’I’m getting more and more skilled with Space Spells.’

’But barging directly into someone’s home is still a bit impolite.’

’So I’ll still go through the formality of knocking.’

KNOCK KNOCK—

"Kumironi."

The door opened, and in that instant, Lu Cang teleported directly into the living room.

"Little Lu Cang?"

She had just helped Lu Cang complete his Profession change this morning. Barely more than an hour had passed.

"Is something wrong?"

It wasn’t that she didn’t welcome Lu Cang, but it was certainly a bit strange for him to seek her out again so soon.

"Sister Kumironi, I just tried performing a Divination. Do you think An Zheng might call on other allies to deal with Master Iz?"

Kumironi asked, "What do you mean?"

"It just occurred to me. An Zheng has traveled the world for so long, he’s bound to know some other friends on his level."

"I just changed my Profession to Prophet, so I wanted to try seeing some images of the future."

"And as a result of my Divination, I saw the entire Ruelun Continent vanish completely. I think I vaguely saw a figure covered in bandages confronting Master Iz."

Hearing Lu Cang’s description, Kumironi’s brow furrowed slightly.

The relationship between the Life Church and the Death Church was like fire and water; they had been mortal enemies for millennia. Kumironi’s position within the Life Church was by no means low.

Her influence wasn’t just limited to the branch here in Lorren; even on a global scale, even at the World Headquarters, Kumironi held a significant position.

Even if she wasn’t at the very highest level of the Church, her rank was far from low.

Kumironi had heard of some of the well-known figures within the Death Church.

She had heard that the Death Church had two supremely powerful Executioners.

One of them was covered in bandages...

Kumironi pressed on, "Does he have any other distinguishing features?"

"Hmm, I couldn’t see very clearly, but I have a vague premonition that they might be from the Death Church."

Kumironi sank into deep thought.

Lu Cang said earnestly, "And besides him, I also saw a man with curly brown hair. He might be an existence on the same Level as the bandaged man."

Lu Cang continued, "Seeing An Zheng over the past while, I couldn’t help but wonder... when a person is on the verge of death, might they choose to rely on an existence related to the authority of Death?"

"After all, Sister Kumironi, you’ve already extended his lifespan, but it wasn’t very effective."

’Having the Prophet Profession is so convenient.’

’If I want to warn someone about something, I can just say I saw it in a prophecy.’

’It saves so much effort explaining.’

’It’s not just about seeing the future. Anything related to the source of my information can be explained away by my being a Prophet.’

’If they ask how I know, it was a prophecy. It was Divination. I saw Destiny.’

’As for *how* I saw it... they don’t need to know the details.’

"That is... a possibility."

"It’s just hard to imagine An Zheng colluding with the Death Church."

In fact, An Zheng’s public image was quite righteous and noble.

A Mage who had left behind numerous legends... There were many heroic tales about him, like how he saved this or that continent, or repelled some incredibly powerful Demon.

It was said that the Magic he taught helped many Mages break through their bottlenecks.

He had even worked with Adventurers in the past to strike down evil Churches, including the Death Church itself.

It was hard to imagine such a figure colluding with the Death Church.

Although he had taken Meiser as an apprentice, that was long ago. After Meiser’s personality warped and he committed his great evil, there had been no news of any contact between them.

But thinking about it carefully...

...there seemed to be a number of suspicious points.

Could Meiser have orchestrated a blood sacrifice Ritual for three billion people all by himself?

Could An Zheng have been the one pulling the strings behind that Ritual?

In truth, Kumironi wasn’t very concerned with An Zheng’s affairs and usually didn’t give them much thought.

After all, with Iz on the case, she felt at ease about anything entrusted to him.

Kumironi said, "I understand."

"Little Lu Cang, can you provide any proof of this destiny?"

’Proof of destiny... the divination symbols sometimes left behind after a Divination is complete.’

’They can be interpreted by other Divination Masters, but not all Divinations leave behind proof of destiny.’

’I know this from Future Preview, so of course I don’t have anything like that.’

Lu Cang shook his head. "No."

"But I should be able to perform another Divination in a little while. Maybe I can produce a more reliable clue then."

Kumironi nodded seriously.

"Yes, I’ll be counting on you, Little Lu Cang."

’I should also find a way to tell Iz about this.’

’Since An Zheng plans to wait until the last day of the month to make his move, he probably won’t lash out at any other time.’

After a quick glimpse into his own destiny confirmed that his situation was relatively safe, Lu Cang once again went to the vicinity of the Imperial Palace. This time, however, he didn’t knock to enter.

He extended his Perception inside to make contact with Iz.

In reality, the entire grand hall was completely sealed, fortified with a Restriction designed to block Perception. An Zheng’s Perception couldn’t get out.

He was completely and utterly confined.

This palace could be called An Zheng’s cage.

"Iz."

’Before, I didn’t use my Perception to enter directly because I was worried about my standing and the risk of angering An Zheng, which would cause unnecessary trouble.’

’But now, I don’t have as many reservations.’

’If he’s got the guts, let him try something now. If it’s just him, then based on what Iz said, Obades should be able to block him completely.’