Chapter 13: The Patron’s Secret and Aio’s Wrath

As dusk fell—

Ael, Leon, and Naya stood before the grand gates of their destination. It was an ancient courtyard, completely enveloped by climbing roses, and home to Rothschild, the Angelic Church’s most prominent benefactor.

Before them stood an imposing barrier: an iron gate, secured by a heavy lock, and reinforced with sturdy iron bars.

Leon remarked, “Even if we knock, they won’t hear us from inside, will they?”

Suddenly, a colossal figure descended from above, landing directly in their path.

He was a man of immense muscle, bare-chested and adorned with a bird-head mask. Its long, pointed beak resembled Pinocchio’s nose.

The man bellowed, “I am Yoric, Lord Rothschild’s gatekeeper! You trespass here because you’re tired of living, aren’t you?!”

He brandished a formidable meteor hammer, truly a monstrous figure.

Ael scoffed, “I don’t care who you are, gatekeeper.”

“Ael!? Wait—” Naya’s attempt to intervene was futile.

A colossal, shimmering silver hand materialized from the sky, slamming Yoric directly against the gate.

In the next instant, the iron bars twisted and shattered, sending the gatekeeper and the entire iron gate flying outward.

This raw power was not a new sight for either Naya or Leon.

Still, Naya sighed internally, ‘Ael is far too impulsive.’

Ael crossed her arms, a nonchalant expression on her face. “It doesn’t matter,” she declared.

“If they want compensation for the gate, they can take it up with the Second Prince!”

Suddenly, a long, dark, rigid object flashed past.

Leon instinctively drew his Lightscream Sword, and in a blink, it clashed against a pair of colossal, jet-black scissors.

A voice cut through the air. “I am Lord Rothschild’s gardener! How dare you attempt to force your way in here?”

Leon mused, “Impressive. Even the gardener is this formidable. How interesting.”

“Enough!” a voice boomed from a distance.

Rothschild, the great financier himself, emerged from the grand mansion ahead, a gilded pipe clutched in his hand. He was a tall, slender, middle-aged man.

“Let them in!”

“Yes, my lord,” the gardener replied, before melting back into the shadows, his own bird-head mask disappearing from view.

Leon and the others followed the wealthy patron into the living room, where every detail bespoke ultimate luxury.

The opulence rivaled that of the royal family, a clear testament to the extraordinarily comfortable noble life Rothschild had enjoyed these past ten years.

Rothschild took a deep drag from his pipe. “Speak,” he commanded.

“What brings the Aio Cult to my humble abode?”

Ael stated, “We wish to know what you were doing when the calamity struck ten years ago.”

“Like most people,” he replied, “I was busy seizing anything of value.”

A stunned silence filled the room.

Little wonder, then, that he still enjoyed such a lavish, noble existence. He must have plundered more than anyone else.

Naya stared at him, incredulous. “You were a mage’s servant, yet you participated in the looting?”

“The mages’ own retainers were the first to lead the charge in the looting,” Rothschild countered.

Ael pressed on, “Were you not in the Floating City at the time? How did the mages meet their end?”

“Of course not,” he scoffed. “Otherwise, how would I be alive, sitting here speaking with you now? I would have undoubtedly plummeted to my death with the Floating City.”

He continued, “It’s said that the mages all perished in the very instant the calamity struck, and then the Floating City plummeted, killing all the non-magic users on board as well.”

“Not a single person survived?”

“One,” Rothschild admitted.

At his words, Leon, Ael, and Naya all held their breath, awaiting his next revelation.

“It was the Mage Lord’s six-year-old daughter—Liuli,” he revealed.

“I found her buried in the ruins five days later. It’s said she survived by consuming books.”

“A six-year-old girl!?” Naya exclaimed, her mind racing. “Ten years have passed, meaning she would be the same age as Ael and I now.”

Ael immediately pressed, “Where is she now?”

The wealthy patron took another leisurely puff from his pipe.

“I offered her to the God Mercury,” he stated, his voice devoid of emotion.

“What!?”

“She was my personal property,” Rothschild explained with chilling indifference. “I could give her to whomever I pleased.”

“For all these years, I raised her as a s*ave. Had you arrived just two days earlier, you might have even seen her still wearing her collar.”

“You—!!!” Ael seethed, her fury palpable.

Not only Ael, but even Naya, typically known for her gentle demeanor, was consumed by rage. Leon’s anger, of course, went without saying.

Leon’s voice was frigid as he questioned, “Do you harbor such hatred for the mages? Why treat their child with such cruelty?”

The wealthy patron let out a grim, cold laugh. “If you insist on calling it hatred—then yes, I hated their arrogance, hated that they possessed what I did not.”

“Do not look at me with such judgment,” he warned.

“Every single person involved in the looting felt precisely the same way! The mages ruled this continent for five hundred years! For five centuries, the Four Kingdoms lived like dogs. What if the tables have turned now?”

“The God demands her to atone for their sins.”

Ael declared, “An Angelic Church that harbors individuals like you is no better off. Come, Naya, Ael. We are leaving to rescue her!”

“Wait—” Just then, Rothschild’s private guard, fully armed, stormed into the living room.

Dozens of them poured in, a formidable force. ‘What a cunning scoundrel,’ Leon thought, realizing Rothschild had merely been stalling for time.

“You’ve smashed my gate, injured my men, and you think you can simply leave?” Rothschild snarled.

“I will not allow you to impede the God Mercury’s return to heaven!”

“Oh really?” Ael stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the wealthy patron.

With the ceiling already beginning to crumble and Aio’s hand descending from above, she declared, “Then you can forget about your villa and everything you’ve ever looted!”

The gigantic silver hand swept through the living room in a devastating arc, reducing everything in its path to mere rubble.

The fully armed guards were annihilated in a single wave, too stunned to even register what had struck them.

The wealthy patron, utterly terrified, collapsed onto the sofa.

Ironically, the sofa was the only thing left intact in the entire mansion.

“Ah, ah, ah?? Magic is alive? Magic is alive??”

Ael declared triumphantly, “Open your eyes and see clearly! This is a miracle from Aio!”

“You—! Mercury will kill you all!” Rothschild shrieked.

“I saw him with my own eyes! He is a truly existing god!”

“Fine then! Let’s see about that!” Ael retorted, her voice ringing with defiance.

“We’ll soon discover whether Aio or Mercury is the one true God!”

“Let’s go!” Leon declared, turning with a flourish, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

“Whether she is the last mage or not, I am determined to save her!”