When A Mage Revolts

Miles looked genuinely surprised and immediately asked, "You’re not going? Why not? Wouldn’t you like to witness the legendary Abandoned Valley of Gods?"

"No… I just don’t think the Abandoned Valley of Gods would be in Heaven’s Light."

"Don’t you have the silver key? It won’t hurt to try it out," Miles’s demeanor was unusually persistent, "Regarding the Abandoned Valley of Gods, I, too, have heard many rumors. After sorting through them, however, a great majority of plausible sources pointed toward the Holy Kingdom. For the church to have there as their base of operations, surely they have their reasons for it."

Benjamin listened and scratched his head.

"You’re adamant about this."

"You’re only there to try it out, no danger will come to you," Miles continued, "Don’t you need to figure out a way to divert the churches’ attention? It’s not a difficult feat for me to assist in this matter as well."

Benjamin just stared at him wordlessly. Since Miles already suggested so, he ultimately nodded in return.

Infiltrating Heaven’s Light, as risky as it might sound given the city’s complexity, they only needed to worry about concealing themselves well. The church probably wouldn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary.

Plus… it’d be nice to return to see how things are.

With that, after their short-lived encounter at the cemetery, Benjamin and Miles left and proceeded to Heaven’s Light in their separate ways. Benjamin soared swiftly, he should reach the city before Miles so that he could scout ahead for familiar faces.

The holy knights in the streets were still patrolling every corner. However, Benjamin had already concocted an exceptional concealment technique— He used tiny marbles to create a thick, cloud-like mist, allowing him to blend his being with the skies above. With that, he could soar without needing to worry about being detected, not even a cluster of careful eyes could catch a glimpse of him.

In a day, he had successfully arrived in the city.

"I’ve… returned once more."

Passing the guards’ inspection, Benjamin entered the city through its gates. As he strolled in the streets in the outer edge of the city, a sense of nostalgia briefly washed over him. The streets near the northern gates had barely changed, even the meager children begging in the area seemed to be familiar faces from the past.

Benjamin scoured around, then inconspicuously entered the inner areas.

The changes in the internal part of the city were comparably less, everything seemed the same as when he first left. This left him immediately familiar with every path he trod on. After a few turns, avoiding oncoming pastors along the streets, he soon reached the outside of the Reese Family gates.

The Reese Family’s grand mansion still stood. The "Revolting Mage" from the family had not been robbed of its royalty status. However… surely this was mostly thanks to Grant’s endeavors.

If it was not for the fact that the church thought highly of Grant, after the giant water sphere incident in the Royal City that is, the Reese Family might have been decimated.

Activating his water element senses, images within the mansion gradually surfaced. Benjamin saw many familiar faces. The mansion’s maids, servants, and butlers… nothing had changed dramatically. He even spotted Jeremy, squatting near the basement staircase, tidying the mansion’s potato stock.

As for members of the Reese Family, none of them could be found at the moment. Where were they?

Benjamin couldn’t help but sigh.

How time had certainly changed…

"What’s the matter, sir? Why are you just standing right outside our home?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard from behind. Benjamin turned around, surprised that he saw Claude. Claude had a few servants with him, stopping just near enough to spot Benjamin at a distance.

Benjamin froze.

This caught him off guard, he didn’t expect Claude to return around this time.

Despite that, he quickly snapped out of it and said, "...Nothing, this is my first time coming to Heaven’s Light, I just happened to pass by here. To gaze upon such a beautiful house, I couldn’t help myself from being in awe of it."

As he said this, he couldn’t help but glance at Claude’s appearance.

Claude’s face didn’t look like it had gone through a lot of changes, a face that seemed to imply someone owed him a lot of money. Despite that, Benjamin could tell by the look in his eyes that he carried a sense of restlessness that was never present before. Under unknown circumstances, one of his sons was sentenced to death by burning on a stake in place of another son. Then, a string of events happened, leading to the family’s core shattered. Perhaps all of this had been overwhelming for this father to bear.

This left Benjamin feeling uneasy.

However… this was most definitely not the time for him to reveal his identity, doing so would only cause more trouble for the Reese Family. Besides, it didn’t seem like Claude had recognized him yet. As such, he blurted out some believable lies to remain in cover.

"You’re too kind." Claude didn’t seem suspicious. He nodded and said, "I am Sir Claude Reese, this house was built by our ancestors. If it interests you, you may come in for a visit."

Benjamin shook his head urgently.

"No need… I have matters to attend to, I just happened to pass by while looking around. I shall leave you be, good sir."

When he was done, Benjamin gently smiled and turned around. Before Claude could recognize anything from his figure or voice, he hurriedly left the scene.

It was only after walking a long mile, emerging out into the inner city that he stopped in a secluded street, heaving a sigh to himself.

Benjamin shook his head and said nothing.

Regardless, it was sufficient to have affirmed that the Reese Family was still well. Although he remained clueless as to what happened to Marie, any desires of revenge in Benjamin’s heart… had disappeared.

As of now, he only wished to complete his objective.

Upon finding a random inn within the city’s outskirts, Benjamin settled himself in, patiently waiting for Miles’s arrival. The air was tense, most likely due to the serial killings of the pastors. The streets consistently had people from the church patrolling around. Despite this, he had concealed himself well throughout and was never once exposed.

Two days later, he reunited with Miles who had arrived at the Royal City at their designated meeting spot.

"You walk so slow…" Benjamin couldn’t help but pointed out.

"It’s not like I could fly."

"So you’re saying it’s my fault now?"

"..."

Regardless, they came all the way here for the Abandoned Valley of Gods. As such, after a brief, friendly banter between them, they promptly discussed the matter at hand.

"I searched around many places, yet there weren’t any leads about the Abandoned Valley of Gods. Are you confident that the information you gathered is legitimate? Even the Queen thought that the Abandoned Valley of Gods was located underground in Gloria." Benjamin said.

For the past few days, he had traveled to several streets in the outskirts, yet the bracelet in his pockets remained quiet. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary either. As expected of the city, no resemblances of the valley at which the legendary great war was held could be found.

Miles, however, just grinned.

"I already knew where that place is, follow me."

"..."

Didn’t they come to search for it? How did he already find out?

Benjamin’s head was covered in sweat.

Despite that, it didn’t seem like Miles intended to explain, for he had already begun turning around and trailing off. Benjamin could only raise his eyebrows and follow, wondering what kind of surprises this bastard had in store for him.

Half an hour had gone by.

Slowly coming to realization with each step forward, Benjamin shook his head as he followed. "Hold on, this direction… the entrance to the Abandoned Valley of Gods is located in the prison ruins?" Benjamin asked with mixed feelings.