The once busied and festive streets of Springtown had gained a renewed sense of purpose, as hundreds of humans, drus, satanas and undynes rushed to fulfil the orders that they had been given. Each moving with such vigour that would have long tired out an uninitiated mortal.

  Vermitons carried boxes of precious Knight-level spiritual materials.

  Appaloscians pushed crates full of one-time use spiritual items.

  Lutins constructed Mortal-Ranked Guardian Walls imbuing them with Mortal Ranked Unbreakable Runes.

  Nadians dug trenches along the outskirts of the Safe Zone border, removing trees and other obstacles that obscured their vision.

  Floresiensis’ gifted buffs and spiritual food from various restaurants and cafes, allowing tired members to regain some semblance of strength in order to continue expanding the defences of Springtown.

  Thousands of men and women, from across almost a dozen different Races worked together under the guidance of the Administrator Of Thunder And Civilization. With both her Order Mana Core and Civilization Mana Core, Delila was the perfect individual to take control over the planning and management of Springtown, her various buffing effects having only grown stronger after her ascension to Knighthood.

  Porta, her Boundless Heaven Gate had been moved. Placed in the direction where their scouts had reported the greatest activities of movement. Her Memento Source Item had been pushed several hundred metres west of Harcourt, in a manner that allowed the Wonderous Citadel Dwelling to serve as a sort of “keep” for her defensive structure.

  Although Wilheim had not yet returned to allow others entry to the building, Jon was capable of moving spiritual items into the armoury alongside additional beds and cots for the potential wounded. The sheer amount of space within the Fragment Of Manor was only exceeded by the Immortal Training Arena and Vanishing Time Palace.

  Harcourt possessed thirty-two “bedrooms” and seven “sitting rooms” at Mortality. Although ended up with merely twenty-four bedrooms and nine sitting rooms after Wilheim was finished with the internal restructuring of the summoned construct.

  After the integration of a Fragment Of Citadel, it had expanded immensely. Possessing a total of sixty-one bedrooms and seventeen sitting rooms. This included the various kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, armouries and safe rooms that Wilheim had added on after reaching Knighthood.

  It was a grand structure, one the largest and most noticeable within the entirety of Springtown.

  It would serve as the second-line of defence after the Boundless Heaven Gate. So long as Wilheim was able to adjust the positioning of its battlements and castle towers. All that Delila was waiting on, was for Maliq to return atop his Piercing-Void Ship, with the Wisdom Of The Myriad Lands in tow.

  After combining his Fragment Of Stealth and Fragment Of Illusion together, Jon had transformed [The Fools Advance, Inversing Life And Death] into [Inverted Fool, Advancing Against Life And Death]. Drawing upon his experience in creating his Fragment Of Spellfrost Destruction, he attempted to create an ability with similar effects and connotations.

  His Fragment Of Battle-Deception suited his combat style much better, both expanding his range of chantless Spells while also improving on the lacklustre effects of his Mortal Ranked ability.

  [Crying Fool] could be used in tandem with either his Hades-Draconian Shadow or Carcosa-Form Horrors in order to give others the impression that his mutations were about to lunge at them. There were multiple Knights within Springtown that possessed the ability to create lifelike illusions without the need for a chant.

  Giving that his Minerva-Infiltration Eyes specialized in piercing through Fragments Of Mind, it possessed a reduced effectiveness against other Knight-Ranked illusion-type abilities. Being able to cast his own illusions, even if just weak ones would allow him to catch his opponents of guard.

  Even if his intended targets were just mindless and spiritless constructs formed form flesh and lifeforce.

  All that was left for him to do was combine his Fragment Of Barrier and Fragment Of Tower together, hopefully allowing him to create his own Knight Ranked summoned building. [Imperial Wood Art; Towering Tree Barrier] was lacklustre, considering that Eis was able to replicate its effects with a much greater efficiency.

  Taking a deep breath, Jon glanced towards Delila who was in the middle of ordering several of her subordinates.

  “Tandy, head to the Sinless-Perfection Gate and inform the construction supervisor that the spiritual ores that he requires will be arriving within the next two hours. Tell him that I expect the first line of defence to be completed by days end.”

  “Kul’Khan, I need you to tell Amida and Bron that they will need to unsummon both Brahmal Hall and Creador Gardens in order to make way for Sebastion’s Rain-Burst Cannon. The Town Management will reimburse them for all the fragments needed to resummon both of their buildings, in addition to one fragment of their choice from the Town Treasury.”

  “Felt, inform the Association representatives that the Town Treasury will handle the fees for all Knights looking to form their spiritual veins. The Merchant Guild will also help in footing the bill. But remember to record all the names of everyone that does, I don’t want to be spending tens of thousands of platinum coins on people that are looking for a quick buck.”

  Delila sent Jon a quick glance, giving the younger man a short and curt nod.

  After giving all of her subordinates their orders, Delila allowed herself to lean back into her Knight Ranked Thoughtful-Mind Chair, relishing in the passive boost it granted her Fragment Of Mind. Although artificial, it was enough to enhance the control she had over her imaginary mental construct from Lordship to Barony.

  It did not stop her from straining her Chaotic-Thunder Palace in overuse, nor did it reduce her chances of receiving a migraine as a result of her continuous production of thoughts and ideas.

  Jon sat down in the chair opposite her, withdrawing a Mortal Ranked Life-Thought Potion from his Red Archives. The older woman taking it without so much as a second thought, giving him a small “thank you” in return.

  “Your control is slipping Delila. You need to practice using your Chaotic-Thunder Palace more now that you are a Knight. It’ll reduce the chances of you receiving headaches and mental debuffs in the future.” Jon muttered, rolling his eyes as he watched Delila flip him off.

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  “Ugh, you sound like my mother. And Nestor too god forbid. Who is supposed to be the older one in this situation?” Delila retorted, grinning as she continued to sip on the potion in her hands.

  The two talked in English, although switched between French, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian and Korean at the drop of a hat. Both of them practicing their Earth-borne languages in preparation for their eventual return to the aforementioned planet.

  “I’d like to think of myself as the older sibling, although considering that the both of us have white-grey hairs I guess it is somewhat debatable.” Jon tilted his head to the side, smirking as he avoided having an empty Life-Thought Potion thrown at his head. The almost-thirty-year-old-woman sitting opposite him narrowing her eyes at the mention of her faded hair colour.

  Jon faking a sheepish expression in response to her undisguised glare.

  His facial expressions twitching for a moment before letting out a small sigh, leaning back into the comfort of his chair.

  There was a strange silence in the room as Delila watching Jon clench his fist, biting his lower lip as if wanting to say something. Seeing him hesitate, her thoughts could not help but wander towards the conversation that she had listened to, not even twenty-four hours prior.

  “… Raflea was telling the truth, huh?” She said, watching as Jon scrunched up his face in annoyance, before giving her an almost imperceptible nod.

  Jon chuckled in response to his admission, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

  “I knew that I would not be able to keep it a secret forever, but I was at least hoping to make it last until we returned to Earth. Now that Raflea knows, Regulus knows. And if Regulus knows then the entirety of the Nightfangs know.”

  “And from there, all of Springtown will eventually find out.”

  Delila shrugged her shoulders, humming in thought for few seconds.

  “Who knew beforehand?” She asked.

  “Wilheim. Avahni. Shamael. Sariel. And their summoned companions. Which in hindsight, is quite a lot of people now that I think about it. With Glaucus obscuring my face I did not think that anyone would discover Lethe beneath it, but I think I was being a little too confident in my concealment-type abilities.” Jon replied, seeing Delila blink, eyes widening in realization.

  “Oh! So it was a mask! Damn, that’s a Fragment Of Mind that I now owe Maliq. Hmm, I honestly thought that you would have chosen something more… flamboyant, and that you were just keeping it hidden until the time was right.”

  “Fragment Of Facelessness. Lie Mana Core. Mortal Ranked Smiling Mask. So I’m guessing a transformation of your appearance. An effect that can improve your spoken lies. And perhaps even a boost to the effectiveness of certain Traits? Lies, I’m assuming and perhaps one more?” Delila guessed, tapping her chin while nodding her head, listing potential abilities with each one of her fingers.

  Jon on the other hand, just groaned, sinking deeper and deeper into the length of his chair.

  “I want to know how she figured it out! I mean, I understand that there are people within Springtown that are convinced I have a Memento Source Item but cannot prove it. I don’t believe for a second that Wilheim, Sariel, Shamael or even Avahni told someone about the existence of Lethe.”

  “The only other person that even knew about its existence was-.”

  [Bestial Intuition] twitched, forcing Jon to sit upright, his Three Seas Of Knowledge churning and crashing with dozens of different possibilities. The night that he created the Shapeless Mask Of Thieving Lies, or rather, the Mask Of Jade Lies, there were two other people that felt its presence.

  One was Aerilayna whom he convinced was an effect of his War Mana Core. Lethe able to strengthen his lies to such a degree that the Centurion Of The Ice-Wind believed him without even so much as a second thought.

  The only other person that could have known about the Memento Source Item in his possession was-.

  The sound of a hand crushing Knight-level wood echoed throughout the Vanishing Time Palace. Wrathful emotions such as anger and rage overflowing from his Fragment Of Mind, feeding his Fragment Of Shapeless-Carcosa and distorting the shape of his Fragment Of Draconian-Shadow.

  Delila raised an eyebrow at his sudden change in expression, taking note that his head turned in the direction of the southern gate. Near where the Beast Association had established Leonidas Hall and where the Nightfangs had placed down their headquarters, Weiyang; Ghost-Hall Fortress.

  Jon clenched his jaw, tight enough for even Delila to hear the sound of him grinding his teeth together.

  “Theodore knew. He was there the night that I formed my Memento Source Item. He might not have gotten a good look at it, but he knew I was in possession of one from the very beginning.” Jon admitted, standing up from his Knight-level chair.

  Delila mimicking his movements, shaking her head vigorously, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

  “Jon. Think about this for one moment. There is absolutely no evidence linking Raflea of Regulus to Theodore. We have wanted posters for the information and capture of the Murder Of Temperance And Humility across four different Safe Zones. I understand your distaste for the two of them, but there is no way that either of them would risk what they have built in order to harbour a criminal.”

  “… I could just take a quick look. There is no way that Regulus’ Fragment Of Mind would be developed enough to counter my Fragment Of Eyes. I’d be in-an-out. Fifteen minutes at max.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders in response to Delila.

  The Administrator Of Thunder And Civilization shaking her head vehemently in response to his words.

  “No. No. Absolutely not. Jon, mind reading and memory manipulation is a crime. You of all people should know that you helped write that particular law. You are someone that I would consider a friend Jon. Do not make me choose between those I am responsible for and those that I care for.”

  “I will not hesitate to make the “right” decision.”

  The Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation twisted his face in annoyance, knowing that what he was doing was considered “wrong.” He had helped form a good portion the laws within Springtown, also based a significant number of them on preexisting laws back on Earth.

  He had done so in order to help facilitate the development and expansion of his Merchant Guild, alongside Wilheim, Sariel and Shamael.

  Jon pursed his lips in response to her words, contorting his face into one of annoyance.

  “… Alright. Alright. I’ll wait until after the System-generated Lord has been dealt with.”

  “And then, in accordance with proper laws, I’ll “politely” ask them whether or not they have ever come into contact with Theodore. You of course will be present, as will other impartial members of this community... alongside a few other individuals with Truth Mana Cores, Charity Mana Cores and Temperance Mana Cores.”

  “Is that alright with you?” Jon said, presenting his words as more of a statement than an actual question.

  Delila sighed, sitting back down in her chair while cradling the migraine that Jon had helped nurture. The Life-Thought Potion that she had just downed already starting to lose its effects due to her Knight-level resistances.

  “Just… don’t do anything that the “Princeps” would do alright? Just… be Jon for once.” Was all that Delila could say. The young man that she had grown to consider her younger brother nodded in response to her words, before pulling out a crateful of spiritual items from his Fragment Of Library.

  Her brows twitching in response to the sudden presence of more than a dozen different kinds of Knight Ranked spiritual items. If the perceptions that her Fragment Of Inverted-Instincts granted her were correct, there was close to ten Knight-level potions within the crate.

  Alongside a complete set of Knight-level armour and supportive spiritual items.

  Jon shrugging his shoulders, watching as Delila’s eyes widened in response to the gift.

  “Maliq was the one who created most of the armour, although Wilheim did create the Formless-Shield Ring and Time-Rejuvenation Pendant. The Merchant Guild also brewed the potions that you’ll find with.”

  “Don’t think much of the timing of the gift. I’ll respect your wishes as both your friend and someone that I’d consider as leader. There is no chance in hell that the citizens of Springtown would dare allow the Administrator Of Thunder And Civilization to walk around without ensuring their protection, right?”

  The older woman furrowing her brows, before feeling the presence of an even more powerful spiritual item from the bottom of the crate. The Third-Veined Knight feeling her eyes widen, knowing that to her knowledge, there no-one within Springtown that could create spiritual items above the Knight Rank!

  “But Jon! This is-.”

  Her words cut short as she watched the Jon grin, removing the Shapeless Mask Of Thieving Lies from his face. His expression shifted for but a single moment, before allowing the Memento Source Item to return back to his greater Source.

  “Take it and wear it with pride.”

  “Just as you have gifted the denizens of Springtown with a home and sense of community, we have decided to give you something even greater in return. You’re our leader Delila.”

  “And I cannot think of another person more suitable for the job.”