The throne room of Cassiopeia Castle radiated a hollow grandeur. Towering marble pillars supported a ceiling painted with oceanic epics, while a throne plated in gold and pearls stood arrogantly at the end of the red carpet.
The lingering dust from the newly blown-up double doors slowly thinned, swept away by a cool breeze. From the shadows, Venti stepped inside with a casual gait. His boots made no sound as they touched the thick rug. Behind him, Dina and Vena followed with steps as light as feathers, their vigilant eyes scanning every corner of the room.
Upon the throne, King Unohm jolted from his seat, gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white. His crown tilted slightly, his face paling at the intrusion. Beside him, Concubine Jiene—a woman with sharp, cold noble features—stood stiffly, her eyes widening in horror.
"W-Who are you?! How did you get in?!" roared King Unohm, his voice trembling between anger and terror.
Four elite Dizara Sea Knight soldiers and six Altena mages assigned as personal guards immediately stepped forward, forming a semi-circular barricade in front of the throne's steps. Spear tips and magic wands were aimed straight at Venti.
"Kill these intruders! Don't let them take another step!" shrieked Concubine Jiene hysterically, losing all her elegance.
Venti merely let out a short sigh. He didn't even bother to hold his lyre. He glanced back briefly. "Dina, Vena. Clear the way, please? But remember, don't dirty this red carpet with blood. It'll be a hassle to clean."
"As you command, Lord Venti," replied Dina and Vena in unison.
The two Elf girls moved like a dance of the wind. They did not chant long magic incantations. The Anemo-Calyx on their chests glowed brightly, resonating with the air inside the throne room.
Just as the Altena mages opened their mouths to utter the first line of their spells, Dina swung her hand gracefully. A small-scale vacuum storm was instantly created in the middle of the enemy formation, snatching all the oxygen around them. The mages choked, their spells shattered instantly before they could form.
At the same time, Vena darted forward, her body cloaked in a turquoise wind current. With physical movements accelerated by the Anemo element, she unleashed a series of sweeping kicks and aerial shockwaves that struck the chests of the four Sea Knights simultaneously.
TH-TH-THWACK!
The six mages and the four elite soldiers were thrown into the air like dry leaves blown by a storm. They slammed into the marble walls and castle pillars with loud thuds, then slumped to the floor completely unconscious.
The battle ended before a count of five.
Venti smiled brightly, tilting his head to look at the rulers of Dizara who now had no protectors.
"Ehe! It seems your guards need more balance training," teased Venti lightly, stepping closer to the throne. "Now, can we have a quiet chat, ladies and gentlemen?"
Seeing his elite troops felled as easily as sweeping dust, despair overtook King Unohm's common sense. He knew his reign was hanging by a thread. Turning frantically, Unohm lunged at a crystal-plated control pedestal hidden behind his throne.
"You will not be able to destroy Dizara! I will not let this island be taken!" screamed Unohm madly. His hand roughly pulled the lever on the small altar. "The energy from Melen has already been siphoned by the Shedar machine! I just need to activate Cassiopeia to lift this island right now!"
Clack!
The lever was pulled all the way down.
One second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Absolute silence enveloped the throne room. There was no vibration. No hum of giant-scale magic machinery. No glow of light from the lower floors. The main engine of Cassiopeia remained dead, mute like an ordinary lump of stone.
Unohm's face paled, whiter than the marble in his castle. He pulled the lever again and again brutally. "W-Why?! Why won't it turn on?! The Altena siphon machine is already working!"
Unohm turned wildly toward his wife. "Jiene! Where is that 'Keystone'?! Is Asfi still in her room?! The Cassiopeia system is denying authorization! Quickly order the guards to drag her here!"
Hearing that ridiculous panic, Venti couldn't hold back a small laugh. The sound of his melodious yet deeply ironic laughter echoed off the room's walls.
"Ah, that little girl with the intelligent eyes?" interrupted Venti, folding his arms across his chest. He smiled mischievously, yet his eyes stared sharply. "If you mean your daughter, you are far too late, Your Majesty. She has been out of this marble castle since yesterday."
King Unohm and Concubine Jiene froze.
"Y-Yesterday...?" repeated Jiene with a trembling voice. "Impossible! The security of this castle is absolute! No one could get past the guards and run that far!"
"Guards might be able to see a human running," replied Venti casually. "But they cannot see the wind blowing through a window."
Those words brought Venti's mind back in time, to the night before he and his small group left the Port City of Melen for the southern waters.
Realizing that infiltrating the heart of an island heavily guarded by the Altena Magic Empire could not be done recklessly, Venti had taken anticipatory steps since the edge of the quiet Lake Lolog dock. He summoned his Wisp Venti—a cute tiny creature—and gave a secret instruction.
With a brief whisper, Venti ordered the spirit to move ahead of him.
The tiny wisp immediately shot across the southern ocean at the speed of a storm. It arrived in Cetus a few days earlier.
Through that Wisp Venti, he infiltrated Cassiopeia Castle easily. It bypassed dozens of layers of magic barriers, passed through marble walls, and navigated secret corridors until it found a dim room behind a crystal wall lamp.
When Wisp Venti floated inside, it expected to find a little girl resignedly cowering in the corner of the room waiting for her fate as a sacrifice.
However, the sight that greeted it instead amazed Wisp Venti.
In the middle of the room, the seven-year-old girl—Asfi—was busy packing various items into a leather backpack that she had somehow modified to have its own artificial spatial compression. Goggles rested on her forehead, and her face was filled with pure concentration. She was preparing to escape.
Wisp Venti floated slowly, perched quietly on top of a bookshelf. Its turquoise eyes widened upon seeing the details of the items created by such a small child from inside her cage.
On the table, arranged neatly were small glass bottles containing Basic Potions and Medicines concocted with extraordinary precision. Beside them, there were Mechanical and Navigational Tools, including a complex wind compass and a telescope prototype with lenses she had polished herself.
Not only that, Asfi had also modified stolen Standard Weapons and Armor from the soldiers' armory, cutting and lightening the metal weight to fit her small body, complete with mechanical hinges to ease movement. In another corner of the table, there were glass tubes containing Chemical Liquids and Simple Explosives, assembled from sulfur powder and the remains of defective magic stones.
Finally, what astonished wisp venti the most was the pile of Jewelry and Handicrafts—bracelets, rings, and brooches. Those objects were not merely aesthetic ornaments, but utility-storing magic item prototypes she had created even without possessing a Falna.
Goodness... thought Wisp Venti, filled with pure awe. A talent for magic item creation that truly surpasses the logic of this world. In the future, this girl will not just be an ordinary adventurer. She is 'The All-Rounder'. The true Perseus.
Venti smiled broadly inwardly. Hermes in Orario would definitely cry rolling around cursing the heavens if he knew I hijacked a raw diamond this great – the future Captain of the Hermes Familia – without him realizing. Sorry, Messenger God, but the wind was faster before you found her.
Not wanting to waste time, Wisp Venti slowly manifested its form, transforming from nothingness into a softly glowing turquoise spirit figure.
"You look very ready for a long adventure, Little Miss," Wisp Venti's voice echoed amicably in Asfi's mind.
Asfi jolted in surprise, nearly dropping her chemical tube. Her cyan eyes stared at the blob of a creature floating near her with a mix of shock and analytical curiosity. "W-What creature is this? A blob of turquoise light that can float... I've never read of any monster species or spirit like this in any literature book..."
Wisp Venti flew around Asfi cheerfully. "I am a guide sent by the wind. Someone very powerful is on their way here to tear down the gates of this castle tomorrow night. However, I came ahead to take you off this island right now, before your father and mother drag you to the underground altar."
Asfi looked at her backpack, then looked at the spirit. There was no hesitation in her eyes, only a firm resolve sharpened by the pain of neglect. "I am ready. I refuse to be a tool or a keystone for anyone."
Guided by Wisp Venti, which could bypass the blind spots of the guard patrols, Asfi navigated the castle's secret labyrinthine corridor network hidden behind the marble walls—hidden routes known only to her. The little girl managed to slip out of Cassiopeia Castle quietly, a full day before the commotion at the main gates erupted. She was now hiding safely with her belongings, waiting for her new god to finish his business.
Venti's gaze returned fully to the present, inside the throne room decorated with defeat.
He looked at King Unohm, who had now fallen to his knees wailing on the floor, and Concubine Jiene, who still couldn't believe the reality that their throne had just crumbled without a trace.
"Asfi... ran away?" Jiene murmured blankly, staring at the marble floor. "Our Keystone... is gone? Then what about Cetus? What about our deal with Altena?!"
Hearing those selfish wails, Venti let out a long sigh. His playful expression vanished without a trace, replaced by the absolute seriousness of a god who had seen too much human folly.
"The two of you are the most blind creatures I have ever met," Venti said coldly, his voice no longer flowing, but striking like a sledgehammer.
Venti stepped closer to the throne.
"You had a miracle born under your own roof," Venti continued, glaring sharply at the two tyrannical rulers. "That child assembled civilization-altering miracles from scrap, at an age where other children still play with dolls. She is the most precious jewel ever birthed by Dizara's history."
Venti stepped even closer, looking sharply straight into their eyes. His gaze was so cold and piercing it made Unohm and Jiene subconsciously hold their breath.
"But with your eyes blinded by ambition and fear, what did you see in her? You deliberately locked her up and denied her a Falna, just so you could use her as a spare part. A disposable tool you could sacrifice to power a dead machine to save your rule."
King Unohm lowered his face, his body trembling violently. He couldn't argue a single word. The truth spoken by the God shattered his ego completely.
"People who cannot appreciate the value of someone's life are unfit to lead a country," Venti turned his back, twirling his green cloak elegantly.
Even though the Leviathan's energy had been siphoned by Altena's Shedar machine triggering chaos in Melen, Cetus Island would not collapse today. The remnants of that giant monster's shell were still strong enough to support the island for a few more years before finally dissolving and sinking completely to the bottom of the sea.
That time was more than enough for civilians to be evacuated by the Guild. And that time was also what these two rulers would spend behind the iron bars of Orario.
Venti turned to his two followers. "Dina, Vena. Tie them both up."
"Yes, Lord Venti," replied Dina, taking out special anti-magic restraining ropes.
"W-Wait! You cannot do this to the King and his Wife!" shrieked Jiene as Vena locked her hands behind her back.
"I very well can, Madam," Venti replied lightly. "Guild Head Royman Mardeel and the Ganesha Familia will be very happy to receive this diplomatic 'gift'. Proof of illegal cooperation with the Altena Magic Empire and the theft of the Leviathan Seal's energy is enough to put you on trial in Orario."
Leaving the King and Concubine who were now captive with their hands tied, Venti walked toward the throne room's balcony overlooking the vast ocean. The fresh night wind hit his face.
The cage was empty. The blind rulers had been brought down.
"Now then," Venti murmured while smiling toward the horizon, looking forward to his meeting with the genius inventor. "Let's see what kind of wings our little girl will assemble from now on."
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