That day, the Stone Monster suddenly returned to the Divine Palace, saying it had found traces of a suspected culprit and requesting reinforcements.
All the Divine Envoys who were present gathered inside the Divine Palace. The matter was treated with utmost seriousness, and they immediately decided to send three Divine Envoys to deal with the culprit at all costs.
Including the Stone Monster, four Divine Envoys set out.
Of the Divine Palace's thirteen Divine Envoys, three were stationed on the battlefield year-round, and two were nowhere to be found. Within the vast territory of the Divine Palace, that left only eight Divine Envoys. The Stone Monster didn't count, since it also roamed the Divine Palace's vast territory year-round. That meant there were only seven others.
Sending out three Divine Envoys at once was a considerable show of seriousness.
The Stone Monster led the three Divine Envoys on an investigation that lasted half a year, but they found nothing at all and had no choice but to return.
"Please rest assured. It must have sensed us coming and fled early. There are traces here, after all. I'll definitely track it down again." The Stone Monster spoke with great conviction.
The three Divine Envoys exchanged glances. They could only offer the Stone Monster a few words of encouragement before returning to the Divine Palace.
There were indeed traces in the area they'd searched, and the Stone Monster hadn't been searching at random. Even if they'd made the trip for nothing, they couldn't complain.
Several more years passed. The Stone Monster returned to the Divine Palace, saying it had found traces of the culprit. Three Divine Envoys accompanied it again, and they hurried to the site as fast as they could. But when they arrived, it was just like last time: they found