(Heartfelt thanks to 'xyokk', 'Kaede no Chōrei', and 'Icebound Thunder Dragon' for their donations!)
As time passed, night gradually gave way to dawn. Moonlight spilling from the heavens slowly shifted with the rising moon, bringing with it an indescribable tranquility.
Surely, no matter what kind of person they were, no one would have the heart to shatter such peace.
Beneath the cliff wall, before the cave, the retainers and guards of the Phil Empire's princes still gripped their weapons vigilantly. Without the slightest slackness, they faithfully patrolled inside and outside the cave, seeking only to grant their masters a moment of peace.
Before long, a set of footsteps suddenly echoed from within the cave. The expressions of everyone on guard or patrol sharpened, and battle qi and magic power surged through their bodies at once, slowly taking effect.
Yet when everyone present turned their gazes toward the source of the footsteps and saw the scene there, the battle qi and magic power that had begun to stir froze within them, then gradually receded.
The owner of the footsteps was a girl.
A girl with pink wings on her back.
The girl walked out of the cave as though no one else existed. A faint, starlike brilliance flickered in her indigo eyes, while a delicate, beautiful face wore a tenderly vulnerable expression that invited pity. She displayed the pitiful charm of an angelic girl to perfection, drawing every eye present.
As they looked at the angelic girl who inspired such pity, the retainers and guards fell into a daze. No matter how they tried, they could not overlap this fragile girl with the cold and aloof Ninth Order expert who had instantly defeated a Peak Eighth Order powerhouse not long ago. For a moment, they were utterly bewildered.
Yet the angelic