45 Chapter 45: Mission E (13)
Third-person POV
In the city, more precisely in the guild "Stars in the Darkness," six people were seated around a table in an office. All wore serious expressions, but one person stood out among the six. Positioned in the middle, a burly man around 45 years old with his hands on the table commanded respect and admiration. With black hair and deep blue eyes that seemed to see through you and discover all your secrets, he wore formal attire with a black suit and red tie. Frowning, he asked:
"Have the bodies been found?" in a husky and deep voice.
"No, sir. Nothing was found. The place was clean, no traces or clues. It's as if nothing happened," replied a young man. Wearing shining armor that sparkled as much as the daylight, a sword hanging from his waist, he exuded a calming aura. With black hair and gray eyes, his attitude was both relaxed and serious, providing a noble contrast. His name was Andrés Tudor Grimald, the crown prince and heir to the throne, brother of Alicia Tudor Grimald. At 22 years old, he held the rank of mid-emerald, the greatest prodigy in the entire empire.
"In which area was the ritual performed?" asked the guild leader, Alex de la Cruz, a close friend of the emperor. He was assigned this place by the emperor's orders, trusting his friend to cover them on the front lines and keep creatures as far away from the empire as possible.
"The ritual was performed in the northeast of zone 5, about 10 kilometers from the 'Fallen Forneus' home. All we know is that around the ritual, there's an unbearable smell of decay. The flora in the area disappeared, leaving it inhospitable and devoid of any sense of life," replied a girl with purple hair, a witch's hat, and purple eyes. She held a large wand with a crystal on top, shining with starlight. Belonging to the witches' house, Arabela Darkwood, the eldest daughter of the house and the prince's fiancée, matched his age. Her always mysterious attitude gave her an air of elegance, and her perfectly curvaceous body was a beauty in every sense of the word.
Magic and witchcraft, though similar, were distinct. Both derived from mana, but witchcraft was a different branch that used scrolls and runes, unlike magic, which could be cast with just a thought. This didn't mean one was weaker than the other; both were powerful. Witches were experts in curses, potions, and even elixirs, primarily practicing dark magic.
"But we have information that two people disappeared. According to my investigation, it was a gold-maximum rank hunter on an extermination mission with his gold-medium rank wife. We suspect they were the sacrifice," added the golden-haired girl.
To the right of the prince, there was a girl with golden hair and eyes. Her aura was pure and bright, with an air of innocence around her. Wearing a white dress with a necklace around her neck, Seraphina Benedetto, daughter of the church, practiced light magic and was also the prince's second fiancée.
"After all, for their sacrifice, they need a strong and vitalized soul, souls that have reached the gold rank. At that point, the soul begins to transcend the path to the divine."
Behind them, casually sitting in a chair with his feet up on the desk, an extraordinarily beautiful elf with disheveled green hair and green eyes. His outfit was out of place; he should have been wearing beautiful armor like his friend, but instead, he had on a white shirt outside his black pants. His carefree and relaxed attitude gave him a playboy allure. With green hair and eyes, he belonged to the snakes' house, Zephyr Viridis, the eldest son and heir.
Bang!
The sound of a broken head echoed.
"Arggh! Why do you hit me, woman?" he asked indignantly, putting his hands on his head and lamenting the tremendous blow he received from his fiancée.
Beside him, a woman with hair as red as hellfire and yellow eyes stared intently at the person crouched with hands on his head, feeling her blood boiling again. She had a red armor covering her curvaceous body, another top-tier beauty. Clasping her hands, she smiled sweetly.
"Dear, can I know why you're not wearing your armor? Why are you always so informal!"
"C-calm down, Evangeline. If it's in my ring, and we weren't in battle. You know I don't like always having that thing on."
Bang!
Another blow was heard, and Zephyr was seen unconscious on the floor in a corner.
The others were not surprised to see this scene; they were already used to it.
On the other side, the woman named Evangeline Ember was staring at her unconscious husband, completely lamentable on the floor. Releasing a small sigh, she turned around and said:
"The place was full of malevolent energy. Also, considering how the place ended up and how grim it became, we suspect it's one of the 'Ancients' from zone 7. According to the information we have in the empire's library, it's 'Nigrothor,' a creature that, according to history, has been alive since the great war."
Evangeline Ember, the heiress of the Felix house, the eldest daughter, and an expert in spear handling, married to Zephyr. If you approached her, it was as if the air became hotter. She didn't have much patience, but with her husband, it was a bit more, just a little, and her aura was wild and chaotic.
"Zone 7, huh? Although I go there sometimes, I've never been able to find it. It always stays hidden, damn rat," cursed Alex.
Everyone ignored the elf who was unconscious in a corner.
Everyone in the room was essential to the empire. In addition to being heirs to their parents, they were here to hunt creatures and become stronger. They belonged to the imperial student council and were summoned to find out what happened with the corresponding ritual.
They were all childhood friends, and the reason they were best friends was that they knew everything about each other, creating a formidable group in battle.
"The cult that performed the ritual belongs to the faction of this creature. It is mid-level, unlike the worshipers of the 7 deadly sins, high-level primordial creatures," replied the elf who was unconscious a moment ago, despite Because he was receiving his wife's piercingly angry look, he did his best to ignore it.
"The worshipers of the great 7 are an even greater danger. According to records, the leaders of each cult are of mythical rank. With the blessings they receive, they pose a greater threat to be reckoned with. Although none of them has been seen until now, they are hidden. But with the appearance of this cult, the other layers will also rise one by one," said Prince Andrés.
"We have a lot of work to do. Return to the empire and inform the emperor of the situation," he ordered.
Everyone nodded and left the office one by one, leaving it in silence.
"You can come out now."
"Yes, sir." A completely black figure emerged
from the shadows.
"Tell me how those two are."
"Right now, they're resting on the border of zone 1," replied the shadow.
"It will be interesting to see what they want to achieve by escaping their home to come to this place," he said with a small smile.
Alex de la Cruz, being the owner of this city, obviously knew who entered and who left. Furthermore, with such a high status, he wouldn't overlook it and began to observe them.
He obviously informed the two families about where their children were. Anthony's father said he hoped he would come out alive from that place. Although he was very cold with his son, he still cared for him; his mother sighed in relief that her son was okay. The problem was the Snow family; they loved their little daughter so much that the duke himself was going to come in person and take her. After a very long conversation, they agreed with Alex that he would keep an eye on her and protect her from any danger. Although the duke was somewhat hesitant, he agreed after talking to his wife.
The truth was that Alex was very curious to see what they would do. Also, he was surprised by Anthony's change in attitude. He heard he was the shame of his family, but apparently, the truth was quite different sometimes.
"Don't lose sight of them, understood?" Alex said.
"Yes, sir," replied the shadow, disappearing from the place. Thus, the office fell into total silence once again.
All the readers who made it this far, I have some corrections to make: 1. Change 'kingdom' to 'empire'; it sounds cooler. 2. Change the last name of the imperial family. 3. Change the name of the lion family to the phoenix family. Only these changes for now.
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