Several gray-stone steps appeared ahead, cut off by a towering wall of mist that reached the heavens. Faint white mist drifted across it. A figure sitting on the steps was half-hidden in the fog. Only his long coat, metal mask, and black gloves were visible. The gloves looked like they were made of cloth, yet they were incredibly tough.
"Dressed like that... who are you planning to fight?"
Girl spoke up. She was clearly very familiar with the man sitting on the steps.
"Blade Demon is coming. If he loses control, I'll be responsible for clearing him out of the Empty Banquet grounds."
"He's actually coming? Rare."
Girl was somewhat surprised. She wasn't surprised that the man in the mist could drive Blade Demon out of the Empty Banquet grounds. Their combat strength was about equal. If Blade Demon's style was madness and sharpness, then the man in the mist was absolute overwhelming force. If they fought, Girl couldn't imagine who would win.
"Perhaps he'll come. He's been relatively lucid lately."
The man in the mist had a magnetic voice that also carried a sense of calm.
"So that means he'll bring the Black Maple Tree's produce?"
Girl's eyes lit up, and the man in the mist smiled as well. He was clearly in a good mood.
"Byakuya, we meet again."
The man in the mist shifted his gaze. The deep eyes beneath his mask looked at Su Xiao.
"Thanks for Gulu's scroll."
"It was nothing."
The man in the mist said no more. Instead, he sat on the steps and gazed into the distance, seemingly waiting for something.
Su Xiao also sat on the steps before the wall of mist. He already knew the man's identity. He had long heard of him—the leader of the Brigade, whose rank and