In the sky, far above the world, with a view that could see one edge of the horizon to the next, a person materialized slowly. It was Lord Wenmord! He remained as untouched as always, as if he were above the filth of the mortal world. He floated above like humanity's god! That said, he was not exactly unharmed. Unlike the Sword King or the Royal Guards, he faced the full brunt of the rebounded spell. It was practically point-blank! It was difficult to imagine just how powerful that force was.
Two layers of Magical Circles shattered around him. They were his unique defenses. Since he often sealed his own power to prevent detection, that also increased the degree of danger he faced. The world was unknown and unpredictable. Who knew if some truly powerful organization or individual grew bored and decided to erase humanity from existence? If they acted before he could react, then he might die! It may seem farfetched, but there were actually many cases! It was prudent to prepare for those cases, albeit if they were unlikely. The defenses that broke just now could each defend against a direct hit on the level of peak Rank 3. That meant that he sustained damage from twice the power of peak Rank 3!
His eyes narrowed and he looked down. Algard was a mere dot in his vision which showed how far away he was. But that distance meant nothing to someone like him. Lord Wenmord could see the enormous crater where the Lannisail Household once stood. Surprisingly… Elizabeth was at the center. She was still alive! At the instant that Lord Wenmord's spell detonated, she was protected from its effect by another mysterious barrier. However, it could not negate all the damage. Elizabeth's condition was one step from death like the others. Most of her bones were broken, her organs were damaged, and her consciousness was fading away. It was likely that she would die in less than a minute!
Lord Wenmord became grim. His perception, both Martial and Magic, had developed to an extraordinarily powerful degree. It was one step from reaching perfection! Admittedly, he restrained his power significantly to the limit of Rank 3, but it was still not easy to trick him. Unless… it came from a Rank 4 existence! Moreover, it had to be one close to his power. The difference between the bottom of Rank 4 and the top of Rank 4 was vast. Extremely vast! It was equivalent to the divide between the heavens and the earth! Lord Wenmord was well-connected with the rest of the world. There were not many people at that level. Most of them belonged to elite or superpower civilizations! To cast that strong of a defensive magic on Elizabeth, it was obvious that she was held with great importance! This made him wary.
Sonar Nor, is that right? His gaze turned sharp.
Originally, he wanted to investigate the power that Elizabeth unveiled in the battle with the emperor. If he were lucky, then he might gain a clue about… that. He spent over a decade integrating himself into human society to search for it. That was why his other identity was the Minister of Information, Minister Linshi of the Xingyuu Empire! He could use their expansive intelligence network. Of course, if he used his full power, then it would be much quicker. But it was not his time to act yet. He was a patient man. Yet, who would have thought that he would stumble on such an interesting thing before he left?
At that time, Lord Wenmord pulled out a communication tool and frowned. He took one last long glance at Elizabeth. Who knew what he was thinking? Then, he closed his eyes and a very faint pair of wings emerged from his back. A second later, he flew across the sky like a shooting star! His speed was so unbelievably fast that he traversed the entire province in less than half an hour. He accelerated again, breaking through an invisible barrier. Multiple sonic booms were left in his wake! Thankfully, he obscured his traces so the people below would not hear the air screeching. Two hours later, he reached the Desterina Ocean on the exact opposite side of the kingdom. Four hours later, he entered the Xingyuu Empire. By now, the suns were beginning to rise on the horizon. Finally, with another three hours… He left the western border of the Xingyuu Empire and entered the wilderness! From then on, Lord Wenmord finally left the human world!
Meanwhile, at the center of the Lannisail crater, just moments after Lord Wenmord left the city, Elizabeth was lying facedown in the dirt unconscious. Her body was too far gone with most of her arms and legs beyond recovery. Her organs were turned into a mushy mess. Her appearance was terrifying to look at! The damage to her Core was the least of her concerns. In fact, the damage was so severe that no one could save her… Forget about the Hundred Lives Doctor or Ten Dawn Iris. Even if she had the collective force of humanity's physicians and Arcanists, her death was guaranteed! There was no stopping it! Her consciousness was the worst part though… because the tremendous pain trapped her mind in eternal limbo. On the low, low, low chance that she lived, then she would never awaken! Elizabeth was no more…
But… the world worked in mysterious ways that even Lord Wenmord would be surprised. While Elizabeth was on the verge of death, that Whiteangel bow that he ignored seemed to awaken. A meek white glow trembled out of the crystal that slithered over to Elizabeth. It behaved like a criminal, afraid of being caught. It was strangely alive! When it reached the girl, the glow enveloped her gently. It seeped through her skin, her muscles, her bones, her organs, and even to her detonated Core. But it did not stop there. Deeper, it went towards her consciousness and captured her fleeting soul! With the explosion, no one was close enough to see what was happening. Finally, the white light intensified in a brilliant flash before disappearing!
Far, far, far away from the human world, in the capital city of a foreign civilization called the Twelfth Descent, this was the home of a peculiar race. It was populated by lizard people! This capital city was unlike any normal human city. It was etched into the side of a glorious mountain range, carving out a large series of caverns. These creatures were cold-blooded by nature, so their entire civilization resided here. When it was cold or hot, they could move inside. Other times, they could come out and thrive on the surface. For this reason, this civilization had half of their cities above ground and half below, sometimes abandoned and other times lively. It was a bizarre scene that humans could never imagine.
The cavern system was divided into twelve layers or cities. Naturally, the ones closer to the surface were more primitive. Because they had the least protection against the elements, the commoners lived here. The deeper one went, the more advanced the architecture became. The social class increased accordingly as well. The deepest layer was a vast city, where the crown seat of power lived. This was the capital city! Despite its depth, it was not dark at all. There was a meticulous arrangement of lights, provided by magic, that produced a starry sky on the ceiling. That allowed them to imitate day or night as they pleased. With the greenery and fresh water flowing through, it barely felt like a damp and dark underground cavern at all!
The palace was a glamorous building made from all sorts of gemstones that sparkled under the magic light. From emerald to sapphire, from ruby to diamond, the value of this building alone would be incalculable from a human standpoint! At the centermost room of the palace, three people were humbling standing at attention. The man in front was wearing a long luxurious robe and stood with elegance and nobility that he could pass himself off as a human aristocrat, if not for his lizard-like appearance. He was the ruler of the Twelfth Descent and a Rank 3 warrior! He could defeat the Sword King easily if they fought. The two behind him were wielding strange weapons and armor that also radiated the strength of Rank 3!
Remember that the Alzar Kingdom might have three hundred Perception Realms employed, but not a single Instinct Realm! For the last century, the kingdom had not seen the emergence of an Instinct Realm warrior! If not for the Sword King Sin Quelldown, people might have forgotten that it was possible in the first place. They might think it was a mere fairy tale. Although Ranks and the Realms of Mastery were not equivalent, it did reveal the disparity between humanity and the Twelfth Descent. That was why the Twelfth Descent was recognized on the global stage, while humanity was considered as wilderness! Despite that, these three powerful individuals were waiting patiently. For the ruler of the Twelfth Descent to behave so meekly as well, just what were they waiting for?