Raphael made an appearance like a ghost out of nowhere. Even the Monsters were momentarily stunned to see Raphael appearing out of nowhere. However, they didn't care for long. Instead, they seemed to be even more eager to pounce on them since now there was one more person for them to eat.
"You'll take the ones above. I'll handle the ones on the ground!" The Gauntlet of Gluttony transformed into the Axe of Gluttony as Azekiel prepared to attack.
At the same time, Lia went to give them backup.
Multiple chains came out of the ground, trapping the Monsters that were closest to Raphael and Azekiel.
The Monsters that were sitting on the roof also jumped down, but only to meet with Raphael, who flew up.
****
A battle had begun in the middle of the city. Lenora didn't even stay behind to observe the battle. She left the place and kept advancing ahead until she reached a specific section of the city.
The most lavish mansion in the city stood tall in that portion of the city. Unlike the other buildings, this mansion was completely intact, as if it was completely new.
It was as if this was the only place in the city that wasn't attacked by the beasts.
The beautiful mansion used to belong to the Mayor of the City, but now that the mayor was dead, the mansion didn't have an owner.
Lenora stopped at the entrance of the mansion, pushing the large metallic gates open to enter the vicinity.
She walked to the doors of the mansion after passing through the garden that had dried up entirely.
After she entered the place, she was able to see a young man standing on the balcony, looking in a certain direction as if he was in a daze. The man had two beautiful wings behind his back and a majestic aura around him.
Lenora jumped, making it seem as if she was flying. She landed on the balcony, right beside the young man.
"Father." She went to her knees, respectfully greeting the man.
Even though the man looked as if he was in his early twenties and appeared to be as old as her, Lenora still addressed the man as father.
"Stand." The man didn't find it odd either. She gestured for her to stand.
"Father, I failed." Lenora lowered her head even as she stood up. "It's because of h-"
"I know. You don't have to explain," the man cut her sentence in the middle, not letting her finish. "I was there with you. I saw everything with your eyes. I know exactly what happened, and who interfered."
"Are you not angry that I failed?" Lenora asked, looking like a child who was expecting a scolding.
The man let out a tired sigh. "You didn't fail, little one... We failed... I failed."
"I was so close to getting the Stone of Time. If we had that stone, we would've been so close to achieving our goals. Albeit, it wasn't in our fate, it seems. We would have to use other methods."
"Father, is there another stone like that? Maybe we can try to take that?" Lenora asked. She just wanted one more way to correct her mistakes! All she needed was one more chance! She didn't want to disappoint the man.
"Another stone of time?" The man repeated. "Maybe there is, but even I don't know where it will be. If I had known, I wouldn't have called you back. If there is another stone, it'll be inside that tower, but without exact information, it's impossible to find where...*
Through the balcony, the man had a clear view of the Tower of Sin. The Majestic Tower stood tall as if mocking the man over his failure. At least, that's what the man felt like.
"It doesn't matter where! If it's in the tower, I should go in again! I can locate the stone, no matter how long it takes! I promise I will find a way to get the stone and make up for my failure!"
"You underestimate the cursed Tower, Little one. If you think that it's easy to get to the higher floors, you couldn't be more wrong. The first stone was on the third floor, which was easy for you to get to, with my strength."
"Unfortunately, the higher floors aren't the same. The higher you go, the stronger those barriers become, since on the higher floors, there is..."
The man appeared to lose himself in thoughts, blabbering about something. However, he soon came to his senses, realizing that he was about to speak too much. He closed his lips and took a brief pause.
"There are dangers in the tower that you can't face, even with my strength. Especially now that they must know about you already, that's why I had to bring you out. It's useless to blindly search. Only after I get some accurate information, can we attempt again."
"Can we get that information?" Lenora asked. If it was really that hard to get to the higher floors, how were they going to find a more accurate information? Who was going to give them that information?
"Do we have someone inside the Tower that works for us?" she asked.
"You don't have to worry about that. Tell me about something else. It seems we have a guest in the city. I can sense a battle going on. Who might that guest be?" Instead of answering, the man asked a question of his own. "Another human?"
"That's right. It's the same person who spoiled our plan! It's the same boy who snatched the stone of time when I was so close to getting to it."
"Is that so?" The man clenched his fist, remembering the rage he felt when the stone was taken from right before his eyes and used.
It was a one time use item, and all his hopes depended on it, but instead of giving the stone to him, the man used the stone for something useless.
If it weren't for that man, he would've had that stone in his hands by now! However, this was also slightly surprising.
