"Severance Miracle, Severance Miracle..."
Igula paced back and forth in his room, gnawing his fingernail unconsciously. Unable to hold back, he blurted, "Are you really sure you can pull off a miracle with mana completely restricted?"
"I'm not sure," Ash replied calmly. "In fact, I can't do it right now. I'm still missing a crucial familiar to complete the Severance Miracle."
"Then why—"
"I already told you, I have a secret channel for acquiring familiars. I don't know when I'll find the one I need, but it's only a matter of time."
Igula opened his mouth but closed it again without speaking.
Ash wasn't elaborating, and Igula had no way of guessing what this "secret channel" was. Yet, for some reason, he found it hard to doubt the claim's validity.
The Balance familiar was proof enough.
If Ash had obtained it days earlier, he wouldn't have been vulnerable to Igula's Contract familiar. It was unlikely Ash had orchestrated some long-term trap specifically targeting him—after all, Igula had been the one to provoke Ash in the first place.
It made more sense to believe Ash had genuinely acquired the familiar recently.
This wasn't due to Igula's naïveté or optimism, but because Ash had repeatedly defied logic with his seemingly miraculous feats:
In their Deathmatch, Ash had gone from a clueless rookie to a competent brawler in minutes.
Against Varkas, he had turned from an amateur to a swordsmanship prodigy.
During the Bloodmoon Trial, he had somehow endured the purging flames of repentance—despite supposedly being the most "sinful" of all the prisoners.
Add to that the sudden appearance of the Balance familiar, and Igula had no reason to doubt Ash. Even if the idea of a "secret channel" sounded absurd under the prison's strict supervision, miracles were the bread and butter of the mage's world.
And Ash Heath was, after all, the leader of the Four Pillars Cult.
Igula's expression twisted as he mulled it over. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. "Fine! I'm in!"
"But," he added, "breaking out won't be possible with just the two of us. We'll need more people."
"Naturally," Ash said with a grin. "You were the first person I approached because I figured you'd know the dirt on all the other inmates. I need a cunning 'local' to help assemble the team."
"Thanks for the compliment. As a fraudster, information is my weapon of choice," Igula replied, bowing theatrically.
"So, who should we recruit?"
"I've already got a rough plan. Assuming you can disable the chips with your Severance Miracle, we'll need three types of people:
1.A frontline fighter to break through obstacles.
2.A demolitions expert for sustained damage.
3.A support specialist for mobility and healing."
"Sounds like highly skilled professionals. Do we have anyone like that here?"
Igula chuckled. "Are you joking? This place is crawling with thugs, murderers, and black-market smugglers. Finding the right people is the easy part."
Galactic Federation, Kalaris
Enguliette stared curiously out the car window at the rows of villas. Adele, meanwhile, marveled at the leather upholstery inside the vehicle, running her fingers over it until Lois slapped her hand down with a look of disapproval.
"Thank you for inviting us to this tea party, Felix," Lois said politely, searching for a way to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
"Don't thank me," Felix replied coldly, his sour mood apparent even behind the wheel. "Sonia insisted on bringing her dormmates along, so you can thank her instead."
His blunt response left little room for pleasantries, and the tense atmosphere silenced even Adele, who had been brimming with curiosity moments before.
Lois decided not to risk further conversation and instead observed Sonia, seated in the passenger seat, quietly wondering about the connection between her and Felix.
Earlier that day, Sonia had approached them out of the blue, saying that Felix was hosting a tea party at his villa and had invited them.
Tea parties were a common student activity—an excuse to gather in scenic spots, sip tea, nibble on snacks, and gossip about others. Many campus rumors could be traced back to these gatherings.
Lois herself had attended several such parties, even hosting one specifically to spread rumors about Sonia. It baffled her why Sonia would now invite her, considering that tea parties were typically reserved for close-knit groups.
If Sonia simply wanted to bring a friend, Enguliette would have been enough. Why drag along Lois and Adele as well?
And why Felix? With his reputation for sleazy behavior, it was hard not to suspect something sinister. Words like "aristocratic scion," "basement," "imprisonment," and "abuse" flashed through Lois's mind.
Yet Sonia had preemptively suggested they inform their parents about their plans to attend Felix's tea party—just in case something untoward happened. That oddly considerate move left Lois more puzzled than reassured.
Enguliette had picked up on Sonia's subtext and asked outright if they were being recruited as witnesses. Sonia hadn't confirmed it directly but promised the gathering would come with benefits—particularly for their mage careers.
The lure of opportunity outweighed the risks for Enguliette, who declared, "In the mage's world, taking risks means moving forward. Playing it safe means falling behind. If I can't even handle this, I might as well go home and get married."
Lois had reluctantly agreed, unable to back down in front of her peers or risk souring relations with Sonia—especially when she still hoped to purchase the Torrent familiar from her.
Thus, the three of them found themselves in Felix's silver car, their apprehensions slowly easing as they drove into the villa district, where security cameras and guards ensured a modicum of safety.
Felix's silver car pulled up to an opulent villa.
"Where are the servants?" Adele asked, glancing around.
"There are none," Felix replied curtly. "I only hire staff to maintain the property when I'm not here. Otherwise, it's just me."
"No servants? Then who's hosting the tea party? Do we brew our own tea and bake our own snacks?" Adele asked innocently, earning an embarrassed look from Lois, who quickly pulled her aside to explain.
Felix led the group into the grand hall of the villa, where the luxurious decor made an impression. Without hesitation, he summoned a scantily clad, one-winged female familiar, prompting disdainful glances from the others.
The summoning seemed to trigger something—an elaborate fireplace opened up to reveal a hidden spiral staircase descending into the depths.
"Is all this theatricality really necessary?" Sonia muttered, rolling her eyes. "Do you moonlight as a kidnapper, murderer, and corpse dissector when you're not at school?"
"Secrecy is often associated with fear, darkness, and violence," Felix replied sharply. "Not because secrets are inherently evil, but because they're vulnerable and require grandiose defenses. Would you prefer we hold this meeting in the school cafeteria?"
"If it were at midnight, the cafeteria might still meet your dramatic standards," Sonia quipped, following him down the spiral staircase.
Enguliette unsheathed a wooden sword from her scabbard and followed cautiously. Lois and Adele exchanged uneasy glances, clutching each other nervously as they brought up the rear.
The hidden staircase led to an underground training room, illuminated by the brilliant light of a Daystar artifact. The sight of such extravagant resources—one Daystar alone was enough to light an entire university gymnasium—left the group speechless.
Felix, meanwhile, seemed relieved to be done with his hosting duties. Grabbing a bottle of wine from a corner fridge, he took a swig straight from the bottle and muttered, "I've done my part. The rest is up to you."
Enguliette stepped forward, blocking Lois and Adele from entering further. "Sonia, care to explain what this is all about?"
"No problem," Sonia said with a grin. "To put it simply—Felix has a treasure he wants to split with me fifty-fifty. But how could I forget my dear dormmates in such a moment? So, I brought you all along to share the wealth!"