Below, in the inn, circles of cold wind suddenly surged into a frenzy. Like invisible hands, they gathered the sheets of paper caught in the wind and tore them to shreds.
Coming to his senses after being controlled repeatedly, the leading Mandated Punisher looked pale as he stared at the figure floating outside the window.
"Your Excellency, the Sea King..."
Jahn Kottman raised a hand to stop him.
"Continue with the next mission."
"Yes!"
The Mandated Punishers in the room all struck their left chests with their right fists.
At the harbor on Bansy Island, inside a passenger cabin aboard a ship that had only just docked at dusk.
Countless flecks of starlight surged out of the void, quickly weaving together to outline the shape of an Illusory Door.
Then Cyril stepped out from behind the "door," bringing Randolph with him.
In the Painting Scroll Randolph held, Steve looked as though he had collapsed from exhaustion.
"Phew, I'm alive again."
Tossing the Painting Scroll aside, Randolph looked at Cyril and asked curiously,
"Even if you heard my prayer, shouldn't it have taken you longer to get here?"
"The 'astrology' gave me a Spirituality-based intuition. I was still a little late, though," Cyril explained simply.
Randolph nodded, then said,
"Hermes said the Lord of Storms had 'cast his gaze' here. Maybe he interfered with your intuition."
He paused, then asked, "Are you going to take me back?"
Cyril nodded. "Yeah. Things won't be peaceful around here from now on. I'm worried you'll suddenly drop dead, and that would set back my digestion progress!"
Cyril patted him on the shoulder and reassured him,
"Don't worry. Once we get somewhere else, I'll let you come out again."
Randolph said, "You're just squeezing your Avatar dry."
"Besides, if you separate this identity again later,