Prince Tristan and the guild leader Fluvis Frose watched the dazzling, glittering and sparkling display of magic in the twilight from the balcony of the royal palace.

"It's time we headed toward the stage." The prince said and turned to leave. Fluvis nodded and quietly followed after the prince. On his way out of the palace, the Spymaster approached and reported that he had men stationed at the top of the buildings to oversee the surroundings. The prince nodded, thanked him and entered the royal carriage waiting to take them directly to the main square.

It was a ten minute drive from the royal palace to the square. Just enough time for all kinds of thoughts to occupy the prince's mind. The situation turned dire after he learned of the bombs. He was given a report that three bombs have been dismantled so far, yet he couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen.

"Worried?" Fluvis asked. Tristan nodded, frowning and looking out the window. "I am worried too. Rayne's obsession with the Hounds and Silva is clouding his judgment…Perhaps it would be for the best if you postponed the festival until tomorrow!"

Tristan was taken aback and nodded after thinking about it. He's been stressing over the decision since the day before, but it was simple really. People came first and if postponing or even canceling the festival is necessary to keep the people safe, so be it!

"We'll be there about twenty minutes before the end of the opening ceremony. I'll climb the stage immediately upon arrival and make an announcement. Shadow one…" The prince called out and a shadow rose from his own shadow, awaiting instructions. Fluvis didn't respond to the shadow appearing. The prince instructed the shadow to go and deliver his new orders to the Spymaster and have everything ready upon his arrival. The shadow disappeared and the prince relaxed, feeling the weight of his responsibility lessen a bit.

"Marcel, don't waste time with the puppets and go straight for the bomb while we deal with the rest of them. Understood?" Arndell commanded. Before them, in the darkness, multiple sets of eyes shone red. The soul puppets seemed dormant and Arndell would prefer to avoid the confrontation given the emergency but they stood in their way to the bomb.

Marcel nodded, his eyes focused on the transport trolley behind the mob. Arndell led the charge, sparking the reaction from the seemingly dormant puppets and the fight ensued.

Marcel swiftly pivoted through the mob and slipped to the other side. He didn't turn around to look behind. He trusted his fellow group members and immediately went to work. He gave a glance over the trolley, then the container.

To be able to touch and disrupt the flow of mana on the container and deactivate the bomb, he first had to disable the formation. The formation was engraved with a pattern of lines connecting runes at ends.

Marcel laid on his back like he did before and his hands started to glow. He focused the glow from the mana imbuing his hands and guided it toward his index fingers. All the while observing and deciphering the patterns making the formation. The formation is as complex and seems to be identical to the previous formations.

Recognising the same pattern, He stopped observing and immediately started deciphering and nullifying the effects of the formation. He followed the lines with his finger and carefully and precisely, unraveled one of the runes, erasing it. He repeated the process and when he was halfway done…

*cling*

Hm?

*tik tik tik tik*

"What's…"

In the midst of battle, Arndell turned to Marcel and saw him facing toward them, his eyes frightful and full of dread. It was a split second but Arndell could see the look of resignation on Marcel's face.

*tiktiktiktik*

*clang*

A flashing light blinded everyone in the tunnel and peered through the nearest manhole for a brief moment before a thundering explosion sounded out. Marcel was at the point of impact, disintegrating without a trace. Arndell hastily summoned a mana barrier, pouring everything into it and protecting the two agents within the radius of his skill. The third agent was a foot inside the mana barrier and that was all that was left of him. Arndell channeled the barrier as it cracked and repaired with every passing moment…

Prior to the explosion, the main square was bustling with activity. There were so many people, the crowd barely managed to part ways for the performers and entertainers to pass through. Among the crowd, the agents stationed at the top of the buildings noticed pushing and odd behavior by a couple of individuals. They signaled the agents on the ground to go and investigate the situation.

Before the agents reached the location and resolved the commotion, people began to frantically push each other trying to run away. Their screaming was muffled by the sound of music playing and cheering of the crowd. The individuals were the puppets that resurfaced and began attacking everyone in a frenzied manner. The agents quickly realized the seriousness of the situation and forced their way through the crowd to confront the attackers but were blinded by the sudden explosion of light…

The carriage Tristan and Fluvis rode stopped three minutes away from the explosion. The prince burst open the door of the carriage and watched in horror as the beautiful and dazzling lights of the magic were overshadowed by the mushroom cloud caused by the explosion. A few seconds later, another flash of light, followed by the thundering sound of an explosion occurred. The prince turned to Fluvis in shock, but the old man was gone.

The ceremony was muted by the chain of explosions rocking the central area of the city. One explosion was heard coming from the east square and two from the west.

For a brief moment, everyone in the main square remained still as if frozen in time. Only the sound of blood raining down could be heard and felt, in-between the explosions. A hand dropped from the sky, hitting a woman in the crowd and jolting her awake. Her scream was like a signal indicating the start of chaos.

Some couldn't believe what was happening and watched everything happen, too stunned to react. Others took to action and trampled over others, trying to get away, but there was no escaping the explosions of this magnitude.

The last three bombs beneath the main square activated simultaneously and in the midst of chaos, Fluvis appeared. He closed his eyes and went on his knees as people were running around him. He placed both of his hands on the ground and weakly uttered "Ice Age".

The detonation of the bombs caused an aftershock that knocked down the people in the vicinity while the explosion part was caught and diminished by the skill. The explosion couldn't be engulfed in its entirety and those unfortunate to be at the source of detonation, died instantly. Fluvis froze the air in a radius of the central area. His control over ice and mastery of his skill allowed him to affect only what he wanted to affect.

The people, while chilled, weren't affected by the skill and slowly started getting up. Shouting and orders followed. The guards, the adventurers and the Guild's agents helped lead people to safety and gave aid to the injured. The prince followed after Fluvis and after seeing him in the main square, he was about to speak up but bit his tongue. Fluvis remained motionless, kneeling and concentrating. Huge amounts of mana exuded from within his body.

The prince realized this wasn't over and ordered the guards to quickly clear the area. Fluvis continued to channel the skill, pumping more and more mana to keep the force of the explosion contained. After a minute, he stood up and looked up. The prince, watching from a distance, followed his gaze and saw large quantities of fire affinity mixed with ice evaporate into the sky. Fluvis breathed heavily and turned to look at the prince with unfocused eyes. A snowflake fell on Tristan’s face and he looked down and toward Fluvis in surprise. Snowflakes?

"-ne?"

The prince rushed to the old man's side. "Master Fluvis, are you alright?"

*cough cough*

"Find Rayne." Fluvis repeated between coughs.

Tristan nodded and assured the old man he would find him. He looked around and all he saw was destruction and mayhem. Flames at the eastern square have been snuffed out, but the western square was burning bright. Tristan wanted to call out to someone, anyone, but found himself unable to get the words out. Every guard, adventurer or guild agent was busy dealing with the damage done and helping in any way possible.

“I’m going to go find Rayne.” The prince finally said and disappeared in a blur. From what the last report said, Rayne and Arndell split up and Rayne headed west. That’s where I’ll find him!

Tristan swiftly avoided people while rushing toward the western square at full speed. As he was nearing the square, he saw crowds of people frantically tripping over each other, trying to get away. He stopped and his unrestrained aura stopped the rabble from trampling over each other. People looked at him with fear evident in their eyes.

"It's over now. Help is on the way but it's over now!" The prince tried to placate the crowd.

"O-over? It is-it isn't over! They're still there! Fighting!" Shouted one of the men at the front pointing in the direction of the western square.

"That's right! That's right!" More people shouted from within the crowd. Tristan directed the crowd toward the main square where the situation has been resolved by now and assured them they'll be safe there.

The prince maneuvered around the ongoing crowd and quickly picked up the pace. Within a minute he reached the empty square, void of life. He looked around and saw traces of ice magic on the ground and surrounding buildings. Some of the buildings still burned, lightening the murky night.

He walked around the debris caused by the explosion but also destruction evident by the battle. His senses detected large quantities of mana still lingering in the area. A huge fight happened just before he arrived.

He paced around the square, the feeling of unease increasing. He kept turning abruptly, in different directions, reading traces of a fight. Suddenly, he felt a unique source of mana within the overflowing stimuli of mana in the air. His walk turned to a jog as he turned the corner leading to an alley behind the half-demolished building. He stopped at the entrance to the alley and narrowed his eyes. The unique source of mana he sensed was coming from the end of the alley.

Soon, however, his eyes widened and he took a step forward. And then another. Each step, heavier than the previous one. Slowly, a blue crystal smeared with the color of blood, two meters in diameter and three in height came into view. Tristan stopped in front of the crystal and put a hand on it. His face was an unsightly sight twisted in a myriad of emotions. He stayed like that until Fluvis arrived.

Tristan retracted his hand, turned and walked up to Fluvis. He placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry" as he passed him by. Fluvis approached the crystal with a saddened expression. For a few minutes he just stood there, looking at Rayne encapsulated in a crystal of ice. Finally, he shook his head and gently placed his hand on the crystal. Dispel.

The crystal crumbled into thousands of ice shards and Fluvis caught Rayne before he fell to the ground. Tristan watched everything happen at the distance while directing men that came after Fluvis, to put the fires out and secure the area. A pulse of mana went through Tristan and spread throughout the city. He turned around and glanced back at Fluvis who approached carrying Rayne and shaking his head.

"Is he…" It was a stupid question, but Tristan asked without thinking.

"Yes…he resorted to using Ice Prison on himself as a last defense but still died. His core…is shattered."

"Silva…" The prince said.

Fluvis nodded and said he sent a pulse of mana throughout the city but couldn't detect his whereabouts. There's too much chaos going on to pinpoint an individual, even to his senses.

"Master Fluvis…"

"-this isn't on you Tristan." Fluvis interjected. "If anyone, I should be the one to blame for letting Rayne have his way. You have more pressing matters right now." Fluvis finished and disappeared from the square.

"I know…" The prince answered, dejected. The snow didn't stop falling and carried from the main square to surrounding squares, engulfing the whole central area and then the city. The fires were snuffed out and the city put on lockdown under Tristan's orders. The prince put the whole of Adventurer's Guild with its guild operatives and adventurers that remained in the city under his employment. They were all system users with invaluable skills that helped deal with the tragedy that had befallen the city.

The prince didn't want to wait a second longer to start fixing the damages. With good reason too. Bombs exploded in the sewers and thanks to the intrict web of tunnels, the effect of the explosion spread beyond the central area. The whole infrastructure beneath the city was at the risk of collapsing. More than one street already collapsed to the sewers and the Underground City wasn't left unscathed.

Domino's right hand man and third tier gold ranker Velasquez, amassed a great number of "unwilling" helpers and already started handling the stream of waste that came pouring down onto the streets of Underground City below.

The streets of Hagos emptied by midnight, with only guards staying and patrolling the area. The snow continued falling throughout the night…

In the midst of all the chaos, no one heard the sound of the alarm and the smoke coming from one of the houses of the nobleman in the wealthier part of the city, further to the east.

"Its still snowin!" Hemdus said, watching the unexpected snow cover everything in white.

"Apparently so. Come Hem, it's time Bones finished unlocking the vault!"

"Aye. Wit dis one finished, were dun 'ere!