What did the insects beneath Alley Square mean?
Levin and Lamont knew perfectly well.
So they struck at the same time.
A barely visible ripple radiated in every direction from where Levin stood, as elusive as water or smoke.
Lamont's attack was far more spectacular.
Energy surged through his two longswords, one of flame and one of ice. Flames over a meter high rose from one, while freezing air spread around the other.
The powers that should have clashed became strangely harmonious, like twins who were utterly opposite yet inseparable.
Clang!
With a crisp metallic ring, the two longswords merged into one.
A swirling red-and-blue storm of ice and fire erupted from the sword's tip, heading straight in the direction Levin pointed.
The entire underground space lit up, and then...
Boom!
A massive shock wave ravaged their surroundings.
Levin was blown clean off his feet.
Lamont staggered backward as well.
When everything settled, Lamont looked up at the spot he had attacked.
Two animals resembling both leopard cats and foxes lit a pair of candles, bringing a little light to the dark underground space.
They also allowed Lamont to see what was there.
A golden shield!
The shield's glow was dim. The flying insects that formed it kept dropping away, revealing the figure standing behind it.
His black hooded cloak was no different from that of an ordinary member of the Black Robes.
Yet both Lamont and Levin braced themselves for a formidable enemy.
Because the man before them was Lairvent of the Black Robes.
Not far from the man in black, two figures lay crumpled on the ground.
Lawless and the Cursebreaker.
Both were unconscious. Lawless, in particular, had an enormous wound through his chest and abdomen, passing clean through his body.
No blood flowed out, and his organs