12 O’Clock Marionette

A piercing screech echoed through the air, loud enough to hurt my ears.

Was this an intruder alert? Between this and the metal plates blocking secret passages, sneaking into places in this world was an absolute nightmare.

While I clamped my hands over my ears, Cruello cast an invisibility spell over both of us.

Before long, the enemy’s stronghold fully revealed itself.

“No one seems to be nearby.”

“Looks that way. If someone was here, they would’ve heard—Wait, Cruello, your spell’s wearing off!”

The shapes that should have been hidden became fully visible.

At my words, Cruello glanced down at his own hands.

His eyelashes lowered and rose with a slow blink.

“Huh. Looks like they’ve placed a barrier against this type of magic.”

As if testing it, his mana flickered into various forms—electric sparks crackled, droplets of water condensed mid-air, and a faint breeze stirred.

“Offensive magic still works. Seems like only external teleportation is allowed.”

“Like what we saw in Whistle?”

“Something similar. The amount of money it takes to construct a space like this is no joke.”

“Be specific.”

“You could buy an entire empire.”

This sect is filthy rich.

Pebula is broke.

Overwhelmed by the sudden wave of injustice, I made a decision.

We need wealth redistribution. If I see anything valuable, I’m taking it.

“With stealth magic sealed, we’ll need disguises first.”@@novelbin@@