"At least fifty million."
"...what?"
Lucian’s expression changed.
"For a single weapon...?"
"Of course."
Lucian couldn’t believe it.
"So the money I have..."
"How much do you have?"
Isolde asked curiously.
"Thirty million..."
"You can get a somewhat decent ring with that."
"...I was thinking of getting a custom weapon."
Lucian spoke carefully and both Isolde and Sabine stared at Lucian with flat looks on their faces. Lucian very quickly understood what they were thinking, so he just looked away.
But then—
"What about ninety million? Would that be enough?"
Naomi raised her voice, ready to give him all her money, but—
"No."
Isolde instantly shook her head.
Naomi blinked.
"You should visit a few Supernatural Markets."
Sabine just chuckled.
"We will."
Lucian nodded, already making plans about this.
He did not like how ignorant he had been about this until now. He had spent all his focus on learning about Demons and other races, so he had completely missed this.
"Shall we move now?"
He spoke as he stretched his body, removing all these thoughts from his mind.
"The maze moved, which means others are catching up.
We need to hurry."
From what Sabine had told them, it wasn’t just about gathering Waymarks. Waymarks only allowed them to meet Aevrienne, they also needed to clear the maze to reach her and it went without saying, the earlier they reached her, the more favourable their position would be.
Others knew it as well, so they all nodded and started moving.
Once again, Naomi’s senses were like a gift. The group moved through the maze with ease, not falling for even a single trap. They also found multiple Waymarks. By the end, Naomi, Isolde, and Sabine had three Waymarks each, while Lucian had two.
The group only needed one more Waymark for all of them to be qualified to meet Aevrienne, but before that could happen—
Lucian suddenly paused.
"What is it?"
Naomi frowned.
"Several people ahead."
Lucian spoke with a solemn look on his face. Then, however, an amused smile appeared on his face.
"That’s a familiar voice."
He spoke as he expanded his senses.
"Enemies?"
Isolde questioned directly.
Lucian stared at her with a flat look on his face.
"I said a familiar voice."
"I don’t know, considering you know them, I wouldn’t be too carefree."
Sabine took Isolde’s side.
Lucian thought about it for a moment, then he actually nodded.
"That makes sense."
Lucian took the lead, making sure he was ready to defend if something happened. After two more turns, the corridor opened into a large chamber where nearly a dozen people stood together, some examining markings on the walls, while others guarded the different entrances.
Two injured Hunters sat near the centre as a Healer treated them.
As for the group leader, Lucian’s smile widened when he saw the man.
"Commander Ashcroft."
He called out with a wide, pleased grin on his face.
Ashcroft’s eyes immediately moved towards Lucian. For several seconds, he only stared, then—
"What are you doing here?"
He spoke with a not-very-pleased look on his face.
"Good to see you too, Commander."
Lucian smiled like he always did.
"You were assigned to guard the entrance."
Alaric narrowed his eyes.
He knew because he was keeping track of Lucian’s movements.
"Well... things happened."
Lucian shrugged.
"You defied orders again."
Alaric wasn’t even surprised.
"I swear something happened.
I had no other choice."
Lucian tried to defend himself. Alaric just shook his head.
"You never do, do you?"
Lucian kept smiling. Naomi lowered her head, she did not like how Lucian was being scolded by the person who seemed to be his superior because of her.
As for Alaric, he stared at the grinning Lucian and just sighed.
There was no point thinking about why he was here. What mattered more was...
The total number of Waymarks his group had.
Eleven Waymarks.
That was absurd, especially considering how their group of thirteen Hunters only had four.
Just... what sort of insane group was this...?
Alaric stared at the members again and surprisingly, he recognised one of them.
"Isolde Verraine."
"Alaric Ashcroft."
Isolde smiled arrogantly.
"You two know each other?"
Lucian asked curiously.
"I suppose the Ashcrofts and the Blackthorn Circle can be considered to have some sort of relationship."
Isolde nodded.
"We trade with the Blackthorns on a regular basis."
Alaric nodded as well.
"Is that so..."
Lucian nodded, his eyes shining meaningfully as he stared at the two of them.
Just then, one of the Enclave Hunters moved towards Alaric and whispered something into his ear. Alaric heard that, then his eyes fell on Sabine.
Sabine very quickly raised both her hands.
"Before you say anything, let me make this clear.
The records you have of me contain several misunderstandings.
It’s all a misunderstanding."
"They contain theft."
Alaric spoke with a cold look on his face.
"It’s misunderstood ownership."
Sabine corrected.
The Hunter who reported to Alaric snorted at that. Sabine only smiled innocently. Lucian stared at her, her smile only widened.
’They have no proof.’
She mouthed without actually saying anything.
Lucian and Naomi stared at each other.
Alaric also stared at Naomi. He did not recognise her. Which, obviously, was not strange, he couldn’t possibly know everyone.
The problem, however... was something else.
His Artifact was not reacting to her, not one bit.
That meant... she was a normal Human.
But...
...what was a normal Human doing here?
No, just what was with this team?
A normal, powerless Human.
An insane Witch.
An Artifact thief.
And a Demon-Class Blood-Altered Human who should have no business here.
And how did THIS team, out of everyone they had encountered so far, have THIS many Waymarks!?
Alaric saw Lucian standing in front of him with a grin and he could already feel the headache coming.
As for Lucian, he stared at Alaric, then his eyes moved to another man standing beside Alaric, a man he recognised.
"Dorian, my old friend~"
He greeted him with a big grin.
Yes.
It was Dorian Ashcroft.
Alaric’s younger brother and the first man to ’spar’ with Lucian when he first came to the Enclave.
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