At first, they only attacked lone travelers, causing disappearances that went unnoticed.

 

At this level, Cromancia could barely suppress the incidents using the organization’s hidden forces within the city.

 

After all, in a gigantic city like Western Capital, with a population of at least several million, it was not unusual for one or two people to go missing due to various accidents. Even if the cases were reported to the Knight Templar, as long as the individuals involved weren’t too conspicuous, it wouldn’t cause much of an impact.

 

There was no choice. The 【Eternal Mage】 had left instructions to “assist its actions as much as possible” before leaving.

 

Moreover, even if she wanted to make that monstrous thing act more discreetly, Cromancia didn’t have the guts to confront it. Miss Thousand-Faced Phantom certainly didn’t want to become another masked monster.

 

Especially when that black-and-white mask, brought personally by the 【Eternal Mage】 and now attached to Chloe Lowry, was different from the others.

 

Although it looked similar, Cromancia could sense that it was not the same. Behind it lurked an ancient evil, deeper and more boundless than darkness itself. Even the slightest contact might result in being completely devoured.

 

Thus, as the unchecked and increasingly brazen attacks continued day after day, they finally triggered an explosion throughout the entire city.

 

And from that day on, the first mask never returned to the hideout.

 

At that point, the situation completely slipped out of Cromancia’s control. Even the personal involvement of the Bright Light Saintess, Yuna Summerfield, couldn’t alter the reality. With just a single legendary figure like her, there was nothing the small branch of the 【Eternal Throne】 could do besides lay low and pray they wouldn’t be discovered.

 

As chaos engulfed the city and the Knight Templar enforced martial law to such an extent, Cromancia naturally didn’t dare venture out for any role-playing games.

 

Even though she cursed those stupid masks in her heart, all she could do now was gather the organization members and have them stay put in the hideout, avoiding becoming collateral damage in the city’s massive manhunt.

 

However, as the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly.

 

“What did you say?! Two strange white-winged beings with four wings just broke in through the front door?!”

 

Leaning against the noble seat, the throne that exclusively belonged to the base leader, cloaked in the iconic black robe of the 【Eternal Throne】, Miss Cromancia, with only her face and long brown hair exposed, supported her head with a large hand.

 

Although she had sensed something was amiss when she first felt that unmistakable feeling of being watched and had quickly sent out scouts to gather information, she hadn’t expected the enemy to arrive so swiftly… and so directly.

 

“Are you sure there are only two enemies? And where did these winged beings get four wings? You idiots must have seen it wrong, right?”

 

Irritated, Cromancia tapped her fingers incessantly against the stone armrest beside her, trying her best to think of a countermeasure.

 

Clearly, the hideout had been discovered. No matter which force these intruders belonged to, this was a very troublesome situation for an underground organization that thrived in the shadows.

 

The available options were either to fight or flee. If there really were only two of them, and if they didn’t have any reinforcements, and they had just recklessly charged in out of greed for glory, then going all out to take them down quickly might not be a bad strategy.

 

However, the cult member who had come tumbling in with the report, looking terrified out of his wits, just frantically nodded as if he had experienced some unimaginable horror.

 

“Y-Yes, there are really only two of them, Lady Thousand-Faced Phantom! But those two winged beings… they’re absolute monsters! Many of our brothers couldn’t even fight back, they were killed instantly the moment they met! I doubt they’re even real winged beings!”

 

“Insta-killed?”

 

Cromancia frowned slightly in secret, but outwardly she maintained the calm and composed demeanor befitting the throne.

 

“Logically, no matter how strong an opponent is, they should be caught off guard the first time they encounter our 【Eternal Throne】… Could it be that they know our weaknesses well and came prepared?”

 

In response, the cultist could only shake his head helplessly, gesturing wildly in his distress.

 

“N-No, I can’t really say if they know or not, my lady. Do you understand what I mean by ‘sliced up’? There was no talk of weaknesses! And the other one that looks like a mage is even more ridiculous. Those giant rocks she summoned out of thin air crushed our people into pulp!”

 

“???”

 

“Boom!!!!!”

 

In the middle of their conversation, another loud explosion erupted above, causing the entire underground main hall to tremble violently. Debris fell like rain, and the supporting columns groaned under the strain, as if they might collapse at any moment.

 

“What the hell! What kind of monsters are these? They’re not even pretending anymore, are they? Did that b**ch Yuna personally come to attack us?!”

 

“Lady Thousand-Faced Phantom, it’s not the Bright Light Saintess, it’s the winged beings! Both of them are white-winged beings!”

 

“Of course I know that! Can’t I just complain for a moment!?”

 

To be honest, Miss Cromancia had been under so much pressure lately that she was barely able to contain her urge to snap.

 

But she also knew very well that if the opponents could break through all the traps, defenses, and obstacles in such a short time with just two people, then their strength was at least at a legendary level. Even if she, the strongest one present, stepped up, she would likely be nothing more than cannon fodder.

 

After all, Cromancia wasn’t good at direct combat. While she was confident that her unique abilities made her difficult to kill, in a real fight, who could say for sure? What if these winged beings had abilities similar to those mask monsters…?

 

“Wait… what?”

 

The sudden change in tone caused the nervous cultists, who were anxiously awaiting their leader’s decision, to quickly look up with hopeful expressions.

 

“Oh! Lady Thousand-Faced Phantom, are you going to take action?”

 

“Take action, my foot! Are you eager for me to die or something!?”

 

After venting her anger at the clueless idiot, Miss Cromancia’s eyes darted around as she motioned for the cultist to come closer and spoke in a low voice.

 

“You… go tell the others who are defending not to hold their ground. Fight while retreating and lead those two white-winged beings toward… the area where those things are. Once they make contact, retreat through the secret passage and seal it off behind you. Got it?”

 

Hearing this, the cultist’s face immediately showed surprise.

 

“Ah… My lady, you’re not thinking of… But didn’t the head leader instruct us to keep those things as hidden as possible, to avoid drawing attention to their existence? If we do this, wouldn’t it…?”

 

“Damn it! At this point, you’re still worried about secrecy? They’ve already put up wanted posters outside! What’s the point of keeping it under wraps now? If those idiot masks hadn’t been causing trouble every day, would things have gotten this bad? I can’t believe that a hideout we’ve had for decades just happened to get discovered out of the blue today!”

 

Lowering her voice, Cromancia pointed upward.

 

“Besides… if they really break into the hideout, do you think they wouldn’t find those things? This is just guiding them ahead of time to minimize unnecessary losses. Understand?”

 

“Oh! I see, as expected of Lady Ninth Throne! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!!”

 

“Cut the flattery and get moving! Also, have everyone prepare. Take what they can, and destroy whatever can’t be taken. Get ready to retreat. No matter what, we likely won’t be able to hold onto this hideout…”

 

“Yes, yes, yes!”

 

The cultist, also clad in a black robe, quickly turned and left the empty main hall at a brisk pace.

 

Watching the cultist’s retreating figure, in the eyes of this form of Cromancia… which was probably also transformed from imitating a certain girl, a faint trace of cruelty and hatred flickered.

 

“Timos Young… you old bastard! I swear, you will regret this. I won’t forget this grudge… just you wait…”