Inside the mini hall the space path mage turned to the boy, who for everything that's been happening to them, had been strangely quiet the entire time.
The boy stared back at him, his eyes calm with a bored expression on his face.
The space path mage's eyes constricted as he began sensing something wrong with the boy.
He could not explain it, but he was getting agitated at the sight of the boy like his soul was whispering in his ear to eliminate him.
As his fists tightened, the door to the mini hall opened.
The space path mage turned with a puzzled look.
Small shapes scurried in first, and then two naked adults walked in.
A tall woman and man. The space path mage shot to his feet.
The naked man and woman weren't normal. Their hands had long bone white claws and the temperature of the room had risen when they walked in.
The space path mage's brows pinched at the sight, his lips pressing tightly.
You're a rank one, and so am I.
Hadrian thought.
Initially, I had not believed in my chances against a same rank mage. Now, with these vessels' experienced skills, I stand a fair chance.
"Who are you?" The space path mage asked in a demanding tone.
The naked mutated adults did not respond and they had blocked the way out.
The space path mage straightened his back. With a flick of his wrist, dense mist covered the mini hall.
This was Alia's mist that he had "carried" both times.
At the first rank, the space path mages obtained this ability to carry a limited amount of objects in a dimensional storage space.
Once more, the space path mage flicked his wrists and a short dagger and ring flickered into his right hand and finger.
The ring was a mystical artifact of the fate path while the dagger a mystical artifact of the force path.
Though he could not see in the mist, he had the spatial sense ability which worked even better when he could not see.
One of the claws came at his face and he took two steps back, dodging it.
The other one is staying by the door, smart.
The space path mage thought.
Thinking this, his agitation flared and his head turned to a specific direction where he could sense the form of the boy standing still.
Deciding to get rid of the boy, he ran towards the direction but then sensed the small shapes of rats that had surrounded him rushing at him.
The heat rising in the room was also starting to make him exhausted.
As a space path mage, they were quick on their feet and he managed to dodge the little creatures, stepping on some to kill them.
This was also because of the fate path ring he wore on his finger.
The heat mist was increasing and it was starting to get hard to breath in the mini hall.
More elemental mages?
The mage wondered.
The naked woman came at him once more. The space path mage twisted his body with a twirl and with a backslice, stabbed the naked woman's left shoulder right through the bone.
As a mystical artifact of the force path, the attributes of the dagger were augmented. However, this meant it did become quite heavy to carry and use. Even a rank one mage would need to channel essence to boost their strength to carry and use it for long.
With the dagger in the woman's shoulder however, it did give her enough time for her turn kick to land on his side, sending him flying backwards further away from the door and further away from the boy.
Hitting his back against the wall, he was shocked.
Elemental mages can't have that much strength.
With two snaps of his fingers, the mist dispersed. He'd only summoned it thinking he would be at an advantage but it seemed the other parties fought well, even better in the mist.
His eyes were watery, his nose stinging, his mind agitated at the boy and the heat was making him drowsy.
The naked man still stood by the door while the woman was already charging at him.
This isn't right.
The space path mage thought. It felt like his essence was fighting against something else, affecting his utilization.
Hadrian's vessels, meanwhile, were being affected by the disorientation of grasping the space path mage's essence.
These effects affected Hadrian at his core, which meant all his vessels were affected.
He needed to be quick before Haldon figured out something was wrong.
…
"You can't blame me." Haldon said as he led the way down the concrete steps, the sound of metal work muffling above them.
"In fact if Bagdona had not already ordered it, I would have had you send a message back to Gurov."
Their steps echoed and it was surprisingly cool. Haldon did not turn back as he spoke.
As a rank two of the space path he could very well sense Alia's location behind him. Not to mention she was cuffed with magic suppressors, there wasn't much she could do to him.
Even if she was not cuffed, she was a rank one and him two.
"An aye for an eye. A life for a life." Haldon said with his hands clasped behind his back.
After one more flight of stairs, they made it to the basement and walked to the furthest end.
A cellar was perfectly lit with fire sticks on the wall.
Inside the cellar, naked and beaten, a young man with short auburn hair sat against the black brick walls.
Hadrian recognised that hair even though the face was too bloody to be seen.
Truston.
Something small flickered into Haldon's hand and he used it to hit the cellar gates.
"A friend of yours to see you."
Truston's eyes opened to a slit and a bloody smile crept up on his face.
"Who…. Who is that?" His laugh that followed was short, cut by grating coughs.
Haldon's brow furrowed and he turned to Alia behind him.
His facial muscles twitched. In his sight wasn't the young girl anymore but a short brown haired man.
Haldon's shoulders rose and in one quick motion, sliced the man's head off.
Truston's coughing laughs grew louder in the cellar. Haldon turned to him with one intense look and bolted back up the stairs.