"There is no need for this raw display of power, Adah," I heard Archon Simeon say, and raised my head to look at him.

My vision was already becoming blurry, but I managed to make out—among the kneeling guards and my comrades—Archon Simeon, his paragon, and my sister still on their own two feet, seemingly unaffected. Between them, a figure was floating down the central stairway into the center of the amphitheater.

Only when she reached the bottom of the stairs did she stop emitting the immense mana pressure which kept us from seeing clearly, standing on our feet, and even breathing easily. Or rather she kept her raw power from overflowing. This had to be Archon Adah, the Mana Beast.

Name : Adah

Race : ??

Class : Divine Archon

Level : 72

Seventy two? Ten whole levels above archon Simeon. I had no idea how someone could every be so powerful, while still having such a large amount of divine mana. If there was anyone who would be able to help us fight a god, it was her.

She looked like she was around forty years old, though I had heard old people saying they remembered her being an archon at least as long as Archon Simeon had been.

Her attire was rather simple considering her status. She was wearing a long flowing black skirt and a gold shirt with black detailing while holding a long staff topped with a black gem that resembled a crow, glowing a deep red color. Most probably an A-grade weapon enchanted above +18, or even +20.

The archon's golden hair almost completely covered her milky white eyes as it was blown by a rapidly spinning wheel floating behind her.

I had only seen statues of Archon Adah and her Wheel of Destiny, an artifact far greater and more powerful than any magical item ever to exist. It resembled a ship's helm, but only in shape, since the wheel was made of a black reflective metal which changed its color to purple and dark blue as it spun behind her. And no matter how hard I tried to focus on it, something always made me avert my gaze before I managed to glean any information about it.

Before I had my fill of the grandiosity of the strongest spellcaster in existence, she had already taken her place at the head of the long table in the middle of the hall. That was when I heard what sounded like a bird chirping.

I turned my head to the rightmost of the entrances of the hall to see a small bird flying in toward us. The little bluebird flew right above me to land on the shoulder of… there was another man already standing at the table.

Name : Gideon

Race : Human

Class : Divine Archon

Level : 59

He appeared to be around fifty years old and was wearing white robes similar to those of Archon Simeon's. However, the golden details on his robes were bolder, and he wore heavy golden shoulder pads, multiple golden necklaces, chains and rings on his arms.

A golden incense lantern hung low on the left side of his waist and he was holding two powerful looking artifacts in his leather-gloved hands. In his left hand was a long scepter with a golden eight-winged angel at its head, while his right hand held a thick leather book with intricate golden details, most probably one of the most powerful Carta Magicas to be found anywhere.

What was most peculiar about this bald man with a short black beard, however, was the fact that he had arrived without any of us noticing and seemed completely calm about it.

"My name is Gideon," the man said seriously, but immediately cracked a smile as he turned his head to face the bluebird on his shoulder, "and this here is my paragon. Her name is Red."

Despite his smile, I was painfully aware that these were the three most powerful spellcasters in the world and that we needed to be aware of it at all times, given how deeply we would be in trouble if we misstepped.

"But she is blue," said Man. I immediately felt like this would be the beginning of the end of our visit, if not our lives.

Instead, Archon Gideon burst out into loud laughter and Archon Simeon smiled. Even the little bluebird seemed to be enjoying herself, as she kept jumping from one shoulder of her archon to the other. Only Archon Adah was unfazed and simply stood, unmoving, her cold white eyes uninterested.

"It has been decades since someone said that to me," Archon Gideon said, after he stopped laughing. "I remember it being an extremely popular question when I was still a student at the university. It used to really annoy me. It's fun to hear it after all these years."

Man didn't say anything, but simply shrugged and waited for the archon's reply. I understood that Man was not trying to embarrass himself or insult the archon. Starting off conversations like this with a lighter tone was probably some kind of standard procedure.

"Red is her favorite color," he finally said. "Blood-red."

Seeing our faces change with his last addition, Archon Gideon rushed to change the subject.

"This here is the Archon of Divine Judgment, Adah," he continued, "and thank The Divine she has no paragon or they might have been stronger even than us."

"Enough with the introductions, " said Adah, whose voice did not come from her unmoving mouth, but was rather omnidirectional. "Tell us what happened to The Divine."

Krysha took out a piece of paper from one of her pockets and placed it on the table in front of us. Before it even flattened onto the cold surface, the bluebird flew forward and picked it up with its small yellow beak. As it flew back, I noticed the paper had been multiplied and the bird handed one copy to each of the archons before landing back on Archon Gideon's shoulder.

Each spellcaster took a very short moment to look at the document in front of them before turning their eyes back to us once more.