"Well, they would’ve warned us if it was something dangerous. It’s probably nothing too serious," Isaac said, glancing around the table.
The tension, if there had been any, faded quickly. No one lingered on the topic.
After finishing their meals, everyone gradually went their separate ways.
Celia and Alice left together, heading toward the Ashfang Tribe.
Emily departed shortly after, bound for Eltari City.
She had her own responsibilities to handle there, and judging by her expression, she was already planning the day ahead.
Isaac sent his hidden clones with them.
Others were busy as well.
The Calloway Conglomerate was in the middle of coordinating logistics, and within a short time, they would begin helping the ogres from the Ashfang Tribe settle into the city properly. Housing, employment, security. Everything had to be taken care of properly.
Isaac planned to combine the cities before the Ashfang tribe came.
His clones had finished their work. The Cores of Fortified City 82 and Fortified City 89 were already under his ownership.
Isaac stood near the edge of a balcony overlooking the city.
"Ruby, make an announcement across the entire city. Let everyone know that they’ll lose consciousness soon, and when they wake up, their surroundings will change. Tell them to prepare, and that there’s no need to panic," he said calmly.
"Understood, Lord Isaac," Ruby replied without hesitation.
Her voice echoed faintly through the administrative interface before vanishing.
As Ruby transmitted the message throughout the city, Isaac retrieved the City AI Upgrade Ticket from his inventory and activated it.
The effect was immediate.
He felt it first. A subtle shift, like a pressure releasing inside the city itself. The underlying systems stabilized faster. The data flow smoothed out. The city felt more aware.
Ruby’s presence sharpened.
"Thank you, Lord Isaac," the AI said, her voice clearer than before.
Isaac nodded. "Do your job well."
"Understood."
While the city adjusted, Isaac returned to his administrative work. Reports flowed in one after another. Sales in Fortified City 22 were performing better than expected. His daily earnings hovered around thirty gold coins, not counting the steady influx of materials.
Most of his transactions weren’t pure sales. Bartering dominated his operations. He exchanged crops for other resources, stockpiling anything remotely useful.
He didn’t know what he’d need later. That was reason enough to keep everything earned through barter.
An hour passed quietly.
Ruby appeared beside him, her holographic form crisp and stable.
"It is done, Lord Isaac."
"Okay."
Isaac went to the rooftop and opened the System interface.
[Would you like to combine Fortified City 89 with your City?]
"Yes."
The confirmation echoed through the interface.
The effect followed instantly.
Across Fortified City 50 and Fortified City 82, people froze mid-motion before dissolving into flashes of light. Streets emptied in seconds. Buildings stood intact, but everything living—citizens, summons, monsters, even the nagas—vanished.
Althea was included.
No exceptions were made.
One moment, the city bustled with life. The next, silence. Everyone was teleported to a temporary dimension created by the System.
Only Isaac was left behind.
He raised his head.
The sky had split open.
A massive cut stretched across the heavens, jagged and unnatural. Mana poured out in overwhelming quantities, flooding the city and spilling into the surrounding wilderness. It sank into the air, the ground, even the underground layers Isaac couldn’t see.
Then, abruptly, everything stopped.
Time froze.
Isaac looked around. Dust hung motionless in the air. Even the faint breeze he’d felt earlier was gone. Yet he could still breathe.
The cut in the sky widened.
From within it, something descended.
An angel.
[A suitable target detected in host’s vicinity.]
Name: Seraphina Valeis
Age: 20
Rating: 98
Personality: Calm, wise, and nurturing despite her martial ties. She embodies grace under pressure, offering comfort to allies while showing unshakable discipline in battle.
Likes: Honorable duels and fair combat, training mortals to overcome fear, music played on stringed instruments, the sight of dawn after a night of battle, God of War
Dislikes: Cowardice born of selfishness (but not fear itself), cruelty without purpose, God of War, desecration of the fallen, deception in war
Status: Exhausted from continuous work
She had eight wings, each one massive enough to dwarf buildings. Golden eyes shone like miniature suns as she scanned the frozen city below.
Her gaze locked onto Isaac.
"You must be—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes narrowed sharply, shrinking to pinpoints.
In the next instant, she stepped forward.
The distance folded.
She stood before the building.
Despite standing on the ground, her head reached the rooftop and eyes were level with Isaac’s.
From this close perspective, Isaac noticed he was barely the size of her iris.
Overwhelming pressure exploded outwards from her.
The entire city trembled.
"A descendant of the War God," she said, her voice sharp and venomous. "Where are your parents?"
Isaac frowned.
Before answering, he checked her status again.
[Status: Complicated emotions after finally finding a clue to the War God’s whereabouts.]
The pressure intensified. Isaac felt as if his body were being crushed from all sides.
She said coldly, "I asked you a question...."
She froze.
Her expression shifted as she realized the pressure leaking from her body was harming Isaac.
She exhaled slowly and restrained it.
"I apologize," she said, closing her eyes briefly.
She snapped her fingers.
Her size shrank instantly, until she stood beside Isaac, no taller than him.
Another snap.
A table and two chairs appeared on the rooftop.
"Can we talk," she said, calmer now, "before I help you combine your cities?"
Isaac hesitated.
He didn’t like this situation. But he wasn’t foolish either. The angel was far stronger than him, and refusal wasn’t an option.
"...Fine," he said.
They sat.
The tea cups lifted on their own, pouring warm tea into each cup.
She took a sip first.
"Once again, I apologize for my earlier behavior. I’m Seraphina Valeis, and—" she scratched her cheek awkwardly. "You can think of me as your guardian mother."
"???"
Isaac stared at her.
His expression clearly said: You nearly crushed me a minute ago, and now you want me to call you that?
She gave an embarrassed smile. "You are a descendant of the War God. I am his First Angel. Given that fact, it is my duty to take care of you."
Isaac glanced at her status.
[Dislikes: God of War]
"...."
He looked back at her.
Sister, you hate War God and you are telling me you will take care of his descendant? What kind of nefarious thing are you planning?
Seeing Isaac’s suspicious expression, her smile twitched.
She was talking with such a down-to-earth demeanor.
Did this guy really need to be so suspicious?
She was an angel!
Having descended into the material realm, she could harm him directly if she had nefarious intentions!
She coughed lightly. "The War God descended into the material realm thousands of years ago. We never found him. You are the first concrete clue I’ve had about his whereabouts."
"...So you’re being nice because you want to bribe information about my ancestors out of me?"
"...."
Her smile twitched again.
Somehow, he was easily getting on her nerves, just like War God used to.
It seemed the ancestor and decedent both shared a talent for annoying others.
That alone made her temples ache.
"No. I’m being civil because this is how I usually am," she said firmly.
Isaac leaned back slightly. "And why you reacted the way you did earlier?"
Her gaze softened, just a little.
"I’ve been searching for the War God for a very long time. Finding you... caught me off guard."