Not long after, Mozo noticed someone approaching from behind and immediately turned around, intending to pass his message to Miss Knight's spirit-world messenger.
But the moment he saw the messenger clearly, he froze on the spot.
She was an exceptionally stunning beauty.
Her crimson-red hair possessed an indescribable elegance, her facial features seemed like the painstaking masterpiece of a god, and both her figure and bearing were flawless beyond reproach.
Even someone like Mozo, who had long been accustomed to beautiful women, instinctively thought:
What a breathtaking woman.
But the reason he froze was not because of her beauty.
It was because he recognized her.
According to legend, the Storm King who ruled the skies and seas possessed four angels personally assigned by the Goddess as his eternal guardians. And among those four, the leader was the Valkyrie herself, the Crimson Angel Ophelia.
The Crimson Angel Ophelia had once been the Sea Goddess's finest and most trusted warrior and follower. She possessed both terrifying combat power and glorious achievements. Though merely a Sequence One angel, the world still honored her with the title of Valkyrie. That alone was enough to demonstrate just how extraordinary she had been.
Later, after the Goddess fell in love with the Storm King, she gifted her greatest angel to her beloved king, making her both his shield and spear.
Under the Storm King's command, Ophelia continued to establish countless legendary feats. Yet in the end, during the Ancient Dragon War, she vanished alongside her king into the currents of history.
Both the world and even the Goddess herself had long concluded that the Valkyrie Ophelia was dead.
And yet now, Mozo had once again met the angel who had once served beneath him.
The moment he looked at Ophelia, countless emotions surged through his heart.
Shock.
Joy.
Fear toward the future.
Unease.
But above all else, there was relief and happiness at seeing that an old companion still existed.
Unfortunately, that relief lasted only briefly.
Mozo soon frowned as he looked into Ophelia's eyes.
Those eyes were beautiful enough to put even the finest gemstones to shame.
But they lacked the most important thing of all.
Life.
They were exquisitely beautiful, yet utterly soulless.
Startled, Mozo waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Regrettably, those gorgeous eyes showed no response whatsoever.
Mozo slowly sat down on the ground in a daze.
There was no need for further tests or confirmation.
Standing before him was merely her shell.
The most important part of any complete lifeform, the soul, simply did not exist within her.
For a moment, Mozo did not even know how he should speak or what he should do next.
He had finally reunited with someone from the past, only for it to end in such tragedy.
Yet while Mozo stood frozen, Ophelia, or rather, the messenger lady, moved.
Her movements were somewhat stiff as she walked over to Mozo and slowly extended a pale, jade-like hand toward him.
At first, Mozo felt a flicker of hope.
He thought perhaps she still remembered him.
But soon, all that remained was bitter amusement and sorrow.
She had not reacted because she remembered him.
Everything that made a living being who they were, emotions, memories, cognition, even essence itself, came from the soul, not the body.
Certainly, the physical vessel mattered.
But compared to the soul, it was insignificant.
Because once the soul was lost, all memories, emotions, and self-awareness vanished with it.
What stood here now was merely a beautifully crafted puppet that moved according to lingering instincts and residual reactions.
She was not Ophelia.
She was simply a spirit-world creature that wore Ophelia's appearance.
Naturally, such a puppet could never remember him.
The reason she extended her hand was merely to request the gold coin required as payment for her appearance.
After letting out a bitter laugh, Mozo placed the prepared gold coin into her hand. Then, under the messenger lady's completely emotionless gaze, he slowly explained his request.
Once he finished, Mozo said softly to her:
"You may return now. I have nothing else I need."
The messenger lady gave a faint nod before stepping back into the kaleidoscopic crack.
Not long afterward, Ophelia emerged once more. Raising a hand, she manifested an illusory projection of Miss Knight.
At the same time, the projection spoke:
"I understand the situation now. I will immediately notify the Inspectorate. Please remain where you are for now. I will bring reinforcements and rendezvous with you as quickly as possible."
The projection vanished shortly afterward.
And after receiving another gold coin as payment, the messenger lady departed from this place and returned to the spirit world.
In a detached house located at the border between the wealthy district and the commoner district, Audrey stood trembling uncontrollably in the corner, her face filled with terror.
It was not that she did not want to run or do something.
Rather, the current situation was simply too horrifying, far beyond what she could mentally endure.
She could not understand why her perfectly ordinary daily life had suddenly turned into such a nightmare.
Back when Mozo had gone to the ruins in the Old District, Audrey had suddenly received a notification from White Dove, saying there was an emergency requiring everyone to gather here for assistance. A generous reward had also been promised.
Because White Dove had always been extremely trustworthy, and because nothing had ever happened over the years aside from those people using Tarot card aliases, Audrey had come to the agreed location without hesitation.
Then, the moment she entered the house, she realized she could no longer move at all.
The other gathering members were the same.
Aside from Mozo, who could not be contacted because he had entered the ruins, everyone else found themselves unable to move the instant they stepped into the building.
Then, beneath the terrified gazes of the crowd, a horrifying man walked out from the shadows of the room.
Half of his face belonged to a handsome human man.
The other half belonged to a green-haired monster.
With a snap of his fingers, Audrey and the others found themselves involuntarily walking into a large room.
There, despite having no chairs whatsoever, they were forced into impossible postures, seated in a circle as though participating in a gathering.
Then the man snapped his fingers once more.
To Audrey's horror, her companions began speaking to each other in relaxed, teasing tones despite the absolute terror plastered across all their faces.
They chatted about trivial matters from previous gatherings.
Their expressions were filled with fear.
But their voices sounded calm and casual.
At first, Audrey and the others had no idea what was happening.
Until White Dove suddenly smiled and said:
"Newcomer, give yourself a codename. Makes things easier for everyone. Oh, I'm White Dove. The person beside you should be familiar to you already, she's Rose. Going left from there is…"
At that instant, Audrey finally realized the truth.
The man was recreating the exact scene from when Mozo had first joined the gathering.
Before Audrey could continue thinking further, her mouth suddenly opened against her will, speaking in Mozo's voice:
"Please call me Fool."