Epic Of The Demonic Sage

"Understood." Kiana nodded.

"Thank you." Lucius said and made his way to his bed to rest.

While he was not fatigued, but instead revitalized with the absorption of new souls for the Necklace of the Damned, Lucius also considered it necessary to hide.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of questions that Kiana had in mind for Asher and she was immensely curious after the earthquake, but she first prioritized their safety.

"Do you think anybody has seen you, Asher?" Kiana asked as she checked the windows for any sign of suspicious individuals.

Kiana's gift was activated, palm ready and at any moment's notice, she was prepared to strike down whoever dared even make a strange look at their direction.

"No. I've made sure to place myself at quite an appropriate distance and to hide myself atop a building and its shadows, but I may be mistaken." Lucius said.

While he hadn't been attacked on his way back to the inn, there was always room for caution.

"Mistaken?" Kiana raised a brow. "I haven't seen you make any mistakes in judgments, Asher. You're careful and take everything seriously."

"It's better to err on the side of safety, regardless." Lucius shrugged. "The people in Bergan's Band host a variety of gifts and there might be one of them with incredibly sharp eyesight that could have seen me from a distance away and such. I was able to witness the second-in-command's power and it's a bit frightening."

One can only imagine what an epic rank gift would transform to if it were upgraded again.

"Is that so?" Kiana asked.

"Hmm… but based on how his gift operated, you're quite the perfect match against him." Lucius chuckled. "With the advantage of being able to perform ranged attacks with high-speed projectiles, you'll be able to put him down, especially with the element of surprise taken into account."

"Well, perhaps you should have taken me with you." Kiana said. "We are after revenge against them, Asher for what they did to you."

"It will come in time." Lucius reassured her. "At the moment, we've dealt a debilitating amount of damage to the Bergan's Band. And while it could have been optimal for Eric to have died in the aftermath of the Plow Worm attack, we'll surely have other opportunities in the future. For now, let's ensure that no attackers come after us. Depending on how Bergan's Band team takes their loss, they might be prone to needless violence."

"Not one will make their way here, Asher. I'll assure you of that." Kiana swore as she stayed on guard. "If you need to rest, please do so now. One can only imagine what tomorrow will be like once they recover a little after the attacks."

"Indeed." Lucius agreed.

The night then passed for Kiana and Lucius, and his earlier assumption turned out to be right, no one came to disturb them.

***

When the next morning came, the entire city was in a tense moment after the series of deaths and loss that occurred last night.

Gellor's team which had been staying in their respective inns went out to search for Lord Asher at once and were relieved to find him safe in the inn.

"Everybody has heard it, haven't they?" Finch said.

"Only a deaf man won't be able to listen to the news, but even they'd be able to tell that something went wrong." Albus said. "Isn't that right, Barty?"

"Of course. You wouldn't believe how many animals were rearing in their stables. I had to help calm our horses down." Barty said.

"As for me, I could hardly sleep with the earthquake, and then the news sprang up. I couldn't believe it." Ariana admitted. "Some kind of giant worm attack they said."

"That… that shouldn't concern us." Gellor reminded his group before they met with Lord Asher.

It was not difficult to put two and two together, but there were other things that were of importance.

"Ah, Gellor and his team. I'm glad to see that each one of you is in good and a safe condition after last night." Lucius greeted them.

"Thank you, Lord Asher."

All of them couldn't help but feel that they were mostly safe due to Lord Asher asking them to stay in the furthest points of Cutlass city and so the tremors they experienced were the least in intensity.

"I'm glad that all of you came here. I was about to ask Kiana to search for all of you." Lucius said. "How are things in the city?"

"Everything's in uproar, Lord Asher. But most importantly, I came across some news last night while everyone was awake and couldn't sleep." Finch said.

"Hmm… I've seen some members of Bergan's Band leaving the city last night. They were all in a state of frenzy and rush." Gellor said. "Is that what you were going to mention, Finch?"

"Why, yes. That indeed." Finch said. "You've seen them leaving the gates, but as for the particular reason why they were departing is…"

"They have to report it to their leader naturally. Obviously they have to let Bergan know or else he might get frightening when he comes back, right?" Albus shrugged. "Makes sense, doesn't it, Ariana?"

"Yes, I think that's what happened." Ariana nodded.

"We've all heard the same thing as Finch, Lord Asher." Barty said. "What would you like us to do next then?"

Gellor and his team were quite curious of Lord Asher's next steps. Even if they did not have concrete proof, the attack on Bergan's Band was no doubt of his doing.

"We've accomplished what we came here for and for that, I'd like to thank you for all your cooperation." Lucius informed them. "We'll leave Cutlass city right away and head not on the road to Aisse territory, but to our camp instead."

"That seems like the best decision, Lord Asher. We'll make the preparations at once." Gellor and his team said.

While Lucius and his team could head for Inanis city right away, if they were to encounter Bergan on his way back to Cutlass city, there was no doubt that it would seem suspicious.