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Bright light made Cedric squint for a moment right after he stepped out of the doors.

He looked around and saw that there were barely any people around, though that doesn't mean that nobody sensed his presence or the opening and closing of the spire's doors for that matter.

"He's out!" He heard someone say.

It was then that a few streaks of light flew towards him. Cedric stood still and waited for them to arrive.

The first one to come over was none other than Philip himself, laughing and genuinely relieved to see him alive and well.

"It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back," he repeated.

Next to him were three more people Cedric couldn't recognize. However, he sensed no ill will from them. If anything, he felt that they too were relieved that he's out.

"I'm good; the Spire didn't lie to me," Cedric replied to Philip to comfort him.

"That's good. We should continue this conversation on the ship. We can't stay here anymore," one of the people on the side commented.

Cedric could hear the faint urgency in his tone. He also didn't miss the way Philip's eyes sharpened a bit despite his attempts at hiding it.

"That's right. This isn't the time or place. Come, let's talk on the ship." Philip beckoned Cedric to follow him.

And since he's got nothing else going on, he decided to follow.

Philip didn't take him to the ship they used to come here, no. He took him to a bigger ship, about a quarter of the size of the cruise, which was still larger than most. Furthermore, this one was not only sleek, but it's also fully armed.

'A warship? Huh.' Cedric's eyes flickered in recognition.

As soon as they got on, the engines immediately flared to life, lifting the ship up to the skies and flying off the planet.

"Congratulations, by the way," Philip said, his tone now more light and jubilant compared to before. "You are the undisputed winner of the tournament."

"Thanks." Cedric wasn't surprised by this, and he didn't get overly humble either.

He was aware that his actions and battles had been watched by everybody all the way, so there was no use in feigning humility. If he did, he'd just seem arrogant instead.

"Right, I better introduce these people to you; we were in a hurry earlier, so I couldn't." Philip then turned to the other people next to him.

Then, he introduced them to him one by one.

"This gentleman is Thomas Reiner, the lady next to him is Quinella, and the man next to her is Wilfred."

"Quinella and Wilfred are sent by the Golden Bangle Bank, while Sir Thomas is the representative of the Human Council sent to escort you."

"Nice to meet you." Cedric gave them a curt bow. "But escort me to where? I thought we were done with the tournament?"

"The tournament is indeed done, Lord Dawnbringer," Thomas replied this time. "However, you still need to accept your rewards for your performance from the council. You did, after all, give us quite the show."

"Right. I forgot about that." Cedric chuckled.

Honestly, Cedric didn't even feel the need to accept whatever they can give. He was already satisfied with what he had gotten so far; it was even more than he could ever ask for.

Besides, his coffers are still full. He couldn't even begin to spend the immense riches he inherited from the architect.

That said, he wouldn't say no to more. Besides, it's coming from the council; it's only right for him to accept.

Furthermore, it would be for the best if he went there sooner, if at all possible.

His gaze then shifted to Quinella and Wilfred; the former stepped forward and said,

"We will be your personal bodyguards from now on, Lord Dawnbringer."

"Oh. I see." Cedric understood.

Cedric wasn't just representing Philip and his company during the tournament. He's also representing the Golden Bangle Bank. And because his performance was so out of this world, the Golden Bangle Bank cannot remain indifferent.

They sent two Heavenly Venerates to be his bodyguards, and it's safe to assume that they will remain beside him until he becomes just as strong, if not stronger, than them. Their payroll isn't on him but on the bank; however, he's not forbidden from giving them some bonuses if he really wanted to.

This kind of extravagance was just the style of the bank. And it's the perfect timing too.

"Well, I'll be in your care then." Cedric smiled politely at them. "Though, it seems that I will have to rely on your service right away."

Before anybody could even ask what he meant by that, sirens blared all over the ship.

"Enemies spotted! All hands on deck!!" The ship's pilot barked at the comms.

Philip, Thomas, Quinella, and Wilfred felt their hearts sinking, though they weren't really surprised.

Spreading their senses out of the ship, they instantly saw that they were swarmed.

They haven't even made it far out of the Altus Sky Solar System, yet they already found themselves surrounded by Demons and the Horde.

Smaller ships flew around them with blistering speeds, pelting at the ship's shields and armor, wanting to dissect it piece by piece.

It's clear what, or more specifically, who, they're after. It's just unexpected that they'd be here this early.

"How did people before us not even sense their presence?" Philip grunted as he brought out his weapons and adjusted his suit.

Sir Thomas, Quinella, and Wilfred also armed themselves.

"You three stay here; I'll go out and handle this." As soon as Philip said that, he promptly disappeared from their vision.

Quinella and Wilfred stayed by Cedric's side, guarding him as they should be, while Sir Thomas sat nearby with his eyes closed and focused.

Cedric, as the sole reason why all of this was happening in the first place, sighed to himself.

"It's a sin to be this handsome. There are no lack of people expressing their love to me," he complained as if he were in agony.

Sir Thomas fought the urge not to snort. Quinella chuckled softly before covering her mouth, and Wilfred remained stoic.

Cedric really didn't mean to make light of his situation. He knows that this was just the start of his troubles from now on. Everything that's happening outside are just probes of other races to test how difficult their mission was going to be.

He's paying attention outside. This ship couldn't restrict his field of senses after all.

Cedric could see Philip razing the enemy ships by himself. He was a beast through and through; nobody could even slow him down.

It's understandable. He's an Empyrean after all. He'd be an embarrassing existence if these little pests got the better of him.

Besides, Philip treats Cedric as if he's a goose that will never stop laying golden eggs. Philip owed Cedric too much for boosting the popularity of his business through the roof. The least he could do is to protect him until he's handed over safely to the council.

However, even though this initial attempt of assassination was, frankly, low effort and laughable, it was, by no means, illegitimate.

"Oh, would you look at that, somebody slipped through." Cedric's amused voice startled Sir Thomas and the bodyguards into alertness.

They scanned their surroundings but found nothing. But just as they're starting to think that Cedric was just bluffing, he says,

"About 150 meters on your 06:00, Sir Thomas."

Having no reason to not believe him, Sir Thomas attacked. His spear shot out like a piercing comet, passing through the walls like a ghost and lodging itself into something that has been made visible after the attack.

"H-how!?" a demon groaned in disbelief, which also became the last words he uttered before dying.

Sir Thomas and the bodyguards were shocked. They all looked at Cedric with awe and surprise, not knowing how he managed to sense something they couldn't.

Cedric beckoned his hand, and suddenly, the corpse of the lurking demon appeared before him.

His eyes sparkled as he inspected the poor thing.

"A genetically modified demon. How rare."

Sir Thomas and the bodyguards also noticed this. The demon before them didn't look as normal as other demons would. The traces of modification were obvious from its appearance.

Cedric then pulled something out of its chest. It's a piece of technology that broke after being pierced by Sir Thomas' spear.

"Is this the thing that made it invisible?" Cedric wondered to himself.

Discarding the carcass of the dead demon, they began disassembling the thing. He already knew that the genetically modified demon couldn't have possibly slipped through Philip's senses through its own abilities. Something else helped it, and it's most likely this thing.

Cedric couldn't help but study this thing closely. It was intriguing after all. Besides, the people around him didn't stop him from doing so.

After a short while of shaking and tremors, silence and peace returned. Not too long after that, Cedric felt the ship resuming its course once more.

Philip returned to the room and was briefly surprised when he saw the discarded body of a demon. He gave Sir Thomas and the bodyguards a questioning look but only got a shrug in return.