The Fall of Regina

By the time Benjamin hurried through the night to the outskirts of Regina, it seemed everything had already settled into place.

"What exactly happened?"

Regina's gates were tightly shut, and the city was eerily silent, yet the flags atop its walls had already changed color. Noticing this, Benjamin did not dare enter the city. He could only meet up with Miles in the woods outside, then ask this question.

By then, Miles had gone from traveling with several mages to being completely alone.

"...When the Pope caught up to us, I failed to block all of his divine spells. The mages who set out with me were killed by him." A rare look of guilt appeared on Miles's face as he slowly said, "I'm sorry."

Benjamin sighed. "Forget it. This isn't your fault either."

Those mages had already prepared themselves for sacrifice when they agreed to leave as bait. Grant's strength was terrifying; even with preparation, Miles might not have been able to stop him.

"However... I kept this key safe." Miles reached out, took out the ginkgo leaf, and handed it to Benjamin.

Benjamin nodded and put the key away.

"How did things end up like this? Regina... was it really taken by them?" he asked with a grave expression.

"About half an hour after we left Locke City, the Pope caught up to us. He quickly saw through our disguise and realized he had been deceived. He wanted to return to Locke City, so we could only hold him back as long as possible. Those mages... also died in the process." Miles slowly said, "I fought him for nearly an hour. In the end, he used flight to shake me off, then changed direction and flew toward Regina."

Benjamin could not help frowning at that.

*He was that