Chapter 404 - 403. First Outdoor Mission (3)
Kai and I reappeared within the towering inner halls of Ryujin, the magic pulse of our teleportation fading behind us like the trailing remnants of a dream. The moment we landed, I could feel the surge of energy in him. His face lit up, and his steps bounced with a barely contained excitement.
"That was..." Kai began, eyes bright as he turned to me, but I lifted a hand to halt him mid-sentence.
He blinked. "What... is it?"
"That," I said calmly, meeting his eager gaze, "was only the first step of the mission. We still have the second part to complete before we can call this your first success."
His enthusiasm faltered, surprise blooming across his face. He was still cloaked in Ace’s form, but the illusion was beginning to fray. His real nature—softer, younger, untouched in places—peeked through the hardened persona.
"A-All right," he mumbled, quickly trying to shift back into Ace’s poised demeanor. But before he could fully compose himself, I reached up and gently removed the enchanted earcuff from his ear.
The transformation broke with a soft shimmer.
"Wha—" he gasped, looking down at himself.
His figure had shrunk instantly. The clothes—cut for a grown man—now sagged around his smaller frame. The sleeves hung over his hands, and the coat drooped past his knees. Thankfully, he wasn’t too small so they didn’t completely fall off.
I knelt silently, folding the cuffs of his trousers and carefully helping him out of the oversized coat. The quiet rustle of fabric was the only sound between us. He watched me with wide eyes, caught somewhere between confusion and awe, and didn’t move as I rolled up his sleeves neatly. He was trying to understand—why now? Why like this?
"Um... why?" he finally asked, his voice small.