Severed Waves stared down with a horrified expression. His face drained of color, almost turning lilac. He looked as though a deadly headache had seized his mind.
"Wh... what am... am I seeing right now?!"
Paragon Raizel shifted a chagrined gaze to him.
"That was what you asked to take care of a mob."
The Paragon's voice cut through the air, saturated with disdain.
"The fact that you have been a Sage for more than ten years does not mean you are the best there is. You and your family have a strange and twisted notion of the progress of power. Indeed you are respected as Sages who can even defeat some Ascendants, but you only achieved this because of your overwhelming years of experience."
He paused, shifting his gaze to Northern before continuing.
"This boy here stands as living proof of yours and your father's stupidity. I don't even think he's twenty yet and he has become a Sage. Not just any Sage, but one that even I am not a hundred percent confident I could defeat without willingly sacrificing some of my limbs and mental health."
Sage Rhama continued to stare at the said Sage, terror etched into every line of his face.
"H-how? This is not supposed to be possible! It makes no sense for a child like him to wield such formidable power as a Sage! Which family does he hail from?!"
Paragon Raizel's lips curved into a savage grin.
"None of your business, family-damned boy. Get your ass outta my city!"
Severed Waves inhaled and exhaled heavily, struggling to calm his disturbed mind. His eyes flickered toward Northern before shifting focus to the Paragon.
"I am sorry. I underestimated someone like that. You know it's not in me to be that rash; the situation was urgent."
He frowned darkly and glanced up at the anomaly suspended in the night sky.
Horror washed over his features like a tidal wave.
"I have never faced or seen a Leviathan before. This is seriously bad news, Paragon Raizel, and you cannot afford to be lackadaisical about it. You need all the hands you can get, including mine and my brother's."
The Paragon frowned, silent for several heartbeats. His jade green eyes glowered coldly in the silence.
Ascendant Zion moved closer to him and whispered.
"Severed Waves is right. We need him. Right now, we have no means to contain the situation. And we still have to continue the evacuation amidst all of this; we will definitely need his erratic nature as a distraction to cover our evacuation."
The Paragon's green eyes continued to glower dangerously.
But after the Ascendant moved away, he smacked his lips and finally the dangerous light dimmed.
"Don't think I'm deciding to let you stay because of the situation on ground. I am confident in my ability to dissolve the situation without your help... as you have witnessed, I have all that I could ever need."
He exhaled and turned away from the man, folding his arms as he retook his initial posture facing the stuck colossal hand.
"Make yourself useful somehow. I don't care how you do it. Ascendant Zion, fetch me Sage Ral."
The Ascendant gulped and responded quickly.
He flashed forward and leaped down the building with the grace of a butterfly, his form vanishing into the chaos below.
Northern continued to look up with a cold look in his eyes, grinning inwardly and saying internally.
'How's that for taking care of the mobs, you darned incompetent Sage. The only reason why I am not cutting you down with contempt is because you are Roma's brother!'
Why did he even care if he was Roma's brother?
'Strange, that girl has done something very peculiar to me! Remind me not to associate with her anymore!'
Even though he just said so, Northern was rather unbelieving of himself.
Roma had a special allure that made her fun to want to hang out with. She was honest too, and watching her and her nature somehow delighted him.
'Away with these thoughts!'
Just as Northern fought for control of his own mind, he saw the handsome and kind Ascendant gliding towards him through the air.
Ascendant Zion landed on the ground soundlessly and bowed his head slightly before addressing Northern.
"Paragon Raizel calls for you..."
Northern looked around, putting on a sorry expression.
"Oh, can you tell the Ascendant Severed Waves asked me to take care of the mobs?"
The Ascendant looked around with an incredulous expression, then returned his brown eyes to Northern.
"I am sure you have done more than taking care of the mobs, Sage Rian."
Northern touched his hand, as if stricken with disheartenment.
"You know, I can't really say that I have. I made sure to cut everything, but still I have to ensure that the assignment I was given by the Sage was done well, seeing how the basta— Sage hoped it wouldn't be too much to ask for."
Ascendant Zion chuckled softly.
"It's alright, Sage Rian, you can drop the act. I'm sure after seeing what you just did, regret is eating him up. And Paragon Raizel did not take it easy on him after discovering what he asked you to do."
Northern straightened his expression, his brows rising slightly.
Northern leaned his head closer with interest.
"What did the Paragon say to him?"
Ascendant Zion answered straightforwardly.
"That he was a nuisance and asked him to leave the city. That he could take care of this disaster with just you."
Northern immediately winced.
"What?! Why would Burning Flame do that?! I didn't register him as an emotional or sentimental person. This is a damned Leviathan—who says I am enough?!"
Ascendant Zion let out a pleasant smile.
"The Paragon can be quite excessive sometimes, but I was with him on this one. Sage Rhama was quite rude to you. Power dictates respect in this world, and he crossed the line."
His smile shone beautifully.
"And you were wise to neglect it and act intelligently."
'Act intelligently? Who's he talking to?'
Northern was lost for a moment.
"But do not worry. I managed to convince the Paragon not to send Sage Rhama away. Now, he needs you so we can figure out what to do about that hand."
Ascendant Zion completed his statement, pointing to the sky.
Northern glanced up and sighed.
Northern suddenly stopped as a terrifying pressure shook his entire being.
Ascendant Zion also, trembled almost crumbling to his knee with a very white face and widened eyes.
The tear in the sky widened slightly, like a wound being forced apart by unseen fingers. A few more charred creatures began to drop through the gash.
But this time they were different. The sheer speed of their fall tore through the sound barrier several times, and as each landed, the sound of a colossal crash rippled through the city. Shockwaves spread outward, upheaving the ground like massive stones dropped into still water, sending violent ripples across the cityscape.