Looking at the messy place and the blood scattered everywhere, Emery couldn't help but become paranoid. A Frown could be gradually seen on his forehead. as his mind thought of the worst.
"What is going on here?" Emery muttered after a few moments of silence, trying to comprehend what could have possibly happened.
From the way the place looked, Emery could safely assume a fight took place in here. So, he quickly wondered what kind of person dared to fight Magus Xion, while being so close to the Darkness Institute.
The first person that came to mind was none other than Magus Xion's teacher herself, Grand Magus Zenonia. If she wasn't the one who took action, then it should at least be someone who was sent by her.
After all, there was no way someone sane would be bold enough to attack someone from the Darkness Institute so close to their homeground.
Emery's heart raced very fast at the possibility. He was worried about his teacher and the possibility of misfortune befalling him.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He then went ahead and investigated the scene carefully. He ignored the messy sight of the scattered things and observed the dried bloodstains in the area.
From the size of the bloodstains, whether it was his master or someone else's, Emery could safely conclude the wounds these bloodstains originated from shouldn't be too serious.
They should, in fact, be fine for some period of time. Even so, they would still need medical attention as soon as possible.
Emery then began to examine the place, to see if he could find any clues that could tell him what was going on here. However, he quickly found himself standing still at a loss, as he really didn't know where to start.
There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary as far as his eyes could see.
But then, when Emery was about to go and find some help, he suddenly perceived a disruption in the surrounding space. Thanks to his [Spirit Reading], he managed to sense this subtle, almost unnoticeable anomaly.
He quickly closed his eyes and focused his concentration on tracking where this anomaly was coming from. Soon, he discovered it was located quite far down the hill.
"Someone is near," Emery muttered in a low voice, his face very serious.
Emery quickly used his [Nature Sense] to enhance his hearing and sensing senses. Very quickly, he could 'see' the surrounding area outside of the hut: the vibrant grasses, the breezy wind, the immobile rocks.
'I found you!' Emery silently thought.
The unknown figure Emery had detected was in the forest about a mile away. He couldn't really tell the other party's strength from such a far distance. However, he knew for sure that whoever it was, they were not a magus.
With the current prowess he had, as long as the opponent was not a magus-level figure, Emery wouldn't be afraid to face them.
Making up his mind, Emery quickly went into action.
[Hide in Shadow]
Utilizing his invisibility spell, he watched as his figure delved into the shadow of the hut before proceeding to cast the familiar teleportation spell he always used.
[Spatial Gate]
A moment later, Emery appeared about a hundred meters behind the suspicious figure. Casting his gaze at the latter, he noticed the figure was wearing a black cloak that completely covered their figure. He also confirmed the other party was watching the hut.
The figure seemed to react to his arrival as soon as he stepped out of the [Spatial Gate]. Not wanting the figure to escape, Emery quickly went on the offensive. He swiftly took out his [Moon Dagger] as he cast [Blink], appearing right at the figure.
"Who are you?!!" Emery shouted, as he swung his dagger.
Even though he wanted to capture the figure, Emery knew he couldn't provide any gaps or leeway, as the latter could possibly be the culprit of the scene inside the hut. If that was indeed the case, then this suspicious figure was really someone who couldn't be underestimated.
The suspicious figure seemed to be caught off guard by the sudden aggression, but they still managed to react to Emery's advance in time and neutralized his attack by deflecting his swing in another direction.
Clankkk!!!
A loud sound of metal colliding into each other was heard in the air. Emery was about to send another attack when he heard a familiar voice.
"Calm down!!" shouted the figure, who was apparently female, based on their voice. "It's me!"
The figure removed the hood covering her face, and Emery smiled sheepishly when he saw who it was.
"I am really sorry for attacking you… Senior Yuria."
The woman in black cloak was none other than Lord Izta's trusted subordinate and youngest wife, Yuria.
Seeing the smile on Emery's face, Yuria couldn't help but reply in a half irritated face.
"We haven't met in three years, and I can't no longer hide my presence from you, huh?"
Emery apologized to the other party once again, before he asked what he wanted to know.
"Senior Yuria, are you here for me or Magus Xion? If it's the latter, then there seems to be an attack in his place!"
Yuria noticed the apparent worry in Emery's face, hence she let go of her irritation and spoke in a gentler tone. "Don't worry… Your master is safe. In fact, I came here to take you to him. Let's go."
Emery nodded readily, and the two of them quickly made their way to the teleportation gate and headed to Terra Kingdom, Lord Izta's homeworld.
Emery was glad the place wasn't part of the magus academy restriction. Yuria explained to him Terra was built and given to Lord Izta when he was still one of the five protectors of the academy.
Hence, the world was considered as one of the outposts, acting as a leaping board to send fighters to the frontline or evacuating people in case of a disastrous event. Therefore, it was normal that there was no restriction imposed here.
The two walked through the vast grassfield right outside Terra City and entered the city.
Terra city was filled with thousands of citizens who are mostly fighters and all of them greet him as if he's the master of the city. The two make their way to the palace where Lord Izta lived.
As he approached closer to the palace, Emery inwardly felt glad and relieved his master was fine and present inside the palace. He hastened his pace, and finally entered the palace.
At the moment, the place had much fewer guards than the first time he came. Even so, there were still at least a hundred of them around.
"Hello Emery, and welcome back to Terra," said a woman in plate armor and robe. She was also one of Lord Izta's wives, Camilla.
Right behind, one could see three dozen men dressed in silver and gold armor following her. These people should be the guards Lord Izta assigned to keep her safe.
"Sister, where are you going?" Yuria asked.
"There is an emergency mission. I should only be gone for a day or two. You and sister Silica will be in charge now."
Yuria nodded her head at Camilla's words, as if she had expected it. She was about to excuse themself to bring Emery inside the palace and search for his master, however Magus Xion was already walking out to meet them.
"Emery..." Magus Xion said in a calm voice. "You have come."
Emery was overjoyed to see his master again. But, Magus Xion's condition didn't look so good. The other party looked pale and extremely unhealthy at first glance.
"Master, what happened!?"
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,