Aboveground, the entire City of Exile, Molora, had descended into absolute chaos. All the enforcer squads had pulled back toward the city center to protect the entrance to the Underground Mausoleum and the library-like Knowledge Church. After smashing, looting, and burning their way through the streets to vent their long-suppressed rage, almost all the exiles involved in the riot began gathering at Church Square.
"It passed twenty thousand ages ago... probably close to thirty thousand now. The square can barely hold them..."
William looked down from the upper reaches of the church through a monocular, quickly estimated the number of rioters, and spoke to Tia beside him.
She stroked a charm as clear as ice, sensing the specially marked mirrors she had placed around the square lose contact one after another amid the unrest. Her expression grew increasingly anxious.
"Your Excellency Archbishop," she said, turning toward Hella Berg, who also stood by the window with a calm expression, "if this riot keeps escalating, it could destroy the entire city."
The old man, holding a book in one hand with the other behind his back, said nothing. He merely smiled faintly and shook his head, as though saying, "That is absolutely impossible."
But in the square below, the limited number of enforcers had been surrounded by rioters who outnumbered them dozens to one. The situation was precarious, leaving William and Tia unable to believe the Church of Knowledge could hold out much longer—long enough for Helene to return to the surface.
Just then, subtle changes appeared on the battlefield below.
Originally, most of the exiles had no desire to lose their lives in a riot. They merely egged their companions on to attack the enforcers while seizing the chance to profit themselves. Ideally, they would drive the Church of Knowledge out