Angel could no longer hear the conversation between Baroque and his apprentice. He had boarded the cable car, which had already slowly carried him away from Sky Tower. Even if he had heard it, he probably would not have had much to say. Baroque had once tried to use another's blade to harm him; even if their hatred had not yet reached a life-or-death point, it was not something that could be easily dissolved.
Inside the cable car, all was silent.
David had wanted to ask Angel about that old man with the braid from earlier. But seeing that Angel had no desire to talk, he ultimately kept quiet.
The oppressive silence continued until they left the cable car.
David felt that things were becoming far too heavy. After thinking it over, he took the lead in breaking the silence. "Oh, right. Serum came back some time ago."
Angel froze. After so long apart, news of his friend brought a flash of delight to his eyes. "Serum came back? He really came back?"
After confirming the answer, Angel hesitated before asking, "Then... is he all right?"
Ever since Serum had gone out to fuse with the Azure Bloodline, they had not seen each other for several years. Nausicaa would at least send letters back whenever she was away, but Serum had seemed to vanish completely.
In the dead of night, Angel had even guessed that Serum might have met with disaster. Though he had never wanted to face that possibility, the Azure Bloodline was an unknown bloodline. No one knew the risks of fusing with it, nor could anyone reduce those risks. Any transcendent—even an official wizard—rarely chose to fuse with a completely unknown bloodline.
Serum had only been a junior apprentice at the time, yet he had made such