Chapter 508: A hunch (2/2)

His heart had calmed down a little, his mind focused as he continued to use his divination to try and predict what they wanted to hear, what they would do.

“How did you even find us? This isn’t exactly an army position,” the pirate said.

“Why are you so suspicious?” Lilith asked.

“A hunch,” the man said and shrugged. He glanced at him with a smirk on his face.

He knows. Shit!

“We had already cleared this temple,” Nicholas said honestly. It was lucky that there had been no Mantis Sire here, otherwise why would they now lose to them?

“It felt like the monster behaved differently in the end… as if its instincts returned,” he shared the weird realization with them, hoping it would somehow lead credibility to his plea.

“Interesting,” Lilith said. “Come on, let’s go. Maybe they survived.”

No they didn’t, Nicholas thought and ran out of the temple.

____________________

Ilea and Hector followed the man through the streets. It wasn’t long until they found another temple.

“What’s your name anyway?” she asked him.

‘ding’ ‘Divination Magic Resistance reaches lvl 7’

Huh? Not now Cless!

“Nicholas Walker,” the man replied. He had black hair and eyes. A mage at level two hundred and ten, quite small and thin compared to herself. He wore a gray robe with an imperial insignia near his heart, the thing had a lot of blood on it.

“Walker family, why would they send someone like you to the front?” Hector asked.

Why is he so suspicious? Ilea wondered.

“I’ve funded and taken part in a lot of expeditions over the last decade. Someone had to go and I was chosen because of my experience. You likely know about our usual lack of interest in these affairs, Captain Destroyer,” the man said.

What? He knows who Hector is? Maybe he was right all along.

Hector downright dripped with smugness. It was just water of course but his smile already annoyed her.

“I’m glad to hear my name is not entirely lost within the plains,” he said.

Ilea rolled her eyes as they teleported through the temple.

“I did not expect to meet you here, together with Lilith out of everyone,” Nicholas said and glanced at her shyly.

“You know me too?” Ilea asked.

“The man knows a lot more than he’s letting on. He’s using divination spells,” Hector said.

“OH. That was you!” Ilea said and laughed. “You can get names with magic?”

“No he can’t, don’t you know anything about other magic schools?” Hector asked.

“Fuck off pirate, I didn’t ask you,” Ilea said.

Nicholas looked between them like a scared deer. “I can guess some things about people… not their names however. No, you two are rather famous.”

“I see,” Ilea said.

“Probably how he found us too,” Hector said.

The mage didn’t comment on that when they entered the hall where the ritual had taken place.

Ilea had seen the cracks already but this one was much more subdued than the one in Nara. Killing tens of thousands just to TEST a spell. Fucking motherfuckers.

“One of them is alive,” Ilea said and blinked, finding a familiar face between the mangled corpses and a dead Pearl Mantis. She extended her ash and started healing the nasty wound on the woman’s side. “Maria. Didn’t expect to meet you here.”

“L… Lilith, right? A healer is exactly what I hoped for,” the woman said with a slight smile, closing her eyes as she relaxed.

Ilea didn’t know how much she should mention, knowing that Hector and the unknown noble were close by. Already it was clear that she knew Maria.

“You’re part of the strike teams?” she asked and continued healing the woman.

Maria opened her eyes and sat up, completely ignoring the gore around her.

Ilea saw two human corpses and one Pale Mantis, all of them fucked up beyond recognition. These things really go wild, she thought and glanced at Maria. Or she did, she smirked.

“I am, yes. We were sent to kill monsters and Cursed here. They were quite a bit stronger than expected,” she said and gestured to the carnage around her. “Major Redleaf had me join.”

So she’s still working with Felicia. That’s good at least. Though I’m sure she has her own reasons to be here. Maria likely had more enemies in the Empire than Felicia and Edwin combined, Ilea thought, knowing a few things about the woman.

Ilea had seen hundreds of Cursed killed by Pearl Mantis Sires and this scene was a little weird in comparison to what she’d seen. The creatures killed, yes, but they didn’t make a mess like this. Maybe it was different when there weren’t any other things around to kill but Maria survived, which meant the thing did this before killing her.

Maria being here provided a simple enough explanation. Maybe she just wanted to kill these people.

“We’ll have to talk later, alone,” Ilea just said. With anybody else, she wouldn’t even have thought about it but Maria? Maria was a killer if she’s ever seen one.

The woman nodded, giving her an apprehensive look.

She was always a little bothered about her inability to injure me too, Ilea remembered.

[Mage – lvl 253]

That is quite satisfying, she thought with a smirk.

“What’s so funny?” Hector asked, stepping up to them. “I feel like I’m being left out of something.”

“We know each other. That’s all,” she said and saw Nicholas tense up within her sphere.

He doesn’t like that.

“You want to study the area again or can we just fuck it up and move on?” Hector asked.

Eager to get more gold and treasure? Ilea thought, unsure if it was wise to invade a non Cursed city with just the two of them. Then again, other than the team with the General, she doubted there were many others who could just flat out overwhelm a group of high level fanatics.

“For a few minutes, you can go loot if you like,” Ilea said and let the people be. She wanted to talk to Maria quickly to catch up on some things but not while the others were around.

“Oh thank you for your permission, oh great Lilith,” Hector said and bowed before turning towards Maria, the woman glancing at the two men in turn.

“You’re interesting, why the murderous look?” Hector asked and leaned in.

He has someone else to annoy, very nice, Ilea thought and focused on the ripples around her, using her space awareness to glance through the veil. What she saw was much more blurred than back in Nara, and still the colors and impressions fit perfectly with the scenes she had already seen.

Probably not random then… a targeted fissure in space, and the other side is in on it? Or are they just trying to summon some high level being to end the world or something? That would be unoriginal. Maybe Hector is right and I’ll at least get an interesting fight out of it.

“I always look like that,” Maria said and rolled her eyes at the man. She was healed again and collected her daggers.

“I’m… I’m glad that you survived,” Nicholas spoke up but didn’t approach. He was obviously in distress but the way he acted in front of Ilea and Hector before, it was clear this situation just overwhelmed him in general.

“I thought you didn’t exactly like me,” Maria said and smirked.

“You’re part of the team. I thought that monster got you,” he said.

“You ran away,” Maria said. “Your barriers could have helped quite a bit.”

Nicholas looked dejected. “I’m… sorry,” he said and looked down.

“More experience for you,” Hector said. “You don’t look like you give a shit that he left so stop acting like a little shit,” he said.

“And who might you be exactly?” Maria asked.

“I’m the Destroyer, who the fuck are You?” Hector said.

“I’m Maria Acantha… I believe I have heard that name. A pirate, yeah that fits. Did Lilith become one too?” she asked.

“Acantha,” Hector spat. “You’re one of Elisora’s little cunts? Figures.”

Maria didn’t react visibly.

Ilea glanced over. Hmm. Would have expected more there. Maybe she knows just how outclassed she is.

“I’m not my mother,” Maria said.

Ah, so that’s it. I do wonder why she never helped her.

Hector laughed. “Yeah but you damn sure act like her. I can’t say I’m not interested. Do you care for a bout or maybe something a little more personal?”

Maria smiled. “I’ve been humiliated enough today, thank you.”