After the gem surrounding it had shattered into pieces, the flower bud that was revealed slowly bloomed open. As each petal unfurled one by one, the red fragments of jewel clinging to them crumbled into powder and blew away. The Sage closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them to look down at Mary.0

Eventually, Mary’s petals had unfurled completely. At that moment, the Sage slowly lifted Mary in front of her.0

Whoooosh!0

The drifting red powder swirled and floated up into the air.0

Pop!0

The powder was transformed into petals once more, which then poured down from the sky like rain. Sienna watched this scene happen with wide eyes. The petals currently raining down in front of her eyes were the same petals that had appeared last time when she had first created soul power.0

“As expected, it really was you, wasn’t it?” Sienna let out a snort as she stared accusingly at the Sage.0

The Sage, who was looking down at Mary with a satisfied smile, let out a soft laugh at Sienna’s accusatory words and nodded without hesitation.0

“Was my guidance unwelcome?” the Sage gently teased.1

“I was just shocked since you just appeared without any warning. However, it wasn’t unwelcome. After all, it did prove very helpful to me,” Sienna admitted.1

The Sage laughed, “Ahahaha. If that’s the case, then it’s quite fortunate. Although I only provided some brief guidance, it seems that you were able to comprehend it very quickly, Junior. All I did was give you a slight nudge in the right direction, but you were immediately able to grasp the power that I guided you towards.”1

“What’s so impressive about that? If I was that lacking in comprehension, I wouldn’t have been able to become the level of wizard that I am in the first place,” Sienna said with another proud snort. But from the way that her chin had gradually risen upwards and her shoulders were thrown back, it seemed like she was happy to receive such acknowledgment.2

“Why was that staff in the possession of the Demon King of Incarceration?”...0