​Tap. Tap.

​Selene and Orion touched down on the arena sand almost soundlessly.

​Their grand robes fluttered gently in the evening wind, sweeping away the residual asphalt dust and dark energy from the recently eradicated monsters. The last three demon carcasses had been completely obliterated. Selene’s water chains and Orion’s earthen pillars had executed them far too quickly for the naked eye to track.

​But now, Selene’s ocean-cold eyes and Orion’s eagle-sharp glare were no longer fixed on the demonic ash.

​They stared dead straight at Rianor.

​The young man still stood in the center of the arena. Swaying back and forth, yet forcing his feet to stay planted in the sand. Bzzzt... The Mana Glove on his right hand flickered, dying. The absolute white light that had just blinded the entire Colosseum now rapidly faded into a pale blue, dipping into a dull grey, before completely dying out with a soft hiss. Pfft.

​Rianor’s vision swam. Every single muscle fiber in his body screamed in agony, demanding the right to collapse.

​"Demonic Knowledge," Selene broke the silence.

​Her voice was incredibly soft, flowing calmly like a river. Yet every syllable carried a resonating mana pressure, suffocating the last remaining breaths in the Colosseum.

​Orion merely clicked his tongue. Tch. The giant of a man crossed his tree-trunk-like arms over his chest, staring intently at Rianor.

​Selene tilted her head slightly. "You wield a device born outside the Goddess’s blessing."

​Her silvery-blue eyes scanned Rianor from head to toe. "By the Laws of the Church, your actions just now are more than enough to warrant your execution."

​Rianor didn’t answer. His lips were locked tight, holding back the stinging ache in his chest.

​Orion let out a rough exhale and raised one hand. His calloused palm began to radiate a dense brown mana. Grumble... The earth beneath Rianor’s boots began to tremble—

​"WAIT!"

​Liana stepped forward abruptly. Scrape. Her injured leg forced her to limp, dragging across the sand, but her posture showed not a sliver of hesitation. Whoosh! Protective water vortexes instantly swirled to life in her palms.

​"This young man just saved us all!" Liana shouted hoarsely. "He saved the Academy students! If you intend to arrest him—"

​"Liana."

​The voice cut her off. Calm, flat, and ice-cold.

​Not Selene’s voice. Nor Orion’s.

​It was Rianor.

​Liana whipped her head around. The man was staring straight at her. Liana saw something in Rianor’s grey eyes she had never seen before. A plea hidden beneath a mask of absolute tranquility.

​"The brainwashing phase I implanted in you has concluded," Rianor stated. His tone was deadpan, completely devoid of emotion, yet his volume was deliberately raised to ensure the two Master Arcanum heard every word. "Now, turn around and return to your students."

​Liana froze in place. Her breath caught. "Brain... washing?"

​Rianor didn’t answer verbally. He merely maintained eye contact with her. Within that silent gaze, Liana caught an emergency signal impossible to convey through words. An implicit message only perceivable by someone who had been closely observing this mysterious man.

​Trust me. Get out of here.

​Without waiting for her reply, Rianor shifted his gaze to Selene. "The woman knows nothing. I implanted an illusory suggestion in her mind. She is purely my victim."

​Rianor then carved a thin smile onto his deathly pale face. The arrogant smirk of a psychopathic mastermind proudly displaying his magnum opus. "I am releasing her mental seal now. Please, examine her yourselves."

​Liana’s chest heaved. She wanted to argue. Wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that this man was lying to shield her from the Church’s wrath.

​But her teeth bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting back tears. She knew that a single objection from her would render Rianor’s sacrifice entirely meaningless. With heavy steps and a shattered heart, Liana slowly backed away. She lowered her head, turned around, and limped out of the execution zone.

​Selene shot a brief glance at Liana’s departure, then refocused her mana on Rianor. "Those cheap theatrical tricks... will not reduce your sentence by a single second."

​"I know," Rianor replied softly.

​Orion snorted. He immediately slammed his hand downward. BAM! A jagged earth pillar shot up from right beneath Rianor’s feet.

​Scrape! Rianor forced the absolute last dregs of his stamina, throwing his body into a sideways roll. But Orion gave him zero breathing room. A second, third, and fourth pillar—BAM! BAM! BAM!—all erupted relentlessly like a minefield.

​Rianor dodged, rolling roughly across the sand, scrambling up, and leaping again. In his head, his instincts screamed at him to read Orion’s magic code. Molecular structure of the earth... vibrational frequency... mana density composition... come on, copy it!

​Frequency: 0.9 Hz. Structure: Too dense, multi-layered. Calculation speed: Too slow. Failed.

​CRACK!

​The fifth pillar struck his right calf dead-on. Rianor lost his footing. His body was flung violently, crashing hard into the dirt.

​Seeing her opponent incapacitated, Selene merely raised a single index finger to the sky.

​Whoosh! Two water chains, dense enough to rival steel, shot out from the moisture in the air. One chain tightly bound Rianor’s wrists. The second snared his ankles. Yank! Rianor’s body was forcefully hoisted and suspended horizontally in the air, exactly like a scarecrow stripped of its stuffing.

​Rianor didn’t struggle. He had nothing left to fight with. His Mana Glove was as dead as scrap metal, and the Spectrum magic had leached the very essence from his bones.

​But right before the last shreds of his consciousness completely faded, with the final ounce of strength in his neck, he forced his head to turn.

​Searching the stands. Looking for where Roland stood.

​Up there, Roland was still in position. His hands gripped the iron railing with bone-crushing force. Creak. His knuckles were a deathly white, suppressing the fury exploding in his chest.

​Their eyes met.

​One second. One look. Without a single word spoken.

​Then, Rianor took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs.

​"LEAVE!"

​The shout cracked, echoing through every ruined corner of the Colosseum. It wasn’t a scream for help. It wasn’t a howl of pain. It was an absolute command radiating pure authority.

​Selene raised an eyebrow in slight bewilderment. Meanwhile, Orion turned toward the stands, trying to spot the rat targeted by that instruction.

​But to Roland, the code was perfectly deciphered. That wasn’t a challenge thrown at the Master Arcanum. It was for him.

​Leave me. Save the others. I will take care of myself.

​Roland released his death grip on the railing. His jaw locked, his cheek muscles twitching as he fought back the flood of emotions. But when he turned to face his party, his expression had returned to absolute ice.

​"Everyone. We’re getting out of here. Now," Roland ordered sharply.

​Dom looked at Roland in hesitation, his hand still gripping the hilt of his greatsword. "But, Lord Roland... Lord Rianor—"

​"I SAID NOW!" Roland barked, his baritone voice silencing everyone.

​They moved instantly. Dom sheathed his sword roughly. Naya supported Adul. Eva walked while scanning their perimeter, her Scarlet Aura tightly suppressed, followed by Charis and Lira, who were still pale and trembling.

​Roland took the rearguard to ensure no one was left behind. And right before he stepped into the shadows of the evacuation corridor, he looked back at the arena one last time.

​Rianor was still there, hanging pitifully in the air, bound by water chains like a hunted animal. Yet... from that distance, Roland could see it.

​Rianor smiled. A thin, serene smile—a promise that only a Roland could ever truly understand.

​Roland turned away, vanishing into the darkness of the tunnel.

​Orion stood directly beneath Rianor’s helplessly suspended body. He didn’t speak; he merely stared at the youth with an intimidating glare.

​Selene stepped closer gracefully. "The Goddess shall judge you for this blasphemy, Mortal," she said without an ounce of sympathy. She turned her back, her robes swirling elegantly. "I hope your soul is cleansed of this filthy sin."

​Selene snapped her fingers. The water chains yanked Rianor downward, while Orion coated Rianor’s wrists in incredibly heavy, pillared earth shackles. Clank.

​The two Master Arcanum began walking toward the prisoner gates, forcefully dragging Rianor’s body between them. No more idle chatter. No more reprimands. There was only legal execution ahead of them.

​Far in the distance, beyond the Colosseum walls fractured by the battle, a horrifying structure pierced the twilight sky.

​A pitch-black tower. Windowless. Devoid of a single speck of welcoming light.

​Magniora Tower.

​On the streets outside the Colosseum, Roland stood frozen.

​All around him, the Capital was still in utter disarray. Thick black smoke billowed from various sides of the arena. Citizens ran for their lives, weeping. Armored knights shouted hoarsely, directing evacuation routes.

​But to Roland’s ears, the world around him was entirely silent.

​His ice-cold eyes were sharply pinned on the silhouette of Magniora Tower in the distance.

​"L-Lord Roland..." Adul’s voice was soft and shaking violently behind him, nearly swept away by the noise of the crowd. "Lord Rianor... he was captured..."

​"I know," Roland replied without turning.

​Roland squeezed his fists so tightly his fingernails nearly pierced through his leather gloves. Then, slowly, he released them. His head began to cool. His diplomat mode engaged at maximum capacity.

​"We need a plan," Roland murmured lethally.

​Dom stared at his master’s back in silence. Naya gave a slow nod as she sheathed her dagger. Eva didn’t say a word, but her eyes glinted with sharp resolve.

​Behind them, the Colosseum still wept and smoked.

​But ahead of them... the pitch-black tower of the kingdom’s most terrifying prison silently awaited the diplomat’s challenge.