The following day, Alex's group could be spotted outside of Lorr; Cecyl and some villagers came to see Alex's group off.
''Take care, please come back once you find your sister; I promise you that this village will be lively.''
Cecyl declared with determination; this is a vow, not only to Alex's group but also to herself, a reminder that she must not fail. Lorr is slowly regaining its color, but it was still far from what it used to be. Without a doubt, it will take some time; however, Cecyl was sure that Lorr would shine brighter than it used to; at least she would make sure of it; it was her duty. Something she must do to repair all suffering her father brought.
''Don't worry, we will come back. So, better be healthy; we don't want to come and see an exhausted villager chief. Well, take care, we will be on our way.''
Alex responded before waving at the villagers as they boarded the carriage.
''Goodbye, Heroes, may the Gods bless you!!"
The villagers kept shouting until Alex's carriage left their sights; giving one last glance at the carriage, which had already disappeared from their sights, Cecyl and the villagers returned to Lorr.
On the other side, Alex's carriage continued speeding through the paved road; it only stopped after ten kilometers.
In front of Alex's carriage was a group of people; behind them were two black wolves darker than night itself; their height was around 1.5 meters.
Alex, Luna, and Sera left the carriage; after paying the coachman, Alex sent him away.
Sera approached the group; they immediately bowed respectfully.
''90, pay respects to Zero.''
''88, pay respects to Zero.''
"77, pay respects to Zero.''
''5-"
''Enough, you may rise.'' Sera was getting annoyed; therefore, she stopped the fourth person.
''88, report.''
At Sera's order, 88 came forward; she started to report.
''On the other two groups' side, nothing was found. The leader said to assist you.''
''I see; however, your assistance is not required here. Depart to Lorr assist the new head. She'll need your help.'' Sera ordered, she didn't wish for their assistance; they have something more important to do, which is to assist Cecyl. She said assist by Alex knew that there's more than that.
Eighty-eight bowed before disappearing with the others. After caressing the Shadow wolves, Sera turned her head in Alex's direction; she sensed the latter gaze.
''What?"
''I know that your Guild and the Dark guild don't like each other. So, what are planning to let your men be stationed in one of Dark guild's bastion? Are you asking for a war between guilds?"
Luna was also curious about why Sera would send her subordinates to Lorr, knowing that The dark guild in the dark owned Lorr; it's not like the empire was no aware of this, but they choose deliberately to put the blind eye as they also gain considerably from this.
''Well, Cecyl asked for my assistance, and I have agreed. I'm just fulfilling her request. Besides, I'm not anymore tied to the guild, I have a new employer, so I ought to take into account what is good for my employer.'' Sera responded with a smile.
''Ugh!"
Alex grunted while Luna looked at Alex questioningly; she was curious about what Sera meant by a new employer; it didn't take her too long to connect the dots.
''No way. Are you planning to snatch that guild master's most powerful subordinate? What are you thinking?"
Luna questioned Alex after she understood what Sera meant.
Alex scratched his nose and explained.
''Don't worry, Elseria knows, and she's okay with this. I will explain to you later; for now, we have more things to accomplish. Let's start.''
''I see. You better explain to me later. Let's start.'' Luna said before moving toward Sera, who was letting the Shadow wolves sniff of the man's arm.
Soon, the Shadow wolves' eyes turned red before they returned to their usual black color. The shadow wolves sniffed the air, trying to find the appropriate location the smell was coming from, and soon they found it, so they dashed toward that location.
''Don't mind me. I can keep up.''
Before Alex could say anything, Luna told them. A white light covered Luna's body before she sprinted forward, going after the Shadow wolves.
Alex and Sera exchanged glances between both disappeared.
The trio chased after the two shadow wolves who went north. Soon, the group had traveled seventy kilometers; they have left the coastal region far behind, they were now in the middle of mountains.
They traveled for another forty kilometers before the shadow wolves stopped around a small mountain, they started howling.
''It seems it's here.'' Sera stopped and approached the shadow wolves; she calmed them and said.
Alex and Luna scanned the small mountain; at first, nothing unusual were found, however as they kept scanning, the two found some anomalies.
After finally finding an entrance, Alex used vanishing bullets on the group to hide their presence as they entered the dark cave.
{A/N: Vanishing Bullet: Remove presence. The effect is dispelled upon taking any damage.
Cost: 200 MP
Duration: 3 minutes}
It was an underground cave; as the group descended, they didn't encounter anything. Alex started to feel reckless; he hoped to find his sister here; however, now he started to lose hope because of how things are going; the ones responsible for the kidnapping were already aware that they would come.
''I don't like it.''
Luna said while looking around her; only darkness and eerie silence welcomed her sight.
Sera did not say anything, nor Alex talked; they continued to run deeper into the underground cave. Soon, they appeared in what seemed to be a laboratory; everything was destroyed.
Laying in the middle of this room was a corpse missing an arm.
''Sigh! As I have feared, they knew we were coming. To think Rank 12 would be killed with hesitation, his heart was crushed. How cruel.''
Sera commented as she observed the corpse lying on the ground.