Just as Elvire and Sean had expected, Zajik was not dead.

But what happened at the hospital that night made him feel worse than death.

His perfect plan, which he had plotted for so long—a plan that should have killed Flame Crow, or at least dealt a heavy blow to the Dawn Council—had achieved the complete opposite result, all because of a Newborn who had just become a Wizard.

Not only had Flame Crow survived, but the two Puppets he had painstakingly crafted were also gone. His own power had plummeted as a result. Now, forget about Flame Crow—he couldn’t even defeat a random Tier Five Wizard.

And it was all thanks to Sean.

Zajik had spent several days investigating the full story of why Sean had come to the hospital.

But the more he learned, the less he understood. How could that idiot, Quill, who was just a hair’s breadth away from Tier Three, fail to handle a mere Tier One Wizard?

What infuriated Zajik the most was that not only had Quill failed, he had also gotten himself fucking killed, leaving Zajik to bear all the consequences of the plan’s failure alone.

The rules of the Florist Family were terrifying.

So, even though blaming the enemy was a foolish act of self-deception, he still brought Sean’s file with him.

Any bit of punishment he could avoid was worth it.

Elderidge Cathedral was crowded today. Many people had come to seek a Priest for prayer, including the director of the Florist Hospital.

The director had arranged to meet him at the Cathedral, and Zajik was prepared to plead his case.

But when he arrived, Zajik discovered the director was not alone in the room.

And it wasn’t an ordinary room, but a confinement chamber.

Inside, there was only a table and a few chairs. The room was otherwise empty, without even a lamp. The only light source came from a few small holes in the wall. Beams of Sunshine pierced through the openings, hitting the floor in patches of light. Dust danced in the rays, revealing that the chamber had not been opened for many years.

The director was standing.

Besides him, an old man sat in the main seat, his eyes lowered, leaning on a cane.

It was the Clan Leader of the Florist Family.

Zajik was stunned. "Clan Leader Robert, why are you here?"

The old man lifted his eyelids, his expression indifferent. "What do you think?"

There was no emotion in his tone, yet as the words fell, the air seemed to solidify, pressing down like an iceberg and instantly filling the room with a chilling, murderous intent.

"Clan Leader, spare me!"

Terrified, Zajik fell to his knees with a THUD. He didn’t dare bring out the excuses he had prepared; only the instinct to beg for mercy remained. It was clear how much he feared this old man.

The director standing to the side didn’t speak up for him, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at Zajik.

The destruction of the hospital in Holkaydo had caused immense losses for the family. No one could help Zajik.

But the old man didn’t seem to be in a hurry to settle accounts with Zajik. His gaze shifted to what Zajik was holding. "What is that?"

"S-Sean’s file."

"Sean?"

Zajik didn’t dare meet the old man’s gaze, his head bowed so low it nearly touched the ground. "He’s the culprit who destroyed our hospital."

The old man shot a sideways glance at the director.

The director immediately understood. He stepped forward, took the paper file from Zajik’s hands, and presented the documents to the old man.

The old man took one look and narrowed his eyes. "Tier One?"

In that instant, the murderous aura in the room intensified severalfold.

"Are you making a fool of me?"

"I wouldn’t dare!"

Zajik hastily explained, "He really is Tier One. We have a traceable record of everything before and after he became a Wizard. This is the intel Quill gathered. The last update was a month ago. Based on the timeline, he should be Tier Two at most by now."

"And where is Quill?" the old man asked.

Zajik: "Dead..."

The old man cracked a dry, raspy laugh. "So you’re trying to tell me that your failure was caused by a low-level target who is Tier One, or maybe Tier Two?"

"It’s not like that, Clan Leader. This Wizard named Sean is strange. He uses a very strange kind of Magic," Zajik said.

"How strange?"

Zajik: "He can use his Magic Power to manifest math problems to trap people. If you can’t solve them, you can’t escape."

The old man: "?"

He looked at the director beside him. "Did I hear him correctly? What did he just say?"

"Math problems?"

The director: "..."

"You heard him right."

But he suspected Zajik had misspoken.

What kind of Magic involved math problems?

He’d never heard of it.

And yet, it seemed to be the truth.

Luckily, Zajik had a recording. Inside the file, besides Sean’s paper documents, there was a storage device that had recorded some of the events from the night of the hospital attack. Originally, it was meant for him to show off, to let everyone see how he had trapped and killed a High-tier Wizard from the Dawn Council. Now, it had become evidence to lessen his own guilt.

There was no equipment to play the recording in the confinement chamber. The old man placed Sean’s file back into the folder and had the director put it away along with the storage device. He then asked, "Do you have any idea how much loss you have caused the family this time?"

"Please forgive me, Clan Leader!" Zajik kowtowed and cried out, first establishing his penitent attitude before trying his best to shift the blame to Sean. He raised his head and said in an aggrieved tone, "It’s just that his Magic is too bizarre. It trapped my men, causing the Holy Grail Array to fail to activate. That’s what gave Flame Crow and the Light Attendant the chance to turn the tables."

"Is that so?" The old man sneered. "According to you, even if this Wizard named Sean can really manifest his Magic Power in the form of math problems, couldn’t you people just solve them?"

Zajik: "..."

We really couldn’t.

The director: "..."

He couldn’t either.

For older people like them, math was something from many years ago. Who could possibly remember it?

And if they couldn’t do it, there was no way their subordinate orderlies could.

Even if one or two clever people managed to solve the problems and escape, it wouldn’t have changed the overall situation.

But that wasn’t what the old man cared about.

As the helmsman of the Florist Family, he held a high position and was swamped with affairs. He had no time to concern himself with what Zajik and the others had experienced. He didn’t care about the process, only the result.

And the current result was not what he wanted.

The Florist Family had controlled Siracle State for over a hundred years and had never made such a grave error. Moreover, the one who caused it was merely a Newborn who had just recently become a Wizard. It was an utter humiliation. If word of this spread to the families in other states, where would they hide their faces?

Zajik had to give the family an explanation.

He also had to answer to that Eminence.

The Witch Hunt Operation had already entered its final stage. At this critical juncture, any mistake—even one so minor it couldn’t affect the grand scheme—could be blown out of proportion and pinned on the Florist Family.

He didn’t want to see any more accidents happen.

"Before the Day of Abstinence ends, bring me Sean’s head."

The old man gave Zajik an ultimatum.

"Or, bring me your own."

...