Xiah was suddenly dismayed by the unknown presence who stopped her in front of the citadel. Her mind was puzzled as she couldn't see the face as the night's dark shrouded her surroundings.

"Alice?" Xiah asked, guessing who might be guarding the front gate at this late hour.

"Who's asking?" the girl replied.

Xiah took a deep breath while pulling a sigh of relief upon identifying the girl's identity. It was the daughter of a famous clairvoyant in this town. The daughter of the oracle, a girl who endured sixteen years confined in this house arrest.

"You've scared the hell out of me, kiddo," Xiah says in her mocking tone while drawing a smirk on her face. She promptly draws out a bow right out of thin air. Tightly pulled the string of the bow and released it at once.

Xiah purposely put up a trial for the girl who had never been in real-life combat, curious to find out how the younger generation would respond if she were the real threat to their family. The young girl, Alice, tried to react swiftly upon noticing a sudden attack by the stranger who trespassed on her house territory. Little did she know the intention behind that arrow shot was to test her response to this kind of hostility.

Alice leaps her body onto mid-air while dodging the mystic arrow, skipping past her positioning trajectory. Leap past the opposite direction of where the arrow-headed; she rushes her way down, tumbling on the same ground where Xiah made her stance. She managed to hold her body mid-air, where her foot stepped on small pieces of an amulet that appeared in card size.

Alice tore off the necklace tied to her neck and transformed it into a merlot-colored violin. It shone and brightened the night, which blinded Xiah's sight for that split second. She instantly compiled all of her energy on a single offensive attack as she screeched out a random key from the violin itself.

A simple gesture of pulling her violin string was rather bizarre when enormous invisible energy gathered and launched its direction toward Xiah. While Xiah wouldn't be witless and doing nothing in facing off this tremendous mana concentration, she had another idea that served perfectly in testing out the ability held by Alice.

Xiah begins her second attempt to draw out another arrow generated by her inner energy. She is inciting her spell within that split second instead of dodging the attack made by Alice. Xiah decided to pierce the mana concentration using her wind element, anticipating who's mana will be dissipated into thin air upon this clash of energy.

Xiah had her anti-magic activated beforehand, knowing the result of the counterblow would send both of their feet off the ground. Spatial magic against wind magic, who shall manage to snatch the goddess of victory smile at the end of this clash?

When both energies begin to engage against each other, Xiah knows no alternative but to leave herself vulnerable while keeping her anti-magic barrier active. Xiah drew a fast pace to turn her body around. Her eyes catch on Alice's silhouette in an attempt to sneak a counter-ambush by throwing another flat note out of the violin, holding fit right in her hand.

Xiah deliberately caught herself off guard while guessing which move Alice would take to land a counterattack against her enemy. If Alice tried to clash head to head, she'd lose. Neither way, if she tried to sneak around and launch a blitz attack, she'd lose.

When Alice smiles over her victory, Xiah draws a sinister smirk simultaneously. Shocked by the sudden killing intent from Xiah, she regretted it as she knew she couldn't take another turn to dodge or block the upcoming attack from Xiah.

Her right hand, which held her bow, was pulled by Xiah. She panicked and struggled to let loose from that sudden firm grip coming from her enemy. But no matter how much she tried to make herself let loose from this defeat, Xiah had her fist ready to thwack right to her face.

Alice sure has the talent and power to surpass any ordinary neo-human. But she lacks real-life combat experience—which causes her defeat in a one-throw of punch, enough to send her flying, along with her life.

Alice bowed to her fate to close her eyes. Snapping between life and death, she didn't know that her enemy was that powerful, and her carelessness led her to this ending.

But as the clock ticks, the time passes. Alice still didn't sense any pain or loss of consciousness. She still feels the pain of the grip held by Xiah on her hand. Her mouth widened, and hyperventilating led her to a frantic sentiment.

"You already dead if I'm a real deal, kiddo," said Xiah. She canceled her channeling at an inch apart of her fist from Alice's face.

"Who are you?!" Alice asked, still cringing over the near-death experience of that brief moment.

"SHE WAS YOUR AUNT! AN ANCIENT DEITY WHO INHERITED THE POWER OF WIND, THE APOSTLE OF ZEPHYR!!"

A sudden voice shouted from afar on top of that citadel clashes with Alice's question. Both of them recognize who it was just by hearing her voice, but at the same time, Xiah drew a bashful face over her childish act committed earlier.

"I thought you were not around, so I was just trying to give some advice to your daughter," Xiah said in a fussy tone. She realizes that her childish manner has gone overboard a little.

"Who says I am not around? How was that? I found it rather amusing while you were having fun pranking on my daughter. Should I do the same to your daughter when we are on our way to pick up Cynthia?!"