“You lot somehow managed to make even the ruler of this nation fear you,” Marie said, her eyebrows arched as she surveyed the scene.

In front of Aziz was a ruined town, one that looked like war had ravaged it for days on end. Bodies — well, breathing, unconscious people, actually — were strewn all around the place, and the ground was damp with water and alcohol. There was at least no bloodshed, but that didn’t mean that no harm was done. Concussive force could kill or rupture organs, which meant that until these men were carted off to the doctors, they weren’t out of the woods yet.

“It was just Paragon Abele,” said Paragon Maylin. “A bunch of idiots tried to chat us up, and this idiot decided to respond in kind by getting to know them intimately through violence.”

“All these men tried to chat you lot up?” Aziz asked, amused. Thirty-odd men trying to chat up Paragons…it was a scene that he wanted to see, for some reason. “Well, let’s ignore this for now. We’re going to lead you to World’s End now. The State Council’s going to clean up the mess here, so let’s go before anything else happens.”

“That was fast.”

“You guys destroyed a bunch of things barely a few hours after you arrived,” Marie observed. “We would be happy to send you on your way, even if you paid reparations.”

“That was entirely Abele’s fault,” Paragon Maylin answered. “I suppose you can lock him up until he works off the debts incurred.”

“No thanks,” said Marie. “He’ll demolish the prison and free the criminals inside.”

“I’m still here, mortal, so watch you— wait, wait!”

“Wait, don’t beat him here!” Marie yelled. “You’ll create a dent or something. Beat him up outside of the Republic! Don’t damage public property anymore!”

Paragon Maylin, whose fists were shining with azure light, lowered her arms and released her target. She had grabbed Abele by the neck earlier on, presumably to prevent him from acting as a medium for force to travel into the ground, but that was probably still going to result in collateral damage. Her fist continued to twitch, but after a moment’s hesitation, she released her hold and dumped the poor Abele onto the ground.

“Count yourself lucky that our host spoke up for you,” said Paragon Maylin. “Disgrace the Lord any more once we’re outside, and I won’t hold back. Got it?”

“You know,” Marie muttered, “shouldn’t he have learnt by now? He keeps getting beaten up, despite knowing the cause. Is he enjoying it? Does he get gratification from being beaten up?”

Her words, though soft, had a resounding effect on Paragon Maylin, who immediately began to back off. The other Paragons, who were spectating with food in their hands, took one step back, then another.

“That’s quite the plausible reason,” said one of them.

“I don’t discriminate, but there’s a time and place for seeking pleasure, right?” said another. “Like, it feels wrong to be doing it in public!”

“Maybe it’s that particular fetish…”

Words that the Holy Temple had worked so hard for to keep out of history books began to roll out from the other Paragons, and Aziz found himself stifling a giggle.

“Alright,” said Marie. “Enough of this. Let’s go to World’s End. It’ll be faster if you guys helped us out when flying, unless you lot want to waste a few days flying as slowly as us. We have explicit permission to fly in the capital, so let’s move.”

Aziz found himself admiring the fearless manner in which Marie spoke to the Paragons, and then pushed off the ground gently, along with the other Paragons. As the emergency services of Interregnum began to stream in, the group of eleven people took off. The Paragons took positions to form a small formation, and he, alongside Marie, was at the very centre, under the aegis of the leading Paragon. Azure light poured out of their bodies, and with a jerk, Aziz found himself activating the Shell ability.

The world turned into a blur, a sight that Aziz never experienced before. The flight speed of his Dynamo was far inferior to even the cheapest Engines, not to mention real, living Paragons. In fact, the Shell he was projecting outwards to protect his face was buckling, on the verge of giving out.

Suddenly, Aziz understood why the Dynamo’ flight speed was set that way. It wasn’t because the Dynamo’s Flight ability was just that inferior — after all, a user could increase his or her speed by using more qi — but that the Shell ability was limited. Unlike Flight, a Dynamo’s user couldn’t boost the output of the Shell ability, which meant that it could only be that strong.

And simply flying at extreme speeds was evidently enough to deplete his Shell. His qi was depleting at a scary rate; it was almost as if he was under a continuous stream of fire by an undersized squad from Thunderbolt — his Shell could break at any moment and he was getting tired out. Gritting his teeth, Aziz began to adjust the Shell, which was only possible after some less-than-savoury modifications, changing its form from that that felt like a second set of clothes to something like a rounded egg.

The rate of depletion dropped immediately, but it was still a ruinous level of depletion. Within minutes, Aziz’s qi reserves would run dry, and as for what would happen next—

A silhouette entered his vision. It was Marie, and as her Engine’s Barrier overlapped with his Shell, Aziz felt the pressure weaken even further. She hadn’t said anything, but Marie had clearly noticed his silent distress, and for that, Aziz was grateful.

Under the afternoon sun, the Paragons, with two small fry under their protection, streaked towards the south. Buildings gave way to fields, which became more and more desolate as they approached the area where Ark City used to be. There, at the chasm that saw the desperate, final battle of the Second Extermination, was the territory of the Worldshaper.

Crimson spires towered to the skies, and everyone slowed to a standstill. Other than maintaining flight, no one was using qi for any other purpose — they weren’t here to start a war, after all.

“Now what?” Marie asked.

“Now, we wait.” Paragon Maylin closed her eyes. “A welcome party should be coming for us soon.”