Rest in Peace

"Good, good, *good* — an admission at last. You killed two Intermediate-Level Mages — fellow students of Pearl Academy, no less — and on top of that you summoned some hideous murdering monstrosity. Mo Fan, oh Mo Fan, there's no escaping for you today. If you ask me, *you're* the Black Church member!" Luo Song jabbed a finger at Mo Fan and laughed coldly.

"The Black Church???"

"Mo Fan is Black Church — no wonder! In the dark labyrinth I saw a creature nearly identical to a Black-Beast Demon. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!"

Every gaze in the crowd snapped to Mo Fan at once, and the label of "Black Church agent" was being pressed firmly down onto his head.

A corpse. And a cursed monster.

The evidence was damning.

**Whoooosh — whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—**

While panic rippled through the crowd, a violent gust tore through the air above, whipping the flags atop the buildings into a furious frenzy.

Someone looked up — and went rigid.

A pair of wings, keen and fierce as an eagle's, cut through the sky.

A closer look revealed a pale-faced man descending from above, magnificent eagle wings spread across his back. He swept down in a wide arc, and his striking silhouette drew gasps from every student below.

"It's Tribunal Agent Night Hawk!" someone shouted immediately, recognizing the famous warrior on sight.

The Tribunal had no shortage of exceptional fighters, but one member in particular was known throughout the world — a man who bore wings like an eagle. That man was Night Hawk.

He circled above the city like his namesake, and those sharp, hawk-keen eyes of his had never once let a target escape.

"A Cursed Beast Demon?" Night Hawk's gaze locked onto the creature.

He quickly saw, however, that it had been beaten into exhaustion, and a formless shadow force had it bound fast.

Night Hawk turned to the crowd and called out: "Which of you is Mo Fan?"

"Lord Night Hawk, you've come at the perfect moment! That's Mo Fan right there — he's a Black Church spy, he killed two of our classmates..." Luo Song leaped forward at once and laid the full weight of blame squarely on Mo Fan.

Shen Mingxiao and Bai Cangfeng had both encountered Black-Beast Demons themselves, so they too pointed their fingers at Mo Fan.

"All of you — shut it." Night Hawk dismissed their accusations with contempt and walked straight to Mo Fan. Those hawk-like eyes swept him up and down, measuring him, before he spoke. "Mo Fan. Single-handedly taking down Black Church Deacons and Priests, with power and nerve that far exceed your years. Remarkable. Truly remarkable."

As he spoke, a broad, undisguised smile spread across Night Hawk's pale face, and his leather-gloved hand came down hard on Mo Fan's shoulder.

The august Tribunal Agent's words left the entire crowd standing there with their jaws hanging open.

*Single-handedly took down Black Church Deacons and Priests??*

*Real Black Church members had actually infiltrated the academy??*

*And Mo Fan had cleaned house?!*

"Unfortunately, one Priest got away," Mo Fan said.

"No matter, no matter. If it weren't for you and the late Xu Zhaoting, how could we ever have uprooted the Black Church's entire network inside Magic City? On behalf of the Tribunal, I thank you for stepping forward when it counted." Night Hawk's eyes were bright with admiration.

Their Tribunal — with all its accomplished fighters, all its remarkable talents — had never once managed to make meaningful inroads against the Black Church. Even after the catastrophe in Bo City, the masterminds behind it still hadn't been brought to justice.

And yet this single operation had cleanly dismantled everything under a Blue-Robed Deacon's command. They didn't know precisely how many Black Church agents had been lurking in Magic City — but eliminating a threat of that magnitude meant countless people would be spared from the Black Church's schemes in the years ahead.

"I only wanted to avenge Xu Zhaoting," Mo Fan said.

"Regardless, you have helped us remove a great menace. Your ability is exceptional, your courage unmatched. After you graduate from Pearl Academy, come join the Tribunal. We'll start you as a probationary Tribunal Agent, and when the time is right, we'll bring you on as a full member..." Night Hawk clearly had every intention of recruiting him.

The Black Church had been growing bolder of late, and flashpoints were erupting across every region. Nearly every Tribunal Agent was already on standby, and the Chief Adjudicator had been weighing the idea of bringing in some reserve forces.

Night Hawk's thinking was simple: in an age when just hearing the words "Black Church" sent most people scrambling for cover, finding a young man willing to actually stand up and face them was rare beyond measure — and this one had extraordinary power to match. Someone like this, the Tribunal would welcome with open arms.

The moment Night Hawk floated the idea of Mo Fan joining the Tribunal, every student present wore an identical expression — and it needed precisely three words to capture:

*Are you serious?*

What exactly was the Tribunal?

It was the most sacred institution that virtually every hard-working Mage dreamed of joining. Never mind the Tribunal's absolute and unchallengeable authority — just the resources it provided to each of its Tribunal Agents for advancing their strength alone was enough to drive any Mage with ambitions to near madness.

One lesson had been drilled into every student since the very beginning: a Mage's sacred duty is to protect humanity.

And what was the highest organization devoted to protecting humanity?

The Tribunal, without question.

So when Tribunal Agent Night Hawk expressed his wish for Mo Fan to join after graduation, a tidal wave of jealousy, awe, and naked resentment crashed over Mo Fan from every direction.

"We'll be taking the Cursed Beast Demon with us. And those two individuals' identities — we'll dig until we have answers," the pale-faced Night Hawk said.

"Understood." Mo Fan gave a nod.

The battle had left him utterly spent.

His wounds had closed, but the drain on his spiritual power had been immense. He was fortunate to have four elemental affinities — four full Star Nebulae worth of stored Magical Energy — because without them, a fight this long would have left him completely hollow.

Not long after, school staff arrived, clearly shaken to find Night Hawk already on the scene.

It went without saying: the revelation that Black Church operatives had embedded themselves within the academy was a chilling one. God only knew what those conscienceless individuals might have done to students who were still so new to the world.

When word came that Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu had been murdered by Black Church agents, Dean Xiao fell silent for a long moment at the end of his closing remarks for the assessment.

He had known the Black Church was coming for Mo Fan. He hadn't known they had already taken root inside the school.

He had failed to protect his students. Dean Xiao held himself responsible. He had wanted to do something for Xu Zhaoting's family — but when he looked, he found there was no family left to reach.

And so all the compensation, all the condolences, could only be directed toward Zhang Lulu's family instead.

Mo Fan returned to his lodgings and sank into the reclining chair on the balcony, utterly drained.

The night had grown very deep. Mo Fan — usually so upbeat — lay there replaying the moment he had cremated the two of them with his own hands, and every breath still carried a dull, hollow ache he couldn't quite push away.

The revenge was done. Yu'ang had slipped away without facing proper justice, but a man who couldn't return to the Black Church and couldn't set foot in any human city was as good as dead.

The Black Church's entire Magic City network — everyone under the Blue-Robed Deacon's command — would soon be rooted out completely. And all of it had come down to a single piece of leather hidden inside a body, with names carved into it.

Mo Fan finally understood why so many people feared the Black Church. Because any fight against them left rivers of blood.

"Monkey, what are you up to? Let me tell you about these past few days..." Mo Fan lay there, Bluetooth earpiece in, filling Zhang Xiaohou in on everything.

"Bro, don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone who lived through Bo City has sworn to wipe the Black Church off the map. If it had been me, I'd have done exactly what Xu Zhaoting did. His blood was worth it. If he knew you used the name he gave you to take down a Blue-Robed Deacon-level Black Church operative, he'd be smiling when he told his family about it — wherever they all are now." Zhang Xiaohou's voice was steady and sincere.

Mo Fan gave a quiet nod.

He truly hadn't been able to save them. But at least he hadn't let them down.

They could rest in peace.