Walton appeared directly in the Holy Temple and took Mulan away in front of Evan, making his position clear.
Sir Walton was plainly far above Evan in both strength and status, yet Mulan had felt quite at ease during both their first meeting and this one. At least, he felt no overwhelming pressure from him.
Even though Walton intended to recruit Mulan, he merely said he wanted to take a walk with him, rather than constantly speaking in certainties as Evan did.
Only after they left the Holy Temple did Walton lightly tap his forehead and look at Mulan, as though something had suddenly occurred to him.
"I ought to explain what happened at that Military Tribunal. If the verdict had been truly unfavorable, I would have intervened. But clearly, you had already earned everyone's respect that day."
Although Walton had no need to explain himself, those few words made Mulan feel much better.
A light drizzle was still falling outside. Walton was impeccably dressed, while Mulan's attire was more casual. Neither used an umbrella as they walked down the street, chatting along the way.
Walton was in high spirits, a smile never leaving his face.
"I've read your record. The Jonester Family is one of the few traditional knightly families. Though it has been in decline for over a century, it's remarkable that its heritage remains unbroken. You showed great athletic talent from childhood. Even before joining the army, you were already outstanding apart from certain shortcomings in your mindset. The brutality of war tempered your will, making you an exceptional warrior and an excellent commander..."
Delivered in such a formal manner, these almost flattering words were also an acknowledgment of Mulan's abilities. He said nothing, merely listening.
Walton continued at an unhurried pace.
"Born to a knightly family with an unbroken heritage, hardened by countless battles, and strong of will-you're already among the finest warriors in the world of ordinary people. But against this killer, did you find yourself struggling?"
Mulan frowned, his gaze sweeping over the passersby, none of whom spared them any particular attention.
"Yes. That fellow was absurdly agile. If I weren't such a good shot, I might have been the one who died."
In truth, if the Ring of Light had not resisted the killer pulling its trigger against its master, Mulan would certainly have died.
"Hahahaha, exactly! Having come off the Princess Niseriel, you must already have some inkling that this world isn't as simple as ordinary people think, right? Hmm, that cleric Evan may have told you something along those lines as well."
Walton stopped and turned sideways to face Mulan.
"You're right. That killer had already gone beyond the limits of an ordinary person and entered a state of bodily awakening. His senses had sharpened, and his strength and reflexes were continually improving. At his level, it's extremely difficult for an ordinary person to kill him one-on-one."
As he spoke, a carriage slowly stopped beside Walton. Its door opened on its own, and Walton gestured for Mulan to get in.
Mulan had not noticed when the carriage appeared or approached. The surrounding pedestrians did not seem to notice it either.
Mulan looked toward the front of the carriage, where there should have been two horses. Yet it seemed to have driven over on its own. Still, he knew there had to be something harnessed in front, because the harness was floating in midair.
He simply could not hear anything or see what was harnessed there.
"Please, get in. This will save us quite a bit of time."
With no other choice, Mulan boarded with a sense of awe toward the mysterious and sat facing Walton. Walton closed the door and lightly patted the carriage's side, and it began to accelerate slowly.
Only a few seconds later, the light coming through the windows dimmed considerably, as though the weather and surroundings outside had changed in that brief span. Walton spoke again.
"How much did Cleric Evan tell you?"
"He told me about the Otherworld."
Mulan gave a rough account of what Evan had said, and Walton nodded in understanding.
"We call that realm the Otherworld. The horses pulling this carriage travel within it, and this carriage can cross mountains and water as well. Look out the window and tell me what you see."
Mulan had already been watching the view without needing Walton's prompting. Outside, he could still see Valentine's ordinary streets, but the pedestrians had become indistinct, like blurred outlines made of assorted colors on a painting. Beyond them, patches of dark shadow lay everywhere, with hazy mist in the distance.
"One step further, and you would touch the Otherworld. Although the methods of perfecting oneself differ, the first tier is collectively called 'Awakening,' and the second tier is 'Reality.' Both grant different abilities to perceive and affect the Otherworld, but only upon reaching 'Abundance,' the third tier, can you look upon it directly. So at times, you must keep your curiosity properly in check."
A horse's neigh sounded outside. Mulan leaned toward the window and looked ahead. He could not see the carriage horses in their entirety, but he could make out wisps of strange gray mist coiling around the front.
Suddenly, one of the horses tossed its head, giving Mulan a fleeting glimpse. Unlike before, this time he saw it.
White bones wreathed in gray mist, red flames flickering in its eyes-was this an Undead Horse?
At the astonishment on Mulan's face, Walton's smile grew even brighter.
"It seems your mental strength really is far greater than that of ordinary people. My special trip to see you wasn't wasted. There isn't enough time to explain it all properly now. This is another vast field of knowledge, full of unknowns. Attend some lectures when you have the chance. They'll be more detailed than my explanation."
Lectures?
Mulan froze for a moment, then recalled the first part of Sir Walton's remark.
"Sir, what are we going to do now?"
"Good question. Actually, I deliberately took some time out in the middle of this matter to come find you, lest the Holy Temple's people lure you away. Now I need to finish the job, and I can take you along to have a look. After all, you count as someone involved."
"Me? Involved?"
Mulan's first thought was of the Mad Killer.
"Yes. It concerns what happened aboard the Princess Niseriel. I have only one day left on my business trip, so I must resolve it today. What a shame. Valentine is a fine city. I've made many wonderful memories here."
Without their noticing, the carriage had already slowed, and the colors around them had grown richer. Sir Walton opened the carriage door and stepped out first. Mulan hurried after him, leaving the carriage, which felt increasingly cold and clammy after Walton's departure.
Before they knew it, they had reached the river outside the city. An old watermill stood not far from where the carriage stopped, its wheel turning steadily in the current.
Walton walked ahead first. After a moment's hesitation, Mulan followed closely. As Walton approached the mill, he drew a cane from his waist, twirled it once in his hand, and swung it against the mill's door.
When the wooden shaft struck the wooden door, there was none of the crisp knocking sound Mulan had expected. Instead, a roar like heavy artillery erupted.
Boom!
The entire mill seemed to shudder slightly. Then the wooden door tore free of its frame and shot inside like a door-shaped cannonball.
Crash!
After flying into the mill, the door produced an explosion-like sound. Almost simultaneously, an exaggerated scream rang out.
"Aah!"
The voice was piercingly high, impossible to identify as male or female. Mulan's eardrums ached, yet strangely, the pain remained bearable.
Sir Walton's figure suddenly blurred before him. As he stepped forward, his body seemed to stretch into streaks of color, leaving indistinct afterimages in its wake. Advancing, he swept his cane sideways, splitting the entire mill in two. Its upper half flew into the sky as though gravity had ceased to exist.
Walton's outrageous power gave Mulan an intense sense of unreality, yet it carried an unbelievable elegance. With that movement, the scene inside the mill was revealed to him.
The mill was like Pandora's box. Though it had not looked large from outside, once its top was lifted, great quantities of mist and water suddenly surged out, layer upon layer, ring after ring. Had they not been stopped by some invisible substance upon reaching the carriage, Mulan would have retreated.
Most conspicuous was a tall woman surrounded by rippling bands of water. Her sky-blue hair was extraordinarily long, her upper body bare. Her lower half seemed clad in a skirt inlaid with crystal-like scales.
"Siren, who gave you permission to set foot on land?"
Walton's voice was utterly calm, yet his figure appeared before the Siren like a phantom, his cane cutting down diagonally in one hand.
Water splashed and churned...
As spray flew, all the Siren's hair swept toward Walton, stabbing at him like countless steel needles. The water around him rose in overlapping layers, all rushing to engulf him. At that very moment, Walton's cane descended.
Swish!
Mist, water, hair, the Siren...
Everything in the cane's path split in two. The Siren seemed utterly astonished, yet the two halves of her body could still move independently, as though she felt no pain at all.
Everything around Walton seemed a little slower than he was. The strange sight left Mulan unsure whether his visual nerves had caught up with Walton's tremendous speed or whether this was simply how everything was meant to be.
Walton did not stop. As the Siren's body separated to either side, he reached into the space between them, seized something within the flowing water, and withdrew his hand in a shower of spray.
"Aaaargh!"
The Siren's scream broke past some threshold. Mulan instantly felt as though sharp spikes were piercing his eardrums, and he clapped his hands over his ears in pain.
The split Siren before Walton suddenly turned into two streams of water, which fell and flowed into the river. Walton watched without doing anything, then took a step back and lightly leaped clear of the mill.
Above them, the mill's upper half had just reached the peak of its ascent and began to fall rapidly.
Thump...
With a faint sound, the mill's upper and lower halves joined together again.
Mulan stared wide-eyed, slowly lowering his hands from his ears. There was not a trace of damage to the mill. It seemed completely restored to its previous state, apart from the door.
"Whew..."
At some point, Walton had returned to Mulan's side. He let out a soft breath, still smiling.
"The enemy was a little weaker than I expected, though the battle wasn't as simple as it looked to you. Oh, right, I should also mention that I'm a Wraith Mage."
P.S. Thanks to reader "Lian Xi Xian" for the Alliance Leader-level tip! Thank you all for your support. Please cast your votes!