Chapter 206 - A Scouting Mission Gone Wrong
* Haliene - Dream In Colour *
Dashing through the snowy forest, Raven and Abbadon were too fast for the eyes to catch, and too faint for the mind to notice.
Raven hid her mana quite well while at the same time used her skill Stealth Master to conceal any signs of her presence.
While the information provided to the demon population states that the north is filled with dangerous demonic beasts, it doesn't state that Silver has made it his nest.
After a while of silent, yet, extremely fast travel, Raven and her daemon reached a giant castle.
'Lady Raven, that is the palace Silver had made his home,' Abbadon said through their mind link. 'As you have already noticed, the castle is surrounded by countless magical traps as well as demonic beasts that guard the entrances and the surrounding area.
'Uhm,' Raven nodded. Taking a deep breath, she opened her palm as water droplets floated gracefully above it.
With a flex of her fingers, she sent them in the air. Using her hydro mastery from her Unique Skill: Mana Elementalist, she manipulated the water droplets and formed some lenses that enabled her to see into the castle from the top.
'My mistress is so crafty, just as I would expect from someone of her status,' Abbadon thought to himself with a smile while quietly hugging himself. 'Such a blessing it is to watch her so focused on her task!'
'Oi, stop staring at me like a creep!' Raven scolded him through their mind link, turning his smile upside down. Tears almost ran down his eyes.
'My- but… my dear mistress is calling me a creep?' he stuttered. 'I was just admiring your dedication in your tasks, mistress…'
Noticing that he was on the verge of tears, Raven was surprised but shook her head as if to clear the image from her head.
Activating her True Sight, Raven adopted a serious expression in her face. 'Follow me!' she ordered. Abbadon got serious and did as ordered.
Dashing like two rough phantoms through the beasts guarding the perimeter, Raven and Abbadon were almost unnoticeable. Almost.
Just as they were able to cross the entrance into the castle, a presence appeared in front of them abruptly.
A moment later, Raven was confronted by what seemed like a humanoid creature that was wearing a ghost-clown's mask.
The back of its head, or rather mask, was extended backwards as if forming a crescent with a bright silver clacker ball at the end.
The eyes looked ghostly red and would have most certainly caused a heart attack for a normal person. The mouth was stitched, akin to a scarecrow.
Overall, the sight wasn't a pleasant one.
Understanding that they were about to get caught, Raven wanted to end the creature quickly.
However, before she could move a muscle, the creature was already gone. 'Sh*t! Where did it go? We have to either find it quickly or run back,' Raven thought while biting her lower lip.
But suddenly, she could hear Kayla's voice, 'Abbadon used the skill you gifted him, Execution.'
'Wait, no way he killed that thing in an instant, did he?' Raven was flabbergasted at how efficient he was. 'I didn't even feel his attack!'
'Mistress,' Abbadon called through his mind link. 'We must leave now. That creature was but a clone, and it'll be coming back with reinforcements…'
He didn't want to expose his mistress to danger and he knew better than to underestimate Silver and his subordinates.
Gritting her teeth, Raven decided to push through. 'We can teleport back if we get caught, let's power through it. I need to see Silver with my own eyes.'
Abbadon didn't like it but he didn't complain. 'As you wish, Lady Raven.'
Even though the guards ought to soon know that there are some intruders in the palace's premise, the skills they were using were ought to make it harder to detect them.
Dashing through the castle halls swiftly, Raven was looking for something that screams 'I am the throne room!' or something like that, but suddenly, she could feel Abbadon's tug on her mind.
'My mistress, Silver is underneath,' he said with a look of disdain in his eyes.
Nodding quickly, Raven followed the stairs into the underground floor of the castle. It didn't take them long to find a room with a massively huge door.
'Tch, we'll have to open it if we want to go in…' she said to Abbadon, knowing that might completely blow their cover.
Snapping her fingers, mana blades cut a small hole through the door. Raven instantly used Void Ruler to destroy the missing door pieces so that the noise wouldn't alarm nearby guards.
Before entering, she felt her heart pound harder for some unknown reason. Holding her head between her hands, she felt dizzy all of a sudden.
[The skill Premonition has been activated.]
Understanding that she had seen something in the future but couldn't remember it, it could only mean that it was something that her mind refused to believe.
Shaking her head and looking through the hole she made, she couldn't help but widen her eyes while feeling tears dropping down on the black marble floor.
"No way…" she muttered subconsciously.
'Lady Raven, what's the matter?' Abbadon almost panicked at his mistress's behaviour.
Out of Raven's small body, mana leaked freely, uncaring of her situation or circumstance.
Pushing the door open, she was greeted by a crowd of six sadistic creatures wearing different clown masks. Their eyes instantly darted towards her, yet, she couldn't care less.
Raven's eyes were only centered around a holographic screen in the middle of the large hall.
There, she could see the image of a beautiful young girl speaking with one of the creatures that seemed to be in charge here, supposedly Silver.
But Silver was no longer her objective here, no... it has become that girl.
Although her previously lovely brown hair has been dyed with a silver blue hue, and the same coloured eyes have replaced her previously sweet hazel eyes, there was no mistaking it…
Even though a cold expression had replaced her usual loving and caring one… this girl was still…
Raven's mind seemed to blank as she walked right past her enemies. Those who tried to attack her were repelled by Abbadon.
Although Silver knew of their arrival from his sharp senses, he hadn't expected this girl to walk so boldly in front of him.
Not only that, but she didn't even care about his boss, one of the four Seraphim of the End, watching her. Instead of kneeling like everyone should in their presence, she approached her like an equal.
'This girl has no respect…' Silver shook his head in disappointment. 'I will make sure she pays!'
Just as Silver looked at the girl's golden yet hollow eyes, he couldn't help but feel something in his soul telling him not to approach her. Gritting his teeth from behind his mask, he decided to wait it out.
The approaching Raven stopped in front of the holographic screen and muttered one word…
"Maya…"