Stepping past the heavy iron door and pulling it shut behind me – an extra precaution to keep the girl secure – I was greeted by a bloody, grim scene. Four corpses of the mages who had guarded the sacred spring lay scattered across the floor. Among them was an Intermediate-level mage. They had clearly fought shoulder-to-shoulder, maintaining a tight formation until the end.
Surrounding them lay three bodies clad in gray robes – low-ranking members of the Black Vatican, likely not even mages – alongside eleven carcasses of dark beasts. These servant-class creatures varied in strength depending on the grim materials used in their creation.
Confined to such a tight space, eleven nimble servant-beasts and three potential Primary-level mages had managed to overwhelm an Intermediate-level mage through sheer strength of numbers. Judging by how one of the dark beasts lay right beside the door-opening mechanism, the girl had likely killed that one herself.
Knowing that an Intermediate-level mage from the cult was already rushing toward this location, I decided to wait right here. I doubted I would have to wait long.
I took up a position to the right of the elevator exit and used spatial telekinesis to lift a chunk of stone shattered from the wall during the previous battle. A projectile like this wouldn't kill even a weak servant-beast, but my incoming guest was a mage. Mages weren't known for their physical durability, so saving my magic reserve made sense.
The moment the elevator doors slid open, a black-clad mage stepped out and began glancing around. Skipping any conversational pleasantries, I hurled the stone straight at his head with telekinesis while simultaneously priming a heavier spell, just in case.
My precautions proved unnecessary. The stone effortlessly crushed his skull. Flying another couple of meters from the impact, it clattered to the floor.
Tsk, he didn't even have artifact armor. People don't join the Black Vatican out of a prosperous life, after all. At least not the rank-and-file. Their inner circle, especially Salan's direct disciples, were certainly far better equipped.
Stepping inside the elevator, I pressed the button for the upper floor and rode it up. How on earth had they crammed so many dark beasts into such a tiny cabin? Had they sent them down in multiple trips? Looking up, I spotted an open hatch in the elevator ceiling. The question answered itself.
Emerging from the elevator into the now-empty bank building, I scanned the area with spirit magic. Sensing no one nearby, I peered out the window. After watching for a few moments, I caught sight of a Winged Wolf soaring through the sky, pursued by two Wind-winged Advanced-level mages, one of whom was Zhang Kong.
High above the beast, an Ice-element tier-one Advanced spell, Ice Coffin, began to condense. The wolf veered off to dodge it, but in doing so, it exposed itself to a Fire-element tier-one Advanced spell, Rain of Fire. The fiery deluge singed its hide, inflicting light-to-moderate injuries.
Considering those attacks were clearly launched by more than just two Wind mages, there were at least four Advanced-level mages out there driving the beast away. Killing it was out of the question – even if the wolf was merely a lower Commander-level creature, judging by those attacks, none of those mages had reached tier two of the Advanced level. Only one of them was capable of dealing significant damage to it.
Was that Ice mage Mu Zhouyun, by any chance? Theoretically, if he had gone on a drinking binge because of me, he might have missed the business meeting that had taken him out of the city in my past life. I hoped he wouldn't die out there.
Pulling my hoodie's hood deeper over my face, I sprinted down the street toward the girls' middle school. If luck was on my side, the future goddess of Parthenon was currently in the shopping center right beside it.
As I ran, I took in the state of the city. It didn't look nearly as devastated as it had in my previous life, and I hadn't encountered a single monster yet. My preparations had clearly borne fruit. Without the rats and wolves stabbing them in the back, the military had managed to hold off the bulk of the horde.
Tang Yue had done her part too, at the very least summoning a couple of Advanced-level mages, or at best, organizing a proper civilian evacuation.
Roughly halfway to the shopping center, I encountered my first monster: a One-Eyed Ice Ape with a mangled paw, tearing into the corpse of someone in a military uniform.
Likely a mage dispatched to lead civilians to the safe zone or clear out beasts that had broken through the perimeter. Judging by the corpses of two other wolves nearby, he might have even been an Intermediate-level mage.
Without breaking stride, I launched a Space-element tier-four Primary spell, Spatial Blade, toward the ape. With my third-level spiritual boundary, its power bordered on Intermediate magic.
The ape sliced cleanly into two neat halves, and its soul fragment was immediately drawn into my pendant. Bad luck, no full soul.
Reaching the shopping center at last, I found another One-Eyed Ice Ape prowling nearby and dispatched it the same way. The monster presence in the city was vastly reduced compared to my past life – there were probably fewer than a hundred across the entire city now.
I dared to hope the casualties would be drastically lower as well. What was the body count back then? Around forty thousand, I recalled – well over a third of the city's population.
Stepping into a shop on the ground floor of the mall, I spotted Xinxia shivering inside a commercial beverage fridge. Her wheelchair stood abandoned at the far end of the store. From one life to the next, her suicidal self-preservation method never changed.
I really didn't get it – hadn't Salan promised her husband to protect their daughter until her twentieth birthday? Or did a suicidal attempt inside a refrigerator not count?
Approaching the fridge, I pulled the door open and gathered the girl into my arms.
"How are you doing?" I asked the dark-haired beauty I'd just rescued.
"I-I'm fine…" she mumbled, her voice trembling slightly.
"Don't worry, I won't ask for a kiss as payment," I teased, trying to lighten the mood for a girl who had already resigned herself to death.
"I understand…" She offered a self-deprecating smile, casting a sad, knowing glance at her legs. Damn it, I'd wanted to cheer her up, not trigger her insecurities.
"…Look, if a girl can't walk, that's actually a plus. Means she can't run away from me!" I tried to clear the heavy air, but judging by the way she recoiled slightly, fear flitting through her eyes, my joke fell completely flat.
"Ahem, let's just drop that topic," I said with an apologetic smile.
"I'm an acquaintance of your brother, and I'm taking you to the safe zone." Her expression made it clear she didn't buy a word of it and had simply accepted her fate… Better to just carry her to the safe zone in silence.
Carrying her through the streets for a few blocks, I ran into only one One-Eyed Ice Ape and a single One-Eyed Giant Rat. With Xinxia present, I relied exclusively on Ice magic to take them down – cover identity and all that.
Against the ape, I didn't hold back, casting an Ice-element tier-one Intermediate spell, Ice Lock. The summoned ice chains froze everything they touched, and I used them to crush the beast's head.
For the rat, an Ice-element tier-four Primary spell, Ice Trap, was more than enough. It snapped shut over the creature, shattering its bones.
After handing the girl over to the personnel at the safe zone, I glanced around the camp. I quickly picked out the students from Tianlan Magic High, spotting Mo Fan as he broke away from the group to chase after the staff carrying his sister away. Well, they were alive – that was good.
I approached a soldier on guard duty at the perimeter and inquired about the situation, asking if they needed an Intermediate-level mage capable of wielding Intermediate spells.
It turned out that ten minutes ago, the Advanced-level mages had finally driven the injured Winged Wolf away from the city and moved to reinforce the front lines.
If I wanted to help, I could head back into the city to sweep for the scattered monsters that had slipped past the defensive perimeter. Which was precisely what I did.
Half an hour later, while finishing off another ape I'd encountered, I couldn't help but wonder: where on earth were my pursuers from the Black Vatican? Specifically, where were Mu Yuan and Bai Yang? Ah, to hell with them. I'd just tell the military I overheard Black Vatican members naming Bai Yang as a traitor and let them deal with him themselves.
Bo City, a rooftop near the exit of the secret passage.
"Where the hell is that damn Mu Bai taking so long? And Senior Pan Shan, who went into the Sacred Spring through the main entrance, isn't answering either," Bai Yang complained, leaning his shoulder against his new summoned wolf, which lay resting on the rooftop.
"Nothing unusual about that," wheezed Mu Yuan, half his face hidden behind a mask. Given how frequently he rubbed at it, the mask clearly wasn't just for hiding his identity. "Senior Pan Shan is notorious for his morbid tendencies. And the report said only a young, pretty girl was left guarding the spring."
"Then where's Mu Bai?" Bai Yang asked, his frustration rising.
"How the hell should I know!? Maybe he got lost in the passage, who knows what that idiot is doing!" Mu Yuan snapped back.
"Pfft-pfft…" The military radio at Bai Yang's belt hissed with static.
"Captain Bai Yang listening… Right… Yes… Understood!" Bai Yang switched off the radio.
"What is it?" The young Ice mage asked, curious.
"They're calling me to the safe zone. Say a pack of five monsters just showed up there, and all the strong mages are at the front lines. They need my help," Bai Yang muttered with annoyance.
"Go ahead, I can handle that dimwit myself," Mu Yuan said, glancing toward the ten dark beasts under his control. "Since Bo City isn't completely destroyed, having an embedded agent in their garrison won't hurt."
"…Fine," Bai Yang agreed, deferring to the younger man's direct connection to the Blue Deacon. It was better to stay on his good side. "But make sure you pay that brat back for my previous wolf!"
"Absolutely," Mu Yuan nodded, settling in on the rooftop to continue waiting for Mu Bai.