At that moment, Jisen, surrounded by light, was utterly dumbfounded.
This was no longer some secret scheme to frame him behind his back. They had strapped him over a pile of firewood called "framing" and were roasting him furiously.
Simple, direct, and incredibly brutal.
At the other end of the Communication Magic Formation, Suss and Byrne watched the scene without saying a word, then silently shut down the formation on their end.
Byrne stretched lightly. Dawensi rose from the sofa opposite him and asked:
"May I leave now?"
"Of course, my friend."
Dawensi looked at Byrne and smiled. "That was a truly unexpected way to wrap things up."
"Were you impressed?"
"Impressed? No. It felt jarringly incongruous instead."
"That couldn't be helped."
"This isn't your style, Byrne. This piece of cowhide is far too rough."
"But I like this style very much. Cowhide is only a tool. Focusing too much on its smoothness defeats its purpose as a tool. Neither art nor luxury goods are things we can afford to play with."
"As long as you're happy."
"Before you go, I think I should remind you of something."
"A word of advice?"
"No, a warning. Dawensi, I can acknowledge the value of your existence, and I'm even willing to cooperate with you in certain areas, but something like this cannot happen again."
"Just this once?"
"I'll be conducting a round of screening and purges. It'll begin as soon as you leave."
"That's your job, and your responsibility."
"There's something you'll regret, Dawensi. You broke your agreement with Kallen."
"Oh?"
"He wanted to kill those people from the Desert Order God Church for more than just avenging Woforen. He despises betrayal."
"Heh." Dawensi chuckled. "Then I can wait for his retaliation."
"What did you agree on?"
"You don't know?"
"As I