A bright red signal flare shot into the sky and burst like fireworks. Large patches of dazzling red light appeared high above and lingered for a long time.
Even in the latter half of the night, the tavern remained noisy. A man wearing a leather bowler hat and covered in iron ornaments was drinking heavily. Just then, red light shone through the tavern windows. The man turned his head to look. At first, he paid it no mind, but then he suddenly thought of something and charged out of the tavern, completely ignoring the bartender's curses behind him.
In a small alley by the street, faint sounds that stirred the imagination could be heard. Red light spilled in, and a few seconds later, a disheveled prostitute hurried out of the alley. After seeing the large patches of red light in the sky, she immediately ran in one direction.
Drunks, vagrants, prostitutes, and even laborers who had worked all day took to the streets. They all headed in the same direction: the Headquarters of the Kodo School.
The entire city of Dank seemed like a hornet's nest that had been violently stabbed. Patrols carrying torches searched every street and alley, while rough knocking and barking rose and fell one after another.
All of this had begun because the Kodo School's goddess had been kidnapped half an hour earlier.
Outside, the Kodo School had a terrible reputation. But in Dank, the Kodo School was the absolute ruler. Either one obeyed, or one disappeared.
The Kodo School's upper echelons were enraged. Not only had someone killed their people on their own territory, but they had also kidnapped the goddess. It was tantamount to a huge slap across their faces. How could they tolerate that?
The blood pressure of the several bishops who held