At eight in the evening, Holkaydo was ablaze with lights.

For most of the city’s residents, tonight was no different from any other.

The only difference was the approaching Day of Abstinence, which gave them an excuse to head to the bustling night markets, find a bar, and order a cocktail to celebrate and indulge their desires in advance.

But for a certain few, this night meant death.

Florist Hospital.

A brutal battle was unfolding in the darkness.

The garden, once kept spotlessly clean for patients to relax and get some fresh air, was now littered with bodies lying in disarray.

Gunshots, explosions, and anguished cries mingled with the sight of blood and fire, flickering through the night.

"Give up, Miss Flame Crow."

A middle-aged man with graying temples stood before a third-floor window of the main building, looking down upon the young woman still fighting desperately in the garden. He spoke softly, but his voice carried clearly to Elvire’s ears.

"Never!"

The young woman swung her Giant Sword. A surging wave of fire rolled out, instantly engulfing an attendant and burning him to ash.

That was her answer.

Even surrounded by enemies, even knowing she might die here tonight, she would never yield.

Elise and Yisha were also holding on, gritting their teeth against the strain.

With their combined strength, they should never have been reduced to such a desperate state.

Elvire was a Tier Five Wizard, nearing Tier Six. Elise herself was on the cusp of Tier Five. They also had Yisha, a Tier Four who came from Old Segal City to help, and over a hundred well-trained companions of Tier Two or higher. A force like that should have been enough to steamroll the Florist Hospital.

What they hadn’t expected was that the Vice Director—whom their own people had personally seen board a plane and leave Holkaydo just yesterday—would appear at the hospital tonight.

The moment she saw him, Elvire knew it was a trap.

If it were only the Vice Director, the situation wouldn’t be this dire.

The Vice Director, Zajik, was of a similar Tier to her—also Tier Five.

In a one-on-one fight against a Wizard of the same Tier, Elvire was confident she could win. At the very least, she wouldn’t lose and could keep him occupied.

But since this was a premeditated trap, how could Zajik be the only addition?

Previously, aside from a few doctors like Quill, the staff at Florist Hospital had little to no Magic Power. A Tier One Wizard was little more than a strong mortal and posed no real threat to them.

But Zajik had secretly replaced the staff.

Tonight at Florist Hospital, all the "attendants" were Wizards of Tier Two or higher.

Not only that, but their numbers were several times greater than anticipated—they were endless.

Zajik had also laid a Magic Array. The team they had sent to the dorms to rescue the patients was annihilated before they even saw them, wiped out to the last person.

Barely an hour had passed since they entered the hospital, and already, more than half of their people were dead or wounded.

Forget rescuing anyone; it was questionable if they could even escape themselves.

The enemies were simply too numerous. Elvire and the other two had already slain countless foes, yet they remained trapped in the encirclement. Attendants surrounded them on all sides, watching them like predators, just waiting for a sign of fatigue to swarm in for the kill.

And all the while, the Vice Director on the third floor had yet to make a move.

It was an almost certain deathtrap.

Elvire’s pretty face was splattered with blood.

Elise had lost all trace of the gentle, girl-next-door demeanor she had in the Void Technique Space. Lightning danced in her hands and a savage light filled her eyes as a Thunder Spell blasted through the head of an attendant who dared to test her. "If I find out who the mole is," she growled, her voice thick with killing intent, "I’ll tear them to pieces!"

There were only two ways they could have fallen into the enemy’s trap tonight.

First, they were discovered while scouting Holkaydo beforehand.

Second, someone had leaked their plans. There was a mole planted by the Florist Family among those who knew about the operation.

A mole was more despicable than any enemy.

"This isn’t the time for that," Yisha said, warily eyeing the attendants blocking their path. "We have to get out of here."

If they didn’t leave soon, they would face an even more difficult predicament once the other Wizards they’d brought were all captured or killed.

"We can’t escape," Elvire said, her eyes never leaving Zajik on the floor above.

Elise and Yisha might be able to escape, but she couldn’t.

Elvire knew perfectly well that this trap had been set for her.

Wizards of Tier Five and above were both powerful and precious. She and Zajik each posed a grave threat to the other’s faction. Zajik wanted to eliminate her to deal a crippling blow to the Dawn Council, and she, in turn, wanted to kill him to devastate the Florist Family.

If she was destined to die here tonight, then she would pay any price to take Zajik down with her!

Elvire looked up at the man by the third-floor window, her doe-like eyes narrowing as the faint outline of wings began to form on her back.

Seeing this, Elise cried out anxiously, "Elvire, don’t be rash!"

"I’m not being rash." On the contrary, at this moment, Elvire was calmer than ever.

The only reason Zajik delayed joining the fight was fear—fear that she would find an opportunity for them to Jade and Stone Burn Together.

’Whatever the enemy fears, that’s what I must do. In a deathtrap like this, the only way to find a sliver of hope is to risk it all—a life for a life.’

The most troublesome part now wasn’t Zajik, but the attendants surrounding them.

There were even some Tier Three Wizards among them; under their combined assault, even she had to take them seriously.

What Elvire and the others didn’t yet realize was that this siege was merely a ruse.

Every time the attendants attacked, the women would defend with Magic Spells or evade with Body Techniques. They were constantly on the move. But through this continuous back-and-forth, they were gradually being herded into the center of an Array.

Elvire saw Zajik raise his hand.

At the same time, the attendants on the outer edge of the encirclement all closed their eyes, bowed their heads, and clasped their hands as if in prayer, muttering incomprehensibly.

Elvire immediately sensed that something was wrong.

But it was too late.

HUMMM!

The next second, a circle of scarlet light materialized on the ground. Surging Magic Power erupted from beneath the three women’s feet like a flooding river, rising to the sky and dyeing the very air blood-red.

Elise’s expression changed drastically. "The Holy Grail Festival?!"

An overwhelming, murderous aura spread out. The fluctuations of Magic Power brewing within it far surpassed the limits of Tier Three; it was powerful enough to threaten Yisha, Elise, and even Elvire.

And yet, a second later...

Just as she decisively prepared to risk her life to stop the attendants from activating the Array, it stopped on its own, one step ahead of her.

The Magic Power, which should have soared to the heavens, surged halfway up and then abruptly stopped, as if someone had hit a pause button.

If the Array had fully activated, the blood-red energy, standing out against the clear air, would have formed what looked like a giant red chalice connecting earth and sky. Elvire, Elise, and Yisha would have been trapped inside, scoured to death by the scarlet Magic Power, their remains flowing up into the sky to be drunk by the "Master."

But with the Holy Grail Festival now aborted, the chalice looked as if it had been lopped in half, creating an indescribably bizarre sight.

But something even stranger was to follow.

As if to stop the holy chalice from growing further, golden chains—materializing out of nowhere—wrapped around the half-formed cup, which was made of pure energy and had no physical substance. At the same time, golden characters bloomed beneath the feet of the chanting attendants, snaking upwards like vines to bind them, sealing their mouths and silencing them completely.

Elise was completely dumbfounded.

Logically, she shouldn’t have let her guard down in such a critical situation, but the scene was simply too bizarre. She realized that the "chains" binding the chalice and the "tape" sealing the attendants’ mouths were actually... math problems??

Yisha’s eyes flew wide open, her jaw dropping in disbelief as she cried out, "A workbook?!"

’Aren’t these all problems from the workbook Sean bought at the bookstore a couple of days ago??’

...