Thanks to Nightfall Squad, Mask Squad was now on leave in its entirety.
Mask Squad's original plan for the first day of vacation had been to sleep at home until they woke naturally. After all, they had not gotten a proper night's sleep even once in the past two years... But upon hearing that Nightfall Squad's awards ceremony was this morning, they had hurriedly gotten up early and rushed over.
As the first ceremony since the Night Watchmen's founding to award two "Sea of Stars" medals, they did not want to miss it. What was more, the ones about to receive those medals were their former juniors.
No matter what, they had to come show their support and see just how much these juniors had grown.
King Mask sat in his chair and casually plucked a silver strand from his temple. As though sensing something, he turned toward the entrance to the venue.
"They're here," King Mask said with a smile.
Everyone turned to look.
Beyond the doors, seven figures in dark crimson cloaks slowly emerged from the shadows. Carrying their respective straight blades or Black Boxes, they strode forward with their heads held high, their eyes brilliant as stars.
An indescribable presence radiated from them.
The moment they appeared, whispers broke out among the people present.
For many of them, this was their first time seeing Nightfall Squad's true faces in person.
As they watched Lin Qiye and the others walk onto the stage, the members of Mask Squad began murmuring among themselves as well.
"Hey, Lin Qiye's really grown a lot taller over the years, huh?"
"Yeah. Even his whole bearing is different."
"That little fatty is still as fat as ever. Kind of cute, actually... But why is there such a deep scar on his face?"
"Looks