- Outside the Dimension Lockdown -

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

The knight readied his saber, and began chanting. "Potentia Excitant: Celeritas - Tier III!"

A speed boost spell, huh...but what concerns me the most is the fact that he's using a Tier III version of it...how the hell did he get the resources and money needed, as a member of a crime organization, to upgrade a spell three times?!

The knight then charged at me with full force, and I braced myself for impact. But then-

He stopped. He froze mid-dash, and looked up at the sky for some reason.

"...She's doing that...? he murmured, and I narrowed my gaze.

After a while, the knight sighed, and put his saber back in its sheath. I frowned in confusion.

"...What are you doing?" I asked hesitantly.

The knight spun around, facing away from me. "I have no choice but to retreat here for today. That crazy woman really went and used that technique..."

"Crazy woman...you mean Mei Mo? Isn't she your master? How can you just abandon her here like this?"

The knight snorted. "If only I was really under her control. Putting up an act all this time has been...exhausting, to say to the least. I originally wished to see her potential - that was why I let her think she had fully controlled me. But with her meager power...truly turning me into her slave is nothing but a distant dream. And besides...she has already been abandoned once before. She is already used to it."

With these words, the knight began walking away. H-Huh? So...he was pretending to be under her control all this time?

...Why do I suddenly pity Mei Mo?

And...he mentioned something about her being abandoned once before already...what's up with that?

"Wait!" I called out to the knight. "Even if you aren't controlled by her, she's still your ally, right? Just leaving her here to die...where's the knightly chivalry in that?"

The knight stopped walking, and sighed deeply. "Boy...even if I remained here, there is no saving her. Once she activates that technique, everyone in this entire city will die, including herself."

I froze. "...What?"

The knight didn't explain any further, but instead gave me a little wave. "We will meet again, Xuan Kai. You best hope that by then, you would have gotten strong enough to face me at my best."

With that, he used Flight, Sky Magic, and took off without a single glance backwards. I was the only one who could chase him down since everyone else was preoccupied, but I decided against it.

For now...I need to find out what that technique he mentioned is.

I looked back at Mr. Tan and Mr. Gao, still fighting the monsters, then hurried over to Mayor Zhou, still resting on the ground. "Mayor Zhou!"

He frowned, then looked upwards. "This familiar energy...coming from...above?"

I continued. "You felt it too, huh? That knight mentioned something about a technique that can destroy this entire city and everyone living in it. After that, he ran away, but...what exactly is this technique?"

Mayor Zhou had a grim expression on his face. "I do not wish to believe it, but...it seems Mei Mo is attempting to use Core Shatter to take down all of us with her."

"Core Shatter...?" I echoed in puzzlement.

"Yes. Core Shatter is a suicidal technique that only Golden Monarchs and above can use," the mayor explained. "When one reaches the Golden Monarch stage, their Dantian turns into a hardened core - more specifically, a golden core."

"...Hence the name, Golden Monarch," I said. This is stuff I've never been taught in school...

"Precisely," the mayor continued. "The technique known as Core Shatter...is forcefully exploding your golden core. The resulting shockwave is enough to destroy an entire city."

I tilted my head. "But...wouldn't that cause the user to die as well?"

Mayor Zhou nodded. "That is why this is the last, final trump card of a Golden Monarch mage or above. It is the ultimate suicidal technique. Because your soul is also contained within your Dantian - your core, if you forcefully explode it...even Necromancy Magic cannot bring you back."

I sighed. "...I see. But...couldn't your Dimension Lockdown spell prevent the damage from leaking out, or at least minimize it?"

"Think of it like this, Xuan Kai," the mayor went on. "The Dantian - in other words, the core - is where all the power of a mage comes from. Now, imagine the total collective power of a Golden Monarch, condensed into one, tiny, sphere. That is the core. Thus...the explosion power of it is not to be underestimated - my Dimension Lockdown will be be broken in a flash. Everyone here now, and everyone else in the city, will almost certainly die if Mei Mo is not stopped."

That...certainly makes sense.

"How do you stop it?" I hurried asked.

The mayor had a conflicted look on his face, then glanced up at the sky, where the Golden Monarchs were still fighting Mei Mo.

"The only way to stop this technique...is for another Golden Monarch to shatter their own core."

"What...? How would that work?" I asked. "Wouldn't that just double the damage?"

He shook his head. "No. Think of Mei Mo's core shatter on one side of an equation, and another Golden Monarch's on the other. What I mean by this...is that they cancel each other out."

"...Sorry, I'm still a bit confused," I admitted.

"That's alright. The theory behind this is too complex for an Intermediate Mage to understand."

Uh...guess Song Qian Long told him I was an Intermediate Mage or something.

"So then...who's going to do this?" I asked. "They will have to sacrifice their own life for this, no? I doubt anyone would want to do that."

"About that..." Mayor Zhou frowned. "It seems...somebody is already doing it."

"Huh? Who is it?"

"...The number one mage in Shenzhen, Song Qian Long."

*****

- Within the Dimension Lockdown -

(Song Qian Long's Perspective)

I slowly walked towards Mei Mo, and calmly sat down in front of her. Then, I began violently channeling my own energy, beginning the Core Shatter process. My body began to glow a faint gold, and Mei Mo raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh...you're actually trying to stop my Core Shatter with your own?" Mei Mo murmured, similarly glowing golden.

I kept a stern expression, and responded. "For the sake of this city and the people living in it, I must do this."

Mei Mo giggled. "Oh, what a hero~you know, you could just kill me with your magic right now before I get a chance to fully shatter it. Oh, but you should hurry if you're going to do that...I'm close to my limits."

"Hmph," I snorted. "I am not stupid enough to fall for that trick. If I were to kill you now, that would only accelerate the Core Shatter process."

"Ehehehe~so you're quite knowledgeable, I see."

I didn't respond, but merely closed my eyes and continued to channel my energy. Suddenly, the cube we were in began descending. I opened my eyes, and saw Mayor Zhou below us, controlling the cube. And beside him...Kai Kai. We soon landed on flat ground again, but by this time, both Mei Mo and I were nearing our limits. Around one more minute...and we would both leave this world, forever.

*****

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

The cube dissipated, and I stared at Song Qian Long's figure, my fists clenched. He sat on the ground, glowing gold. Mei Mo was the same.

"Kai Kai..." he murmured, voice strained with emotion.

"Old geezer...are you really doing this?" I asked, voice emotionless in contrast. "Mayor Zhou explained everything to me."

"Oh, what a heartbreaking scene~!" Mei Mo remarked, giggling hysterically on the side. Everyone ignored her.

"...I have to," he said calmly after a long pause. "As the number one mage in Shenzhen...I have to."

My body began trembling from anger, and I glared at him with pure hatred.

"You are the number one mage in Shenzhen..." I muttered quietly in anguish.

...But you are my godfather too...!

I wanted to scream that out loud at him, but gritted my teeth and held myself back.

"...Do as you will," I said, then turned away from him, pulling my hood further down so that it covered my eyes...as a single tear leaked out.

I couldn't see it since I was turned away from him, but I could feel Song Qian Long's sad smile on my back. This only made more emotions swell up within me.

Anger...hatred...and sadness. Why? Why am I feeling sad? Because I'm about to lose him? This old geezer, who I never cared about? What a joke. He's nothing but an old man claiming to be my godfath-

...But...even if he isn't really my godfather...he's certainly done enough to convince me. I didn't even realize it, but slowly, I had come to acknowledge this old man as my godfather - my family. My last...remaining...family. And now...

...Just how much - how many people - do I have to lose before I can finally find salvation?

My entire body shook as I contemplated these thoughts, and against my will, more tears slowly streaked down my face.

And then, suddenly, a bright golden light appeared behind me, and I immediately turned around. Mei Mo and Song Qian Long - both were shrouded completely in the golden light, and I couldn't even make out their figures at this point. The light expanded, and I blocked my eyes with my arm. Everyone else did the same - even the monsters and Midnight Syndicate members.

The light continued to spread, and eventually, the entire city was illuminated in the brilliant radiance. After a good minute, the light finally began to dim, and when it did, I opened my eyes, and saw that all the monsters were gone. Only the Midnight Syndicate members remained.

I then looked around, and spotted Song Qian Long on the ground - weak, but still breathing. Mei Mo, however...was nowhere to be seen.