I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

The seemingly endless rain in the lower city was completely shut out by a heavy, rusty iron gate.

Deep within the abandoned alchemy workshop, Leah inserted the rusty workshop access token into a very concealed groove. Accompanied by a grating grinding sound, the maintenance gate leading to the underground sewage ditch slowly opened to both sides, releasing a pungent, acidic stench of alchemical waste.

"Let's go." Chu Tian glanced at the old map of the sewage ditch soaked in oil in Lia's hand, and stepped into this unknown underground labyrinth without hesitation.

The sewage ditch was dark and damp, with thick magic crystal pipes crawling all over the walls. Some long-abandoned magical runes shimmered faintly in the darkness. Underfoot lay highly toxic wastewater emitting a fluorescent green glow—the poisonous blood discharged by the nobles and magic workshops of the upper city after their nightly revelry.

Lia endured the pungent smell and struggled to find her way through the intricate network of pipes.

This road was one she would never forget. Years ago, when her father was a technician at the Third Magic Workshop, he had secretly taken her along this path under the guise of maintenance. At that time, his eyes were filled with fear and determination. He stroked Lia's head and whispered, "If one day, we can no longer live in this lower city, escape from here."

Her father couldn't escape, but this picture became the sharp weapon she used for revenge today.

The sewage system is not without its defenses. As an underground artery connecting the upper city, it is patrolled by mechanical spider-like puppets that crawl along the pipes from time to time.

However, every time the crystalline eye flashing red light was about to sweep across the shadows where they were, Chu Tian didn't even stop walking; he simply raised a finger with utmost casualness.

"laugh--"

A thin, invisible sword aura flashed silently in the darkness.

The expensive patrolling puppet didn't even have time to sound an alarm before its core magic crystal was precisely split in two, turning into a pile of scrap metal that quietly fell into the sewage.

Chu Tian remained silent the entire way, like a ghost, using absolute force to clear all obstacles for this girl from the lower class.

About half an hour later, Leah finally stopped in front of a moss-covered stone wall. She forcefully pushed open the rusty iron gate at the top of the wall, which was disguised as a ventilation opening.

Chu Tian followed her and leaped up, and the scene before him changed dramatically in an instant.

They stepped from the outlet of the sewage ditch into an extremely luxurious underground garden passage.

Separated only by a wall, the filth, despair, and biting rain of the lower city were completely kept out by a massive, transparent "constant-temperature barrier." The passageway was paved with spotless white marble steps, flanked by magic crystal fountains emitting a soft glow, and various rare magical plants vied for attention in the suspended gardens. In the distance, elite guards clad in silver enchanted armor could even be seen patrolling back and forth.

Looking up, directly above the garden passageway stands the magnificent main building of Randall Manor.

The place was still brightly lit, with warm orange light shining through the huge floor-to-ceiling crystal windows. Faint, melodious magical orchestral music and the soft laughter of nobles clinking glasses drifted down from there.

They were enjoying a lavish late-night party. To these high-ranking figures, the number of people who had just died and the amount of bloodshed in the lower city was nothing compared to a drop of red wine in their glasses.

The stark contrast caused Leah's body to tremble uncontrollably.

Chu Tian glanced at the glitz and glamour above him, his eyes as cold as ice. He patted Liya on the shoulder: "Do what you're supposed to do."

After evading several patrols of silver-armored guards, Leah followed the blueprints and found a hidden magic door behind a rockery. It was the secret cargo passage of the underground experimental area of ​​the Third Magic Workshop.

Pushing open the door, the scene before me once again formed a stark contrast to the luxurious garden outside.

This is not one of those rough, dark underground prisons filled with torture instruments, but a clean, cold, large alchemy laboratory.

The space was illuminated by blinding, cold incandescent light, and the floor was covered with seamless white tiles. However, this extreme cleanliness was tinged with a nauseating sin.

On both sides of the passage stood dozens of huge cylindrical glass jars. The jars were filled with a pale green preservative solution, and inside were disemboweled and extremely deformed corpses—these were all failed products that had died after being forcibly subjected to "magical organ transplants," most of whom were children in their early teens.

On the silver operating table in the very center, there were still traces of dark red blood that had not yet been cleaned up.

At the far end of the laboratory are rows of "magic adaptation cages".

Dozens of impoverished children from the lower city were imprisoned in the cage. Each of them was emaciated, with empty eyes, and wore extremely heavy black suppression collars around their necks, brutally squeezing out the barely remaining life force within them to nurture their magic.

"Eren...Eren!"

Lia's eyes searched frantically through the cages, and finally, in a corner, she spotted the small, huddled figure in an iron cage.

That was her younger brother, Allen.

He was still breathing, but his body was extremely weak. On his pale, thin arm, a series of magical numbers representing "experimental sample" were mercilessly branded.

"Sister..." Allen heard the familiar voice and opened his eyes with difficulty.

"Who goes there?!"

The laboratory's piercing alarm suddenly blared. Two guardian mages dressed in white tower robes rushed out of the side door, leading four heavy alchemical golems.

When they saw Leah kneeling before the iron cage, their first reaction wasn't shock at the invasion, but rather a slightly impatient adjustment of their monocle.

"Experimental sample number 73 escaped? Are tonight's patrols just sitting around doing nothing? Catch it, it just so happens that we're still missing a living consumable for tonight's magic fusion experiment."

They were used to being superior and didn't even take the man in the blue robe standing behind Lia seriously.

Chu Tian didn't waste any words.

He looked at the children locked in cages like animals, and the murderous intent in his eyes solidified into a tangible form in an instant.

"Clang!"

A very faint sword hum.

This time, Chu Tian did not use that overwhelming and domineering sword energy, but instead demonstrated his incredibly precise control over his power.

Several invisible sword energies, as thin as hair yet sharp enough to cut through dimensions, crisscrossed and intertwined throughout the laboratory like lightning.

"Click-click-click"

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

The iron cages holding the children, their locks, and the heavy, intricate black restraint collars around their necks were all sliced ​​in two with remarkable precision in the same instant, then slipped silently off. Not a single child was harmed, not even a hair!

At the same time the collar hit the ground.

The four heavily armored golems that charged forward, baring their fangs and claws, had their defensive runes between their brows, along with their core power crystals, pierced instantly by the sword energy. Their massive metal bodies slid forward a few steps due to inertia before collapsing with a crash, turning into lifeless objects.

"you--"

The two guarding mages didn't even have time to chant the first syllable of the spell before they were horrified to find that their expensive staffs had been cleanly broken in two.

Immediately afterwards, a very thin line of blood slowly emerged from their throats.

Two corpses lay silently on the white tiles. The killing was so clean and efficient, it was almost an art form.

The new Avengers

Leah paid no heed to the corpses around her. She yanked open the iron cage door and hugged her younger brother tightly in her arms.

Allen was burning up. He stared blankly at Leah, weakly reaching out his small hand to touch Leah's left eye, which should have been gouged out.

"Sister...am I dreaming? Your eyes..."

Allen was stunned. He saw a faint, dark golden sword pattern deep within his sister's left pupil, radiating a mysterious and powerful aura.

Leah fought back her tears, refusing to explain the miraculous experience. She simply hugged her brother tightly, her voice hoarse but incredibly firm:

"Don't be afraid, Ellen, your sister will take you home."

At this touching moment of reunion.

"Slap. Slap. Slap."

A very untimely, slow and elegant clapping sound came from behind an airtight door at the deepest part of the laboratory.

The airtight door opened, and a young nobleman dressed in a well-tailored, spotless, high-grade alchemical white robe emerged, surrounded by several fully armed high-ranking mages.

Victor Randall.