182 Alver.

Ozul got out of the restaurant in hurried steps. 

He wouldn't take any chances with Raven and Blaze by staying any longer.

'Now I just have to inform Raymond,' Ozul thought before he started running on top of the buildings.

'I should only pick them up once I think they are ready...' Ozul could not help but think about the two.

Although he had said those words to their face, he only had those two that he could call something other than a stranger.

At that moment, he noticed that there were clouds in the sky that blocked the stars and the moonlight.

He immediately lost his motivation to go all the way to Orita town to tell about his departure. Looking down, he noticed a decent looking hotel before he decided to sleep his laziness off.

. . . 

The next day, he opened his eyes and was about to leave for that town when he remembered that the Ashin Family was supposed to be in the Neutral City, so he did not have to waste his time.

He was then about to head to ask the directions for their manor but realized that Raymond would probably be at the Order of Dusk base.

'Whatever... he said his little brother is the current head, so there shouldn't be a problem,' he shrugged before asking a random person the directions for their manor.

In any case, he was only going to tell that he would be leaving before he started his journey back to the Silverbird Kingdom. And since he was alone this time, he could most likely reach there in a matter of days instead of months.

It turned out that the Ashin family's territory was in a whole other part of the city. He had to run to the other corner of the city. As he moved along, he noticed how the occasional prominent buildings also had their labels on them.

Arriving near the manor, the whole area had no other buildings around. It literally just stopped at one point. It was exactly like the Church, but they had a big garden set around the building, so it was not so obvious.

On the other hand, there was just empty space around the big manor surrounded by two meters tall walls.

Unlike any other manors or any other private property with tall walls surrounding it, this one did not have any gates.

There was only a simple entrance that allowed just about anyone to leave and enter as they pleased. Of course, there weren't many who dared to step closer to that place.

Only a few men, neatly dressed in uniform, would sometimes be seen going in and out.

It seemed that the walls were only for the sake of being there. They did not have any other purpose. However, Ozul did not think that since he was pretty sure that there was some powerful formation behind the walls.

The purpose of that formation? Ozul was not aware. He could only sense a few wisps of Mana floating near the walls.

Ignoring everything, he casually moved towards the entrance.

The people dressed in uniforms passed by, giving him the stares. However, no one approached to stop him as if they were only on guard for the sake of appearances.

Ozul entered the Manor, and only then he noticed a garden even more decorated and well organized than the one at the Church.

He could have left his message to the guard, but he was sure that they wouldn't take him seriously.

Unlike the few rare people not in uniform who respectfully walked in and out of the giant mansion, Ozul turned towards the garden to the left.

Looking at the number of people, he knew that it would take more time there than going directly to the Orita town. Not to mention, he had sensed something in that direction which he could not in the building...

Taking another turn on the stone path, he noticed a man with short black hair. He was sitting at the table with a teacup in his hand. He was looking at the Gardener doing his work.

Before he could take a step towards that man, someone blocked his way. It was a lady also dressed in a uniform. However, she had modifications done to her clothes and seemed to be someone with authority.

"Leave," The woman did not even bother to ask his purpose here and told him to leave.

Ozul ignored the woman and stared at the man sitting a couple of meters away from him. He was sure that this person was the younger brother of Raymond as not only their features matched, but he could also sense his cultivation.

That man did not turn to look at his way, but Ozul was certain that he had his eyes and ears all on him.

Instead of explaining his purpose, Ozul kept staring at the man and spoke in a soft voice, "Tell Raymond that Ozul left. I would be setting things up starting from the Silverbird Kingdom."

Before the woman could even process what he was saying, he turned around and left the place.

Although he had to inform Raymond of the spy, it wasn't urgent. He would probably be coming back and forth. It could be done later. He wasn't even sure if this younger brother of his even knew about their deal, so it was best not telling him.

An ordinary human wouldn't have been able to hear such a low voice, but the man instantly turned his head in Ozul's direction.

"Is he an acquaintance of elder brother? But I couldn't sense any Mana from him..." The man did not stop him from leaving, but he did find it weird how this man not only did not fear him but also seemed to know his elder brother's name.

The woman also seemed to be familiar with Raymond's name as she looked at Ozul's back with scorn. She wanted to show this peasant his place since he dared to speak that name so impolitely. But she could not move from her spot without any orders.

"Alver! I have to tell you about something!" Just at that moment, they heard a voice coming from the opposite side.

The man who was addressed to as Alver respectfully stood up, "Elder brother."

"As a matter of fact, I was just thinking about you. Someone came by..." Alver said.

It was Raymond that had coincidentally just come back here after Ozul had left. Ozul had walked out of the manor, unaware he would meet Raymond if he waited a few seconds.

He was not able to sense him approaching. When he had entered the manor, he could only sense one Rank-9 Mage who was in that direction of the garden. And who could it be other than either Raymond or his brother?

Though he had said his message to Raymond's brother, it was enough. If these two brothers had any communication with them at all, Raymond would get the message. If not, then it did not matter so much anyway.

This was the last thing he needed to do in the Neutral City this time. Without any further ado, he turned straight in the direction of the Silverbird Kingdom and bolted at fast as he could.

A few minutes later, he left the Neutral City. At one point, he stopped running and used the Ball of Purity to fly instead. He had almost forgotten that he could also do this. It took significantly less effort, and the speed could not even be compared.

An hour had yet to pass before he was already in the Desolate lands.

It had been a couple of days, but two of the three most influential organizations all over the Mainland were changing their plans because of him.

One of them owed him his limbs while the other had become his ally.

He was not aware, but the people in the Church were in an uproar at this moment. 

——————

*A few hours earlier.*

A man ran down the hallway of the Church in a rush. He was out of breath, but he did not stop until he reached two giant doors.

He stopped there to catch his breath before he knocked on the doors.

*Tak. Tak.*

"Enter." A voice rang out from inside the room as he opened the doors and stepped in.

The spacious room was less of a room and looked more like a sanctuary for priests. And it was true since a man who appeared to be around his early 50s sat in the middle in a priest's attire.

The man immediately bowed and did not approach the man. "Archbishop..." The man muttered without looking up at him.

"Explain," The old man who turned out to be the Archbishop spoke.

"We confirmed that the charred corpses were indeed Garth and the other two High Priests. I have dispatched people, but there has been no news or any kind of information about what happened yet. We found no eye witness either..." The man gave a brief overview of the situation.

Sweat was slowly forming on his forehead because of the tension in the air.

Most people were not aware, but he knew that the man in front of him would not hesitate to destroy entire countries if he was in a bad mood.

"What had he gone out to do?" Archbishop asked, with his eyes still closed. There was not a ripple of emotions on his face.

"He... he had gone after that 'unusual kid'," The man replied nervously.

"Hadn't I told you that no one was to go after him? Didn't you hear what Clara had explained about him?" Archbishop asked as he knit his brows. 

"Your Grace, I had given out the orders immediately, but he had gone out even before that." The man replied with a back drenched in sweat.

"That person is a Devil. None of you are strong enough to defeat someone at his level. Spread the news that those three High Priests died fighting a Devil to protect a small town."

"As you command your grace," the man was about to stand up and leave.

"Also, show their corpses to every High Priest and the above. Tell them it is what happens to those who don't obey the Lord's will," Archbishop added, making the man shudder in fear.

Just as he knew, the Archbishop was as ruthless as ever. Before he decided to punish him for his negligence, the man quickly left the room.

'It seems that I will have to deal with you personally...' The Archbishop thought before closing his eyes.