The three Empresses all showed slight surprise at his words. Then Daybreak spoke,
"In that case, we have no reason to stop you. We only hope that you return as soon as possible. Please understand, this is very important to us."
The old man wearing the silver-white mask immediately bowed.
"I understand. And as a spectator, I would never abandon such a wonderful story."
As soon as he finished speaking, a stream of silver liquid flowed down from his mask, rapidly covering his entire body. In the next moment, he vanished completely.
Only the three Empresses remained.
At the same time, the midnight bell rang across the entire Empire.
Meanwhile, within the Special Zone, inside the seemingly quiet mansion of the Kott family, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
With the return of the family head and core members, the estate had already been filled in secret with extraordinary guards, each possessing unique abilities.
At the center of the hall sat Kott, barely restraining his excitement. His father paced back and forth, unable to hide his joy.
Standing to the side were three figures with complicated expressions, Kott's elder brother, younger brother, and sister.
Joining the Faceless Court had always been the greatest dream of the Hyne family.
Yet for hundreds of years, despite the many outstanding individuals produced by the family, none had succeeded.
And now, it had been achieved by Kott, who was half known as a wastrel.
Such an unexpected outcome left his siblings filled with jealousy, yet also with growing anticipation.
Because joining the Faceless Court meant that their family had effectively become a quasi-angel family.
Although, due to ancient contracts, this could not be publicly acknowledged, it was still enough to make their hearts race.
A quasi-angel family, backed by the Faceless Court. Just imagining it was enough to understand the immense benefits.
The only regret was that the one who brought such glory was not themselves. Nor would they be the ones to enjoy the greatest rewards.
Kott's father, still pacing excitedly, asked again,
"You really… you really passed the test?"
Kott, the only one seated, replied once more,
"Yes, Father. I succeeded. I fulfilled the family's long-cherished wish."
As he spoke, he placed the parchment scroll before them.
They had already seen it, yet they could not help but look again.
After all, this was their ticket into an angel family.
The text on the parchment had already transformed into something incomprehensible, even to Kott himself as the signer.
Though if Mozo were here, he would have been able to decipher it.
But understanding the contract itself did not matter.
Because aside from the original terms, one clear sentence had appeared on the parchment:
We will welcome your arrival at the stroke of midnight.
And now, it was midnight.
Listening to the resounding bells outside, which they once found noisy, now felt like heavenly music.
As the final chime fell, just as their anticipation was about to turn into despair, the silver-masked old man finally appeared beside Kott.
With just a single glance, the other four nearly fell to their knees.
Because this was clearly a Sequence Two angel.
The very existence their family had pursued for generations.
And now, Kott had the chance to become such a being.
The old man glanced around, then casually took out four parchments and tossed them to the remaining four.
Without another word, he took Kott with him and vanished as swiftly as he had come.
Only a sentence remained behind:
"Sign the contract, and you will receive the benefits you desire, along with the responsibilities that come with them. Refuse, and I will erase the corresponding memories."
After a brief daze, Kott found himself following the old man into a strange courtyard, surrounded by endless dense fog.
Within the courtyard, aside from the brick walls that held back the fog, there stood only a massive maple tree.
Beneath it were ten seats arranged in a circle, each bearing a different color.
Kott froze slightly.
Ten?
Wasn't the Faceless Court supposed to have only nine members?
Before he could think further, the old man turned and smiled.
"You have passed the test and witnessed a story both strange and valuable. From today onward, Kott Hyne, you are a member of the Faceless Court."
He spread his arms and bowed.
"I welcome you."
Straightening up, he gestured toward the seats.
"Mr. Kott, please choose. Any seat with a remaining mask is available to you. Would you like me to introduce each path represented by the masks?"
Kott immediately shook his head.
"No need. I know what I want."
He walked straight toward the green mask and pointed at the corresponding seat.
"My family follows the path represented by the Green Mask. I choose that one."
The old man's expression turned serious.
"Are you certain? I must inform you that the Green Mask is incomplete."
Kott froze.
"What do you mean?"
The old man walked past him and stood before the green seat. Looking at the mask, his voice turned cold.
"The previous Green Mask reached Sequence Two… and then betrayed us."
"At the moment of his betrayal, the contract of the Ten stripped away a large portion of his extraordinary characteristics."
"However, he found a way to bypass the most critical part. He retained the core Sequence Two characteristic, along with part of Sequence Three."
"To this day, we have not recovered what he took."
"A shame, truly. Even though he has already fallen into a half-mad state due to the loss of his characteristics."
Kott was stunned speechless.
After a long moment, he finally said,
"But… but I'm already Sequence Seven. If I switch to another path now, isn't it too late?"
---
Meanwhile, Mozo was lying comfortably on his bed, grinning as he stared at the estate transfer document in his hands.
A high-grade vineyard estate.
Not bad at all.
He wondered if Kott had chosen his mask yet.
And Audrey… why hadn't Miss Audrey come to see him?
Suddenly, Mozo's smile faded.
He set down the document and sat up, frowning.
Audrey knew he had gone to the ruins.
And after such a major incident last night, why hadn't she come to ask him about it today?
Of course, it could just be overthinking.
Their relationship was nothing special, and she might not even connect the earthquake to the ruins.
But once the thought appeared, Mozo couldn't shake it.
A sense of unease crept into his mind.
He suspected that this was his intuition as an extraordinary warning him.