Sitting alone on the rooftop, Violet brought up her panel to check the time.

It had been about half an hour since the 【Faceless One】 suddenly launched their large-scale attack, and Yuna had returned to the temple to summon reinforcements.

To be honest, it was taking a bit too long.

Considering that Her Highness the Saintess had directly teleported back to the Bright Light Temple and then gathered the knights, factoring in the travel time and the distance between the two locations, even if it were just a group of ordinary people, they should have almost arrived by now.

It seems that something has held them up over there.

And what exactly are these creatures trying to find here? The “light” they keep muttering about… Could it be some treasure left behind by the Goddess of Light?

As she pondered, Miss White Fox glanced again at the battlefield below.

Among the 【Reaper’s Scythe】 squad, all three members except for Mr. 【Dead Soul】 had already joined the fight.

However, possibly due to the absence of one member, the team couldn’t link together to launch that powerful spirit-summoning attack, and their overall strength seemed somewhat uneven.

Apart from Mr. 【Ferryman】, who continued to display legendary-level prowess, both Miss 【Dark Lotus】 and Miss 【Dark Spirit】 seemed to only possess combat power at the peak of the Sky level.

While it was easy for them to slay the 【Faceless One】, whose average strength wasn’t particularly high, they were clearly struggling against the sudden, more dangerous attacks from the masks.

Although Mr. Diviner didn’t personally join the battlefield, the massive array that covered most of the block seemed to have him as its core, stationed near the main entrance of the Merchant Guild, driven by several treasures placed around him.

It was quite interesting—this turned out to be a rather mystical spatial formation.

Violet had witnessed several times when Miss Dark Spirit, Miss Dark Lotus, and many of the association’s guards were about to be struck by a mask but suddenly vanished, wrapped in silver light, as if they had teleported, only to reappear in a safer spot, allowing them to catch their breath and adjust their stance.

Similarly, when some 【Faceless One】 had just launched an attack and were preparing to retreat, they would inexplicably find themselves surrounded by elite guards, where they were quickly hacked to pieces, with even their masks being shredded into fragments.

Clearly, this was all due to Mr. Diviner’s control over the formation beneath him, providing battlefield support. Thanks to his presence, along with the leadership of powerful figures like the 【Reaper’s Scythe】 and Captain Amy of the guard, the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild’s few hundred guards had been able to hold their ground against the 【Faceless One】, who outnumbered them by at least double.

But this was the limit.

After all, the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild was just that—a Merchant Guild. They only had a fraction of their forces in this city. Even as the headquarters, they couldn’t muster thousands of warriors as easily as a true governing body could.

Moreover, the attack by the 【Faceless One】 had come too suddenly and bizarrely. Even someone like the Diviner, who could foresee parts of the heavens’ secrets, seemed to have been completely caught off guard, clearly unprepared for such an event.

The guard force was limited in number. Although they were elite, they couldn’t withstand much attrition. Once assimilated, they would quickly become part of the enemy’s strength, which, with losses and gains, would inevitably worsen the situation rapidly.

“Hmm~ It’s about time, isn’t it?”

Miss White Fox looked up at the sky and stretched.

Having let the situation escalate to this point, things were now on the brink of disaster—time to take action.

Unlike Violet, 【Dawn】 didn’t need to stay low-key and hidden to avoid trouble. In fact, the purpose of the priestess fabricating this false identity was to gain enough fame and reputation.

This way, she wouldn’t be constantly pestered by boring people, while also having enough status to conveniently do certain things she wanted to do.

A bunch of boring clowns… Letting them run amok in the city for this long—it was time for them to exit the stage.

The girl stood up and lightly leaped off the rooftop, landing beside the Diviner, who was in the middle of managing the array.

The old man didn’t seem to be in great shape. After all, as the Diviner himself had said, he was merely a regular human. At his advanced age, even though he had some hidden tricks, managing such a large array with a mortal body was indeed too much of a burden. This was evident from the black cloth at his temples, wet with sweat.

“So, how about we make a deal?”

Though he looked slightly disheveled, the Diviner’s calm and unruffled demeanor didn’t seem to have diminished much. Without even turning his head, he continued to manipulate the spatial shifts while absentmindedly fiddling with the ancient abacus he always carried.

“Hehe, Miss Dawn, feel free to speak your mind.”

Violet didn’t mind his attitude and, knowing the urgency of the situation, nodded and got straight to the point.

“Your losses are growing, and there’s still no sign of support from Bright Light City. Relying on them seems hopeless… As I mentioned before, how about I help you out this time? Hmm… As for the reward, let’s just say it’s worth ten million Sacred Light Coins for that 【Ten Thousand Mile River and Mountain Painting】. Remember, give it to me for free later!”

“…?”

The old man finally seemed a bit surprised. He slowly turned his head, and though his eyes were covered by a black cloth, it was as if he was examining the girl who stood with her hands on her hips, looking proud of herself. He sighed.

“Miss Dawn, the association intended to gift the treasure to you from the start. It was you who insisted on discussing the price. Moreover, as a 【Fox Spirit Shrine Maiden】 of the Spirit Veil Tribe, in a certain sense, our Spirit Veil Merchant Guild…”

“I’ve told you before, that’s just a title you’ve assigned to me, I’ve never acknowledged it. This is one thing, and that is another. I don’t accept kindness lightly, nor do I like being arbitrarily tied to some identity or organization. So… negotiating the price and clarifying interests is very important. Do you accept these terms?”

Hearing the “deal” proposed by Miss White Fox, where the benefits were clearly one-sided, the words on the Diviner’s lips faltered slightly, and in the end, he could only smile bitterly.

“You truly live up to your reputation. No wonder Minglan would… Well, well, trading a 【Ten Thousand Mile River and Mountain Painting】 for the Merchant Guild’s safe escape from danger, how could our Spirit Veil Merchant Guild refuse such a good deal?”

“Deal.”

“Alright, deal!”

Miss White Fox cheerfully gave a thumbs-up. Although the Diviner couldn’t see her smile beneath the mask, her light-hearted tone made it clear that, despite making a deal that seemed somewhat unfavorable, she was in a rather good mood.

With that, the priestess wearing the white fox mask waved her hand and, as if defying the laws of gravity, floated straight up into the sky. When she descended again…

She had already arrived in the middle of the battlefield on the street.

“Whoa! A ghost! Take this sword… Wait, hold on! Aren’t you the one from before…?”

Startled by the girl who had suddenly appeared beside her like a specter, Captain Amy, with her dazzling hair that seemed woven from light, was about to strike. But she hesitated when she realized the mask this girl wore was different from those of the 【Faceless One】. Only then did she recognize the fox girl she had met once before.

“It’s me! You all should fall back now. I can handle this alone.”

Amy, still bewildered by the girl’s inexplicable actions, was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed. In that brief moment, several laughing black-and-white masks had already come whizzing through the air from behind Miss White Fox!

The Lightborn Tribe girl quickly raised her sword to strike.

“Hey! I don’t know what you’re trying to pull off, but don’t think that just because you’re wearing a mask, they’ll treat you as one of their own, you idiot!!”