Chapter 13

Dusk—

Aile, Leon, and Naya stood before their destination’s gate—an ancient courtyard entwined with roses. Rothschild, the Angelic Faith’s wealthiest patron, lived here!

Blocking their path: iron gates, iron locks, iron bars.

“No way anyone inside would hear knocking,” Leon muttered.

Suddenly! A hulking figure dropped from the sky before them—bare-chested, muscles rippling, wearing the same bird-headed mask. Its beak stretched long like Pinocchio’s nose.

“I am Yorick, gatekeeper to Lord Rothschild! Trespassing here? Got a death wish?!” He swung a meteor hammer—a monstrous man.

Aile snorted. “I don’t care who you are.”

“Aile! Wait—” Naya couldn’t stop her. A gleaming silver giant hand descended from the sky, slamming the gatekeeper against the gate! Iron bars twisted and shattered—the man flew out with the wreckage.

The sheer power… Naya and Leon had seen this before. *Sigh. Aile’s too impulsive.*

“Whatever,” Aile crossed her arms. “If they want compensation for the gate, let them bill the Second Prince!”

A black, rigid shape flashed—Leon instinctively drew the Light Roar Sword! In a blink, it clashed against a pair of pitch-black giant scissors.

“I am Lord Rothschild’s gardener! How dare you force your way in?”

“Not bad. Even the gardener’s skilled. Interesting,” Leon remarked.

“Enough!” A voice rang out from afar. The magnate Rothschild himself stood at his mansion’s entrance, holding a gilt pipe—a tall, gaunt middle-aged man.

“Let them in!”

“Yes, my lord.” The bird-masked gardener melted into the shadows.

Leon’s group followed the magnate into a parlor dripping with opulence—every detail rivaled royalty. *Ten years of living like nobility, huh?*

“Speak,” the magnate inhaled deeply. “What does the Aeon Sect want with me?”

“We want to know what you were doing during the Calamity ten years ago,” Aile said.

“Same as everyone else. Looting valuables.”

“…”

*No wonder he still lives like nobility. He must’ve taken the most.*

“You were a Sorcerer’s servant and did this?” Naya stared, incredulous.

“The Sorcerers’ own servants led the looting.”

“Weren’t you in the Skyward City then? How did the Sorcerers die?” Aile pressed.

“Of course not. Or how would I be sitting here talking to you? I’d have plummeted with the city. They say every Sorcerer died the instant the Calamity struck. Then the Skyward City fell—everyone without magic aboard died on impact.”

“Not a single survivor?”

“One.”

Leon, Aile, and Naya held their breath.

“The six-year-old daughter of a Sorcerer Lord—Ruri. I found her buried in the ruins five days later. They say she survived by eating books.”

*A six-year-old girl?!* Ten years later, she’d be the same age as Naya and Aile.

“Where is she now?” Aile demanded.

The magnate took a leisurely puff. “I offered her to the Mercurial Deity.”

“What?!”

“She was my property. I give her to whomever I please. For years, I kept her as a slave. Had you come two days earlier, you’d have seen her collar.”

“You—!!!” Hearing such vile words, even gentle Naya’s face twisted with rage. Leon’s knuckles whitened on his sword hilt.

“Do you hate the Sorcerers? Why treat their child like this?” Leon’s voice turned icy.

A dark smirk curled the magnate’s lips. “If I must name it—hate that they looked down on us. Hate that they had what I never did. Don’t glare at me—” he said. “Every looter thought the same! The Sorcerers ruled this continent for five hundred years! The Four Great Kingdoms lived like dogs under them. Now the tables have turned. The gods demand she atone for their sins.”

“The Angelic Faith is no better with filth like you in it. Let’s go, Naya, Aile. We’re rescuing her—”

“Hold it!” The magnate’s private guard unit stormed into the parlor—dozens of armored men. *Scheming bastard. He’d been stalling all along!*

“You smashed my gate, injured my men, and think to leave? I won’t let you interfere with the Mercurial Deity’s ascension to heaven!”

“Oh?” Aile stepped forward, pointing at the magnate—against a backdrop of collapsing ceilings and the descending Aeon Hand. “Then consider your villa and every stolen treasure forfeit!”

The giant silver hand swept through the parlor. Where it passed, only rubble remained. The armored guards vanished before they could glimpse what struck them!

The magnate crumpled onto his sofa—the sole intact piece of furniture.

“Ahhh?! Magic’s alive?! Magic’s alive?!”

“Open your eyes wide and witness it! This is Aio’s divine miracle!” Aile declared triumphantly.

“You—! Mercurial will kill you! I’ve seen it! A true god!”

“Fine! We’ll see soon enough—which god is truly divine: Aio or Mercurial!”

“Let’s move!” Leon spun away, hand resting coolly on his sword hilt. “Whether she’s the last Sorcerer or not—I’m getting her out.”