“Dong! Dong~! Dong!”
Simon clenched his right fist and rhythmically struck his chest armor.
As he began to descend, a spatial vortex slowly unfolded behind him, and a ferocious dragon head emerged from within.
With a deafening roar toward the sky, its entire body flew out of the vortex.
Its massive form, stretching hundreds of meters, blotted out the sky.
Under the moonlight, its body—crafted from composite magical materials—shimmered with a chilling silver glow.
Magical circuits ran across it like veins, flickering with a strange, eerie light, supplying ample energy to each magi-tech device, allowing them to switch functions according to combat needs.
This was the magi-tech beast Chimera, custom-made for Simon by September Nine.
Although Simon usually wore only armor and carried a longsword, that didn’t mean those were his only weapons.
As long as he wished, September Nine could air-drop the entire Weapon Arsenal for him at any time.
This was the honor specially granted to Simon by Alexia.
Appearing in court clad in armor and armed was just surface-level— in truth, the support Simon received far exceeded anyone’s imagination.
Chimera caught Simon and soared toward the direction of the estate.
Below, Pandas roared, “No matter what, Belinda must be protected! The future of the Empire cannot be Alexia!”
He had already lost his wife and refused to lose his daughter as well, even if she wasn’t his by blood.
Recalling the days and nights they spent together, Pandas was filled with sorrow.
In the end, he couldn’t help but develop feelings for Belinda.
Chimera carried Simon, flying straight over the Imperial Capital, drawing shock and speculation wherever it passed.
What was even more astonishing was that the city’s protective array did not activate.
As a product designed by September Nine, Chimera naturally possessed special identifiers, allowing it to fly over the Imperial Capital without triggering the protective array.
Simon had no choice but to reveal his trump card— but he was even more unwilling to let Belinda suffer any harm.
He was not a mage and couldn’t, like Alexia, open a Transmission Gate from the royal city to instantly return to the estate.
Riding Chimera was his fastest way back.
Making a spectacle of himself was better than allowing everything to become irreparable.
In just a few seconds, Simon returned from the wasteland in the eastern district to the skies above his estate.
Looking down, he saw countless wraiths swirling around the estate like a black tide.
The Blood Knights guarding the estate were forming a defensive line around the main house, slaying wraiths attempting to approach.
Their equipment wasn’t on par with Simon’s, but it was still magi-tech— enough to harm wraiths untouchable by ordinary blades.
Even when a few managed to slip through, they slammed into the main house’s outer wall, unable to pass through as they would a normal barrier.
As the wraiths failed to penetrate the main house, a masked figure dressed in white emerged from the tide.
The Blood Knights acted as if they didn’t see her, continuing to cut down the black wraiths and ignoring the masked girl drawing closer to the main house.
When Simon saw her clearly, he froze, his pupils dilating.
Because it was someone he couldn’t have imagined— someone who should never have appeared now.
—The Witch Chairwoman of the Witch Council.
A witch like Elma appearing in the Empire was already within the realm of possibility.
But the signs of the Witch Chairwoman, suspected to be the Witch of Fate, had already gone beyond the ordinary.
If the Witch Chairwoman truly appeared, Simon couldn’t even imagine whether the Empire could survive the ordeal.
Because the Witch Chairwoman wasn’t just ranked among the top in game combat strength, but also held the authority to control the entire Witch Council.
Unlike Alexia, who couldn’t temporarily control the whole Empire, the Chairwoman could mobilize the full resources of the Witch Council for her own use.
By the absolute rule that subordinates must obey superiors within the Council, she could even command the other eleven witches to appear in the Empire simultaneously.
This was an unimaginably terrifying prospect.
Simon threw the tightly-gripped Imperial flag toward an open area in the estate.
The moment the flag touched down, a multitude of magic circles instantly formed in the surrounding area.
This was the necessity of Alexia’s presence in the royal city.
As long as she remained, the countless arrays within the capital could be activated, dividing the city into multiple zones as needed.
The Imperial flag Simon carried served as a signal to Alexia in the royal city to activate the corresponding array.
As the arrays activated, the wraiths wailed in agony, as if scorched by holy light, their attacks against the Blood Knights significantly weakened.
Simon’s figure landed along with the flag.
Yet his target was the Witch Chairwoman whom the Blood Knights had ignored.
But the sword he thrust with full determination sliced through empty air.
The blade passed through the Witch Chairwoman’s form without causing any harm.
Her figure split in two, gradually dissolving into bubbles and exploding beside Simon.
Just as Simon had suspected, the Witch Chairwoman before him was a fake.
As his sword fell, the surging black tide also vanished in an explosive burst.
The surrounding Blood Knights, seeing the wraiths disappear, did not approach Simon, but remained on alert, swords drawn, scanning their surroundings.
A Blood Knight near Simon turned to look at him.
Simon rotated his hand, and the knight immediately understood, crushing the Red Stone at his waist.
It was the distress signal of the Blood Knight Order.
Once the Red Stone was crushed, all Blood Knights in the vicinity would rush to reinforce.
By now, it was clear that someone had set their sights on Belinda.
And they knew she was within his estate.
Therefore, he had to increase the number of Blood Knights inside the estate to ensure Belinda’s safety.
If not for the estate’s special protections and the presence of the Blood Knights, if this had happened in an ordinary prison, the disappearance might have gone completely unnoticed.
Even so, he needed to go inside and confirm Belinda’s safety.
Judging by the methods these people used, ordinary physical defenses were meaningless.
Simon took a step forward—then stopped, turning to look at the spot where the Witch Chairwoman had vanished.
It was only then that he realized the source of his sense of discord.
According to the Chairwoman’s personality in the game, she would never use such underhanded tricks.
If she truly targeted Belinda, she could have silently taken her away alone.
Though the Blood Knights were formidable, stopping the Chairwoman was impossible.
Even if open conflict broke out, the Witch Chairwoman would easily crush them.
And if he remembered correctly, the Chairwoman was skilled in Fire Manipulation, not Soul Control!
The two abilities were fundamentally different.
With that realization, Simon couldn’t help but raise his gaze to the night sky.
Faintly, he saw a white figure flash by.
Above the dark clouds, another being identical to the masked girl silently observed the events below.
As Simon’s gaze found her, her form faded like the wind.