Ignition (9)

"Where did something go wrong again?"

Akasha was clearly no fool. Seeing Ballard like this, she immediately realized that something else had happened.

"I received word from the Seer. Just now, Joan and the Lord both lost contact."

Ballard didn't beat around the bush. He got straight to the point.

"Two demigods... What happened?"

Even though she'd prepared herself, Akasha was still clearly taken aback.

"Before this, I would've thought they'd gone into hiding to prepare some evil scheme."

Ballard narrowed his eyes.

"But after dealing with that guy just now, I'm suddenly inclined to think they're both dead."

"Andir said something once. Do you remember? 'You'll find out soon enough. You won't even need divination. Of course, until then, you can waste your time on me as much as you like...'"

"Of course. You mean—"

Akasha seemed to understand.

"Yes. There's more than one monster."

Ballard came to a conclusion.

"Besides that Andir, another group of outsiders has entered the city. And it looks like this other group is capable of assassinating two demigods at once."

"How could this happen? What are they after?"

Akasha could barely hide her shock.

That guy's terrifying lethality had left a deep impression on her. And now he was telling her there was another group of outsiders on the loose, even more vicious than him.

"I don't know. Considering how long it might take those two to come back to life, it'll be hard to figure out unless we catch the culprit."

"But if we look on the bright side, that despicable fellow actually did us a favor. Otherwise, we might've lost a lot more people before realizing something was wrong."

Ballard, however, wasn't willing to waste any more time. As he spoke, he swung himself onto the horse.

"If you want to