Leo followed his master into the adjoining hall, where a large crowd had already gathered. The space was elegantly divided: the edges were lined with seats and lounge areas for guests to relax and socialize, while the center had been cleared as a polished dance floor. At the far end, a group of musicians played a soft, graceful melody that filled the hall with a calming atmosphere.
As they entered, the familiar sensation of eyes turning toward them returned. Attention followed Alexia like a shadow.
"I see you're still good at drawing every eye in the room, Alexia," a man said, stepping toward them with a faint smile.
He was tall—though a little shorter than Bernal—and dressed in a sharp black suit with a green shirt underneath. His black eyes carried a faint, unnatural green glow, and though his frame was slender and his face slightly aged, there was a quiet intensity to him that made him hard to ignore.
Alexia raised an eyebrow. "I told you, Oswald, if you're jealous, change your appearance. You're a necromancer. Use your magic."
Leo blinked in surprise at the casual exchange. It wasn't the words themselves—it was the familiarity in how the man addressed her. But when he heard the name, his surprise deepened. Oswald Boll. The name echoed in his mind. He was known as the third S-rank mage in the entire Magic Kingdom.
Standing beside Oswald was a younger man, likely his student, who also looked startled by the scene. Both he and Leo instinctively bowed at the same time.
"I see you two are still wasting time with this kind of talk," Bernal said, approaching them from the side. "Are you children?"
Oswald turned toward him, his tone dry. "You're nearly two hundred years younger than I am, Bernal. Show some respect to your elders."
Once Bernal had reached them, the three student—Leo, Sophie, and the young man with Oswald—bowed respectfully.
"This is a banquet," Alexia said flatly. "Everything here is a waste of time."
The atmosphere in the hall shifted. All eyes were now fixed on the three most powerful mages in the kingdom, standing casually in one corner of the room, exchanging barbs like old rivals.
"Now, now, Alexia," Bernal replied. "Politics are still important."
"Then why don't you handle all of it?" she shot back without hesitation.
"I could," he said, smiling slightly. "But where's the fun in that?"
With the room still caught in silence, Bernal took a step forward, toward the center of the hall. He clapped his hands once.
"This is a banquet, everyone. Let's try to make it feel like one."
The musicians, who had hesitated the moment the three S-ranks began to speak, picked their instruments back up and resumed playing. The tension in the room slowly loosened, and the three grand magisters drifted to different parts of the hall, each quickly surrounded by a crowd of nobles eager to speak with them.
Leo, Sophie, and Oswald's student found themselves standing off to the side together, near one of the wide pillars.
After a brief silence, Leo turned to Sophie. "Any news about the vampires?"
She nodded. "A team was sent to investigate, but they didn't find anything. Whatever happened out there destroyed them completely. No trace left."
As she spoke, Leo's eyes wandered across the room. A few other figures seemed to be attracting attention as well. One in particular stood out—a striking woman in a flowing white gown who carried herself with undeniable poise.
"Who's that woman?" Leo asked, gesturing subtly.
"You don't know?" Oswald's student replied, a bit surprised. "That's Lady Hellen. The newest archmage."
Leo recognized the name. He'd heard it mentioned during one of the secret meetings long ago.
"Oh—I'm Frank Pichard, by the way," the young man added.
Leo's expression flickered briefly, something unreadable flashing through his eyes. But it passed quickly. He extended his hand and shook Frank's.
"Victor Black."
Just then, the musicians shifted into a new melody—one clearly meant for dancing. The pace and rhythm signaled the start of a formal waltz. People began moving toward the center of the hall in pairs, eager to begin.
Frank stepped quickly in front of Sophie, offering a hand with a slightly nervous smile. "May I have this dance?"
Sophie accepted with a nod, and the two of them walked gracefully to the center floor and began dancing with practiced ease.
Leo, still standing to the side, smiled as he watched. Just as he was about to turn away, a girl approached him. She had long silver hair that shimmered in the chandelier light and a pale, graceful face.
"Sir, may I have this dance?" she asked softly.
Leo looked at her, surprised for a moment, then smiled and took her hand gently.
"It would be my pleasure."
Together, they walked to the dance floor and joined the waltz.
…
Upon a throne of cold stone, carved into the heart of a forgotten mountain, Mr. Sage sat—still as eternity itself. Darkness clung to the chamber like a second skin, broken only by the soft, celestial glow of the orb before him. It hovered just above its pedestal, smooth and clear as the sky at dawn, humming with ancient power.
He was called Sage not by title, but by truth. He did not seek knowledge—it came to him, drawn like a river to the sea. In every movement of shadow, in every tremor of the world, he listened. He knew of the vampires who whispered in the dark, who clawed at hidden doors best left shut. He had known Ms. Eyes the moment her foot crossed the threshold of the secret gathering. He had allowed her to walk among them not out of ignorance, but out of design.
His hand, pale and impossibly still, descended upon the orb. The surface rippled like water touched by wind, and then parted to reveal a vision.
A girl was dancing with a man in a hall suffused with golden light and heavy with noble arrogance. All around them, powerful figures gathered like a storm held just beyond the walls—S-ranks, archmages, and names whose very mention could stir kingdoms into motion. The air of the banquet reeked of pride and veiled threats. Mr. Sage saw it all, but his gaze rested on one thing, Ms. Eyes.
And then they stopped. The young man turned—not toward the orb, nor toward the illusion, but directly at him. For the briefest moment, time itself recoiled, holding its breath, as if reality recognized something it was never meant to see.
The young man's face was veiled in a pale fog, as if reality refused to render him fully. But from beneath it, two eyes—burning white with unnatural calm—pierced the veil, and met Mr. Sage's own. No barrier of distance or plane could hide him. That gaze was not mortal.
Mr. Sage withdrew his hand and the vision shattered into silence. He leaned slowly into his throne, eyes narrowing. His breath was steady, but the memory of what he felt clung to him like frost.
Once before… long ago… he had felt such a presence. Only one name came to mind.
"Selvanna," he whispered.
The sound of it echoed across the void, and even the shadows seemed to recoil.
…
Leo was dancing in the center of the hall, surrounded by music and motion, when a chill ran down his spine. The hair on his neck rose. Someone was watching him—and not with ordinary eyes. The sensation was unmistakable. It felt exactly like when he stood in the presence of the Moon Goddess: ancient, immense, and terrifyingly aware.
He halted mid-step, ignoring the rhythm of the music. His domain flared silently around him, cloaking him in its unseen veil as he turned sharply, eyes narrowing. He layered his vision spells, scanning the hall. Near the far corner, beyond the music and the crowd, there was no heat. No life. But something was there. Watching. Lingering like a breath held in the dark.
He stared for a few long seconds. Then—nothing. The presence vanished as if it had never been.
"Is something wrong?" the girl asked softly, puzzled by his sudden stillness.
"I'm sorry," Leo said, already stepping away. "I need to speak with my master."
Without waiting, he crossed the hall, weaving through the nobles until he stood before Alexia.
"Master," he said in a low tone.
Alexia turned toward him, brows slightly furrowed. "What is it?"
"Something's here. Someone who shouldn't be."
Her expression hardened. A wave of mana pulsed from her like a ripple of light, subtle and invisible to most, but powerful. It swept through the hall like a sonar pulse, scanning every hidden inch. Then, without a word, she began walking to the center of the room.
At the same time, Bernal and Oswald moved as well, stepping away from their circles of nobles and joining her.
"What did you find, Alexia?" Bernal asked as he approached.
"Not a person. A being. Something was here."
Before Bernal could speak again, Alexia raised her hand—and with a flick of her fingers, all the nobles vanished in an instant. Only the A-rank mages and those strong enough to defend themselves remained. Where the musicians once played now stood a pale woman and a massive, broad-shouldered man.
Leo instinctively began moving to Alexia's side, positioning himself behind her. But before he could take more than a step, a hand gripped his shoulder.
He turned. A man in a black suit stood behind him. Silent. Unseen until now. Leo hadn't sensed him at all. And then, in the blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared.
The three S-Ranks stared at the space Leo had just occupied.
"Alexia, we've got—" Bernal started, but she too vanished before he could finish.
"Well," Bernal muttered, turning toward the strangers still standing before them. "I suppose she already knew."
He looked between the pale woman and the hulking man.
"Now then," he said, his tone colder. "Will you surrender quietly? Or shall I begin by breaking you into pieces?"
…
As they reappeared, Leo realized he was suspended in midair. The man who had taken him was gripping his wrist, holding him aloft as though gravity had no meaning.
"Apologies, young man," the stranger said calmly. "But I need what you took from the ruins."
His free hand moved toward Leo's chest—aiming directly at his heart.
But before he could touch him, Leo vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared a short distance away, now standing on solid air, shielded by a pulse of spatial magic.
Alexia stood beside him.
"Master…" Leo breathed, stunned both by her speed and presence.
"Find a place to hide," she said, her voice low and sharp.
Leo had never seen her like this before. Calm, but deadly serious. He turned to look back at the man hovering before them.
"Who is he?"
"Lucius Dimont," Alexia said. "Head of the vampire coven."
Leo's eyes widened. He didn't ask another question—he ran.
"You must be truly arrogant," Alexia said, stepping forward, "to enter our capital so openly."
"There's something I want," Lucius replied, eyes steady. "Give it to me, and I'll leave without any bloodshed."
"There's no need for you to leave," she said coldly. "You can die here."
With those words, her aura exploded outward. The crushing pressure of a true S-Rank filled the air like a mountain collapsing from above.
Far in the distance, Leo was already running in the middle of the sky with his enchanting platform. But even at that distance, he felt it. The overwhelming force. His knees bent instinctively, body resisting the pressure. Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward, searching for shelter. He finally found it—a boulder nestled into the side of a mountain—and ducked behind it.
There, hidden in the shadow of stone, he finally caught his breath. They were outside the city walls now, though the glowing lights of the capital still shimmered in the distance. He turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
In the sky above, two S-Ranks faced one another. Ancient power clashed in silence, but the world itself seemed to tremble in anticipation.
A fight was about to begin—one that could reshape everything.