Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Crimson light and shadows twisted and dissipated before my eyes.

Poro opened his eyes, his thoughts resuming from the void, but what followed was a sense of division and disharmony.

It was as if something had been twisted…

“What… happened?”

Poro took a deep breath, and deep within his mind, an invisible curtain was breached by his soul. The red-bearded man's sinister smile and the crimson storm behind the shattered stone door surfaced from the depths of his memory.

Along with them surfaced some unfamiliar memories, appearing gray and faded in his soul's vision.

“No, these don't seem to be my memories?”

Poro frowned, reaching out a finger to rub his aching brow.

But the confusion did not ease; the questions only increased—

“No, why am I… in human form!?”

He held his hands in front of him, examining them closely. They were unfamiliar hands, but he remembered that he had not previously used [Circular Return: Little Red Riding Hood - Wolf's Disguise].

Moreover, this time, the body did not have the strangeness of a disguise.

Instead, it became more and more agile with the unfamiliar memories in his mind.

This body seemed to possess quite a bit of muscle memory ingrained deep within…

What was it?

Poro found the answer from the unfamiliar memories:

Dancing, a dance from a foreign land.

In an instant, a bone-chilling coldness arose from within his body, spreading outwards.

But then, a voice interrupted Poro's deep thoughts.

“Your Highness, Prince, we have arrived at the Kingdom of Stetz.”

The carved curtain before him was lifted, and a finely dressed man looked at Poro, bowing respectfully.

Prince?

Me?

Poro was taken aback, looking at the attire he was wearing, equally luxurious, magnificent, and carrying an unspeakable air of nobility.

At the same time, the fragment of memory that did not belong to him provided the answer.

I am now… a prince, on my way to the Stetz Royal Palace to marry a princess!?

The various details in the memories that did not belong to him were all-encompassing, which made Poro think of when his consciousness had just returned, breaking through a layer of illusion due to his soul's peculiarity.

If not for that, he would probably have really thought he was this prince, wouldn't he?

“Your Highness, Prince, please hurry; it is a matter of etiquette.”

Looking at the man before him, who seemed to be a subordinate, Poro thought for a moment and then stepped out of the carriage.

There were many people welcoming him, their attire indicating that they were indeed from the Kingdom of Stetz. Their etiquette was very respectful. Poro responded to them with the etiquette from the false memories, while surveying his surroundings.

The architecture, the royal palace before him, were exactly the same as the Stetz capital he remembered, the one destroyed in the Dance Plague.

Only, there was no flesh, blood, or any signs of distortion.

It was as if it were the Stetz capital before its destruction.

“The seventh prince has arrived.”

A messenger ran through the royal palace.

Poro followed the guards to a magnificent palace, where six other princes, dressed in equally extravagant but differently styled clothing, were already seated.

“Now that everyone has arrived, let the dance banquet begin,”

said an old king with a full beard and a stern expression from his high throne.

Through the false memories, Poro knew the situation he was facing—

The Kingdom of Stetz has always been known for its exquisite dance arts. Now, the king has seven princesses in total, and he requires a son-in-law, which is why these princes from various countries, all skilled in dancing, are here.

All around, people were toasting and chatting joyfully.

Poro watched the scene before him, not making any rash moves. Everyone seemed to be talking and laughing normally, without the slightest hint of strangeness.

Are they real people?

Or is this merely an extremely realistic illusion?

And why… are there only seven princesses?

Poro subtly sensed his surroundings, but his hearing, smell, taste, and sight did not detect the slightest clue.

Until the seven princesses of the Kingdom of Stetz walked out from behind the royal palace, one after another.

The first six were all princesses Poro had never seen before, but the seventh was Invi's lover, the former Princess Dans.

But at this moment, Dans' expression seemed much more normal.

Or rather, that was precisely what was abnormal—

She did not notice anything wrong at all, walking with elegant and standard courtly steps, just like the other six princesses.

Would she be the Dans he knew?

Or merely an illusion?

Poro pondered, suddenly thinking of something. He shifted his gaze to the side, to a silver plate as smooth as a mirror.

In the silver light, his own appearance was reflected—

At that moment, Poro's heart seemed to stop beating for several seconds!

“This is getting interesting…”

Poro muttered.

Poro had seen his current appearance before!

It was in the eastern forest of Sino Royal Capital, the demonized prince sealed within the pillar!

“Alright, let's take it slowly…”

Poro removed the distracting thoughts from his mind.

He was still considering certain possibilities. He, the old soldier Invi, Leake, Dans, and Karen were all swallowed by the red light after the seal was opened.

If Dans was indeed the real Dans, only obscured by some false memories, then what about Invi and Leake?

Were they also obscured by some false memories, in this city or even in this palace, without even realizing it?

Thinking of this, Poro narrowed his eyes and began to carefully observe his surroundings.

Soon, his pupils shrank. On the waist of the King of Stetz, he saw a familiar glimmer—Star Killer Sword?

Could it be… that Leake has become the king!?

Poro's eyes passed over the singing and dancing crowd, looking at the king, but soon, Poro withdrew his gaze.

It was not.

Leake carries the Circular Return and Spiral Beacon given to him by Poro. Under such circumstances, Poro only needs to concentrate to keenly sense some signs.

But on the king, there were obviously none of these characteristics.

Where could he be?

Poro pretended to coldly refuse one noble after another who wanted to come forward and chat, his eyes constantly searching the crowd.

The nobles chatting and laughing… were not.

The dancers in the center of the square… were not.

The ministers… were not there either.

Until Poro's gaze moved to a hidden corner behind the king.

Among several guards, a guard wearing a bright red cloak.

Although the guard was covered in armor and his face was hidden by a metal mask, making it impossible to see any features, Poro could still see some familiarity from his figure.

Immediately, his pupils dimmed slightly.

His spiritual world also had a slight sense of the golden pages.

“Huff…”

Poro breathed a long sigh, lowered his head, his eyes moving slightly, not allowing anyone to see his abnormality.

“Found him. After that, it's time to decide what to do.”

But soon, the dance banquet seemed to be entering the next stage. The king waved his hand, and everyone dispersed, leaving space for the seven princes from foreign lands.

The seven princesses also walked gracefully to the center.

Through the false memories, Poro also knew what was going to happen. This was a custom of the Kingdom of Stetz. The princes from foreign lands would dance with the princesses, showing off their foreign dance styles…

But Poro did not intend to do so. Before the king could speak, he stood up and left his seat, ignoring the “subordinate” in the crowd who was anxiously winking at him.

Since this was an illusion, Poro did not intend to continue acting.

His figure passed through the crowd, walking to one side of the palace.

Uh, the location of the toilet.

Although the people on the field did not seem to pose any threat, Poro would not recklessly start a massacre. If he did, it would quickly stimulate something, causing unpredictable variables.

There were not many people in the toilet.

Most people with status would not leave at the most crucial moment.

“Why isn't the Star Killer Sword on Leake's body?”

Poro looked at a huge mirror in the palace toilet, carefully thinking, the appearance of the demonized prince gave Poro a sense of confusion.

“Is that king normal like the old man in reality, or is he a hidden monster?”

While thinking, the magic light in Poro's eyes quickly switched colors and flickered.

This was a completely unfamiliar body. Although he didn't know how the Mad Dancer did it, Poro's soul was indeed trapped inside such a shell.

Not only his appearance, but also his magic circuits and muscle positions had undergone earth-shattering changes!

Using magic with this new body was undoubtedly extremely difficult for Poro now.

Although Poro often called himself a human.

But now, in this extremely strange illusion, becoming a human shell was not a good thing.

This meant that many of his methods had been greatly weakened!

“Hmm, let's review, I'll need to use them later…”

While thinking, Poro reached out and touched a wall brick in front of him. The wall brick gradually began to transform in Poro's low-voiced incantation.

The surface slowly began to turn into chocolate with the same pattern.

“Too slow. If I were to use it on humans, it would undoubtedly be more difficult.”

Poro frowned, then raised his hand and stroked a wooden table to the side. The next moment, a plate of golden jam pastries appeared out of thin air on the table.

“Fortunately, Circular Return can still be used normally under such circumstances—”

But this made Poro even more suspicious.

This meant that this might be more than just an ordinary illusion.

After finding Leake, what about the old soldier and Karen?

Karen possesses the power of an angel. Can she resist the influence of this special strangeness?

If they are really here, what would they be like?

Like Dans, possessing their original bodies, or like himself, inexplicably appearing in a stranger's body and being filled with memories that don't belong to them?

Poro listened to the dance music coming from the wall, knowing that the time was almost up, wanting to turn around and leave—

But just then, behind him, where there was nothing, a cold object pressed against the back of Poro's head.

A low, hoarse voice came from the air:

“Your Highness, Prince, if I were you, I wouldn't make any rash moves, or have any irrational ideas about resisting or calling for help…”

“Mr. Invi!?”

Poro was stunned and quickly said.

“Hmph, demonized prince, you still remember me? Then be obedient, and when you die—”

“Wait, I'm Poro!”

Poro felt the killing intent revealed in Invi's words and quickly added.

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, Invi's gun clearly paused, then slowly moved away.

Invi carefully observed Poro, then cautiously lifted his invisible hood, revealing a hint of joy:

“You used your shapeshifting magic to become a prince and sneak in!?”

“Uh, not really.”

Poro then breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the old soldier Invi didn't have too much killing intent just now, obviously wanting to coerce him first, otherwise, if he had shot directly—

He didn't know if this body, which felt like an ordinary person, could withstand it.

“Uh, have you been… covered by any memories that don't belong to you, obscuring your original memories?”

Poro looked at the old soldier Invi, who also looked puzzled.

“No, I think it should be because of the invisibility cloak, right?”

The old soldier Invi thought for a moment, “When I opened my eyes from the red phantom, I came to this… Stetz capital that looks like it's still intact.

I killed a few thieves, but their blood obviously didn't have anything abnormal, just like real ordinary people.

Dans disappeared. I asked a lot of questions before arriving here—

I heard that those princes and princesses are going to hold a dance party again, and this time, there are only seven of them left.”

The old soldier Invi sneered, “In the past, I could save Dans from the palace. This time, there are only seven princes left… It's even simpler.”

Then, he spread out his hand, and Poro saw the runes that originally came from the angel Karen, used to resist the control of the Mad Dancer, looking dim and dull.

“But… judging from this blessing, Ms. Karen may be in a bad situation.”

These golden runes are different from the angelic power that Karen directly instills into bullets and arrows. It requires more protection provided by the angel Karen herself to resist the invasion of the Mad Dancer.

“No matter what, we must be faster this time.”

Poro looked at Invi, this tough guy whose hair was turning gray, who, under the effect of the invisibility cloak, did not seem to have suffered too much influence.

“Now that you're here, it's much more stable!”

……

At the dance banquet, the dance music continued to echo.

Poro walked back to it. Although this was not his body, he still carried an invisible aura of power as he stepped forward.

He did not look sideways, did not look at the princess to the side, and did not care about the others around him.

He walked straight towards the King of Stetz on the throne.

Almost at the foot of the steps to the throne, there were two clanging sounds of swords being drawn. Leake in a vest and another NPC guard drew ordinary swords and stood in front of the king.

There were only two guards behind the king, and when they were both standing in front of the past, it meant that…

At this time, the king's defense had reached its most empty state!

“I have a gift that I would like to offer to His Majesty the King.”

Poro said loudly, holding a plate of candy in his hand. From his false memories, he knew that this candy was indeed a specialty from the home of the Demonic Prince.

Coincidentally, Poro had eaten this candy when he was at the Candy Castle.

In this situation, he could use [Circular Regression: Candy House · Dessert Feast] to materialize it.

"Oh… thank you."

The King was stunned for a moment, then smiled, stood up, walked forward, and reached out to take the candy. The two guards, including Leake, relaxed for a few seconds as a result…

[Circular Regression: Lucky Hans · Loss of Luck]

But just then, beside the King, in the empty air—

A hand appeared, gripping the hilt of the Star Killer Sword at the King's waist!

Another hand held a hand cannon, pressing it against the side of the King's head!

"Bang—"

With a loud noise, the old soldier fired without any hesitation!

But this shot didn't kill the King in front of him. His humanoid appearance instantly collapsed, and a wave of scarlet phantoms began to quickly reorganize his damaged brain!

Although the old soldier drew the Star Killer Sword, he suddenly felt the hilt become heavy when he gripped it.

Randomly, he used all his strength to toss the Star Killer Sword high to Poro—

And Poro was prepared. A demonic light flashed in his eyes, and a green and red vine burst from the ground beneath his feet, extending into the air to catch the Star Killer Sword!

But at this moment, the two guards rushed up, one in front of the other.

The "NPC" guard rushed towards Invi, but the armor around him inexplicably turned into white chocolate. In this situation, the old soldier pulled the trigger, and a golden bullet instantly knocked the guard to the ground!

But on Poro's side, facing Leake, whose memories were obscured, the situation was somewhat precarious.

Poro originally thought that without her original memories, Leake would not be able to utilize the combat experience granted by Circular Regression.

But obviously, that was not the case.

Poro's green and red vine had just caught Leake's Star Killer Sword when, in the next moment, Leake's ordinary longsword was unsheathed, severing the vine and then slashing towards Poro—

"Hey, that's too unreasonable!"

Poro's pupils shrank, and another demonic light flashed. A magical impact pushed Leake's figure backward. At the same time, Poro caught the Star Killer Sword to block Leake's slash.

The quality of the ordinary longsword was no match for the Star Killer Sword.

With only slight contact, the sword in Leake's hand broke into two pieces.

"Wait—Leake, listen to me…"

Poro wanted to say something, but Leake's movements were as fast as lightning. The moment the sword broke, she raised her hand to discard the broken sword and stepped forward empty-handed.

Poro stiffly swung the sword to block, but only felt a pain in his wrist. The Star Killer Sword in his hand had already changed hands!

Leake took the Star Killer Sword and was about to slash at Poro again—

Crap, this is bad!

Poro hadn't expected that Leake, even after losing her original memories, couldn't last more than a few seconds even with his magic!

The sharp edge was upon him, and Poro's eyes were about to split, but then, the cold light abruptly stopped in front of him.

The guard in front of him seemed stunned.

She seemed to think for a few seconds, and from her mouth came the clear voice of a young girl:

"Wait, are you… Poro?!"