Sky Island.
For four days now, the entire island had been shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.
Ever since Monchi returned to Sky Island, he had remained in the council hall and never emerged. It was clear just how severe a blow the failure of this hunt had dealt him.
At the cemetery on Sky Island's outskirts, Sanders stood upon a high cliff platform, gazing at the inverted waterfall in the distant sky.
He had stood there for nearly two hours, lost in thoughts unknown.
Passing wizards who saw Sanders cast him looks of sympathy and regret... After all, Angel's reputation had soared like the noonday sun after the previous events. Yet such a promising seed, standing at the crest of the storm, had simply vanished. Anyone who knew of it could not help but sigh.
Of course, whether that sigh contained more sympathy or more secret delight was another matter.
"Angel is only missing. Could he still be alive?" Several wizard apprentices whispered among themselves. They had not actually taken part in that battle, but rumors had already spread throughout Sky Island. Perhaps before long, the entire Southern Region Wizarding World would know of it as well.
"How could he possibly be alive? My Elemental Studies instructor, the Mourning Witch, is very close to Lady Liwita. According to information she got from Lady Liwita, Angel was not only bound and taken away, but a terrifying Demon God followed after him! How could he possibly survive under those circumstances?"
The apprentices who had not participated in the plan were fascinated by gossip about the upper ranks. Some merely heard rumors and then vividly described the scene as though they had witnessed it themselves, though most of it was mixed with their own interpretations and far removed from the truth.
"I heard