The three Empresses all revealed slight surprise at those words, and Daybreak was the one who spoke first.
"In that case, we have no reason to stop you. We only hope that you return as quickly as possible. Please understand,this matter is extremely important to us."
The old man in the silver-white mask immediately bowed.
"I understand. And as a mere audience member, I would never willingly miss such a beautiful story."
As soon as he finished speaking, silver liquid began to flow from the surface of his mask, rapidly covering his entire body. In the next instant, the old man vanished completely from where he stood.
Only the three Empresses remained.
At the same time, the bells of midnight rang throughout the entire Empire.
Meanwhile, within the Special District, the seemingly peaceful Wayne family mansion had already become heavily guarded after the return of the family head and its core members. Hidden throughout the estate were extraordinary private soldiers with deadly skills.
At the center of the main hall sat Kurt, struggling to suppress his excitement, while his father paced back and forth with unconcealed joy. Standing nearby with complicated expressions were Kurt's elder brother, younger brother, and younger sister.
Joining the Faceless Court had always been the Wayne family's greatest dream.
Yet the impossible feat that countless outstanding ancestors had failed to achieve over hundreds of years had somehow been accomplished by the half-playboy Kurt.
The sheer unexpectedness of it filled his siblings with both jealousy and excitement. Because joining the Faceless Court meant that their family had become a future Angel lineage.
Although the ancient contract forbade them from publicly revealing it, that alone was enough to make their hearts race.
A future Angel family, backed by the Faceless Court itself...
Just imagining the benefits was enough to make them tremble.
The only unfortunate thing was that the one bringing such glory to the family was not themselves. And naturally, the one who would enjoy the greatest benefits would not be them either.
Old Wayne, still pacing excitedly, once again turned toward Kurt and asked:
"You really... really passed the test?"
Kurt, the only one seated in the hall, answered once more:
"Yes, Father. I succeeded! I fulfilled our family's long-cherished wish!"
As he spoke, he placed the parchment scroll before them again.
Everyone present had already examined it countless times, yet they still could not resist looking again.
After all, this was the admission ticket to becoming an Angel family.
The text upon the parchment had already transformed into an incomprehensible form, something even Kurt, the signer himself, could no longer understand. Though if Mozo were present, he would actually be able to decipher it.
Still, understanding the contents no longer mattered.
Because beyond the original contract, a clear line of text had appeared upon the parchment:
We shall welcome your arrival beneath the bells of midnight.
And now, midnight had arrived.
As they listened to the massive bells echoing outside, the sound they once considered noisy now felt heavenly.
Then, with the final toll of the bell, and amidst the nearly desperate anticipation of the five family members...
The old man wearing the silver-white mask finally appeared beside Kurt.
With just a single glance, the other four nearly dropped to their knees.
Because this old man was clearly a Sequence Two Angel!
A high-ranking existence their Wayne family had pursued their entire lives!
And now, their family's Kurt had the chance to become such a being as well.
The old man slowly swept his gaze across the room. He first took out four parchment contracts and tossed one to each of the remaining four family members before abruptly departing with Kurt as swiftly as the wind.
At the same time, he left behind a single sentence:
"Sign the contract, and you shall enjoy the benefits you desire while bearing the responsibilities that accompany them. Refuse, and I will erase the corresponding memories from your minds."
Meanwhile, after a brief moment of dizziness, Kurt found himself following the old man into a strange courtyard surrounded by endless fog.
Aside from the brick walls that blocked out the dense mist, the only thing within the courtyard was a massive maple tree.
And beneath the tree stood ten thrones arranged in a circle, each bearing masks of different colors.
Kurt stared blankly.
Ten seats?
Wasn't the Faceless Court only supposed to have nine members?
Before he could continue pondering, the old man turned toward him with a smile.
"You passed the test and witnessed a strange and valuable story. Therefore, Kurt Wayne, from this day onward, you are officially a member of the Faceless Court."
Then the old man spread his arms and bowed.
"I welcome your arrival."
Straightening himself again, he pointed toward the thrones behind him.
"Mr. Kurt, please make your choice. Any seat whose mask still remains is yours to claim freely. Would you like me to explain the Pathways represented by each mask one by one?"
Kurt immediately shook his head.
"No need. I already know what I want."
As he spoke, he walked directly toward the green mask.
Then he pointed at the green throne and declared:
"My family's Pathway is the one represented by the Green Mask. I choose Green."
Yet the old man replied with unusual seriousness:
"Are you certain? I must inform you—the Green Mask is incomplete."
Kurt Wayne froze on the spot.
"What... what do you mean?"
The old man walked past Kurt and stopped before the green throne. Looking at the green mask resting atop it, he said coldly:
"The previous Green Mask reached Sequence Two... and then shamelessly betrayed us."
"Although the Contract of Ten tore away a massive portion of his Beyonder characteristics the instant he betrayed the Court..."
"Somehow, he found a method to bypass the most crucial part of the punishment. He managed to retain the most important Sequence Two characteristic, along with part of his Sequence Three powers."
"To this very day, we still have not recovered the characteristics he stole from us. Frankly speaking, it is rather embarrassing. Especially considering that he already descended into partial madness due to the missing characteristics."
Kurt was left utterly speechless by the shocking revelation.
Only after a long while did he finally mutter blankly:
"But... but I'm already Sequence Seven. If I switch to another Pathway now... wouldn't it already be too late?!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mozo was happily lying on his bed, excitedly staring at the estate transfer documents in his hands.
A top-grade vineyard estate!
He wondered whether Kurt had already chosen his mask.
Then another thought suddenly surfaced.
Wait... why hadn't Miss Audrey come looking for him?
Abruptly, Mozo lowered the transfer papers and sat upright on the bed with a frown.
Audrey knew he had entered the ruins. And last night, such a massive incident had occurred.
So under those circumstances, why hadn't Audrey come to ask him about what happened today?
Of course, it was entirely possible that he was simply overthinking things. After all, his relationship with Audrey could only be described as average at best, and she might not necessarily connect the earthquake to the ruins.
But the moment the thought appeared, Mozo could no longer shake the feeling that something was wrong.
He suspected this was his Beyonder intuition warning him.