"It has been reported that the Stellar Order, which made an unexpected visit to our country, returned home aboard a private jet this evening..."
News of the incident spread quickly.
Both the photos and the videos that had been recorded went viral and were shared across the entire online world.
"Is the Stellar Order using their power and popularity to pressure others into getting what they want?" That was the title of a video clip capturing the entire incident from beginning to end, and it was the hottest topic of conversation right now. It showed everything, from behind-the-scenes moments the Order's own cameras had never shown the viewers, all the way to the point where two Generals and one Marshal displayed their overwhelming might and put the Stellar Knights firmly in their place.
No one knew who had filmed it. But that video had made the people of the country realize something. "Our country has people this strong protecting it."
Until now, ordinary citizens had never had a clear picture of what the strength of the Grandmaster or Sage classes really looked like. This video cleared away that doubt, because the strength it showed had been measured against the Stellar Knights of the West, whose fame currently rang across the world.
Even the village guards could beat the Stellar Knights.
This unbelievable truth became a scorching topic that dealt a heavy blow to the Order's credibility. The number of followers of the Stellar Faith fell to nearly its lowest point in decades. In the Eastern countries especially, people all but denied the religion's existence after seeing for themselves the expression on the face of the man called a saint once the cameras were no longer on him.
"...Damn it!?"
Aboard the private passenger jet, Dante, furious over what had happened, could do nothing but grind his teeth. He hurled the expensive wine glass in his hand at the screen showing the news, and both shattered to pieces. The young man's face was twisted with rage after the call that had come in from the Order.
"...L-Lord Dante."
Dante's followers did not know what to do. Their bodies, too, were wrapped in white bandages, no different from emblems of shame. Dante turned on them with a savage glare and roared in fury.
"It's because of useless fools like you that this whole thing turned into a disgrace!"
"B-but they really were strong."
The big man who had been the first to attack spoke with a faint tremor running through his body. He still remembered vividly how terrifying it had been to clash with those security officers. And that did not even count the "Generals" who had appeared at the end. Even if every one of them, Lord Dante included, had ganged up on just one of those men all at once, they would not have stood a chance!
"Strong!? You're the ones who are weak!"
Seeing that their leader was not yet in any state to accept reality, the Stellar Knights simply bowed their heads. They knew very well that nothing they said now would do any good.
"...How could they be that strong?"
Once his temper had begun to cool, Dante raised his head thoughtfully.
"A year ago, we sent people to look into it. The strongest class in that country, the 'Grandmasters,' still numbered only a handful. We once captured one of them and tested him. At best, that much strength only matched the weakest of the Stellar Knights back then..."
One of Dante's aides opened the records to show him. This, too, was one of the things that had given them the confidence to set out the moment they heard the rumor of a sacred land's birth.
There was no way that country could have grown much stronger in just one year. On top of that, after the Order revealed the Stellar Knights to the outside world, it had received support from a great many of the faithful and from countries in need of help. The resources pouring in had been more than enough.
So why... had they still lost?
While Dante sat tense with these thoughts, one of the Stellar Knights attending him sensed something moving back and forth among their shadows. It moved about like a living creature with a mind of its own, though one driven by instinct. The moment it realized it had been discovered, it darted off toward the back of a seat where no one should have been sitting.
Right... except for one little girl.
"W-who are you!?"
That Stellar Knight's alarm made everyone on board aware of her presence. Even Dante, still in a foul mood, swept his eyes over in surprise.
No other passenger should have been able to board the Order's private jet, should they?
And the child did not look ordinary, either.
Even under the gaze of a force reputed to be the strongest in the West, the girl in the black gothic dress stayed lost in a daze, as if indifferent to it all. Dark circles lay beneath her eyes, as though she had gone without sleep for a long time.
She simply stroked a white doll, patched all over its body, with tender care, while a cluster of black shadows that had appeared around her did nothing but respond to her movements.
"...Who are you?"
Dante grew wary. An uninvited guest had appeared on a plane flying several thousand feet above the ground. His hand touched the silver brooch, which answered with a faint glow.
"Stellar Knights..."
The voice that came out was alarmingly hoarse. Dante felt as though something were drawing him in the moment he met those ink-colored eyes.
"You guys... want to get revenge?"
.
.
.
"Lady Bai, what should we do with these invitations?"
By now, Su Lin had practically become Bai Fanxian's chief assistant.
She handled everything from looking after the palace and checking that all was in order, down to small chores that made things easier for her, like going through the letters and invitations addressed specifically to Bai Fanxian.
"Mm... turn them down. I don't have time to waste on nonsense right now."
Bai Fanxian propped her chin on one hand as her gaze swept over the large pile of documents stacked on the desk. Tang Yeye, meanwhile, was chewing snacks until her cheeks bulged, imagining that her lady in her present state would look absolutely perfect if she only had a pair of glasses.
"Don't you want to go to the banquets, my lady?"
The little girl tilted her head and asked curiously. There were so many invitations that if Bai Fanxian attended every event, she would not need to come home for meals for months.
"Do you want to go in my place, then?"
Bai Fanxian smiled faintly at her little disciple, who was shaking her head furiously, before a knock came at the door from outside.
"Lady Bai, am I disturbing you?"
Those who entered were the Grand Marshal of Moondrift City, Sage White-Beard, and the great King Jongliean. Bai Fanxian noticed that, in addition to the two of them, there was also the King's bodyguard, Yang Fujiu, who, having seen his master safely there, had slipped quietly away.
He was heading toward the central alchemy palace, where Luo Qingyan was refining medicine.
"Mm... what brings you two here?"
Bai Fanxian asked. Ever since that matter had been dealt with, the two old men had been dropping by her palace so often that she sometimes wondered. Did they have any work to do at all?
Were a king and a general really that free?
She had no idea how badly someone back at the royal palace was being run off his feet while these two were out. The Crown Prince, who had to prepare to take over from his father, had been throwing himself into work day and night lately, barely getting any sleep.
"We're here on business, actually."
Sage White-Beard sighed, then thanked Hui'er, who had carried over a tray of snacks, with a doting look. In the end, though, the old man had to quietly slide the tray back, unable to bear Tang Yeye's unblinking stare.
"Have the replies come in?"
Bai Fanxian stopped the work she was doing at once and turned to talk with them in earnest.
What she had asked King Jongliean to do earlier was to send letters to the kings of the other two great cities, Dawnbreak City and Starcloud City, asking for their cooperation in dealing with the invasion of the Ancient Demon army.
After inspecting the scene of the incident at Wild Bloom Sect, she had surmised that the sect was probably only one of the forces that had infiltrated and mingled with the human side.
Much like Wild Bloom's use of curses in its treatments to work its way into the upper echelons of society, something similar might well be happening in the other cities.
So she had proposed a joint discussion among all three parties, at the very least to drag out everyone hiding among them before taking the next step.
"What did they say?"
Seeing the expectation in Bai Fanxian's voice, King Jongliean and Sage White-Beard exchanged a sheepish glance, then took out two letters and passed them to her.
"We only just got these replies this morning..."
Bai Fanxian opened both letters and read them almost at the same time. But after only a few sweeps of her eyes, her brows knitted into a knot.
"They... refused?"
King Jongliean sighed and said,
"I don't find it strange at all... With all three being great cities of equal standing, they've got no small amount of pride keeping their heads held high. If we tell them out of the blue, when they haven't been through what we have, they probably won't believe it."
"Hmph... what, do they need to nearly fall apart like this city did before they'll listen?"
Bai Fanxian rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, tired of it all. Whether today or 10,000 years ago, this kind of nuisance never stopped happening.
"Well then, never mind them... How's your troop training going?"
"Oh, that. Thanks to the medicine support you've given us, the training has been extremely effective. The soldiers defending the city have each advanced at least one stage. A number of those who were stuck at peak-stage Grandmaster have already broken through to early-stage Sage."
Sage White-Beard's face glowed with delight as he explained it to Bai Fanxian. And this was only the support from the army, not counting the sects and powers great and small that had invested in buying Bai Fanxian's medicine themselves.
The overall strength of Moondrift City had leapt forward considerably.
Even if they had to clash with a demonic beast army like the one Marsosius led that time, there was no way they would suffer such heavy losses again.
"...Mm. Just don't forget to pay every last coin."
"Yes, yes... we know, Lady Bai."
"Your Majesty!"
One of King Jongliean's bodyguards, who knew where he was, burst through the door in a hurry. Gasping so hard his whole body heaved, he held out two letters to Sage White-Beard, his face deathly pale.
Before coming here, the Crown Prince had already opened both letters, and the guard knew very well what was written in them.
"Dawnbreak City and Starcloud City..."
"...are under attack by an enormous demonic beast army, Your Majesty!"