Suspended in a void of darkness, Charles surged his magic to break free from the restraints of the binding spell.

"I was played!"

Of course he realized it now. That final, unnatural curse couldn't have come from Yuto Ijika or Dark Void. Those two simply didn't have that level of skill.

There was only one person in this world who could pull off a technique like that. The pair of eyes Charles had seen very likely belonged to him—

The founder of the Onmyō Union, the creator of the Impurity Realm, the Great Onmyōji: Abe no Seimei.

The Twin Star Exorcists and the Divine Child were the culmination of a thousand-year-long plan orchestrated by Abe no Seimei. Yuto Ijika was already an unpredictable anomaly—Charles, an outsider from another world, was even more unacceptable.

And now, Seimei had finally found the perfect opportunity. In the Impurity Realm, it was impossible to know the full extent of what Seimei could do.

Charles forced down his rage. He had to admit—his current situation was partly his own fault for underestimating his enemies.

He'd misjudged Abe no Seimei, the true mastermind, and he'd also underestimated Yuto and Dark Void.

Had he not fallen into their trap, not even Abe no Seimei could've bound him.

But thinking about that now was pointless. The priority was getting out of this hellhole.

Charles deduced that he was currently trapped in an isolated pocket space.

In this space, the rules of energy, gravity—even time—were all distorted. To escape, he would have to break this dimension apart.

This couldn't be Dark Void's doing either. Seimei hadn't just prevented Charles from escaping—he'd even prepared this custom prison for him.

Charles hadn't planned on ever crossing paths with that madman of an onmyōji, but now… when he got out, Seimei would pay for this mistake.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"

A massive firestorm surged forth, distorting the entire dimension.

"Damn it!"

When the flames cleared, Charles realized his first attempt had failed.

He had studied spatial magic before, but breaking an entire dimension was no easy feat.

While the space was still unstable, Charles followed up with a full-powered Roar of the Fire Dragon!

The result? The surrounding dimension completely unraveled—like a blender gone wild.

Even with Dragon King War Form, the chaotic space streams were almost too much for Charles to endure.

He coughed up blood but managed to hold out until the turbulence faded. Immediately, he deactivated his transformation.

Though Charles had grown strong enough to maintain Dragonblood Mode and Kirin Gong for extended periods, the combined Dragon King War Form still placed a heavy burden on him.

But just as he let down his guard, dark, tendril-like energy crept through the shadows and reached for him.

Charles grunted in pain. It wasn't his body that was attacked—it was his soul.

He could hear countless wails in his ears—

Hatred. Greed. Suffering. Jealousy.

Wave after wave of malicious intent slammed into the defenses of his spirit.

"So… you want to turn me into an Impurity?"

That's right. This negative energy was the source of Impurities—what they called Yin Energy. Those tainted by it slowly transformed into Corrupted.

Charles could resist the erosion of his body with magic—but the assault on his mind? All he could do was endure it.

These were pure, unfiltered human emotions—not quite mental attacks—so even his soul defenses were almost useless.

Just then, a familiar roar echoed through the void, and the hatred crushing his spirit was driven away in an instant.

Charles opened his eyes.

He was somewhere else entirely.

The ground beneath his feet was cracked like a spiderweb, glowing red magma flowing through it. Ahead, a volcano continued to erupt violently, and the sky above was pitch black, as though smothered by some oppressive force.

Yet in this hellish landscape… Charles felt a strange sense of peace.

"I thought my mental space would be more lively…"

He quickly realized what had happened. His body was still trapped in the pocket dimension, but his soul had taken refuge in his mental space.

"This is my house, of course it looks the way I like it."

A booming voice shook the space from behind. Charles didn't turn around. His expression turned complicated as he said, "It's been a very long time… Igneel."

The massive dragon lowered its head and laughed. "What's this? Are you crying from joy?"

Charles looked up. "Don't be ridiculous. Aren't you supposed to be inside Natsu? What the hell is going on?"

Behind him stood none other than the Fire Dragon King, Igneel, who had raised both Charles and Natsu.

The dragon leaned down. "My true self is still inside Natsu. But I was worried, so I left a fragment of my consciousness in your body."

"Unbelievable…" Charles muttered, half annoyed. "You could've at least told me you did that!"

Despite his grumbling, he felt warmth in his chest.

"Don't worry about the details," Igneel said. "What matters is—you're in trouble."

Charles replied, "It's not that serious. I'll handle it."

He turned to leave the space.

Of course he wanted to spend more time with Igneel. But as the dragon said, this was just a sliver of his will, carried on a bit of magic. If it acted too much, it would vanish entirely.

Even if it was only a magical imprint, Charles didn't want to see it fade right before him.

"Wait!" Igneel raised a giant claw to block his path.

Charles looked up. "I told you—I can handle this!"

Igneel bellowed, "You idiot! I'm not worried about this problem!

"Charles… you've grown too strong. And that's what I'm worried about."

Charles gave a confused look, waiting for an explanation.

Igneel's tone became solemn. "Charles, you know everything that's going to happen in this world—every tragedy, every disaster. You know it all. So why haven't you done anything?"

Charles opened his mouth… but had no answer.

Since arriving in this world, he had indeed stayed passive. His only real interest had been in studying jujutsu. Helping exorcise Impurities or assisting the onmyōji had just been part of his deal with Arima.

And his desire to kill Yuto Ijika? That was because Yuto had sinister designs on him personally.

Charles had never really planned to interfere in the story's events.

He had to admit—he'd been viewing this world's conflict from an outside, almost detached perspective.

To him, the battle between onmyōji and Impurities was simply the struggle between two incompatible races. He had no interest in taking sides.

But that kind of thinking… was dangerous.

Unknowingly, Charles had already begun to separate himself from humanity—placing himself above them.

Cold sweat ran down his back.

He finally understood the danger—and why Igneel had appeared now.

------------------

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I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)

Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)

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