Chapter 74
In human form, yet concealed by waves of shadow due to shadow extraction, Aaron's eyes captured two different things; one on the left as he saw Resse for the last time, and in front of him stood a large mansion belonging to a noble in Niki, with lamplight that further strengthened his suspicion as several people went in and out of the place.
A faint smile appeared on his melancholic face as he realized his own condition.
'Not bad. Now, I should spy on what they're actually doing in that place.'
"And kill them all," he added in a voice almost like a whisper.
His face turned flat as his right hand, covered in surging shadows, moved to cut off his left hand without the slightest hesitation.
There was no blood, no bones visible, no flesh. But it made Aaron grimace in pain, and sweat poured down his forehead as if the pain sensation was truly real.
His left hand was gone.
He let out a breath with a strained face before moving with calculated and careful steps as if he did not want to miss this tense moment and wanted to vent his irritation.
Actually, he wanted to find his friend in Tezny and would end all of this afterward. However, after the demonic horse attack in Moran about two months ago, his thoughts changed.
Even though this situation benefited him because he rarely encountered agents from the Ordo Soas Repena.
As he walked calmly along the edge of the mansion and was about to climb the twin staircase on the right side, his steps suddenly stopped as he had just stepped onto the second stair.
Not because he was discovered by the enemy, but because he saw something familiar, very familiar to the point that his pupils shrank and the veins on his face bulged.
'This person? Damn, so he's here.' He smiled and would not hesitate to do something this cruel.
Two people had just come out of the mansion and leaned while watching the surroundings with serious expressions.
Aaron then moved toward them while sharpening his nails with shadows through the extraction around him.
Fast! Fast!
Blood gushed from his nearly severed neck, and they didn't even have time to react as Aaron walked past them.
However, that is not enough.
The mansion door that had previously been wide open suddenly slammed shut quite hard.
Aaron observed the condition of the central room for a few seconds before snapping his fingers, and a small explosion appeared in the middle of the room.
Boom...
The explosion wasn't as strong as usual, but it was enough to make the people inside the mansion come out.
As they all moved from their previous positions toward the central room in a hurry, and once they had gathered, they realized two people had died and saw no one standing in the middle of the room.
The central room became dark with only a single small explosion.
"Find that intruder!" shouted one of the people standing on the second floor.
About ten people on the ground floor reacted and followed the order.
"It seems this time we're dealing with a skilled intruder," said a man with straight black hair, his blue eyes faintly glowing in the darkness on the second floor.
Meanwhile, from outside, Aaron released a wave of shadow that concealed him and saw ten people searching for him around the mansion.
'This is a group of money seekers, and valuable items including relics to be sold on the black market. And it seems the two people I killed earlier, more precisely, I failed to kill them. Damn.'
He had made quite a big mistake. Those two men, he had seen them before about a week ago on Menniree Street, and he didn't know what they were doing in that place. But one thing was certain; he had drawn one conclusion—this group was conducting business amid this chaotic situation.
Aaron didn't know what was in their minds, and he didn't compare them at all to the people from his homeland because that was utterly ridiculous, not on the same level—that was what kept running in his head.
'Tch, a waste of time dealing with them. Besides, those two were protected by Recipestele, and it seems low-tier.' Aaron just realized it after noticing it from a distance.
Recipestele is a humanoid creature that resembles a human, but it has rough skin, eyes depending on its type and level, and two black wings beneath its shoulders.
The same kind as Tell, but Tell has a higher class than that creature, even if just one level above. However, that creature has high regeneration and possesses supernatural abilities that do not originate from this world, but from a world with similar power yet greater destructive force.
Tell's escape earlier under the pretext of restoring energy was none other than sensing the presence of a creature of the same kind, but when it arrived at the roundabout, that creature had erased its traces as if it knew it was in danger.
'One has recovered, and the other is truly on the verge of death because he doesn't have protection from his friend's Recipestele.'
Three people stood at the doorway of the mansion, one had recovered from the slash wound on his neck, one was dying, and two others were observing his condition.
"Hey, Yeiyon," said the blond-haired man in a hoarse voice. "Did you see the one who did this?" he asked, making sure while occasionally scanning the surroundings.
Yeiyon immediately directed his Recipestele to heal the man beside him who was dying.
After doing that, he opened his mouth and said with a sharp gaze directed at him, "So, you want to catch that person and receive praise from the boss?"
"What?" The man clearly didn't accept that. "What are you even saying? You're awfully sensitive." He glanced at his companion, signaling with his eyes before leaving the two of them and continuing the search around the mansion.
Yeiyon sighed.
"Damn useless people," he said irritably. "Hey, Naza. Are you alright? That slash almost went through your neck!"
"Aghh..." Instead of answering, Naza groaned, but in truth his throat was in no condition to speak.
Yeiyon clicked his tongue. "Let Essel heal you." He touched his neck instinctively, recalling the strange pressure that had lowered his shoulders before he realized he had been on the brink of death.
He is a Hollow's.
The atmosphere in the mansion was filled with panicked murmurs, irritated chatter, and a suffocating tension that enclosed them all.
"Has the intruder been found?" asked the boss loudly, the same person who had ordered his subordinates to find the intruder.
"No, boss," replied the man who had been at the door. "We didn't find a single trace."
"Bastard," the boss snapped, clenching his fists tightly. "Find him no matter what, and if you can't, blow up this mansion and leave Niki afterward."
"Yes, boss," they answered in unison.
Aaron, who was still not far from the mansion, faintly heard the boss's anger. His melancholic expression faded as the night wind swept through his hair and made his coat flare like fire in a furnace.
His left hand had regenerated after several minutes, and he stood still. Aaron smiled faintly, then formed a pistol gesture with his hand, pointed it upward, and fired.
Although not as loud as a real gun, the sound could be heard by the people in the mansion, about thirty meters from the tall building where Aaron stood.
The people around the mansion reacted, their jaws tightening, panic invading their minds upon hearing the gunshot-like sound, a signal shot.
"Take the goods we've collected and blow up this mansion immediately." The boss shouted, his lips trembling, his heart pounding irregularly.
The atmosphere around the mansion turned chaotic, the air felt suffocating, and time seemed to pass quickly as they all moved outside and set the mansion ablaze to erase their traces.
On the other side, Aaron watched all of it, including when the group moved together toward the roundabout.
"This is over, and I didn't expect not to find the one who summoned that creature, damn."
After standing there for too long, replaying his memories up to this moment while gazing at the beautiful night view from above.
Feeling it was enough, he turned around, and as he jumped from the tall twin-towered building, an attack shot swiftly and struck his waist.
"Aghh...." He shouted reflexively, his body scraping along the stone-paved alley before crashing into the wall at the end.
Brukk!!
The sound of impact echoed briefly in the alley before two people in classic attire—knee-length black coats and white shirts underneath—looked at Aaron lying there from above.
Holding his waist and enduring the pain from scraping against the stone path, Aaron tried to stand and looked at the two people standing before him.
"So it's you, Aaron," the voice was calm, yet mixed with surprise upon realizing who he had attacked.
Aaron's eyes widened. "Damn. I was startled and didn't realize there was an attack coming at me."
His gaze shifted to a woman wearing a thick white shirt and a knee-length jacket, walking steadily behind the two men.
"Zavi, right?" He shook his head as his vision suddenly blurred from the previous attack.
"Why were you standing there?" he asked in confusion.
At that moment, Aaron realized why he had been attacked. "You came because you heard the 'gunshot'?"
"Of course," Zuhen replied calmly, taking out a cigarette pack and pulling one stick before placing it in his mouth.
He lit it with a lighter, took a drag calmly, then exhaled.
White smoke lingered in the air before fading due to the strong night wind.
When their gazes met, no one spoke. Finally, Zuhen opened his mouth and broke the tension.
"You," his index finger pointed at Aaron. "Damn it, and it seems I've remembered that again." He held the cigarette with an empty gaze.
Felina heard him and said in a worried voice, "Sir? Don't tell me..."
"I'm going to find that person." Zuhen turned and looked at Felina's face, which showed shock upon hearing it.
Meanwhile, the two of them just stood in silence, feeling like outsiders and not understanding what they were talking about since they were using a language they didn't understand.
Although Aaron was not from the Norn kingdom, he was quite proficient in using common Talazze since he had lived in Vinohoshi long enough, once thinking the place was safe from the pursuit of the Ordo Soas Repena agents.
But this time, he and Zavi didn't know what language they were using now.
"So," Zavi broke his own confusion. "When are we going to do it? I alone am not enough to do all of this."
Seeing their doubtful expressions, Zavi quickly added, "What about you, Aaron?"
"What do you mean?" he asked for confirmation.
Zavi clicked his tongue. "The idea you suggested this afternoon! Did you forget?"
"Ah, that one." This time, he really had forgotten to do it.
Their joint plan, to create chaos and destruction evenly across the six districts to force the people hiding in Moran to come out.
All of it would take place tonight, and if not possible, it would happen the following night. Precisely when the festival that was supposed to be held in Moran would take place.