"Practice slowly... Do I still have that chance?"

Brad sighed bitterly, leaning back weakly.

"Who knows? Anyway, I only promised Granzon to bring you back. The rest is up to you guys."

Sei shrugged her shoulders and suddenly covered her mouth, laughing. "By the way, that guy said he wants to spank you."

"... " The prince sighed helplessly.

He really couldn't be happy about it. This kind of punishment for dealing with a brat... It was annoying. It was supposed to be a celebration day, but in his eyes, it was just a child's mischief.

"In the end, it's all meaningless."

"No, no, no, Prince Brad, your resistance is meaningful. If it hadn't been delayed long enough, I wouldn't have made it in time," a man's voice suddenly rang out from the devastated top of the tower after a round of magical explosions.

Brad blinked slightly, while Sei stopped in her tracks and looked around. There was no trace of anyone in the room, and it was impossible for any sound transmission spells to go unnoticed, within her line of sight. Where did that voice come from?

At this moment, the pile of wooden railings and shattered chandeliers accumulated on the staircase outside the ruined door suddenly moved, and someone pushed it aside from below, causing a cloud of dust to fly.

"Cough, cough, cough... But your highness, it would be better if you didn't wreak havoc in your own house next time. It's just so tiring to climb up here," a dark-haired boy, coughing and waving away the ashes, said in pain.

"Is this your subordinate too?"

Sei glanced at Brad and, for the first time since arriving in the capital, showed a serious expression. As an astrologer, she could easily see various possibilities in the future and effortlessly grasp the defensive forces of Brad in the capital.

But this guy who kept coughing hadn't appeared in any of her divinations before.

In other words, this guy was beyond the scope of cause and effect.

While it is possible for a diviner to break out of the possibilities of divination, very few individuals at the level of Sei can do it.

"I don't know him," Brad said, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance and looking at him curiously.

Of medium height and even somewhat frail, with black hair and black eyes, his facial features were more similar to those of people from the eastern continent. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he always had a gentle smile on his face, which made people feel close to him, as if he were a neighbor's older brother. Not to mention his unpretentious entrance, which made him seem like an ordinary passerby.

Except for the profoundness in his eyes, as if he had experienced millennia.

"Haha, it's normal for Your Highness not to know me, a nameless soldier," the boy patted the dust off his body and respectfully performed an eastern continent gesture to Sei. "I'm just a Masked Rider passing by. I've seen Lady Sei and Prince Brad."

Sei narrowed her eyes and stared at the boy, not responding to his greeting.

"What are you? What are you doing here?"

Can't figure it out.

Can't figure anything out.

Astrologers—especially at Sei's level—using the laws of the world as a medium for divination, the flow of all things and the cycle of cause and effect are visible to the naked eye. As long as she wanted to, she could see thousands of interconnected threads of cause and effect in an instant, whether it was flowers, plants, birds, animals, or humans and Elves. As long as they existed in this world, she could understand them.

But the teenager in front of him, who claimed to be a Kamen Rider, was unexpectedly "clean" to the point where he didn't even have a single strand of causal thread on him, like a smooth gem in a tangled ball of yarn.

A guy like this, other than being a "freak," Starsight couldn't think of any other words to describe him. And with this oddball appearing here, Starsight didn't think he was just passing by.

"So you really can see it? It's a pity, I thought no one would be able to notice after all this time," the teenager scratched his hair and sighed, "But it doesn't matter, I didn't plan on hiding this anyway."

In the next moment, the scene in the room fluctuated violently.

"Holy Rank?" Starsight raised his other hand and gently pressed down, suppressing the spatial fluctuations caused by the teenager.

"Please don't mind." Even though he had unleashed astonishing power, the teenager still stood in place with a smile on his face, without any hostile gestures.

"I don't intend to be your enemy here, Starsight," he reached out a hand and pointed at Brad who Starsight was holding, "Could you please spare Brad Your Highness?"

Starsight calmly raised an eyebrow, "What do you say?"

"Well, it's a pity. I thought Starsight would be more concerned about the safety of his homeland, but it seems like you have the time to pay attention to foreign affairs."

"Just helping out an old friend... hold on," Starsight's expression darkened, "Did you just mention the Empire?"

"Yes, indeed. The old sovereign is on his deathbed and has not yet appointed an heir. It's only natural that all the princes and princesses are eyeing the throne. Who knows, there might be a show to watch if the sovereign passes away."

The teenager had a bright smile on his face.

"What a joke! The sovereign's health was stable before I left, how could he suddenly be on his deathbed!"

Even though he said that, Starsight's expression still showed a hint of nervousness.

"If it's just a joke, Starsight, why don't you use divination to figure it out yourself? I'm not interested in deceiving an astrologer with such a difficult task," the teenager spread out his hands.

For Starsight, it was easy to see the fate of people he knew well. Just by focusing his attention, he could sense that the life flame belonging to a certain supreme being was flickering on the verge of extinction.

Tsk, what did that guy do? He was so confident before leaving that he could live for another seventy to eighty years... Since that's the case, he needed to quickly return this troublesome kid to Granzon and hurry back...?!

"No, I can't do that."

Two deep black blades intersected and appeared, shattering a chunk of the azure sky as they flew out of the tower. The one who launched the attack shook his head:

"Although I don't want to say this, I'm sorry, Starsight. If you don't let go of Brad Your Highness, I won't let you leave."

The teenager opened his hands, and the space in his palms cracked and healed slightly, revealing two miniature black holes.

"It's truly lacking in taste to only use such crude attacks despite comprehending the laws," Starsight scoffed lightly.

That being said, it was still the genuine law of space, with undeniable power. Even though Starsight had been in Holy Rank for many years and was also a user of laws, it was not easy to defeat his opponent.

"Yeah, at my current level, it's almost impossible to beat you, Starsight. But how long do you think it will take for you to kill me?" The teenager seemed to perceive Starsight's thoughts and smiled, "I'm standing in front of you with the determination to die."

An hour, a day, or maybe a month?

In the Holy Rank battles Starsight knew of, the ones that truly fought to the death, the ones who disregarded everything for a decisive battle, the fastest had taken three hours.

However, facing a freak who couldn't read "fate" at all, she had no confidence in solving it in three hours.

After a long thought, Xing Jian let go of his hand grabbing Brad's collar and looked deeply at the young man.

"You... It's better not let me find any connection between His Majesty's illness and you, otherwise I will definitely kill you."

Leaving these words behind, Xing Jian tore open a spatial door and stepped out.

"..." The young man stared at the spot where Xing Jian disappeared, seemingly lost in thought as well.

"Um, although I don't know who you are, but thank you." Brad climbed up from the ground, still a little unsteady, and walked to the front of the young man to express his gratitude while leaning against the wall.

"No need, to be honest, I was scared enough myself. I'm really afraid that woman will suddenly go crazy and won't stop until she kills me."

Suddenly relaxed, the young man sat down on the dusty floor with a thud, panting heavily, completely devoid of the momentum he had just used to force back a Holy Rank expert.

"Oh, by the way, Prince Brad, there's something I'd like to ask for your help with."

"Please go ahead." Brad answered without hesitation. It was such incredible luck to have a Holy Rank intervene and help him. He had to foster some good feelings no matter what.

"Just now, I had a meal at a restaurant in the central district, and... I accidentally lost my wallet. Now that owner probably has the whole city after me... Can you please lend me some money for now?"

".... Alright, sure."

...

The scene shifted back to the central region of the Western Continent, the Milt Autonomous Academy City, in a secluded building.

This building had also been around for quite a while. It hadn't been renovated for years, and the walls were chipped and peeling, to the point where one would doubt if it might collapse at any moment. However, it had its advantages – it was remote enough to not be easily found and was spacious enough to...

"To accommodate this group of idiots with holes in their brains."

The door opened with a harsh metallic friction sound, and three shadows were cast on the floor by the light coming in from outside, elongating them.

"I say, Lord Judicator, as the representative of the will of the gods, the judge of sin, you're being quite undignified with your words."

"Hmph~ Who asked you to meddle? Well, anyway, this place is really secluded, but can't we find somewhere nicer?"

"More importantly, I'm curious why we have to save these fallen ones obsessed with dark powers. Judging them in the Academy City would be the right way. Lord Judicator, care to explain?"

The lights inside the house turned on, revealing the things inside the house.

People, or rather, Dark Elves.

There was about a basketball court-sized spacious room filled with Dark Elves lying around in all directions. Most of them had light or severe injuries, and at the same time, they were tightly bound by thorny vines, sharp barbs penetrating their skin. Magic power, accompanied by blood, was slowly absorbed through the vines, keeping them in a weakened state without dying.

"Well, even though they're using dark powers, they still have some strength. It just so happens that we're outnumbered, so we have to take care of each other, right?"

"What?! Is this the so-called reinforcements?!" an incredulous voice.

"Working with Dark Elves, won't I be beaten to death by the teachers when I go back?"

"I don't want to either, but the Holy See won't give us more people, so we have to figure it out ourselves. After all, I'm from the Tribunal, and in your eyes, I'm just a guy doing dirty work."

Agatha propped up her heavy eyelids and happened to see three figures hovering in front of her while listening to the blurry conversation.

"This guy is the leader? He seems different." Johannes stood in front of Agatha, rubbing his chin as he looked her up and down, then added, "She's really beautiful, huh."

"Hey." The holy knight beside them gave Johannes a frustrated look, "Watch your words."

"Am I not speaking the truth?!" Johannes retorted, holding his head in dissatisfaction.

"Who are you guys...?" Agatha's voice sounded tired, considering she had recently used up a lot of magic power and was hit repeatedly by Aya and the headmaster. It was already remarkable that she was still standing.

Being suddenly saved when everything seemed lost was even more unexpected.

"Well... let me think, how did we introduce ourselves again? Passing Masked Knights?" The girl standing behind Johannes and Karina folded her arms and pondered, then pointed with a finger and smiled.

"...Huh?"

Agatha was momentarily stunned due to the dizziness from the blood loss.

"Anyway, we helped you, and in return, you will have to follow our orders later, understand?"

As soon as the words fell, the blood thorns suddenly withered away, and more than thirty black Elves were liberated at the same time.

Agatha's body nearly collapsed, but she managed to remain standing by sheer willpower. Even in this situation, she had no intention of allowing others to control her.

"Hehe, gratitude? We don't have that kind of habit." Agatha sneered twice.

Behind her, the black Elves supported each other and gathered together in a defensive stance. Although they were all in a weakened state, they were still the elite chosen to capture the Elf Princess. After being liberated from the blood thorns, they were capable of fighting against only three enemies.

After all, Agatha could roughly gauge the limits of these three people. There were no super-powered individuals present; they were just taking advantage of the situation.

"Ha, as I said, these guys don't have any sense of gratitude. It's better to hand them over immediately and say that we bravely captured them." As expected, Johannes shook his head.

"Who said we asked for gratitude?" Vira still seemed confident, "You want to capture someone, and we happen to want to capture someone too. Isn't there room for cooperation?"

"Capture someone?"

"Yes, the Crown Prince Tiran, whom you captured before. Although it seems like he has lost his power now, there are too many unstable factors about that Princess. It would be safer to capture her directly. Unfortunately, there are a few old monsters in the city. If you want to capture the Elf Princess, you will have to deal with them as well. In this matter, our interests coincide, you know?"

That's true.

"But so what? Like you said, there are Holy Ranks in the city. Does it mean anything to the three of you if there are a few of us who aren't Holy Ranks?"

"It does, of course it does. The strength of individuals doesn't mean everything. Besides..." Vira said slowly, her smile disappearing in an instant.

"I'm not begging you to join us."

Pupupu...

A series of light and subtle sounds, like the lively sound of seeds breaking through the soil.

However, these sounds were accompanied by a strong smell of blood.

"This... this is!"

A red rose suddenly bloomed on the chest of each black Elf, with roots directly connected to their hearts through the skin. What was even more eerie was that although it burst out of their chests, they felt no pain at all.

"You Elves are quite proficient in natural magic, so you should be able to sense the effects of this magic, right? My blood thorns are not just meant to bind you."

This guy...

A cold sweat dripped down Agatha's cheek as she finally chose to compromise.

"Alright. It seems we have no other choice but to agree. However, even if you use these means against us, it won't change the balance of power." She added defiantly.

"So, we'll have to rely on our other ally then." Vila remained unmoved.

"Huh? There's someone else?" Both Karina and Johannes were dumbfounded, as Vila hadn't mentioned this to them before.

A unfamiliar voice came from the dark corner where the light couldn't reach, and a tall and sturdy figure emerged from the empty space.

"Is this the ally you were talking about? Besides the interesting white one... just a bunch of grunts?"

The deep voice seemed unsatisfied with the quality of the Dark Elves.

"Well, grunts have their uses too," Vila acknowledged without denying it.

"Hmph, fine, it's your business to scheme and plot. As long as I get my hands on the lantern, the rest is up to you."