Capital City of Llynun—
As the Opening Festival gradually unfolded, the streets continued to become increasingly busy…
While a certain group of girls was all patiently waiting for their food to arrive, they looked out over the city, and near one particular intersection close to the Central Square, something rather peculiar was slowly unfolding right before their eyes…
* * *
In the middle of the street, concealed within the crowd—
A blurry, black-cloaked figure silently slipped through the sea of people.
She was like a small dot, her figure blending in and out of the surroundings.
She moved unnaturally fast, but she did not run, instead, she almost seemed to slither forward, as if the figure possessed the lower body of a snake. The dark figure smoothly slid through the gaps between people, weaving in and out without making a sound, swiftly shooting forward without disturbing the flow of people. Despite her 'strange appearance', nobody seemed to notice her at all, as if some subtle spell had distorted their awareness.
Well—almost nobody…
A nearby fruit vendor, an old man who was clearly disguised, suddenly frowned before rubbing his eyes.
"…Hm?"
By the time he looked up again, the black-cloaked figure had already disappeared into the crowd.
The old vendor continued staring toward the street for several seconds, his expression gradually darkening, but it was impossible to know what he was thinking.
Then, after deeply frowning, he quietly reached beneath his cart and pulled out a small object.
It appeared to be some kind of communication device…
It was shaped like a small jade pendant…
Without drawing any unnecessary attention to himself, he set it off beneath the counter. At the same time as he was sending the signal, he spotted several other figures giving chase. They were 'pursuing' the initial snake girl, who was 'clearly' trying to escape from them.
Among the pursuers was a large, muscular being with a furry face, a tall and thin man with pale skin and red lips, and finally a pair of small-bodied creatures with red hair and crimson eyes that were running slightly behind.
Including the snake girl from earlier, the five figures quickly disappeared into the distance.
-
Some time passed—
Not long after, on the same street, another group of people casualty appeared…
Unlike the blurry, black-cloaked figure from before and her four pursuers, this time it was several young geniuses traveling together under the escort of several heavily armored guards. Looking at these geniuses and young masters mingling together, it was clear that they were overseas experts.
Their robes were extravagant, their spiritual energy was strong, and the fluctuations that emanated from their bodies were strangely unique. If a person could be identified from their aura alone, then it was clear that these people had very different origins from those who grew up on the Cross Continent.
Looking at this large group of people, each and every one of them carried the same kind of arrogant expression that practically screamed: 'I'm important!'
…They were an arrogant bunch, there was no doubt!
"Hahaha, you're right, what can such a small place possibly provide! I hope that this won't be a waste of time, because I gave up the opportunity to visit the Lightning Cloud Mountain this year!"
"This backwater capital is far too crowded, shouldn't they do something about it?"
"Heh! I agree! This Secret Realm better be worth the journey, If it's just a waste of time, I'll definitely have my family deal with them when I get back!"
"Hay, did you see, the Church of Light also seems to have arrived! I wonder how they will handle them!"
"Dam it! Did I just see the Dragon Clan!? Seriously? I wonder what they want. It can't be the secret realm, right? If that's the case, then…"
One of the leading women, a young and incredibly mature girl with spiraling silver hair, swayed her hips back and forth while chuckling. "You guys really don't know how to act! Don't forget that if you enter the Secret Realm, you have to participate in the upcoming war! Fufufu!"
"Pfft! Hahaha!"
"Right, right! Hehe! How could we forget, big sister! Hahaha!"
"Tsk-tsk! You guys are all ready, right, right!?"
Soon, their voices began to dissipate, and the group disappeared into the distance…
-
A bit more time passed, but still in the same spot—
BOOM!
A surge of holy light suddenly exploded from somewhere down the street!
Several people screamed as a wave of white-gold spiritual energy erupted and blasted apart part of a nearby storefront. Smoke and dust billowed, but soon, even this was swept away by a group of blinding, white-clothed individuals who aggressively appeared without even a moment's notice.
Extra emphasis on 'blinding'…
Even during the day, when the sun was already out, they were still an eyesore!
The surrounding pedestrians all turned towards the noise, only to be unceremoniously blinded a moment later! After the few people who were smart enough to cover their eyes recovered… ROAR! There was a sudden roar, and a white-clothed priest, clearly some kind of leader in whatever hierarchy the church used, burst out and stepped onto the street while screaming.
"That damn 'demon' headed this way! CHASE!"
A group of priests from the Church of Light rushed through the streets while carrying strange silver staffs and glowing golden artifacts! Their faces held flickers of frightening fanaticism as they bulldozed down the street with red eyes. Their robes fluttered behind them while an overwhelmingly pompous aura pushed the nearby civilians aside like a wave. People were thrown into the air, and the surrounding stalls were smashed. Like a golden arrow, they roared with the wind and disappeared down the street.
Their methods were, as always, 'slightly' 'excessive', causing a small amount of collateral damage…
Nearby, the small vegetable cart from earlier also exploded!
"…Ah? Wah!" the old merchant muttered tiredly as he was launched up…
This was his third cart of the day! Apparently, this was a really bad street for business…!
Bang, he fell back down, landing on his old bones.
The old man who had previously snitched on the group of five grumbled to himself while once again reaching below his cart. While shaking his head and rubbing his back, he crouched down to pick up the broken fragments of his cart, before sifting through them to find his communication jade…
"Damn youngsters! Just wait! Once you're on this old man's list, there's no escape!"
-
Immediately after the group of people from the church of light disappeared, several exhausted City Guards could be seen sprinting past—
One of the guards looked only a few seconds away from collapsing, clearly exhausted, while another was carrying a huge backpack filled with all kinds of supplies that were needed for repairs. It was clear at a glance that these people were used to chasing after this kind of troublemaker. Regardless of how much people like Elena had prepared before today, these small incidents were an inevitability.
As long as nothing too excessive happened, things would be fine.
Trailing just a few steps behind, a third guard, a young boy, was carrying a large weapon and a bowl of breakfast at the same time, and he seemed to have just woken up…
Looking at him, one might even feel a bit bad…
They were a mixed bunch, sure, coming from all practitioners and professions, but if the city guard had one thing in common, it was that all of them had bloodshot eyes that clearly lacked a lot of sleep…
They too disappeared into the distance…
-
Even more time passed—
After the city guard disappeared down the street, another group of heavily cloaked individuals, six in total, quietly passed through the crowd the same way the initial five had. It was so similar that one had to question their relationship. Fortunately, a similar magic that inhibited cognition had also been applied to this group, so nobody, except a few girls, noticed them passing.
They were covered from head to toe beneath dark robes, making it impossible to identify them.
The moment they appeared, the surrounding atmosphere subtly changed. Even the noise nearby seemed to quiet, as if they each exuded an undetectable pressure. One man, while passing, instinctively stepped aside without understanding why, and another person frowned deeply, looked over, then looked back with a face filled with confusion.
The figures moved silently through the crowd, eventually disappearing into the sea of people.
If one looked carefully, they might notice faint signs of pointy protrusions popping out from the top of their heads beneath the darkness of their hoods. However, due to the shape of their cloaks, even this was difficult to discern, because instead of the common single pointed tip, each of their hoods ended in two points that pulled back and drooped down from behind.
Mm, anyways…
Today, there were simply too many dangerous people gathered in the capital.
All of the above happened in the span of twenty minutes…
-
Finally, after the last group of suspicious people passed by and disappeared into the distance—
A group of repair workers personally employed by the city slowly arrived, pushing large carts loaded with tools, replacement materials, a huge pile of wooden boards, and a special sealing paste used to repair damage to the city. These were the individuals responsible for repairing the city when irresponsible practitioners caused too much damage.
Several workers stared blankly at the damaged storefront, then cursed the Church of Light under their breath. This had not been the first time today, and they were sure that it would not be the last.
Fortunately, the 'purifying' element from the light mages had a counter-effect on the 'corrupting' element from the dark mages. They naturally had to deal with both, so this created a neutral cycle that allowed them to keep working without needing extra help.
As for whether this was a coincidence or not, well—
Who knew…
The city workers all sighed deeply.
"At this point, we should just follow behind them permanently and charge them a fee…."
An old craftsman in the lead of the group calmly nodded.
"...Hm, it would be much faster that way…"
Soon, the sound of hammers echoed through the street, while the damaged surroundings rapidly began returning to normal. The speed was shocking!
The surrounding festival continued as if none of this had happened at all…
* * *
The camera slowly pans back—
Above the same street, seated comfortably atop a rooftop restaurant, Petra and the girls watched everything unfold below with eyes full of interest and curiosity.
They felt as if they were watching a movie.
Erm, a really boring movie…
Petra, seeing everything, rocked back and forth in her seat while seriously resting her chin on top of her folded arms. "What a lively day…" she muttered as the others all stared down at the unlucky repairmen who were probably questioning their lives right now.
They liked this feeling of being a spectator a lot, especially Petra and Poya.
Wind's mouth twitched slightly. "…You say that like you aren't part of the problem..."
Petra rolled her eyes innocently!
In truth, the people from the Church of Light weren't following those five fellows with the dark bloodline, instead, Petra had personally thrown a wisp of her aura to see what would happen…
Their true target should have been the group of six that came afterward, but because of her interference, their target had changed. Petra, like everyone else, had no idea that this small action had caused another domino effect that would slowly unfold off-screen and would actually allow the Demons to enter the Secret Realm in this loop., but even if she did know, she would probably say to you, 'What is a Demon?' then throw a pile of pocket sand in your face before disappearing with a chuckle…
Accused by Wind, Petra immediately looked away, her face full of fake guilt!
Fortunately, before Wind could continue bullying the poor, innocent, and unbelievably kind little green-haired girl, the food finally arrived!
Ding-ding-ding!
Several staff members struggled to carry the main dish up the stairs before 'not so carefully' lowering it into the center of the table with expressions filled with strain. Bang! The entire table shook as it slammed down, shaking the terrace.
A massive roasted spirit pig had arrived! No—calling it a roasted pig almost felt disrespectful!
This thing almost resembled a sacrificial offering that could be brought before a cult!
Even Petra found its size slightly shocking!
One had to know that this thing was bigger than her!
The enormous spirit beast had been roasted until its skin turned a rich crimson-gold color, crackling loudly at the slightest touch and glistening beneath a thick layer of shimmering oil and seven ancient spices. Sticky, caramelized juices slowly bubbled out and ran down the perfectly seared meat, pooling on the platter below. Steam rose in endless, fragrant waves from the deep, carved cuts along its body, revealing ultra-tender, pale golden meat that practically fell off the bone when just looked at.
Vibrant herbs and fragrant, honey-sweet fruits had been stuffed into its open cavity alongside fire fey peppers, roasted mushrooms, sweet steam onions, and several unknown ingredients that released a rich, smoky aroma powerful enough to mentally attack nearby pedestrians. Each gust of wind carried the mouth-watering scent of charred wood, sweet glaze, and savory fats.
If not for the fact that they were high up on the second floor, Petra wondered whether those starving people below would try to jump up and steal a bite!
The smell nearly caused Petra's soul to ascend, and her little mouth couldn't stop drooling.
"…Hoo~ So beautiful…" she muttered emotionally.
Mell covered her mouth while Wind reached for her cutlery, and even Rose and Lira went silent while waiting. That was how serious the situation had become!
After divvying up the pig, all the girls sat down to eat…