His neck was still sore when the students were assembling in front of the Unity. Gaius had spent the entire night outside, buying some grape juice and falling asleep a few hours later on a chair. No matter how hardy his body was, bad sleeping posture pierced all kinds of resistances, and the result was a grumpy boy walking behind three girls, rubbing his neck profusely.

Gaius listened as the officer thanked the students for their help.

The initial exploration of Machia had ended with a resounding success, with the Mortal Light Dynasty clearing out a huge space. A forward operating base had been built, and according to rumours, this passage was the only one that led to what the Human God and Xanadu called ‘True Orb’. Of course, with the demon invasion, this passage wasn’t going to be used for a long time, with only a skeleton crew to make sure snowpyres didn’t swarm out of it.

Nonetheless, yet another mystery of the Holy Temple had been cleared up. Apparently, the Holy Temple had been using Machia to enter places that were rich in gems, which was a key reason behind its sheer wealth. Most of the harvested gems were still missing, but now, the four continents were certain that they had just been hidden somewhere in the Central Circle.

After some more pleasantries between the school administration and the military fellows here, the students were finally allowed to embark. A long line of students began to form, only to dwindle rapidly under the rigorous efforts of the teachers present. Fortunately, it seemed that Xanadu was operating under some disguise that was only useless against Gaius, Nakama and now Isabelle, or else they would have been swamped with questions.

There weren’t that many people this time. The ship was carrying just the students, and other than a company of soldiers to ensure discipline, the others were keeping station on the Central Circle.

Gaius ran through his plan once more. Once they touched down at the North, he would use his Blink to reappear at the Central Circle, and meet up with the Pinnacle once more. And them, when Shizo left for home…

Satisfied with his plan, his thoughts began to wander.

Should I get Nakama to make another sculpture of Nexus? Giving one to Xanadu’s definitely going to alleviate her loneliness. And it might make up for her Sprite’s passing. Gaius sighed as he looked at the three girls. If Nexus were to vanish one day, he knew he would be depressed.

Xanadu probably felt the same way too. And of course, Nexus was probably going to mourn when he heard about the news; intelligent artefacts capable of speaking were few and far between. The little fella didn’t show it, but Gaius had a hunch that it was happy to have met Sprite.

Climbing up the ramp, the four soon found a row of vacant seats. After the customary warnings, the Unity began to ascend, and within minutes, they were already at cruising speed. Clouds flashed past the windows; it was overcast when the Unity departed.

“Finally. Feels like it’s been a year or something,” Isabelle murmured. “I wonder how much dust we’ll need to clear when we return.”

“It’s just a month,” Gaius replied. “And I had a feeling that it just zipped by; the only time when I really paid attention was during the conference.”

“You’re not the only one,” Xanadu added. “I spent three weeks eating good stuff and sleeping in nice beds, and then two days talking to the leaders of the Five Lands. The last bit seems to be so much more memor—”

A tremor ran through the entire Unity, and a few students tripped over. The ship hadn’t even stopped shaking when it began to tremble violently under what felt like a bombardment of energy, and a klaxon began to sound throughout the Unity.

It was the alarm to strap in, but Gaius had no intention of doing that. Leaving his seat, he glanced at Xanadu and said, “Protect them well. I’ll stop whatever’s attacking.”

Gaius had no choice. There wasn’t much of a military presence aboard right now, not to mention Paragons. Right now, the teachers, who were mostly Knights, had already rushed out of the ship, but someone capable of assaulting the Unity alone was definitely no simple character. And if the teachers were to fall here…

A set of hands grabbed his arm, disrupting his thoughts. To his surprise, it wasn’t Nakama, but rather, Isabelle. Her hands radiated a faint warmth, but her eyes were filled with an emotion Gaius couldn’t quite name.

“Can you not go? Every time you leave, I—" Isabelle took a deep breath. “I have a feeling something’s going to happen. Don’t go. Please. It’s okay to not fight…and with us around, your means must be limited. You’ll be in danger.”

“There’s no two ways about it,” Gaius replied. “Like you said, the two of you are onboard this Unity. I will not risk its destruction. And besides…it’s not like I’m alone this time. The teachers of the school are here. It’ll be fine.”

Patting Nakama’s head, he nodded firmly at Isabelle. “I’ll be back before you know it. Please…help me take care of Nakama for now.”

“Wait! Please, don’t go!”

Gaius shook his head gently, and turned to leave. For him, there was too much at stake— he would not be able to bear it if anything happened to either Isabelle or Nakama.

He couldn’t quite understand Isabelle’s expression as he turned away from her, but now wasn’t the time to think about it. Heading towards the bay doors, Gaius followed the exiting teachers, watching as they took up formation against two enemies.

Gaius felt his heart clench.

One of them was Paragon Shizo.

The other was a far deadlier foe — Gaius didn’t know who it was or what it looked like, for that matter, but it was definitely a Demigod. And given the ostentatious golden shine that surrounded it…it was probably a familiar spirit of the Human God.

“Paragon Shizo!” one of the teachers shouted. “Are you aware that you’re attacking a military ship of the North?! Cease this madness at once!”

“Small fry has no say here,” Shizo replied, making a small gesture. The air began to thin out, and before long, most of the teachers were forced to descend. “I just need the ship.”

Only the elderly headmaster was left. In a calm voice, he said, “Do you really think that you can get away with this? The North will crush the Eastern Territories if you truly do as you say.”

“We’ll soon pledge allegiance to the Human God,” Paragon Shizo replied. “Your Mortal Light Dynasty will be helpless after that. Stand down now, and your students will be unhurt. Otherwise…”

“You’ll have to convince me to stand down first.” Qi began to churn around the headmaster, but Gaius no longer paid any attention to him. His eyes were now on a ring, its golden segment vanishing a moment later to become a cane. Folding it into two, his right hand curled around a small pistol grip that had appeared.

The boy raised the Custodian up to eye-level, peering at Paragon Shizo through the scope. The suspected familiar spirit was motionless, his eyes only on the ongoing battle between the Paragon and the phrontistery’s headmaster.

But Gaius wasn’t going to fire yet. He had but one chance, and if what he knew about this particular Paragon was accurate, the fellow had a nasty habit that left him incredibly vulnerable. For now, the headmaster would need to play the role of a punching bag. Breathing out slowly, Gaius emptied his mind, his mind both clear and yet fixated on the Paragon.

A chance would come.