When Luke Lange heard the voice in his mind let him know that he had gained a new Ability from Gene, he felt a strange sensation.

Somehow, he already knew what his new Skill could do, even though he had never used it even once. This surprised him, because even when he bought <Sirkelig> from Vasconcelos, he had to go through the process of assimilation, awareness and practice of the Skill, but now that was not necessary.

'Is that the merchant's power?' Luke wondered, looking down at his own hand, which tingled with excitement to use this new Gene Skill.

The moment Luke opened his mouth to talk to Lescar again, he noticed that everything was starting to move slowly. The boy was no longer in front of him, and the world around him was ceasing to be black and white.

'I have to make sure I thank him the next time we meet.' Luke thought.

The half-wolf knew he had returned to the normal dimension, when he heard the bang caused by the collision of a fire arrow with Ayumi Yamazaki's shield.

Most of the people on the jury got up to start, while others stayed to try to stop Erick. No one had imagined that he would act in such a way, not even his own family.

As they felt the immense heat generated by Erick Smakusa's Epic Ability, all the people in that one felt powerless.

The guards standing vigilantly at the entrance door could not take a step before the first arrow hit Ayumi's shield.

The Nobles on their thrones were so taken aback by the sudden behavior of Patriarch Smakusa that they were in shock for a few seconds, not knowing how to react, just like everyone else.

However, Luke had already seen the scene of his bride dying dozens of times within the Horus Dimension, so no thought troubled him when he finally felt he could save her.

Luke stretched out his right hand toward Erick Smakusa, and said nothing, just stretched his five fingers forward with his palm facing up. Just then, a howling blast echoed throughout the chamber, as if a gale had started inside the courtroom.

The flames from Erick Smakusa's arrow and bow suddenly changed direction, going to Luke's right hand. When these flames reached his hand, they simply disappeared, as if they had never existed.

The flames from Erick's abilities were so intense that as they went to Luke's hand, they formed a cyclone of fire. Luke felt his hand burn with that extremely high temperature, but that only happened because his body was not yet fully adapted to the use of the <Gula>.

After a few brief seconds, the half-wolf realized that this pain was almost nil, although it was so strong at first.

Everyone watched the half-wolf react faster than anyone else, and were simply fascinated. Although for most it was not the first time watching Luke use a Gene Skill in person, because they watched the Tournament of Legends, he still managed to surprise everyone.

Fascinated, Rujierd Daren felt gifted at the sight of Erick Smakusa's complete nullification of the Gene Skill. 'I thought it was just rumors about nullification-type Gene Skills, but... it's real!' he thought.

Erick Smakusa eagerly tried to keep up the flames of his bow to at least try to shoot one more arrow, however he was feeling more and more empty.

Soon, a sudden thunderous crash crossed the hall. When attentive people saw a figure cross the room, they thought it was Luke. However, when Erick Smakusa's head rolled upwards, the half-wolf was standing in the same place.

The blood squirting from the severed neck of Patriarch Smakusa wet the faces of the two grandsons of the old nobleman. Both were serious, but panting with rage, filled with disgust, and perhaps disgust of their own grandfather.

When the people opened their eyes again, they saw Erick's head rolling on the floor of the courtroom.

The long-haired, spectacled brother quickly hid his blade, and tried to regain his posture as he adjusted his black tunic. Kyor swung his sword to the side, staining the floor with the blood on his sword. At that moment a new symbol appeared and a new era began in Oukiwa, indeed, a new era in the entire Broteforge Empire.

The next few days were even more eventful in that great city. The condemnation of the Patriarch of the Smakusa Noble Family resonated throughout the four cardinal points, as did the fact that he had been killed by members of his own family.

Of course, Kyor and his brother were punished harshly by the Council, because Erick's death was to be done by an executioner in an empty place, not in the Central Palace itself, a symbol of the power that was Oukiwa City. Even after being punished, the twins did not back down or seem sorry, and because of this determination the remaining members of the Smakusa Family decided that one of them should inherit Erick Smakusa's position, even though they were too young.

However, it was not up to the Smakusa Family itself to decide this, but rather the Emperor himself, who had the supreme say in the Broteforge Empire.

Still, none of this politicking mattered to Luke anymore. If the main insider, who cooperated with the demons to insert them into the Broteforge Empire, was dead, he had no reason to interfere with the decisions. In fact, he was just relieved that he was out of the hell that was watching Ayumi die again and again, time after time.

When Nathalia, Ayumi and Luke returned to their residence, they told each other that despite the scares their main goal was also fulfilled.

As they talked about the situation, everyone in the gang asked Luke a lot of questions, but he tried his best to deflect them. He always wanted to be as honest as possible with his friends, but Lescar's words about fate still scared him a little.

Although Ayumi, Meredith and Alexis noted that he lied that he had bought this ability some time ago, none of them tried to pressure him. They all trusted Luke completely, and thought that if he was hiding something from them, it was for a good reason.

In the days following the court case, no one took a day off.

Luke returned to training avidly to reach the next stage of Sea Ornament, and also to get a better understanding of what <Gula> might be able to do besides nullifying some types of Abilities.

Even after all that occurred, Ayumi went back to work, that was her duty after all. Oukiwa's backstage was bustling, and many praised Ayumi's excellence for not giving in to Erick's wishes at any time.

Thomas Landford and Shanks Ballard had their reputations affected, because even in the face of such evidence against Erick, they did not raise their hands to judge him. They tried to dismiss it, saying that this gesture would be useless anyway, but a few days later it was discovered through investigations in Erick Smakusa's old office in the Smakusa Fortress that the attack on the Horizon Clan was a joint action between them and the former Smakusa Patriarch.

The Council was lenient with the two of them, but because this attack had greatly diminished the morale of the City and its investments, they were sentenced to the Death Row, a prison that Rujierd Daren personally protected.

After these stressful trials, Oukiwa regained the trust of the larger Clans, and thousands of other adventurers. Luckily, this was just in time for a dungeon breach, which would certainly have been a disaster.

Throughout this almost a week, no one from the half-wolf pack could start to make a plan, and they were just waiting for Amelia's answer so that they could finally have the meeting with the Emperor. They predicted that thanks to what happened with the former Patriarch Smakusa, the Emperor would finally agree to see them, but the answer was taking longer than expected.

Meanwhile, Alexis continued to train Zack, Ynosuke, John, Meredith and also Nathalia, but Matthew quit the training on the third day.

In fact, since the day in court, Matthew began to act differently. He was quieter, more thoughtful.

During a sunny afternoon, with a blue sky without even a cloud, the half-wolf spotted Matthew sitting on a bench in one of the gardens of the Strogueher estate. The breeze was weak, but it was enough to make the atmosphere refreshing.

The wind on the treetops ruffled their leaves, which made everything more peaceful.

Without thinking twice, Luke walked over to the bench where his friend was sitting and sat down beside him to keep him company.

At first, Matthew ignored his presence and continued to stare at the clear sky, while his brown and white strands were thrown back.

Since Luke was tired, he was just left to enjoy the cool wind blowing away his sweat. The half-wolf was not the biggest fan of sunny days, but it was undeniable that days like this were better for training.

At one point, Matthew arched his back and rested his left arm on his knee. His hair fell down, and his bangs covered his eyes.

"Luke, I'm going out..." Even hesitantly, Matthew uttered.

"Going out? Fine, be my guest."

"No, you don't understand. I'm leaving the gang."

"W-what?"

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