The moment that Nyssa finished her words, a white light rose in the direction she was facing, drowning out all other lights in existence, dyeing the entire city in its shade, even if only for a few moments. Yet, neither Nyssa, nor Daena showed any panic on their faces. Instead, they just released their Spirits, covering the six people beside them in their Spirit Power, isolating them from the breath that descended around them. As for the Wanderers lying around them…

  The weaker ones, those who had already lost their consciousness, only shivered a little, but the ones who still had the strength to move and perceive their surroundings, felt the terrifying breath sinking into their bones, trying to corrode their minds and Spirit. Some of them even began hallucinating, chanting illegible words, while a few began losing control of their Aspects and Mysteries. It was not until the light receded, that their situation began to stabilise.

  Yet, even when being brought so close to the doors of death, the Wanderers did not dare to say anything. They did not even dare to glance at the people who brought them their suffering, and thanked them instead, for sparing their lives. The only people with no fear in their Hearts, were the people still standing in front of the Blood Hall. And they were all staring at the group of Wanderers—six in total, seven with Vern flying towards them— who came with the light.

  “Onias, Nalop,” Daena said, glancing at the red and yellow robed Wanderer, who looked a little paler than the rest. “I heard you suffered an accident. Do you want me to treat your wounds?”

  “No need,” a red robed man said. “It is just a scratch.”

  “And when did the Raining Thunder became a healer?”

  “Have you not heard? Apparently, there is a new Arcana in the Union which use the Mysteries of Lightning to heal. I was wondering if I could create something similar.”

  “…You? Creating Arcanas?”

  “Why? Can I not create Arcanas?”

  “Yeah, right. And I am a Supreme Wanderer.”

  “…Since you are so confident, you might as well let me try.”

  “You—

  “Enough, Nalop, Onias,” said another red robed Wanderer. Not the red of blood, but a bright red, like that of a Red Lightning. And after he stopped his companions, he turned towards Daena. “Let us stop with these meaningless provocations and get straight to the point.”

  “Meaningless?” Daena said with a sneer. “Was the bullying my daughter suffered also meaningless?”

  “…We will give you an explanation for your daughter’s matter.”

  “Then give me the name of the ant who dared to stretch his hands to a Thunderbird.”

  “And what will you do when we give you that name?”

  “That is up for me to decide. You just need to give me the name.”

  “So that you can go create another scene in the core city?” the man said, shaking his head. “Stop throwing your tantrums, Daena, and let us talk like adults.”

  “You want to talk like adults? Fine, let us talk like adults,” Daena said. “What is the most important rule of the Lost City?”

  “…No Grand Wanderers are allowed to interfere with the affairs of the city.”

  “And?”

  “…And no Wanderers should target the younger generations.”

  “So, tell me, my fellow adult, how should we punish those who dare to break that rule?”

  “Those who break the rules, must be punished. No matter their origin,” the red robed man said. “But we cannot punish the innocent either. Give us some time, Daena, and we will give you your explanation.”

  “Then go back and come talk to me when you have your explanation.”

  “I am afraid, we cannot do that,” said a blue robed woman. “Right now, we are here to deal with another matter.”

  “You mean bullying my daughter’s friends?”

  “…We are not bullying him—

  “Then why are Grand Wanderers interfering with the city’s affair?”

  “We would not have had to come here if you had not created a scene.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “So, you wanted me to just watch them, as they bullied my daughter, and insulted me right on my face?”

  “…You have already punished them enough, have you not?” the woman said, glancing at the Wanderers lying around them. “Do you know how much resources the city will have to waste to treat them?”

  “You should ask that question from your lackey over there,” Daena said, shrugging her shoulders. “He was the one who unfurled his Spirit first.”

  “That’s because you refused to reason!”

  “See, he still has not learned his lesson.”

  “You crazy—

  “Enough, Vern,” the blue robed woman said, glancing at Vern with a frown, before facing Daena once again. “Though Vern’s actions are certainly inexcusable, you cannot shirk your responsibility either. Openly defying the city’s council, interfering with its operations, and protecting criminals—

  “Pardon me for interrupting,” Nyssa said, staring apathetically at the blue robed woman. “Whom exactly are you calling criminals?”

  “…You… Do not think that I have forgotten about you,” the blue robed woman said, shifting her gaze to Nyssa. “Just because you are new to the city does not give you the right to ignore its rules. What exactly were you thinking, attacking your fellow Wanderers righting within the city? If they had not been sensible enough to retreat—

  “Then they would be dead,” Nyssa said. “As would anyone else trying to stretch their hands to my disciple.”

  “…Disciple?” the blue robed woman said, raising her brows. “Is it the Serpia girl, or the white haired—

  “It is the boy,” Vern said, glancing at Alnea with an ugly face. “I was about to inform you… She is the boy’s master.”

  “…I see,” said the blue robed woman. “The dates also match up…”

  “No wonder the boy has such achievements,” said another green robed man. “He has been trained by a Grand Wanderer.”

  “…I thought he was just a civilian who was lucky enough to be favoured by the Serpia clan…”

  “…Just luck alone is not enough for a Grand Wanderer to accept a disciple…”

  “…What else could we expect from the Lotus clan?”

  “…Still, at least we have confirmed our guess,” said the brown robed woman. “Now, all we need to do is find out what is special about him.”

  “…What about the woman?”

  “What about her?” the brown robed woman said. “We are seven, and she is one.”

  “Two,” Vern added. “Do not forget about the Raining Thunder.”

  “We still have the advantage in number.”

  “…Have you forgotten about her Glyph Tokens?”

  “…Do not worry about her,” said the other green robed man. “She is just a little upset about how those idiots handled the matter. I am sure that as long as we are sincere enough, she will also see reason.”

  “…And if she does not?”

  “Then she cannot blame us for being ruthless.”

  “…Are you people are discussing your plans, or trying to threaten me?” Daena said with a sneer, as she heard the words of the Wanderers before her. “And are you sure that you want to see who is more ruthless between us? Or have you forgotten how I got the name of Raining Thunder?”

  “Enough,” the red robed man said, glaring at both, Daena, and the Wanderers next to him. “We have come here to resolve this matter, and restore the city’s peace, not to destroy it. If you are only going to talk about fighting and killing, then shut up, and let me handle this matter.”

  “But—

  “There are no buts, Marin. I gave you the chance you asked for, yet you only made the situation worse. Now, stand aside and let me handle the matter.”

  “…We can let you handle the matter, Pran, but you cannot let the boy leave the city.”

  “…That is not up to you and me to decide,” the red robed Wanderer said. “If he is really guilty of violating the city’s rules, then he will receive his due punishment.”

  “And if he is not?”

  “Then he will be free to go wherever he wishes to,” the red robed man said, turning towards Nyssa. “I heard that you also wanted to resolve this matter peacefully.”

  “If possible,” Nyssa added. “But if you think that you can bully my disciple…”

  “Even if you do not believe me, you should at least believe in the city,” the red robed man said. “And the trust that the city has placed in me.”

  “…Only if you uphold that trust.”

  “That, you do not have to worry about,” the red robed man said. “Since you think that we may be biased against your disciple, then instead of letting us judge him, we can just ask the city to decide whether or not he is guilty.”

  “What are you talking about, Pran?” said the brown robed woman. “That is not what we discussed.”

  “What we discussed, was to punish the person responsible for freeing the ancient being and sabotaging the Trial grounds of the city.”

  “And we have conclusive evidence against him. There is no need to waste the city’s resources on judging him again.”

  “…Is this the trust you were talking about?” Nyssa said to the red robed man. “Treating the story given by the Lotus clan, who have been targeting my disciple ever since he entered the city, as evidence?”

  “…You heard her,” the red robed man said, glancing at the Wanderers beside him. “One sided word of mouth cannot be taken as evidence. Especially in a case as serious as his. Only when we are absolutely sure that he is the culprit, can we give him his due punishment.”

  “It is not just a word of mouth. We even sent some Blood Lords into the Final World to explore, and as expected, we found traces of his Spirit on the Eternal Flames burning in the forest. And though they could not find the prison of the ancient being, they could feel the breath of his Spirit extending somewhere deep into the folds of the Final World’s subspace.”

  “Since you are confident that he is the guilty of all those crimes, then just let the city judge him.”

  “…Fine. But we must be there when the city judges him.”

  “…That is a reasonable request,” the red robed man said, before turning towards Nyssa. “What do you think, Lady of Thorns? Do you believe in your disciple?”

  “I have always believed in my disciple,” Nyssa said, with the edges of her lips curving upwards in a confident smile. “And always will.”

  “Very well,” the red robed man said. “Then, as we discussed, we will let the city decide your disciple’s fate.”