Sasha's attitude

Unfortunately, the stranger was like a block of wood, turning a deaf ear to his question and instead striding toward him with a sword in hand.

At the sight, Wuxin grew even more anxious and demanded once again.

"Who exactly are you?"

Yet the stranger still said nothing.

Before his eyes, the stranger reached him and raised the gleaming silver sword high.

"No-!"

Every hair on Wuxin's body stood on end as the fear of death overwhelmed him.

Without the slightest mercy, the enemy brought the blade down decisively.

He could do nothing but watch that silver gleam draw closer and closer.

At that moment of despair, a figure in white suddenly appeared beside him and effortlessly caught the falling blade between just two fingers.

"To think that, after the last Holy War, this old man would receive another guest like you!"

"I'm very curious. Where exactly do you hail from?" Hakurei asked with a hollow smile, driving a heavy punch into the stranger's chest with his other hand.

Thud!

With a dull impact, the old man's punch sent the sword-wielding enemy flying.

"Are you two all right?" Brimming with confidence, Hakurei did not give chase, instead turning back with a smile to ask Wuxin and Yuzuriha.

"Thank you for saving us, Lord Hakurei. I'm not dying just yet! Cough, cough, cough!" Wuxin hurriedly thanked him and struggled to rise and pay his respects.

Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe. After a couple of attempts, he not only failed to get up but made his wounds hurt even more.

"Never mind. Just keep lying there for a while, young man!" Hakurei shook his head.

"Elder, don't worry about me. Focus on taking down that unknown enemy first!" Yuzuriha's voice came from deep within the thick fog.

"Don't worry. He won't escape!"

Full of confidence, Hakurei strode forward to meet the enemy.

Soon, his retreating figure disappeared into the dense white fog.

Although he could not see the battle, Wuxin could hear the fierce sounds of clashing.

Hakurei and the unknown enemy fought fiercely deep within the fog.

At the same time, Hakurei's weathered voice rang out.

"Why do you refuse to speak?"

"Are you afraid this old man might discover something?"

Silence. What answered Hakurei was still silence, along with increasingly fierce counterattacks.

After the fierce battle had continued for quite some time, Wuxin saw a hazy cluster of white light flare deep within the fog.

When the white light completely faded, the white fog shrouding the surroundings vanished with it. Hakurei appeared in his sight again, but the enemy from before had disappeared, leaving only a heap of black armor at Hakurei's feet.

Crane Yuzuriha and Wuxin supported each other as they staggered forward.

Looking at the broken armor on the ground, Wuxin could not help praising him. "Your strength truly is extraordinary, Lord Hakurei. Even such a powerful enemy couldn't put up any resistance against you!"

"No, you're wrong, young man!"

Hakurei shook his head. Turning over the broken armor on the ground, he replied solemnly, "He wasn't using his full strength at all. He merely controlled a suit of armor with telekinesis, turning it into an avatar to fight us!"

"If his true self had acted, you two would already be dead!"

As he spoke, he turned back and gave them both a grave look.

"What?!!!"

Wuxin and Yuzuriha were stunned.

They had thought they had already rated the enemy highly enough, but it turned out they were still far short.

"If he was that powerful just controlling an armored avatar with telekinesis, wouldn't his true self have reached the Seventh Sense or an even higher level?" Wuxin thought further.

"Exactly!"

Hakurei could not help giving him another look. "The enemy's identity is unknown," he said seriously. "Neither of you should go out casually for the time being. Stay indoors and recover properly!"

"As for him, I'll handle him myself!"

With that, the old man shifted his attention to the broken armor at his feet.

"Yes!"

"Thank you for looking after us, my lord!"

Wuxin and Yuzuriha thanked him together, then supported each other as they limped toward the nearby stone tower.

On a distant hilltop, a stubbled man wearing a burgundy suit and a brimmed hat gazed at the stone tower and sighed softly. "As expected of a veteran who survived the last Holy War. His strength is extraordinary. A telekinetic avatar alone simply can't handle him!"

"With him standing guard, there's no way to easily dispose of that extra fellow!"

"Very well. I'll put this matter aside for now and first find out exactly who meddled with my script!"

With that, he turned, stepped into the void, and vanished.

Chapter 4: Sasha's attitude

Meanwhile, after watching Wuxin and Yuzuriha leave, Hakurei went to a secluded spot and used his telekinesis to contact the distant Sanctuary.

"Sage, I encountered a very strange fellow today!"

"He was very powerful, at least at the level of the Seventh Sense. But he used a telekinetic avatar and didn't reveal many of his abilities, so I couldn't determine his origins at all!"

"All I can say for certain is that he's a very frightening fellow!" Hakurei transmitted his message across the distance.

"The Seventh Sense? That certainly warrants attention!"

In the Pope's Hall in the Sanctuary, Sage, wearing a golden helmet, nodded and continued, "But with the Holy War beginning and the hundred and eight Malefic Stars serving Hades awakening one after another, it's hardly strange for someone like that to appear!"

"Does he really warrant so much attention that you would specifically contact me?"

The old man was somewhat puzzled, feeling that his elder brother had left something unsaid.

Hakurei let out a long breath and said earnestly, "Indeed, we've encountered more than one enemy like that. That alone hardly warrants this much attention."

"But what truly concerns me is his reason for appearing in Jamir."

"He seemed to have come specifically to assassinate a young man I saved a few days ago!"

"And that young man is an ordinary person who has forgotten who he is and knows absolutely nothing about using Cosmo!"

"Oh? Something like that actually happened?" Sage's interest was piqued in the Pope's Hall.

A being with at least the strength of the Seventh Sense had actually gone out of his way to assassinate an ordinary person who knew nothing about wielding the power of Cosmo. There were clearly some secrets here that could not be revealed.

"I suggest sending him to Kanon Island and having the one there probe his heart. Perhaps we can use that person's power to uncover some useful information!" Sage replied after some thought.

"The one on Kanon Island? That is indeed a good approach!" Hakurei nodded.

True to his principles, he was unwilling to hurt others casually, but faced with an unknown enemy, he hoped to obtain useful information as soon as possible.

Drawing on the power of the one on Kanon Island was a good choice.

Just as the two were discussing the matter across the distance, a gentle female voice suddenly joined them.

"Mr. Hakurei, just what sort of young man is the one you mentioned? May I see him?" Dressed in white and holding a golden scepter, Sasha entered the Pope's Hall.

"Greetings, Lady Sasha!"

Before answering, Hakurei greeted her together with Sage.

She was the reincarnation of the goddess Athena, as well as the deity whom all Saints served. They had to show her sufficient respect.

"There's no need to be so formal, you two!"

Sasha smiled slightly, then continued, "When I heard you talking about him, I began to feel an inexplicable stirring within me. My intuition tells me he must have a profound connection to the Sanctuary."

"May I see just what sort of young man he is?"

"Well-"

Hakurei and Sage were astonished.

For an ordinary person, such a stirring might truly be nothing more than a passing shift in emotion.

But Sasha was no ordinary person. She was the reincarnation of the goddess Athena, and a stirring within a deity might truly be some special kind of warning.

They absolutely could not ignore it.

"Then please come and have a look with me, Lady Sasha!" Hakurei composed himself and made a welcoming gesture.

Immediately afterward, an illusory figure flew out of Sasha's body in the Pope's Hall, then crossed the void and arrived beside Hakurei.

It was her soul.

As the reincarnation of a deity, her soul was immensely powerful. It could leave her body temporarily and act independently outside it, avoiding many potential dangers.

At the same time, moving in soul form offered her many conveniences. It allowed her to cross the void and travel easily between many places, greatly reducing the burden of moving her physical body.

Soon, under Hakurei's cover, Sasha entered the stone tower and saw Wuxin lying on a stone bed.

"Is he the one?"

Sasha frowned slightly.

The moment she first saw Wuxin, that stirring within her surged violently again. At the same time, an inexplicable trace of affection arose in her heart.

Yet mixed into that affection were some strange things she could neither describe nor explain.

Noticing the change in the girl's expression, Hakurei said nothing and simply stood to one side, waiting in silence.

A goddess's intuition was sometimes more accurate than any judgment.

"Let's talk somewhere else!"

After a long while, Sasha withdrew her gaze and left the stone tower without looking back.

After returning to the secluded spot where she had first arrived, she said with a solemn expression, "Mr. Hakurei, I can tell you with absolute certainty that he does indeed have some significant connection to the Sanctuary."

"If I had to make a comparison, he should be comparable to the Sanctuary's Gold Saints!"