Ten minutes after Lanevus's death, Horamick Haydn arrived in the West Borough with an elite Machinery Hivemind squad. Looking at the wreckage steeped in filth, resentment, and the aura of death, their expressions were rather complicated.
A few minutes later, Ace Snake and Anthony Stevenson arrived one after another. Sensing the lingering pollution of the evil god in the air, their expressions turned grave as well.
Ace Snake, who had no idea how many times he had been late in the past month, roared furiously:
"Damn it, what exactly happened? Why were High Sequence powerhouses fighting in the West Borough?! Horamick! Have you forgotten that preventing the fallout from spreading is the top priority?"
"It wasn't our doing." Though displeased by the Spellsinger of God's questioning, Horamick still spoke in a gentle voice. "We received a report that the True Creator's Divine Descent Vessel had appeared in the West Borough, but by the time we arrived, it was already like this."
"A report? Where is the informant?" Ace Snake immediately asked. Traveling from St. Cyril Church in the southeastern corner of Backlund to the West Borough, even a demigod of the Machinery Church would need at least twenty minutes if they wished to avoid causing panic. Yet only ten minutes had passed since they sensed the collision of divine powers.
Horamick shook his head, his voice still gentle—
"A child from the street delivered it. The situation was urgent, so we had no time to investigate. Besides, with anonymous reports like this, even divination offers questionable accuracy. The informant probably wasn't affiliated with the demigod who acted, either. Even if we use Sealed Artifacts, the clues we can obtain will be limited."
"How do you know they weren't on the same side?" The string of incidents over the past month