05:01 a.m.
The flames from the Central Magic Tower's detonation had yet to fully illuminate the night sky, and the scorching shock wave was still far from the southeastern main gate.
But in the shadows inside the gate, the hunters who had long lain in wait had already received their signal.
[This is Dawn. Ola's operation was a success. Cut off that cage. Don't let anything drop.]
The orders were brief and clear.
[Understood.] Kale replied coldly. He immediately relayed the orders to his teammates, and ten dark figures rushed upward through the shadows along the wall.
The "birdcage"-the gate control room suspended twenty meters above the ground inside the gate-had fallen into a minor panic.
The four winch operators inside were burly men whose positions had been passed down through their families. Their muscles bulged like rocks, and their only daily task was to turn the heavy brass winch.
"What was that sound?" The head winch operator pulled back from the narrow lookout slit. The explosion had startled him.
"Sounded like... something exploded?"
Before they could figure out what had happened, the control room's tightly shut wooden door burst open under tremendous force.
No, it hadn't been forced open.
A large hole had abruptly appeared where the lock had been, as though some invisible blade had carved it out.
Several dark figures slipped inside a moment later. Leading them, Kale closed in like lightning beneath the oil lamp's glow, Retribution in his hand.
Shhk.
The nearest winch operator had barely opened his mouth before his throat was slit. Blood gushed out, choking his unvoiced alarm back into his lungs.
The other three reacted swiftly. Years of turning the heavy winch had given them astonishing explosive strength. Roaring, they reached for the heavy hammers on the wall.
But in that