There was no hesitation.
The gates boomed open, and the dozen or so spectral figures rushed out as fast as they could.
When they saw the situation outside, they all froze in place.
"..."
A breeze swept past. The entire plaza lay bare.
In little more than the few minutes they had spent arguing, all the buildings and assorted equipment outside the plaza had been reduced to dotted outlines. Even the enormous statue in the plaza had vanished.
They stiffly looked down.
For some inexplicable reason, the ground seemed to have dropped a few inches.
They took a closer look.
Where were the floor tiles?!
"..."
A breeze swept over them.
Everyone stood frozen.
The jailer who had lost his temper earlier instantly flew into another rage, turning around with a roar:
"See?! Do you see?!! I told you he couldn't be trusted!! And you argued with me! He even stripped out your tiles!! And you still blamed me!!"
The corners of the King's Knight's eyes twitched wildly as he sat high upon the Throne.
This... this guy...
Yes, he had told him to take whatever caught his eye, but what the hell was this?! Couldn't he recognize a simple courtesy when he heard one?!
"Where is he?!"
"He ran!"
The knight pointed into the distance in a panic.
"He just boarded his ship and left! Since you gave the order, Master, we didn't dare stop him! He took the people and the buildings with him!! Before leaving, he even looped a rope around our Great Lord's statue! And dragged that away too!!"
"..."
Above the Endless Sea, heading away from Sky City.
An enormous ship streaked across the sky like a meteor, racing away from the Endless Sea at an unimaginable, lightning-fast speed. Behind it, a long