution.” Then Ellia ran into the village and caught up with Asaku.

Facing assault of countless monsters, Asaku fought back with the Seal Knife. Those monster who were injured by the Seal Knife were sealed and frozen. Meanwhile, this knife absorbed and stored power of monsters. What’s more, it could also soak up power of attributes from the Nature. For example, if the knife came in touch with stone, it took in the power of soil.

When Asaku cast magic, he had the three-star matrix magic on his left hand, the reversed matrix magic on his right hand, so all he had to do was to take in the power, based on its nature, and use it on the matrix magic to initiate an attack. When swamped by monsters, Asaku could use the reversed three-star matrix magic to amplify the magic power; to focus fire, Asaku could zero in on the three-star matrix magic for a fatal blow. The more power the rituals absorb, the more potent the magic will be.

Ellia used the Love Racket to purge the monsters. Ordinary monsters would be pacified and become passive. Some of them would even help Ellia in combat.

The closer they were to the core, the more powerful the monsters were. Determined to dash into the core, Asaku put away the Seal Knife and yelled at the clown puppet, “Come, Ghost Card Uda, transform into the Sun Sword!" Uda then transformed from a clown puppet into a sword as shining as the sun. Asaku chopped his way toward the core with the Sun Sword. However, where the sun didn’t shine, the sword lost its glow and power as well. Uda said, “Asaku, seriously, I don’t have power without the sun. And the sun is setting soon. So chop chop, wrap it up now!”

Asaku replied, “Yea, roger that. I’ll finish the fight as soon as possible!” Then he hopped on the illusion lion, and dashed toward the core.

Soon Asaku and his partners arrived at the core that was about to turn red, but a baby’s crying caught everyone’s attention. Looking for where the crying was from, Asaku found a young mother holding a baby, hiding in a corner nearby. Asaku shouted but there wasn’t time. Without second thought, Asaku flew to the woman and grabbed her. Ellia held the baby tightly and hoped to take the mother and her baby to safety. At that moment, Reversal Impact happened!!

A strong wave of ripple dispersed and things around started to change. The young mother turned into ashes and disappeared, yet the baby in Ellia’s arms survived unharmed like a miracle. Shocked, Ellia held the baby and screamed, “You said everyone was evacuated, everyone!”

Checking on the Compass of No Return, Asaku learned that the time was turned back eighty years. Ghost Card Uda reminded Asaku to seal the core and prevent more loss.

Asaku asked Ellia to take the baby to safety, but once the baby left Asaku’s arms, he started to cry. No one but Asaku could calm the baby down. The baby clutched Asaku. In the end, Asaku carried the baby on his back and returned to combat to seal the core. Ellia even teased Asaku about the baby.

Irritated, Asaku yelled, “Shut up!!”

The yelling woke up the baby and he started to cry. At the same time, both Asaku and Ellia put a finger in front of the mouth and said, “hssssss” to hush the baby.

Asaku said, “The supreme demon has showed up. Let’s go knock it down, get it done and go home!”

The supreme demon for this core was a giant cannibal flower, spitting poison at Asaku and lashing him with its vines. Dodging with Flying-n-Leaping, Asaku chopped all vines he could but failed to get close to the demon for a direct strike.

Strange to say, but the baby Asaku carried stayed composed through the fight. He was so quiet, unusually quiet.

Ellia rode on a mountain pig she just calmed, trying to assist Asaku in combat. Yet the demon was too powerful, so all she could do was flee.

By then, the sun set completely. Ghost Card Uda shouted, “Oh no! The sun…” then it turned back into the clown puppet.

Without the Sun Sword, Asaku could only fight with the Seal Knife.

Asaku thought, “Seriously, the Seal Knife can’t do the monster much harm because the power it absorbs is not enough. I need a blaze to burn it!”

Then Asaku turned around and shouted at Samoyed, the illusion lion, “Cast three fire bolts at me!”

With one turn over, Samoyed jumped into distance and spat three enormous fire bolts to Asaku.

Asaku lifted his left hand, fingers spread out, and a three-star matrix magic appeared on his palm and took in the fire bolts. Jumping high, Asaku dashed back into the cannibal flower’s mouth with his left fist clutching and the fire bolts amplifying.

Asaku stepped forward, letting go of his left fist, “Three-star matrix magic, Fire Tornado!"

The wave of fire burned the cannibal flower into ashes. Asaku hurried to the Mirror Core with a transparent cube of crystal in his hand, the Holy Crystal Cell with inscription on it. Before Asaku successfully cast the ward and sealed the core, numerous monsters still fought on. Thanks to Samoyed, the illusion lion protected everyone.

With one flash, the ward was complete and the core was sealed. All monsters were gone right away, but the surroundings remained the same. Everything was the way they had been eighty years ago.

When it was safe, Asaku approached the villagers and wanted to hand over the baby to them. Unexpectedly, all villagers panicked. They were convinced that the baby was the son of Demon. Asaku learned that the mother gave birth to the baby without a known father, so no villager was willing to adopt the baby. Besides, the baby wouldn’t let go of Asaku. Without an option, Asaku carried the baby on his back and returned to the Fairies Continent with Ellia, who said goodbye to her new mountain pig friend, through Folding Corridor.

Chapter Two: A Trojan Horse

At eleven o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, August 13th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar, a meeting was held in the Fairies Empire Meeting room with the presence of Fairies King Oudelos, General Alga, Priest Harp, Fairies Princess Jiefulo, Asaku, Ellia, and the human baby.

Asaku got down on one knee and updated the Fairies King Oudelos the current situation in the Village of Eden, while the human baby slept peacefully in the cradle tended by Ellia.

Asaku ended the report, “My King, this is the update of the event in the Village of Eden.”

The Fairies King Oudelos dismissed Asaku and turned to General Alga, saying, “My General, may I have your thoughts on this?” General Alga was red in the face, and the King yelled at him, “Seriously, you two got drunk this early in the day?”

General Alga explained, “Well, we are not to blame. Priest Harp brews the best wine ever, which is perfect to wake me up in the morning.”

Priest Harp argued, “Alga, I thought we were friends! And I even saved the goodies for you.”

“Ahem…” the King coughed to stop the fight, and then everyone fell silent. The King reached out his hand, and Priest Harp presented the King the wine. Bottom up and the King yelled, “Woot! Great wine indeed!” Then he turned around to Asaku and said, “All right, now we can continue.”

Seeing this, Princess Jiefulo said to the King angrily, “Father, really? You have business to attend to. How could you drink with them so early?”

King Oudelos said, “Awww it’s nothing, my honey. It’s quite peaceful on the Fairies Continent.”

Hands on her hips, Princess Jiefulo said, “Oh my… Some sense of danger, please?”

Scratching his head, Asaku said in a hopeless tone, “Do you old things really care about this Mirror Core?”

General Alga said, “We fairies do not interfere whatever happens outside the Fairies Continent. It was the Holy Dragon King who brought us an order from the Gods, stating that only the fairies can fight against the Reversal Impact, so the King is commanding you to handle the core in the Village of Eden.”

Asaku said, “The Holy Dragon King, you mean the conspirator? Why do we have to listen to him?”

Fairies King Oudelos replied, “Because this is an order from Gods, we have to comply.”

Asaku snorted.

Priest Harp walked toward the human baby and said, “This is a remarkable baby. He completely waves off the influence of Reversal Impact.”

Ellia pulled the baby’s blanket, and found on the blanket it said “Adam.” Surprised, Ellia even saw a birth mark of emblem of rainbow on the baby’s back.

The birth mark seemed to be quite weighty. Both the King and General Alga went to the baby to take a closer look at the baby.

Slowly, the Fairies King spat out, one word after the other, “Rainbow… Savior..."

General Alga said, “So the kid is the new successor of Rainbow Savior. His name is Adam."

Priest Harp said, “I suppose it was part of their plan to send Asaku off to the Village of Eden. We are set up!”

Asaku said, “So what now? This baby is so needy and wouldn’t let go of me. If he wakes up and I’m not around, he’s going to cry like there’s no tomorrow. Nuh-uh, I’m not babysitting anyone.”

General Alga asked, “Wait a second, Asaku, you know where the two cores were previously?”

Asaku replied, “Yes, they were in the Time Library on the Elves Continent and Hugilus Desert, south-east of Kingdom of Phil on the Humans Continent. But when I got there, Reversal Impact had been completed on the cores. When I went to the Eden Village, per the King’s order, I should’ve been able to seal the core and stop everything, but the kid was in the way.”

Priest Harp asked, “Both cores happened near Kingdom of Phil on the Humans Continent? Something doesn’t add up here.”

Abruptly, the Fairies King Oudelos stood up and yelled, “General Alga, rally the guards and prepare for war!” Immediately, General Alga dashed out of the meeting room and alarmed the guards!

Asaku asked, “What’s going on?”

Princess Jiefulo said, “Protect the baby with all you can.”

Hearing this, Ellia grabbed Adam who was sound asleep in her arms tightly.

Priest Harp yelled, “This is a scheme plotted against us! The core in the Time Library was to fabricate the history, while that in the Hugilus Desert was to restore the mirror in the lake. The baby was left there on purpose because they knew he wouldn’t be influenced by the Reversal Impact. In the end, you returned to the Fairies Continent through the Folding Corridor with the baby. Your tracks left behind granted access to those who cannot enter the Fairies Continent through the reflection of mirror.

At that moment, a tremendous crash was heard, which shook the whole Fairies Empire. Priest Harp said, “I will put the baby into deep sleep, so his crying wouldn’t attract the mobs. Ellia, please take care of Adam. Asaku, go defend us!”

Ellia replied, “Yes, Priest Harp, I will protect the baby with all my might.”

Asaku yelled, “The situation is dire. I’m right on it! Ghost Card Uda! Samoyed!”

Asaku summoned two escorts and the three rushed to where the loud noise was from.

Right above the Fairies Empire Hall appeared a crack of time and space, from which poured in lots of monsters! General Alga led the Royal Guards to fight!

Seeing this, Asaku yelled with surprise, “What is this all about!”

The next second, Asaku transformed the Ghost Card Uda into the Sun Sword and joined the fight.

Soon, the King and Princess Jiefulo came to the Fairies Empire Hall, heavily protected by the Royal Guards.

Out of the crack, a phantom fox with nine tails appeared in the middle of the hall.

The phantom fox said in an exciting tone, “Woot! You guys are here to welcome me, the gorgeous and graceful me, right? Show me your love~”

Asaku yelled, “You high or what? What did you just smoke!?”

Then a fairy soldier who was responsible for space defense reported to the King, “My King, a Mirror Core just popped up on the Fairies Holy Land!”

Hearing this, the king instantly ordered that General Alga guard the holy land, Asaku take care of the monsters to stop them from approaching, and commanded some royal guards to stay and assist Asaku.

Witnessing the depressing situation, Princess Jiefulo said, “I’ll stay and defend the empire with Asaku.”

The King replied in a serious tone, “No! You have to go to the Holy Land with General Alga.”

Through the corridor behind the hall, the King led General Alga, Princess Jiefulo, Ellia and others to the Fairies Holy Land.

All the monsters in the hall were decimated by Asaku and the royal guards while the phantom nine-tailed fox remained still, as if it had been watching a show, until everyone was killed but the fox.

Bursting in laughter, the fox yelled hysterically, “Now the spotlight is on me and only me~ I’m the center of everything like a superstar!”

When the fox was done talking, it waved its paw, creating an enormous shocking wave. In order to protect the royal guards, Asaku dashed to the front, dressed in Shadow Lion Armor and glowing, and blocked the attack of the phantom nine-tailed fox.

Equipped with the Sun Sword, transformed by Ghost Card Uda, and Shadow Lion Armor, transformed by the illusion lion Samoyed, Asaku was ready for combat.

Once ready, Asaku said to the remaining guards, “Go protect the holy land, and leave the monsters here to me.”

“Thank you, sir!” the royal guards replied and then retreated to the holy land.

The phantom nine-tailed fox said, "I am the Darkmirror General VI from the Mirror Continent. My name is Phantom Nine-Tailed Fox. Awww you can also call me Fox Nine-Nine, you know, cuter~”

The fox continued, “So you are Asaku, the one that has gained the power of Gods, the combination of Gods and Fairies, and that makes you a real… goof, you know, god plus fairy, so goof.”

Asaku shouted back, “You goof! What is this with your stupid nickname, Fox Nine-Nine? I don’t have time for this. I’m going to knock you out now!”

Fox Nine-Nine said, “Awww you think you can beat me? Muahaha~” He blinked to Asaku at once and initiated an attack!

The Fox was rather fierce, so Asaku was having a hard time fighting even with the Sun Sword and the Shadow Lion Armor. Meanwhile, Asaku cast matrix magic to absorb the Fox’s magic. Thanks to the Shadow Lion armor, most of the damage was mitigated.

Moving and attacking, the Fox laughed hysterically, “Hahahaha oh my my~ becoming one with god at the price of fairy power? So you can never cast any elemental magic and… now you can only attack by taking in power first? Awww that is hilarious… hahahaha!”

Asaku said, “Why do you look into my history?”

The Fox replied, “Awwww that’s because I love you, silly~ Muah!”

Asaku yelled, “OH MY GOD that is soooo disgusting!!”

Next, the Fox’s nine tails all spread out, looking all appealing and alluring. The Fox said, “Asaku~ this is going to be my mightiest blow, as powerful as my love for you~”

Even with bare eyes, Asaku could see tremendous power compile on the Fox. He knew, this assault would decide the ending of the fight.

On his mind, Asaku was talking to Uda and Samoyed, “We have to use that skill.”

Ghost Card Uda said, “Are you sure, Asaku? You haven’t mastered the power of God, and this strike will exhaust you. We don’t know when you’d recover.”

Samoyed argued, “But this is the only way out now. I cannot take any more attack from the Fox. We have to knock him out first. We will guard you, Asaku.”

By then, the Fox took in enough energy. He shouted, “Multiple Foxes Explosion!”

Turning over, a pair of angel’s wings and a pair of fairy’s wings grew out on Asaku’s back. The Keys of Seven Attributes flew around Asaku. Glowing, the light around Asaku turned into seven huge swords. Asaku shouted, “Take that, God’s power is with me. Seven Keys Comet Impact!”

The fatal strikes from both parties collided. The Fox was too late to dodge the attack and was gravely injured, so he fled into the crack back to the Mirror Continent. What’s more, Asaku’s potent attack almost wiped the Fairies Empire clean.

Ghost card Uda and the Illusion Lion Samoyed broke away from Asaku, while the latter collapsed on the ground. He was still conscious, but couldn’t move even one finger.

Samoyed carried Asaku on his back and took Uda to the Fairies’ Holy Land. By then, the Fairies Continent that had remained intact for thousands of years was officially intruded.

Arriving at the Holy Land, Asaku saw the Mirror Core on the altar in the center of the holy land. The King was leading fairies to fight against the monsters. Feeling hopeless, Asaku tried to put himself together and asked, “How come Priest Harp hasn’t sealed the Mirror Core?”

Chapter Three: Freeze Froze Frozen

At two o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 13th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar.

A Mirror Core was placed in the most important holy land on the Fairies Continent, while Priest Harp didn’t even bother sealing the core; instead, he was only fighting against monsters.

Brought to Priest Harp by Samoyed, Asaku asked Priest Harp why he hadn’t sealed the core in the Fairies Holy Land. After all, it was Priest Harp that gave him the Holy Crystal Cell.

“Holy Crystal Cell was brought back from the God’s Continent by Holy Dragon King. Only you could use the crystal, which is why you were assigned this job.” Priest Harp explained to Asaku.

Upon hearing this, Asaku turned depressed and said, “But I’m too weak to activate the Holy Crystal Cell. So there is nothing we can do but to witness our holy land being destroyed by the Reversal Impact?”

Priest Harp said, “Rest, Asaku, and restore as much health as possible.”

At that moment, Ellia ran toward Asaku, crying, “A guy in a black cloak took Adam away… I was no rival to him… it was my fault…”

Asaku comforted her, “No, it wasn’t your fault. Don’t cry, Ellia…”

Priest Harp said, “I suppose kidnapping Adam was part of the plan.”

General Alga led the Royal Guards to set up a formation of attack, fighting against the monsters around the core. The Fairies King stood right above the core, trying to smash the core with magic of thunder but in vain.

A strong dark light emitted from the high tower of the holy land, creating a gap of time and space. From the gap, a knight riding on a dark dragon flew out. In a voice as loud as thunder, the knight said, “I am General Philips, the Darkmirror General II. Now, authorized by the Mirror Continent, I officially declared war against the Fairies Continent.”

The knight on the dark dragon emitted a unique magic power, which froze all monsters.

Sensing the power, both Asaku and General Alga blurted out, “It’s the power of Salu, the missing fairy of the wind race! Why would fairies’ power pour out from him?”

General Alga added, “Not exactly. This is something more potent, combining fairies’ power of wind attribute and dark power.”

“I can’t think of anyone on the Fairies Continent that can compete with him.”

The Fairies King fell silent.

General Philips waved, and the dark dragon spat out a super tornado that blew away the fairies troops. Some fairies cast defense for protection. Then everyone noticed that the wind did no harm to Princess Jiefulo.

The King commanded, “Take shelter behind Princess Jiefulo.”

The entire troops all hid behind Princess Jiefulo and they followed her wherever she went.

Princess Jiefulo asked, “Why are you guys staying behind me? I’m gonna teach that General Philips a lesson.”

Once she said these words, she moved to General Philip’s direction. The troops were begging her not to move, so they could stay where they were.

General Philips noticed this as well and he showed strong emotion. The next second, he darted to Jiefulo.

While everyone was trying to protect Jiefulo, General Philips grabbed Jiefulo and kissed her. Everyone stopped and so did the furious tornado.

Turning red, Princess Jiefulo pushed Philips away angrily and slapped him hard. “You crazy psycho! How dare you kiss me like this? Who do you think you are?” she shouted at him.

Soothing his cheeks, General Philips seemed disappointed and said, “You’ve forgotten all about…”

Then the dark dragon came take Philips away.

Seeing Philips leave, Jiefulo felt her heart beating fast. She touched her lips that Philips just kissed and burst into tears. She wondered, “What is wrong with me that I feel so sad and sorrowful?”

General Philips rode the dark dragon to the front of the fairies troops and taunted, “Send your best to challenge me.”

General Alga jumped into air, summoned his mount, the griffon, and accepted Philips’ challenge. “This is General Alga,” Alga said, “I am the strongest guardian on the Fairies Continent.”

General Philips said, “I have been waiting for this moment, to finally challenge you to a duel.”

General Alga asked, “Can you answer me one question?”

General Philips interrupted him and said, “I can tell you directly what you want to know. First of all, I am Salu, the missing fairy of the wind race. Secondly… the Salu you know are actually two people. One is on the Fairies Continent and the other is on the Mirror Continent. My real name is Philips.”

General Philips looked at Asaku who was still trying to restore his strength, saying, “Just like Asaku, we both have double masks.”

General Alga gasped, “Double what?!”

Still powerless, Asaku thought, “What does it mean exactly, double masks?”

Then Uda saw Philips’ weapon and said to Asaku, “He has the Moon Sword!”

Asaku replied, “No way. That's not possible.”

Uda explained, “I know I’m right. Moon Sword and I are two ghost cards, and we are connected. How did he get it?”

General Philips said, “Well, time for diplomatic courtesy is over, so I’m going launch an attack~ To begin with….”

Once General Philips snapped his finger, the core was turning red and Reversal Impact was imminent, which shocked Asaku and all the other fairies.

Asaku said, “I can’t believe that he could’ve sped up the time for Reversal Impact. I’m going to seal the core!”

Pity that Asaku was still too weak to even get up. All he could do was lie on Samoyed.

Asaku said to Samoyed, “Get closer, so I can touch the core.”

Samoyed moved closer to the core, and Uda helped Asaku put his right hand on the core. Suddenly, the turning slowed down, leaving Asaku in excruciating pain.

Priest Harp said, “Asaku, you can’t seal the core like this. You are only delaying the inevitable. If you continue like this, you will die from exhaustion.”

Asaku said, “Even this is to buy a bit more time… this is the only thing I can do now.”

Hearing this, Ellia put her hands on Asaku’s, and said,

“I want to guard the Fairies Continent as well.”

Asaku lowered down his head and nodded.

Riding on the griffon, General Alga initiated an attack at Philips. The crash of the two most potent powers in the whole world created a ripple that froze the fairies troops and monsters completely.

As time went by, the combat was heating up, and Asaku couldn’t hold it any more.

All of a sudden, Philips turned to the Fairies King and said, “My King, allow me to tell you: the time set on the core is 1000 fairies’ years, roughly 41 human years. That would be the time of the Eight Races for the fairies!”

Upon hearing this, all fairies appeared shocked and scared.

General Alga said, “I will never ever allow you to turn back the time to 1000 fairies’ years ago. That was a chaotic time, which will cause devastation in the Epic World at this moment!”

Just when General Alga was preparing to launch his most powerful attack, Compressed Air Cannon, General Philips unexpectedly attacked with the same strike!

General Alga said, “You are my student that I’m proud of, and you are Salu from the Fairies Continent!”

Smiling, General Philips remained quiet...

While the two were about to crash, the core glowed in red, the Reversal Impact was triggered and Asaku couldn’t hold it anymore!

At that moment, the Fairies King Oudelos shouted, “As your King, I will not allow the fairies to perish here. Race of Air, assembly to initiate the teleportation ritual!”

Just as the Race of Air was casting the spell, the King said to General Alga and Priest Harp, “Guard the Fairies.”

Quickly, General Alga retreated to the King, together with Priest Harp who yelled at Asaku, “Go! Run as fast as you can!”

The Fairies King then drew a special magic sigil on his hand, which turned into an eagle that dived into the ground.

The King nodded at General Alga and Priest Harp, and the trio shouted, “The supreme sealing magic of the Fairies, Frozen Seal!”

That was the time the Reversal Impact starting to affect the surroundings and the Race of Air launching the teleportation ritual.

General Philips said, “Dang! You even thought of freeze the whole Fairies Continent. Nuh-uh, I’m not going to be trapped here.” Then he opened the gap of time and space but didn’t leave without taking a second look at Jiefulo.

The Reversal Impact was stopped by Frozen Seal, so was the teleportation ritual which wasn’t fast enough to save all fairies. Asaku was lucky, as he was sent away. Right before he was teleported, he heard Priest Harp, saying, “Find the Fairies Queen Aranda… only she can save the Fairies. You are our only hope, Asaku.”

Tears in his eyes, Asaku was sent into the teleportation tunnel and he lost consciousness.

The time on the Fairies Continent stopped. No one could enter, nor anyone could exit.

Chapter Four: Tear of the Mermaid

At ten o’clock in the morning on Monday, August 19th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar...

Waking up but still dizzy, Asaku heard familiar voices and they were Uda, Samoyed and Ellia. The three were excited to see Asaku. “Woot! Finally, you’ve come to yourself!” said Uda.

Ellia leaned over to Asaku and said, “I was so so worried about you, Asaku… Thought I’d lost you.”

Asaku said, “I’m good. So where are we now?”

Uda replied, “We were sent to the Mermaid Kingdom on the Phantom Continent. The Mermaid Queen arranged accommodation for us here. You slept for almost a week!”

Asaku looked around, and found himself in a small, warm room showered in sunshine reflected by water. “It seems to be a girl’s room,” said Asaku.

Uda said, "Because there are only girls in the Mermaid Kingdom.”

Asaku was surprised, and he saw the room was filled with flowers, so he asked,

"What are these flowers about?”

Shrugging, Uda grinned, “The flowers are from your fans. The whole kingdom knows about you, and all girls are crazy for you. They’ve been sending flowers here, together with their greetings. The Mermaid Queen even promulgated to address you as the Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies…”

Samoyed turned around and giggled...

Footsteps were heard outside the door, so Uda told Asaku to fake sleep. If people knew he was awake, the fans would inundate the house immediately.

So Asaku lay down to fake sleep, and then about ten mermaids entered the room with flowers and gifts. Samoyed turned invisible, and Uda transformed into a clown puppet. Nothing could stop these girls --- they all kissed Asaku on the cheeks and wished him the best. It took them quite a while to have all the fun and leave.
Asaku got out of bed, with his hands on the cheeks that were just kissed. All smiling, Asaku blushed.

Ellia looked away, pouting unhappily.

Uda knocked on Asaku’s head and said, “Wake up!”

Asaku said, “I don’t want to stay here like a caged animal. I’m going to sneak out and look for some intel.”

“But Asaku,” Ellia said, “you can’t just go out like this. As the Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies, you will create a chaos. Let me dress you up.”

The Mermaid Kingdom is located under water, protected by a ward deep in the ocean. In the kingdom, one can breathe as freely as they can on the land.

On the street, there was a mermaid dressed in a maid’s outfit with a weird hairstyle and makeup, and a clown puppet on “her” shoulder. That was Asaku. Ellia dressed up as a mermaid as well, following Asaku. Samoyed turned invisible and stayed at their side.

Asaku asked, “Why do I have to go out in a maid’s costume? This is so silly! The skirt… it’s so cool down there and that feels so… weird!”

Laughing, Ellia replied, “Told you to wear some panties.”

“Nuh-uh,” Asaku said, “no girls’ panties for me!!”

Uda said, “But people would recognize you without the costume! That’d be trouble if they knew who you are. Thousands of mermaid girls would surround you to show you their love.”

Samoyed turned invisible so only his voice was heard, “Don’t count on me. I can’t stop all of them~”

Asaku said, “What is wrong with this place? The air is so stuffy. It just feels wrong, and the wind is not blowing at all.”

Uda replied, “The Mermaid Kingdom is quite exclusive. They are particularly hostile against the Beast Kingdom on the Phantom Continent. Both Samoyed and I are citizens of the Beast Kingdom, so we can never ever be found here. People say the Mermaid Kingdom enjoys a pleasant relationship with the Fairies Continent, so maybe this is why you are sent here.”

Ellia loved pets and she was talking to the angel fish roaming on the road. Asaku asked her, “Why are you talking to a fish?”

“I can talk to all living creatures~” Ellia replied, “and I want to befriend with all the cute ones.”

Asaku shrugged and said, “I can only understand Uda and Samoyed.”
At the time, a dowager walked by with a group of maids. The dowager gazed at Asaku, which made both Asaku and Ellia nervous.

Completely ignoring Ellia, the dowager said to Asaku, “Huh~ aren’t you a pretty one~ a little bit too flat-chested but no matter. What is your name? Who do you work for?”

Asaku tried to reply with a higher pitch, “Bonjour, Madam! My name… is Eklia, and I am the maid for Mrs. Mel.”

Upon hearing this, the dowager flipped and yelled, “What a waste!! You are adorable and you work for that crazy hag, Mel!?”

Then she took ten pearls from the bag and handed them over to Asaku, telling him, “This is the down payment. You go back and dissolve the contract with that hag, and report to Duke Vitalis Castle tomorrow.”

Once she was done talking, she led the maids and took leave. Asaku and the rest were left behind, startled.

Asaku complained, “Who is she and how can she call me flat-chested…”

Ellia laughed and said, “Eklia… my dear brother… that is awesome! You were hit on dressed up as a girl!! And that Lady Mel is real, too!”

Samoyed laughed so much it almost rolled on the floor.

“That is not funny!” Asaku said, “We still have business here. We’ve lost track of the core for one week, and Priest Harp said I have to find the Fairies Queen to save the Fairies Continent. How can I waste even one more minute here to be someone’s maid?”

Just then Asaku’s stomach rumbled, so he looked at the restaurant on the road and decided to dine in there.

By the entrance, Ellia said goodbye to the angel fish and entered the restaurant with Asaku. They chose a table in the corner to avoid attention.

“What!” Asaku screamed when he read the menu, “One set costs one pearl!”

Uda stopped Asaku immediately, “Quiet, Asaku, if you don’t want to pay, we can go back to the accommodations the Queen arranges for us.”

“Nuh-uh,” Asaku refused, “No way!”

Blushing, Asaku said, “I do enjoy being so popular though…”

Ellia punched Asaku on his shoulder, “Asaku, you are terrible!”

Then the waitress dropped by, asking, “What can I get for you today?”

Asaku gave a gesture of four fingers and said, “Four set meals, please.”

“Are you sure,” the waitress asked, “that you can eat so much?”

Asaku replied, “Sure, no problem at all.”

The waitress replied, “All right, four pearls then. The food will be served right away.”

When the food came, Asaku devoured everything in front of him, while Uda and Samoyed hid in the corner and ate quietly.

Asaku said, “I think we should leave the Mermaid Kingdom as soon as possible for the Beast Kingdom where I can ask help from an old friend, King Brad.

Samoyed said, “But it is forbidden to use the Folding Corridor in the Mermaid Kingdom, so we have to go through the connected tunnel to the Beast Kingdom above water.”

“But the tunnel is guarded," Samoyed continued, “no one is allowed to pass without the permission from the Mermaid Queen.”

“Besides,” Ellia said, “it is rude to leave without saying goodbye. We should at least thank the Queen for her kindness to take us in.”

Uda said, “It is true that the Mermaid Kingdom does maintain a good relationship with the Fairies Continent, but the Mermaid Queen made it official that Asaku is the Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies… that just doesn’t sound right.”

Asaku, “But if we don’t go back, we need to make money.”

“Asaku," Ellia said while she laughed, “ you have to support us all by working as a maid then!”

Both Uda and Samoyed nodded.

Holding his head, Asaku grumbled, “Why am I always the one that does all the work?”

While Asaku and his friends were talking, they had no idea that they had been surrounded by mermaid soldiers.

Politely, a girl mermaid soldier said to Asaku, “Friend from the Fairies Continent, our Queen would like to speak to you in Her Majesty’s Castle.”

Asaku said, “Ah… you’ve caught me…”

The mermaid soldiers took Asaku and his friends to the Castle where the Mermaid Queen resided. On the way, the road was full of fans who were crazy for Asaku. They screamed his name and more, “Asaku, my Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies… I love you~~”

At night in the castle , Asaku was taken to the Throne Hall where the Mermaid Queen sat on her throne. Both Asaku and Ellia took a bow, and Asaku addressed to the Queen, “Your Majesty, my name is Asaku, and I am from the Fairies Continent. We do not mean to intrude, as our presence here is nothing but an accident. We sincerely beg for your kindness and forgiveness.”

The Mermaid Queen replied, “I am the Mermaid Queen Kamina. You can tell your two escorts to show themselves.”

Hearing this, Uda and Samoyed turned visible and got down on one knee, asking for forgiveness.

Queen Kamina said, “I am fully aware of the situation. The rest of you can leave now.”

The Queen’s entourage took leave and only the Queen and Asaku and his friends remained.

“Follow me.” The Queen said once they were left alone.

The Queen led Asaku and his friends to the Royal Garden, hid them in a concealed corner. She then told them to stay quiet and asked Asaku to play along no matter what happened. Though confused, Asaku concurred.

Shortly, a young woman walked into the garden, with a fairy man, whose hair is white and elegant, flying in the air. The couple looked at each other deeply in the eyes, and the man took out a flower made of seashells and crystal.

The white-haired man said, “Mermaid Princess Yulia, I want to hold your hands in mine forever. Will you marry me?” The young woman shook her head and replied, “No, Fluffy… It has to be my Mother who can make the decision.”

Fluffy held the woman by her hands and said, “Then let’s elope!”

Yulia refused and said, “As much as I love you, such behavior is not allowed.” Then the man tried to leave with the woman, while the Mermaid Queen walked out between them and Asaku and his friends still hid in the dark.

The Queen reprimanded, “How insolent! Release my daughter and leave now!”

The white-haired man talked back, “I have no fear to whatever queen, including you, Your Majesty. If I snap, no one in your kingdom is capable of taking me down.”

The Queen said, “You are indeed contemptuous, but we do need a powerful man to be our King and to protect our people.”

The white-haired man laughed, saying, “So~ Your Majesty has agreed to our marriage then?”

The Queen continued, “But only the most powerful and the most beautiful man can be our King.”

Fluffy replied, “Awww thank you, Your Majesty, for all the kind words.”

The Queen interrupted Fluffy, “No, you are not the only one that is qualified here. Recently, the Sleeping Prince of the Fairies has visited us. He is even more beautiful than you and well-loved by the whole kingdom.”

The Queen then pointed at Asaku who had no choice but to show up, and the latter played along, “I am the Fairy Prince that is truly qualified to be the King. Leave now, before it turns even more humiliating.”

Fluffy yelled, “I will challenge you to a duel! Don’t be so sure you’ll win, Asaku from the Fairies Continent.”

Asaku was surprised, asking, “How do you know who I am? Have we met?”

Fluffy just looked at Asaku without saying one more word.

The Queen clapped and said, “Quiet down, both of you. As the Queen, I shall be fair and just. I will hold a Joust for a Spouse and the winner can marry Princess Yulia and become the future King of the Mermaid Kingdom!”

Asaku yelled in surprise, “What?!”

Fluffy said, “Deal! When will that be?”

“Three days from now," the Queen replied, "and it will be held in the arena.”

“Mother, how could you make such a decision…” Yulia cried while she ran away.

Fluffy was full of confidence and he said, “I’ll show you what I’ve got!” before disappearing in the night.

At the same time, Asaku, Uda, and Samoyed said, “It’s a set up…”

The Queen looked back at Asaku, nodding and smiling…

Back to the Throne Hall, Asaku sat on the corridor, pouting.

The Queen explained, “I understand it was really rude to set you up like this, but the situation called for it as we do not have enough arms to deal with this phantom.”

“Phantom?” Asaku asked, “Fluffy is a phantom?”

The Queen nodded and replied, “Yes, he is a fox from the Illusion Tribe of the Beast Kingdom on the Phantom Continent. We mermaids will never ever marry a beast.”

Samoyed concurred, “The three kingdoms on the Phantom Continent are quite hostile against each other. It is a great mercy that Uda and I can remain free here.”

“But are the arms here so weak?” Asaku asked, "Besides, if they truly love each other, why would Your Majesty have to stand by the rule and separate them?”

The Queen stood up, pointing her scepter at the ceiling right above the throne. The ceiling broke and there was a…

“Mirror Core!” Asaku yelled, “And it is red, so the Reversal Impact occurred already!”

Then Asaku took out the Compass of No Return to confirm the time reversed, but only figured out there was no difference in time. The Mermaid Kingdom wasn’t sent back in the past during the Reversal Impact. What was this all about?

Before Asaku could have a better understanding of what was going on, lots of monsters flooded from the core. Asaku and his friends prepared for combat. One monster dashed toward the Queen, and Ellia screamed, “Watch out, Your Majesty!”

To everyone’s surprise, the monster went right through the Queen.

The Queen said, “Don’t worry about me. Asaku, could you please seal this Mirror Core, first?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Asaku replied.

Covered by his friends, Asaku reached the core and sealed it by performing Holy Cell. With the core sealed, the Mermaid Kingdom was freed, and the air refreshed and flew again.

The Queen sat on her throne, and started to explain from the beginning, “About six months ago, the core occurred here. Even with all the arms we could afford, we could not resist it, and then the Reversal Impact took place.”

Surprised, Asaku asked, “But the time remains the same?”

The Queen replied, “The Reversal Impact turned back the time to 130 years ago, when the Mermaid Kingdom was an island above water, instead of deep in the ocean. Our Kingdom didn’t sink into the water until thirty years ago.”

“So the Reversal Impact brought back the Mermaid Kingdom 130 years ago!” Uda said.

The Queen said, “That is correct.”

Asaku asked further, “But what about the Mermaid Kingdom that was influenced by the impact…?”

The Queen replied softly, “Disappeared. We have all disappeared. Everything you see now is a reflection of our thought. We keep on living like this.”

Then the Queen took off an earring in the shape of a drop of water from her left ear, and she gently continued, “This is our beloved treasure, the Mermaid Tears. When the Reversal Impact struck us, the grave fear and sorrow from all our people triggered the Mermaid Tears.”

Trying to hold back tears, Asaku said, “So Your Majesty, and all the people I have seen in the kingdom are reflection of thoughts, protected by the Mermaid Tears.”

Ellia couldn’t hold it anymore, and she just cried out loud.

The Queen continued, “Asaku, you understand this, don’t you… Yulia cannot marry Fluffy, even with my blessing. Once Yulia is married to Fluffy, she, together with the whole kingdom, will realize that we are gone, no more. Could you keep this secret between you and me, please?”

The tears wouldn’t stop from falling, and both Asaku and Ellia nodded.

“Even it’s just an act,” the Queen said, “please do beat Fluffy, marry the princess, become our new King. Please, Asaku… give my people new hope. By then, we will no longer need the Mermaid Tears, and we can disappear with happiness. Could you please do us one last favor?”

Without saying a word, Asaku nodded. Ellia cried so much even the angel fish could swim in her tears.

Three days later, people started to swarm into the arena. The whole kingdom was there to witness the Joust for a Spouse held by the Queen.

Ready and set, Asaku slowly walked into the arena, to keep his promise.

Chapter Five: A Happy Smile

At ten o’clock in the morning on Thursday, August 22nd, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar...

Almost all the citizens of the Mermaid Kingdom gathered at the arena, the cheers were deafening as today would be the day, a new king would be elected. The champion could also win the hand of Princess Yulia, and the game started!

Both Asaku and Fluffy entered the arena, gazing at the other. The atmosphere totally changed.

Fluffy would like to charge in and attack Asaku immediately, while the latter looked at the Queen with so much sadness in his eyes. The Queen nodded at Asaku, with the crying Princess Yulia on her left side, and Ellia on her right side.

The horn was blown, which could be heard miles away. The game officially started!

On his hand, Fluffy attacked with a spear bursting of energy, and Asaku fought back with Uda and Samoyed, both transformed into his most trustworthy gear. Asaku’s Sun Sword clashed with Fluffy’s Shine Spear. Sparkle could be seen everywhere. As the fight intensified, Fluffy cast Magic Light Sword to attack Asaku, which shocked Asaku who tried to block it with the shield on his left hand.

Surprised, Asaku yelled, “Did I see it right? That was my Magic Light Sword?”

Samoyed replied, “You are right. That is your magic.”

Fluffy asked, “Hey Asaku, aren’t you a master of magic attack? Since when you have switched to a sword? Where is your magic?”

Asaku kept quiet, “Tsk…”

Uda said, “Asaku, this seems like a deja vu. I’m sure we know this Fluffy from somewhere.”

Fluffy yelled, “Woot! This is fun! I’m holding nothing back!”

Casting Light Sword Magic, Fluffy charged in to Asaku and attack!

Reaching out with his left hand, Asaku absorbed in the power with the three-star matrix magic. The matrix magic could take in power of three attacks only, so Asaku was still harmed. On his right hand, Asaku blocked the attack of Shine Spear with his Sun Sword.

Rolling over, Asaku released Aurora Impact! The three-star matrix magic seemed to take Fluffy by surprise. While Fluffy tried to dodge the attack, Asaku pushed further with the Sunshine Impact. Both impacts hit Fluffy hard and Asaku was winning.

“I never knew you could attack like this,” Fluffy shouted, “but your light magic doesn’t hurt me much as I also master light magic. You can’t beat me by absorbing my magic power!”

All of a sudden, the white-haired fairy turned into an enormous white fox, together with a bunch of small white foxes.

Asaku yelled, "... I... I hate foxes…”

The crowd started to scream and tried to run away. Princess Yulia was so scared that she wept, and the Queen explained to her this is who Fluffy really was. Princess Yulia cried even louder for being lied to.

Then Fluffy attacked with its enormous body and tail, while casting Meteor Shower at Asaku. The bunch of small white foxes were attacking with their super adorable paws, which made it even harder for Asaku to defend.

to be continued～
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