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The Dawn Lords had shown up together?!

This was HUGE! After all, while they were technically all allies, they didn\'t necessarily always see eye to eye. Yet, all of them were there!

"Flame Lord, the Thunder Monarch, the Water Emperor, the Invincible Roc, the Windborn Lord…and is that?!"

Even the Prime Alchemist and the Leader of the Adventurer\'s guild were there! What kind of crazy line-up was this?! Even the ones that were usually hermits had showed up!

But it could be easily explained. With the re-emergence of the "Demonic Legion," they needed to show cohesion to reassure the population, the message clear:

\'We have the situation perfectly under control!\' — and seeing the crowd\'s reaction, it was working for sure, meaning this Masquerade was starting perfectly!

Jack smiled as he cruised with them.

Tons of jealous glances landed on him as he enjoyed himself in the Flame Lord\'s embrace. But little did they know that the whole thing was his idea in the first place!

How many fake communique had he created recently, all for this day? So many that the foxes had been running around non-stop! He reminisced as they entered the venue.

The place was shockingly beautiful. Everything had been designed to put one\'s soul at ease, from the scent to the music and lighting.

Jack had used as inspiration the 5* hotels he had seen in his previous life. The only difference was that he wasn\'t here for a delivery this time.

Crystal chandeliers? ✔️

Food worthy of kings? ✔️

A gorgeous marble dance floor? ✔️

Enough Alcohol to doom an AA member! ✔️✔️✔️

Just as he was observing his surroundings, the Flame Lord stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome you to this First Masquerade of mine, hopefully one that will soon become a tradition around here."

At that moment, she appeared so professional that her current irresponsible, training-freak self was nowhere to be seen.

"Now, know one thing, if you\'re here, it means you\'re part of the Dawn\'s Elite! Look carefully around you, and remember the faces, for they are the backbone of Dawn."

So far, so good, her audience beaming with pride. Had people not been worried about interrupting, they would have already been clapping. She kept going:

"Mingle, have fun, and get to know one another! With that said, there\'s something that\'s long been due." Jack suddenly felt himself rise in the air. "Everyone, this is Jack, my heir!"

She introduced him like a clam introduced its pearl, everyone etching his features into their minds. They\'d have to make sure their youngsters didn\'t mess with him!

At this moment, he was like an animal in a zoo:

"So Handsome, the perfect candidate indeed!"

"As expected of the Flame Mansion!"

"He\'ll make a Great Lord for sure!"

That\'s when he knew that they were merely paying lip service. Handsome? All babies were ugly! His adult body, on the other hand…

"Now, shall we kick things off? Music, food, drinks…. and DUELS!" She stressed the last part, many in the crowd cheering as they got their weapons out on the spot!

For everyone here, this was a golden opportunity! As long as the Lords noticed them, they and the faction behind them would benefit!

Then before long, youth after youth started showcasing their mastery right in the middle of the venue. They were so eager to fight that their entire bodies shook with expectation.

A few seconds later…

— WHOOSH! BANG! SHOOOOOO! —

Spells flew all over the place, so powerful they made the barrier around the area shake!

\'They\'re all insane.\' Jack shivered as his "guests" proceeded to utterly destroy the shit out of the peaceful and magical ambiance he had carefully crafted.

He had expected friendly duels.

He had expected light and fun entertainment.

As a chopped-off hand almost landed in his face, he realized he had expected wrong. So freaking wrong! They all looked like they were trying to murder one another.

Still, one had to admit the duels were sick! (In both senses) "It\'s like watching a fantasy Fight Club," he\'d often mumble to himself, his eyes glued to the scene of carnage.

To him, this exercise was the most enlightening thing he had seen in a while. \'So this is how people in Dawn City fight?\'

They\'d always start with bangs!

"Take this!"

"Humph, you think that\'s enough?!"

It would pretty much always be an Elemental Skill showdown. The spells were all as catching as violent— just like their casters!

Heck, even the Earth Mages would crystallize Earth shields around them… just to charge straight at their enemies to impale them! This was madness!

He asked the Ghost under his breath:

"Why are none of them using Arcane? Is there some kind of reason I\'m too noob to understand?" The Old Ghost simply replied with a mental shrug.

The more Jack watched, the smaller he felt.

His Mana Capacity and Mastery were getting higher slowly and surely, but all of his efforts would be pointless in a head-on fight with such over-the-top firepower!

It would be like trying to resist a tsunami using an umbrella… very pitiful! Witnessing this put things in perspective: he still had so much to learn!

He could already picture it; "Ready, FIGHT!" W-what?!" Right after the GO signal, he\'d already be lying in a pool of his own blood.

\'If I\'m to fight those monsters, I need to sneak-attack them, or I\'m doomed.\'

From now on, he\'d have to keep training, bide his time, and learn. Thus, he kept studying each match: knowledge was power!

Someone wanted Lizzy to participate at some point, and contrary to everyone\'s belief, she readily accepted. She went to the middle of the improvised arena, giving a mad laugh.

"Good, good, I have plenty of Chaos potions to test! Say, you don\'t mind losing your genitals, right? Eh, I\'m sure not. You\'re a proud mage. Let\'s begin alrea— uh?"

Mid pre-combat speech, her opponent had already given up. As for whether she was bluffing or not… he\'d much rather not find out!

Still, there was one thing that everyone wanted to ask.

"F-flame Lord, is it true that this young and… talented alchemist is part of your faction?" Someone asked, almost blurting out crazy instead of talented.

"Indeed, you could say so." She nonchalantly replied. Then again, in her eyes, Lizzy was merely Aisha\'s friend, and the whole thing was simply a tiny favor for the Hendersons.

— GASPS! —

Talk about lucky! How had she even managed to attract the Flame Lord\'s eye?! On that note, the duels soon ended, and many suddenly reconsidered their political alliances.

"Hehe, Jack. What did you think? Was it entertaining?" The Flame Lord asked with a radiant smile.

"Umu!" Jack decisively nodded. While he wasn\'t about to talk in public, this much should be fine, right? But he was glad it was over, for he looked forward to what came next.

Just as the people were still gossiping about the previous duels, she made a move, creating giant Illusory Fire Foxes out of fireballs! "Everyone, I have an announcement to make!"

Talk about dramatic! Good thing it was only one, or the entire building would have been burnt down at this rate! Even with the burning heat, many found themselves shivering.

"My Flame Mansion has been cut off from the world for too long. For too long, we\'ve adopted a laissez-faire attitude toward Dawn City. But today, this all changes."

That\'s when she waved her hand.

Out of nowhere, darkness fell on the room. But before anyone could panic, the Illusory fire Foxes came back, swimming in the air and illuminating their surroundings.

Then the magic slowly gathered toward the middle, all merging. Then it all crafted an extremely simple yet intricate drawing!

A fox… no, a fox crest! This looked similar to the current Flame Mansion\'s crest but even more regal. Suddenly, the merchants in the room had a horrible feeling.

"From now on, the Flame Mansion will be doing business! Any Caravan or party with this sigil will be ours. I\'ll be expecting your cooperation."

Oh god! Business?! She had already been a small tyrant merely thanks to her personal power, but now she wanted to actively start a Faction?! What came next, disciples?!

Many were already frowning, especially the other Lords. This was a straight attack on their interests. Should they do something about it… or not?

Jack could already feel hints of killing intent… and this was coming from their "allies"! God knows how their enemies would react. Luckily, he had planned to de-escalate things.

The Flame Lord kept going: "But, the Flame Mansion will remain a worship site; thus, most of our operations will be based at the Henderson Estate!"

Oof! It was as if the entire building had sighed in relief.

The Flame Lord Creating a Faction was highly threatening, but wasn\'t this just the Henderson family rising a little? They could accept that much.

Seeing their relief, Jack grinned to himself.

\'Underestimate us more!\'

But just as he was rejoicing, the Thunder Lord suddenly erupted laughing. "Good for you, Flame Lord, great even! Now, I also have an announcement, or actually a proposition!"

Tch— Of course, he had! Jack was already getting ready for the worst…