Silence fell over the underground hall, leaving only the crackling tongues of fire.

The children had stopped crying, their wide eyes staring blankly at Ashe. For a fleeting moment, Iger looked a decade younger, as dazed and innocent as the children beside him. Harvey, meanwhile, appeared comically conflicted, wanting to laugh but holding himself back. He raised a thumb at Ashe with his bound right hand.

It seemed as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the outcome of this sacrificial showdown.

One second passed, then two, then three. Nothing happened.

Disappointment clouded the children's faces. Iger let out a quiet sigh. But the robed cultists around them began to stir uneasily.

"How is this possible?"

"Have we been abandoned?"

"Why... why is this happening? Four Pillars Deities, are you punishing us?!"

Even Everlasting Doom, usually cheerful and playful, furrowed her brow slightly, as though she had just seen her favorite toy snatched away.

Yes. Nothing had happened. And that was the problem.

The Four Pillars Deities had always been swift to respond to sacrifices. They never delayed or appeared aloof. Among their peers, they were unmatched in approachability, precisely targeting followers' vulnerable points, creating seamless ritual loops, heightening perception, and ensuring every sacrifice was processed efficiently from start to finish. Their flat, decentralized structure had allowed sacrificial rituals to be reused with ease and executed quickly, forming the Four Pillars Cult's strongest protective advantage.

Yet this time, they had not responded. They had not claimed the sacrifices. It was like discovering a frozen webpage. Panic spread among the cultists. Fear gripped them. They worried the Four Pillars Deities had severed their connection.

Just then, a sudden boom shattered the tension. The cultists looked up in surprise, only to see a crack forming in the ceiling.

Bang!

The ceiling exploded. Dust and debris rained down. Ashe felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he'd seen this plot unfold somewhere before.

A tall, gray-haired, long-eared elf descended gracefully through the chaos, landing softly before Ashe and the others. "Finally found you, Serena Bright."

She wore a red hooded cloak. Her gray ponytail was lifted high, and she wielded rune-engraved pistols in each hand.

The moment she touched the ground, the surrounding rings of fire died out. The earth split into layered walls, perfectly enclosing the children.

With a hiss of crackling energy, a dozen more rescuers in matching red cloaks burst in from the ceiling, mercilessly firing on the robed cultists and paying no mind to any notions of human rights.

However, these cultists were far tougher than Ashe's previous cheerleaders. They didn't flinch. Instead, they drew their weapons and unleashed Miracles in retaliation, trying to overwhelm the outnumbered rescuers.

Suddenly, a young man's voice rang out, tinged with a mix of rage and shock, "Job, thank goodness you're alive! Die, cult leader!"

The tall elf's expression changed instantly. "Kuso, no—"

Whoosh!

An electromagnetic shot streaked toward Everlasting Doom, colliding mid-air with another rescuer's attack. The bullets twisted violently in midair, colliding with a ringing clash. Then...

Smack!

A sound like a bursting watermelon erupted behind Ashe, followed by a hot splash striking his back. The children screamed in terror, and Ashe didn't dare look back.

The young man roared in panic, "Job... Job!? Impossible... this can't be—"

The tall elf's gaze never wavered from Everlasting Doom. "Kuso, you're on the battlefield now!"

Her warning became reality almost instantly. Kuso screamed in agony, apparently counterattacked by the cultists.

Throughout the chaos, the tall elf never turned her head. She held her position firmly between Ashe and the others, keeping her gaze locked on Everlasting Doom while the other rescuers dealt with the remaining robed cultists.

Everlasting Doom remained unconcerned by the raid, a faint, amused smile playing across her face. "Cliose Beymore, the Red Hat Azura Division's Number One and Number Ten on the Overall Red Hat List. The Weeping Sand herself coming personally to arrest a disabled girl like me. You must be feeling quite honored."

Cliose responded with an icy tone, "Don't use your disability to excuse your cruelty. Number One on the Sinner Azura List, Number Six on the Killing Azura List, and Number Eight on the Disaster Messenger List. In recent years, the crime rate in Azura has risen sharply, and every single one of the serial murders, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and cult resurgences is closely tied to you."

Everlasting Doom began to whimper. "Cliose... I'm innocent. Look at me, I can barely move without my wheelchair. Without servants, I'd starve. I'm just a puppet, sometimes a toy for the true mastermind... Cliose, can I trust you? Can you free me from the Four Pillars' control?"

Harvey and Iger both shot glances at Ashe. Brother, do all your cult leaders' excuses sound exactly the same? Did you all go to the same school before taking office?

Ashe could tell they were once again judging him by their own villainous standards. He whispered defensively, "I really was framed! If you switch the subject in her speech to me, it's true!"

Harvey pressed, "So... have you been a toy for the mastermind too?"

Cliose remained unmoved, almost smiling. "Serena, your fate tonight is sealed. No matter what you say, the Book of Gospel is never wrong."

Everlasting Doom's face darkened. "Blind faith is a road to ruin. The stupidest thing anyone can do is believe a god is selfless. Cliose, your blind trust will bring you despair sooner or later."

Clioce's voice remained calm, "Do you, a cult leader, have the right to say that?"

Everlasting Doom said with a smile, "Because I am well aware that God may love humanity... He still loves Himself more."

Cliose fell silent, uninterested in further debate.

Everlasting Doom lounged lazily on the silver throne. "Well then, since you've decided I'm the criminal, Cliose, why not arrest me? Surely you don't expect me, a disabled little girl, to just walk down and surrender?"

The elf responded coldly, "I'm waiting. Waiting for all other cultists to be neutralized, for all external factors controlled, for your Fate Class Miracle to have no exploitable objects. Only then will I personally toll your death knell."

At the mention of the mysterious sorcery class, the three outlanders perked up immediately. ​​Fate Class Miracle!

Fate, Truth, and Prophecy were the three most coveted classes, yet no sorcerer had ever truly mastered them. Across the Blood Moon Kingdom, no systematic method existed even for the supposedly most accessible Prophecy Class. At Caimon General University, any professor researching it was only there to siphon funding.

Prophecy Class was like an unattainable dream, but at least it still counted as a legitimate class. Truth and Fate, on the other hand, were dismissed by many as superstitions. No spirits of those classes had ever been found, and no real study system existed. Stories of Fate and Truth Class sorcerers existed only in ancient myths. They were no more tangible than a fantasy novel.

Yet here it was, a class considered superstitious even by believers in miracles, manifesting right before their eyes.

Cliose spoke, her voice sharp. "Before taking action, I spent all my points and consulted the Book of Gospel to find a way to defeat you. It said I must not harm you. If I'm correct, your Fate Class Miracle twists any attack aimed at you through a chain of accidents, and may even redirect it back against those who intend to kill you.

"Just now, Kuso tried to shoot you. By sheer coincidence, the bullet hit his own younger brother, and in that moment of shock, your subordinates finished him off. Fate Class Miracle is truly terrifying."

The elf sneered. "My plan is simple. First, I eliminate your subordinates. Then I neutralize any unstable factors that could aid you. Finally, I come for you, while you can only walk into a dead end and watch helplessly. Is fear beginning to stir beneath that cute human skin of yours?"

"As expected of the formidable Weeping Sand of the Red Hat, Cliose, but you're mistaken on one point."

Everlasting Doom smiled. "What you described isn't a Fate Class Miracle. I'm not even proficient in that legendary class.

"It's not a Miracle, nor a spirit, nor a poison, nor a blessing. It's my... Sense."

"Nonsense!"

Cliose scanned the room and realized most of the robed cultists had been suppressed. She raised her pistols and aimed it at the ceiling!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Her bullets seemed infused with Miracles, tearing through the ceiling and shattering massive slabs. One enormous boulder wobbled precariously, threatening to crush Everlasting Doom atop the silver throne.

Ashe immediately grasped Cliose's strategy. If I can't strike her directly, hit the rocks and let them do the work. That bypasses her so-called Fate Class Miracle.

It seemed clever, at least for now. The robed cultists were suppressed and powerless to intervene, while Everlasting Doom had no limbs, leaving her completely immobile and unable to escape without a spirit or a Miracle.

Yet Ashe felt an inexplicable premonition that Serena wasn't a sorcerer. Aside from her so-called Sense, she had no spirits or Miracles, just like Heath back then.

Crack!

A strange splitting sound drew everyone's attention. A fissure appeared in the ceiling, with water dripping from it.

Cliose's pupils dilated. She fired another shot toward the back, and the earth beneath the children surged upward, forming a protective wall.

Smack!

The rock fully fractured, and a torrent of water poured down. Other sections of the ceiling collapsed as a raging underground river surged into the hall, like a waterfall in full flood.

Cliose's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could there possibly be an underground river here—"

We tunneled right through the ceiling to get here. How could we have missed the underground river entirely?

Tears pricked at her eyes as she fired repeatedly at the floor, raising layers of earth to hold back the flood. But the river could not be contained. The surrounding walls began to collapse, and the torrent surged like a relentless army. Just one small breach, and the entire underground hall would be swallowed.

The raging river tore through the hall, sweeping both the Red Hats and the robed cultists into chaos. Cliose's Earth Class Miracle extended only to the children, leaving her with barely enough strength to hold her own ground. Perhaps Ashe and the others were too close, or perhaps she deemed adults less in need of protection; either way, the trio was left fully exposed and carried helplessly along with the torrent.

Bound by Miracle-forged chains at hands and feet, Ashe had no way to swim. He could only hold his breath and let the current drag him, drifting uncontrollably until he collided with something soft and finally came to a stop.

"You bumped into me."

Ashe gasped for air. "Uh... uh... sorry about that."

He lowered his head to realize he was sprawled across the armrest of the silver throne.

The former cult leader shifted slightly and spotted a tiny, drenched companion beside him, soaked like a drowned kitten. Ashe looked like a perverted adult collapsed in a little girl's lap, if she even had one.

She leaned close and whispered, "Earlier, you mentioned... that you are the Watcher of Doomsday, correct?"

Ashe nodded, then almost immediately shook his head and wriggled away. "Actually... I've reformed and turned over a new leaf."

Everlasting Doom smiled. "Let me introduce myself again. I am Everlasting Doom, Ever Entwined, Everlasting to the End. Pleased to meet you, Watcher of Doomsday. You can just call me Everlasting."

Ashe froze. "You can call me Watcher."

"Then, Watcher... please die."

Serena lifted her head and slammed it downward, banging her forehead straight into Ashe's.