[The Spacetime That Might Exist] The Top of the Tower

The cell was quiet.

The thick stone walls effectively blocked out most of the sound.

Ubel sat on the floor, his back against the cold wall.

"So, Glasses Guy, where are we now?"

Lanto kept his eyes closed.

He had been in this position for a while, his breathing even, and his body was enveloped in a very faint, almost imperceptible magical glow. He was using magical perception.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

"At the top of a rather tall tower."

Ubel, supporting herself against the wall, slowly stood up. She stretched out her hand, placed her palm on the rough stone surface, and slowly moved it along the crack in the wall.

"I see."

Her finger stopped on a wall.

"It should be this way, right? What's down there?"

Lanto closed his eyes again, his senses extending downwards. Beyond layers of stone bricks, supporting structures, and the base of the tower, below lay solid rock, and then the abrupt drop into the void.

"The Imperial Capital is on the edge of a cliff," he said. "This tower is at the very back of the Imperial Capital. Below is the cliff."

"What's next?" Ubel turned his head, as if listening carefully to something. "I can hear noise."

Lanto's senses continued to probe downwards.

At the bottom of the cliff, the terrain gradually flattens out, and buildings become more densely packed. Streets crisscross, vendors line the streets, and the sounds of people, vehicles, and hawkers mingle together, creating a hazy and noisy soundscape.

"... Below the cliff is the market in the Imperial Capital's commoner district." He withdrew his senses and opened his eyes. "What you heard was probably the sound of vendors hawking their wares."

Ubel smiled slightly.

"Wow, that's impressive, Glasses Guy. Your magic perception can cover such a distance."

"I should be the one who's surprised," Lanto said, looking at her. "It's at least a kilometer away from there. Can a normal human being hear noise from that distance—especially through a wall?"

He walked to the wall where Ubel had just been exploring, tapped his fingers on the stone surface, and a solid, dull thud was heard.

"Anyway, run away as fast as you can," he said. "But don't break through this side of the wall. Your magic should be able to cut through only the left and right walls, right? Just in case rubble falls and hits people."

He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.

At the edge of perception, two familiar magical fluctuations were approaching. Unhurried, steady, and clear, they were coming along the only passage leading to this cell.

"Wrong."

He said in a low voice.

Ubel tilted his head slightly as well.

"Tsk tsk," she said with a hint of admiration, "These guys are really good. Whether it's magical concealment or masking footsteps, it's all perfect."

Footsteps were already outside the door.

Lanto looked up at the roof. Thick wooden beams crisscrossed the roof.

He pushed off with his feet, leaping lightly into the air and landing silently on the highest beam, perfectly concealing himself in the beam's shadow. The movement was clean and without any extra sound.

"I'll buy you time," his voice trailed off from the rafters, low and menacing. "I'll escape when I find the chance."

A moment later, the latch on the cell door snapped open, making a clear metallic scraping sound.

The door was pushed open.

Noi was the first to walk in. He held the short, black stick in his hand, his gaze sweeping across the cell from under his hat.

Kanon followed behind him and stopped at the door. He was still wearing that crisp dark uniform, holding a peaked cap in his hand, his long black hair tied into a neat single ponytail. He didn't come in immediately, but stood quietly in the shadows by the door, his gaze calmly fixed on the center of the cell.

There, Ubel and Lanto sat side by side, their backs against the wall. The black bindings around their wrists were intact, the knots neatly tied, showing no signs of damage.

Noi walked up to the two of them and stopped.

"This way," he said, his voice unusually clear in the small cell.

Kanon didn't move or speak. His gaze lingered for a moment on the restraints on their wrists before shifting away and looking elsewhere.

Lanto, who was sitting on the ground, raised his face.

"If you're willing to let me go," he said, his voice steady, "I'll tell you anything. You can do whatever you want with this woman."

Noi looked down at him, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"... Stop saying things like that?" His tone was a mix of disapproval and amusement. "Weren't you just desperately protecting her? Hearing things like that will really disappoint her, you know?"

Lanto's face remained expressionless.

"This woman forced me into this," he said. "I did nothing wrong."

Noi seemed to have heard something interesting, so he bent down, leaned closer, and carefully examined Lanto's face.

"Huh? What's wrong?" He blinked. "Are young couples breaking up so easily these days?"

His gaze swept across Lanto's face and then suddenly stopped.

His expression froze for a moment.

"... Tsk." He straightened up, touched the back of his neck, and turned to Kanon standing in the doorway. "Sorry, Kanon. I messed up."

Kanon didn't speak.

He entered the cell, his right hand already gripping the short, black stick. He walked up to "Lanto," raised the tip of the stick, and gently touched "Lanto's" forehead.

The movements were very light, as if they were just casual.

From the point of contact, "Lanto's" body rapidly turned into fine, grayish-white dust, silently disintegrating and dissipating into the air. A few seconds later, only ashes remained, along with Ubel was still sitting perfectly intact.

Kanon retracted his short stick.

"I know," he said calmly, "One is missing. It's Clone Magic."

Noi turned around and looked at the empty cell. His brows furrowed, as if he were quickly recalling every detail of what had just happened.

"When did they switch...?" he muttered to himself, "I was definitely holding the original body. I'm pretty sure of it."

He looked at Kanon.

"I'll go look for it."

Kanon nodded.

Noi didn't linger, turned and strode quickly out of the cell. His footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Only Kanon and Ubel remained in the cell.

Kanon didn't move immediately. He stood there, his gaze fixed on the black binding around Ubel's wrist for a few seconds.

Then, he slowly began to speak.

"... Let's begin."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent cell.

"That rope can't restrain you at all, can it?"

The moment the words left his mouth.

Behind him, in the shadow of the beams and pillars, a figure silently emerged.

Lanto emerged from a blind spot behind Kanon, a condensed cold light gleaming at the tip of his staff, pointing straight at the back of Kanon's neck. The staff tip stopped a mere inch from the skin, magic pulsating at its tip, locking down all avenues for escape.

"Don't move."

Kanon didn't move.

He didn't even turn around; he remained facing Ubel's direction.

"You're really good at concealing your magic." His tone was emotionless. "To actually fool Noi... impressive."

Ubel flicked his wrist.

With a soft "snap," the black binding snapped and slid to the ground, the break smooth as a mirror. She raised her other hand, and the strangely shaped short staff appeared out of thin air, which she held firmly in her hand.

Kanon then turned his head slightly, glancing at the tip of the staff behind his neck out of the corner of his eye, before turning back.

"Your actions are troubling me," he said calmly. "Even if I wanted to let you go, it would only be if I could report to my superiors that 'I fought desperately'..."

"So, if I'm easily captured and used as a hostage, and you manage to escape, I'll be considered to have failed in my duty and will become a target for elimination. Do you understand?"

He turned his face, this time completely facing Lanto. The staff behind his neck adjusted its angle slightly with his movement, still steadily pointing at his vitals.

"Under these circumstances, I am forced to fight you. And you are no match for me at all."

He raised his hand and pointed upwards.

"That's why I let Noi leave. If that guy used his magic, he could probably destroy even this tower. But I'm different."

He looked at the two of them, his dark eyes calm and still.

"Now, let's not cause each other any trouble. Put down your staffs immediately, and then—"

Ubel interrupted him.

"Really?" She tilted her head, her eyes unfocused, but her face was clearly directed at Kanon. "You're afraid the tower will be destroyed?"

She gently raised her right hand, which was holding the short cane.

There were no preparatory movements, no incantations, and not even a noticeable burst of magical power.

There was only a very faint, almost imperceptible "whoosh" sound.

The next moment.

Starting from where Ubel was, several smooth, mirror-like cuts appeared out of thin air on the tower's stone wall. The cuts extended straight up, down, left, and right, penetrating the several-meter-thick stone wall without any obstruction.

The tower has been cut open.

It wasn't a collapse, nor an explosion. It was like a carefully cut cake, neatly divided into several pieces along several unseen planes. The cut surfaces were smooth, and the edges were clean.

Kanon's hand gripping the short stick tightened slightly at the knuckles.

But his face remained expressionless. He simply raised his head, glanced at the smooth cut across the entire dome above him, and then looked down at Ubel.

"... What are you going to do?"

Ubel didn't answer. She reached out and grabbed Lanto's empty wrist.

"I heard the market is right below here." Her voice held a hint of amusement. "You'd better move these rubble to a safe place before the people there realize what's happening. Otherwise, who knows how many people will die."

She pulled Lanto along, and with a light leap, landed on a huge, slowly tilting section of the broken wall that had just been cut from the tower. The broken wall carried the two of them, hovering steadily in mid-air.

"If you're worried that the higher-ups will think you haven't done your duty," Ubel said, a slight smile playing on Kanon lips, "Then just report it like this—'I prioritized the safety of the people,' how about that?"

Kanon looked at her in silence.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

"Good suggestion," he said. "I will take it..."

"So, you scumbag," he said with a smile, "Get out of here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised the short stick in his hand.

An invisible magical force Swirl from him, like an unseen giant hand, catching the neatly slicing fragments of the tower that were about to fall. Boulder, wooden beams, bricks... all the debris simultaneously stopped in mid-air, slowly suspending itself as if defying gravity, and then began to move steadily away from the market below.

Kanon stood in the center of the crumbling tower, his short staff steadily guiding the flow of magic. Strands of black hair on his forehead fluttered slightly in the turbulent air, but he stood ramrod straight, every crease in his uniform still crisp and neat.

Ubel, holding Lanto's hand, rode along the broken wall, flying rapidly away from the tower. The wind whistled in their ears.

Lanto glanced back. Kanon's figure appeared small amidst the collapsing tower and the floating rubble, yet remained as steady as a rock.

He turned his face back.

"To be honest," he began, his voice carried on the wind, "I didn't really like what I did just now."

Ubel grabbed his wrist, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

"Okay, okay... I'll be more careful next time."

The two quickly disappeared into the towering skyline of the Imperial Capital.

Beside the tower ruins.

When Weige rushed out of the passage, this was the scene he saw: Kanon stood alone in the middle of a chaotic ruin, surrounded by tons of building debris floating around him, which he was guiding with magic, slowly moving towards the wasteland in the distance.

Weige quickly walked to Kanon's side, his gaze sweeping over the empty ruins and the two tiny dots that were rapidly disappearing in the distant sky.

"I'll go after them," he said, turning to leave.

"No," Kanon said, his voice steady, his short staff still firmly controlling the flow of magic in his hand. "Weige. If they cause this trouble in the city, it will be a disaster."

He raised his other hand and pressed down on the brim of his hat.

Also tell Noi not to lay a hand on them.

Weige stopped and turned to look at Kanon. He was silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing his options.

"You can't possibly fail to keep them," he finally said, his tone carrying a hint of certainty. "Are you planning to play the long game?"

Kanon did not deny it.

He gazed in the direction where Ubel and Lanto had disappeared, his dark eyes calm and deep in the shadow of his hat brim.

"Hmm," he responded softly, "I need to get more information from them. For this type of enemy, it's best to wipe them out in one fell swoop."

He lowered his hand from the brim of his hat and refocused on controlling the suspended rubble in the air. Each piece of stone, under his precise magical control, fell steadily to its designated spot without stirring up much dust.