"Rafada, can you undo the spell on Klauthsura first?"
Renato lowered the Black Sword, letting its tip hang at his side at an angle from which he could raise it at any moment. The gesture showed that he meant no harm.
Pure White seemed somewhat surprised that this was Renato's first request. The White-Haired Boy uncrossed his arms, curled his lips into a smile, and spoke with unmistakable teasing in his voice:
"Why? Are you worried you won't be able to leave Nittel Royal City without the Mind Flayer's help? I don't think you need to worry about that."
"Whatever the outcome, at the end of the 'Ritual,' this demiplane will cease to exist on its own and return to the Material Plane..."
Renato said nothing. Klauthsura had fought alongside him for a long time. They had faced desperate situations together time and again, supporting each other as they fought their way out. Their trust had been proven in blood.
But this mysterious Pure White before him was a Legendary Mage suspected of bringing about the Niter Kingdom's current predicament. By Renato's reckoning, his words were about as trustworthy as those of the devil Morlock earlier.
"So you can't undo the spell on Klauthsura?" Renato repeated, his tone growing a little firmer. "Why?"
Rafada sighed softly, a trace of helplessness flashing through his gray eyes:
"That's right, because the current 'Time Stop' isn't an ordinary ninth-level spell. It's a large-scale field effect I achieved by combining the Rock Divine Scion's divinity with the properties of the 'domain' I constructed."
"Although the two look almost identical to an ordinary person, in essence, this effect is further removed from magic and closer to the realm of 'authority'..."
"In short, you can think of it as a persistent spell effect acting on this