The air inside the sealed room stagnated.

The candlelight stopped flickering, and the breathing stopped too.

Andrew and Thor, who had been standing silently at the back, both changed their expressions.

Andrew's cheek muscles twitched, and he gripped the solid gold scepter tightly in his right hand.

"Domoko! Do you know what you're saying?"

Andrew lowered his voice, "As a cardinal bishop of the Holy Church and a top-tier powerhouse of the Free Federation, how could you utter such treasonous words!"

Domoko remained unfazed by Andrew's intimidation.

He shrugged, chuckled as he shook the wine jug, and said, "Old friend, don't try to intimidate me with your Vatican hypocrisy. I'm just telling the truth."

"The Holy Lord is already eighty-five years old this year."

Domoko lowered his eyelids and said in a low voice, "Eighty-five years old is an extremely rare age in this world of professionals who live on the edge and exhaust their life force. You and I both know that in recent years, he racked his brains to find a way to prolong his life and break the constraints of the rules, and even used the Federation's resources to explore those extremely dangerous ancient forbidden areas."

“But what about now?” Domoko sneered. “He’s completely changed. He’s indifferent to the dramatic changes in neighboring countries, unmoved by the disappearance of millions of people in two cities, and even that fervent desire for the continuation of life has vanished without a trace.”

"Something unusual must be going on. This might be... a sign that his lifespan is coming to an end and he knows he is powerless to reverse it!"

"Enough!"

Andrew interrupted Domoko with a cold expression. He stared at the knight before him: "Domoko, you came all this way to see me today, just to spout these malicious remarks?"

"Of course not."

Domoko shook his head, hung the empty wine jug back on his waist, and looked at Andrew.

"The main purpose of my visit is to ask you for a favor."

"A favor to me?" Andrew looked at him strangely. This stubborn mule, who always only believed in the dragon spear in his hand, was actually asking for a favor? "What favor can you ask me?"

Domoko smiled and looked out the window.

"If I go to Losgar and Newt this time... I might not come back."

Domoko said, "Please take good care of Ike for me. By the way, Ike is that golden dragon outside."

“In this utterly corrupt holy city, I can’t trust anyone else. Its pure dragon bloodline, once it loses my protection, will be torn apart by countless greedy bastards... I can only entrust it to you, Andrew.”

Andrew frowned.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Andrew stared intently at him. “Did you obtain some secret intelligence about those two cities before you came here? Or have you sensed some kind of assassination plot against you?”

Domoko smiled noncommittally, without directly answering the question.

He stood up, walked up to Andrew, patted his old rival on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Andrew, we've been fighting for half our lives, but I've always respected you as someone who has devoted yourself to the Federation. If the Holy Lord really dies, the only ones in the entire Free Federation who can inherit his mantle are you and the Heretic Inquisitor Augustus."

"Although I don't get along with either of you, I feel disgusted just looking at your hypocritical faces."

“But compared to that...” Domoko said, “you are more worthy of my trust than that madman who only knows killing and sacrifice.”

"That's all I have to say. I hope you can prepare yourself in advance. Things are about to change."

Having said that, Domoko ignored Andrew, turned around, and waved to Thor.

"Let's go, kid. Time to get to work."

Andrew watched the two figures disappear into the distance. Silence returned to the secret chamber, with only the candlelight illuminating the archbishop's face.

...

"hold head high--!"

With a dragon's roar, the golden dragon Ek spread its wings, whipping up a gale that carried Domoko and Thor into the sky.

The enormous dragon body transformed into a golden streak of light, rapidly disappearing into the clouds. In the blink of an eye, it flew out of the holy city that symbolized supreme power.

The wind howled in my ears.

As Thor gazed at the outline of the Holy City below, which grew smaller and smaller and gradually blurred into the distance, he suddenly spoke.

"Lord Domoko..." Thor's voice was somewhat erratic in the gale, "Are we really going to die this time?"

Domoko leaned against the dragon's back, took out a small flask, uncorked it, and took a sip of ale.

"Ha...maybe."

Domoko wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth: "The Free Federation is no longer the federation that once proclaimed light and freedom."

He turned his head, looked at the young man beside him who was once full of vigor but now had a gloomy look in his eyes, and sighed.

“Kid, you’re still young, and you have a long road ahead of you. If you want to live, you can leave now. I can have Ike let you go, and we’ll treat it as if you deserted. If the Holy Lord blames you, I’ll take the blame for you.”

Thor froze upon hearing this.

He looked at Domoko and raised his head.

He shook his head vigorously: "No, I'm not leaving."

"I am a member of the Holy Knights! Past defeats have brought me utter disgrace, but the Holy Knights' creed has never contained the word 'retreat'!"

Domoko stared at him, stunned for a moment, and then burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha! Good! Good lad! That's more like Thor!" Domoko patted Thor's shoulder forcefully. "Then let's go and see what kind of monster this so-called divine punishment is all about!"

...

As darkness fell, night descended.

The golden dragon Ike glided silently over the once bustling city of Newt.

Just as the intelligence indicated.

Looking down from above, the entire city appears lifeless.

The streetlights were still on, emitting a pale, cold light; the traffic lights at the intersection were still flashing mechanically; and you could even see some shop signs struggling to survive in the night wind.

However, there was no sound.

There was no roar of cars, no noise from pedestrians, not even a dog barking.

There wasn't a single human being in the entire city.

No buildings, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) vegetation, or infrastructure in the city were damaged. There were no craters from the explosion, no raging fires, and no traces of blood.

More than a million people living in this city have vanished into thin air!

This silence is more chilling than facing mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"I'll go down and take a look."

Thor's expression was solemn. He gripped Mjolnir, the Thunder God's hammer, and leaped off the dragon's back.

In mid-air, he transformed into a bolt of blue lightning, traversing back and forth through the empty city!

Blue electric light flashed continuously in the streets, alleys, residential buildings, and sewers.

About an hour later.

"Sizzle—" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

With a flash of lightning, Thor returned to the dragon's back.

He frowned and reported to Domoko, "No! Nothing at all!"

"There isn't a single survivor in the entire city! Not even a baby or a disabled person!"

“What’s even more terrifying is...” Thor swallowed hard, “I carefully inspected the city garrison and the branches of all the major guilds. There were no signs of battle! Weapons were neatly arranged on shelves, defensive formations were in standby mode, and some people even had warm coffee on their tables!”

"This is simply unbelievable! What kind of heaven-defying method could make an entire city's million inhabitants disappear in an instant, without any chance of resistance? This is something that no human could do!"