CHAPTER 157 - To the Desolate.
The council's return to the academy was swift but tense. The letter's ominous message had left the members uneasy with Lucian's threat looming over them.
Sitting on his throne while giving the council members advice, Alex heard Sophie's voice in his head.
[You could tell them that it's not Lucian's threat and not to take things this seriously.]
It was the best way to calm the situation, but Alex didn't agree to that.
'No,' he shook his head on the inside, his eyes scanning the tense expressions on the faces of the council members. 'They must stay tense as that's the only way we can make Keryu believe it.'
[Ah...]
Realization finally hit Sophie.
Keryu Ivanovich was not someone who would let an opportunity like this slip by.
That guy wanted to take all the heroines and make them his. Although many of Keryu's plans for many heroines were messed up by Alex, that guy wasn't someone who would back down just because of that.
The only thing that could keep him busy was something drastic like this—something that was never supposed to happen.
Keryu would definitely look into Lucian's matter, and when he's doing that, Alex would be searching for Lilia without being bothered by the fact that Keryu would mess things up.
[... yes, this is better.] Sophie nodded to herself after a pause.
Alex's eyes scanned the council hall. Only Fenna, Zahara, Aelora, and Gurrak remained; all others had left for their respective tasks, with Theron leading them.
"Fenna, Aelora… you'll have to handle things here and make sure that the captures teachers don't try something funny, especially Kaelyn," Alex muttered with a serious gaze. "The last thing we want is someone here helping Lucian."
The girls nodded their heads, and although Zahara felt like Alex was hiding something, she didn't voice that doubt right now. She was sure that Alex must have his reasons.
Alex, on the other hand, turned to Gurrak. "Gurrak, I want you to use the council's network to search for any clue about suspicious activity around the portal." His gaze turned to Zahara, their gaze locked as he spoke, "Zahara, support him with the academy patrol's support."
Both of them nodded their heads, but they understood something as well. They had seen the glint in Alex's eyes, it was as if he was telling them to move without delay.
'He intentionally set us up on this job.'
They both exchanged glances before moving out of the council hall.
"What about you?" Fenna questioned as she saw Alex getting up to leave as well.
"Well, I will help solve this case differently," Alex replied mysteriously before he stepped out of the hall as well.
"Hah..."
Fenna, left alone with Aelora, sighed, her gaze never leaving Alex's back, staring at the door even after he had left.
"I wish we had time to talk," she whispered, her gaze fixed on her clenched fists.
.......................
After leaving the council building, Alex had covered himself in a shadow/darkness veil, moving discreetly toward the fifth peak of the Originveil main city.
He was going to use his personal teleportation artifact again.
While moving through the fifth peak, Alex was surprised by a sudden question from Sophie. [What do you plan to do with Malen and Lena?]
'Why ask now?' He questioned, not sure why she asked right now.
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[Well, you were walking silently, so I thought I'd keep you engaged.]
Sophie's reply made Alex sigh. He wasn't walking silently. He had many things going on in his head, but he was sure that Sophie was aware of that.
She was probably asking this question to divert his mind.
'Hm, I'm not sure.' In the end, he decided to answer her question thoughtfully. 'They have lived past their use, but killing them off would be a waste.'
[Yes, they are star connection realm experts—not someone you would find on the road—so that's the best decision.] Sophie sighed in relief. [I was worried that you might kill them as you had used them on Gurrak as well.]
'Hm, that's there as well,' Alex hummed inwardly before he shrugged. 'It doesn't matter; they can't betray me, so I think about them later. But most probably, I will be keeping them alive.'
As he concluded his reply, he had already reached the beggar—the gatekeeper of the teleportation artifact—from the last time.
This time, however, since he was alone, the gatekeeper just bowed respectfully before opening the door and letting Alex in.
Soon, Alex was standing above the artifact.
[Oh yeah, Zahara was asking what was happening.] Sophie spoke up again, making Alex nod his head in response.
'Tell her everything and ask her to inform Gurrak as well,' he relayed.
The real reason Alex had put both of them on that job was because he wanted them to know if any proof that could affect his or Lilia's plans was still remaining. If there were, they were supposed to eliminate or suppress the source.
The only ones he could trust for this job were Zahara and Gurrak, who had their loyalty directed at him and not at the student council.
[Alright,] Sophie accepted the order and switched her connection over to Zahara to explain things to her.
Alex, on the other hand, got ready to move. Pushing his mana into the artifact, he activated it.
There were many mana stones lying around as well, but since he had infinite mana, he didn't need to use them.
Fwoosh!
The mana in the surroundings rushed toward him with sharp waves of wind before the artifact under his feet started glowing.
In less than a second, before Alex could even completely feel the mana, he was teleported to the place he had set as one of the coordinates for.
Alex was always prepared for this situation, so among the marked coordinates for this artifact, one of them was the place where he would find Lilia.
As soon as he disappeared, the waves of mana calmed down, the glow of the artifact slowly died down, and the underground room returned to its usual calm.
...................
Alex found himself in a room similar to the one he had used as soon as he registered his surroundings.
Without a second's delay, he stepped forward, climbing up the stairs before he found the door, closed horizontally above his head.
The moment he pushed it open, some sand seeped in, but he didn't care about it, as his eyes were busy scanning the surroundings.
"The desolate zone..." Muttered Alex, stretching his body as he knew he would need to be alert.
This was a desolate zone deep within the demon realm, a place avoided by even the bravest demons. The air was thick with death energy, its oppressive aura making it hard to breathe.
Alex turned around and closed the doors, covering them with sand as no one was guarding them before he stepped onto the cracked, ashen ground, his boots crunching against the brittle surface.
The sky above was a roiling mass of dark clouds, illuminated by occasional flashes of sickly green lightning.
This place was devoid of life, a graveyard for forgotten battles and ancient grudges. Bones littered the ground, their jagged forms jutting out like the remnants of some macabre forest.
Alex's hand rested on the hilt of his sword as he scanned the horizon. "Lilia..." he whispered under his breath. "I'll find you soon."
He moved with caution, his sharp instincts guiding him through the labyrinth of broken terrain. Every step seemed to echo with whispers, faint voices carried on the wind.