Novel Full Chapter 1268: Locating Devil
Chapter 1268: Locating Devil
She stood in the open, looking at him with the same calm expression she reserved for everything else. It was the kind of look that made him feel like he was the weird one, not the other way around.
Quinlan narrowed his eyes. “You know, anti-air defenses could’ve shot you. Leaping over the wall is risky; going through the gate is safer.”
She lowered her gaze to her katana for a brief moment. Then she turned away without a word and walked deeper into the keep.
The message was clear: I would’ve cut whatever they fired.
Quinlan had a wry expression as he grumbled, “I still made the right decision…”
It was at this moment that the petite samurai behind him spoke up. “Why not burrow beneath the earth? You seemed to like doing it.”
“… Because they might’ve prepared countermeasures.”
“Really?” Ayame’s lips pulled into a broad, openly entertained grin. “They work so quickly… too quickly, in fact.”
“…”
She looked at her man with the eyes of a woman who read her lover like an open book. “You wanted to punch the door down to feel badass and masculine.”
“…”
Ayame’s grin widened as she stood next to Quinlan and together, they watched Black Fang’s leisurely walk toward their destination, observing her sensually swaying hips.
“So how’s the seduction effort going~?” the samurai purred, referencing his earlier question about sisterly bonding.
She enjoyed his troubles far too much.
“I think she is about to fall deep for your charms, any day now! Fight~! Fight~!”
“…” It was at this moment that Quinlan decided he’d dress this cheeky woman in a sexy cheerleader uniform and have her cheer for something else.
How he would get her to do it was a problem for the future Quinlan to tackle.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
She didn’t even try to hide how little scared she was. “Oh no… Is Ayame a bad girl? Master, tell her how she can be a good girl again!!”
Although Quinlan felt that a spanking session was truly starting to get deserved, especially when he saw the cheeky oriental beauty shake her butt to replicate Blossom’s tail movements, he couldn’t help but nearly smile in response to the sight, happy to see his previously depressed girl was being playful again.
The two months he spent napping thanks to Synchra sucking him dry – of energy – allowed the girl to think at length about it and no longer have such strong emotional outbursts as in the sauna.
…
Black Fang was already halfway across the courtyard. Quinlan and Ayame followed, headed toward the count’s estate.
They walked through the inner yard, past the training grounds and the stables, until the large oak doors of the estate came into view. Quinlan pushed them open and stepped inside.
…
The Greenvale palace sat at the heart of the duchy. Its front courtyard had been cleared for an emergency network of information gathering. Messengers came and went without pause, rushing as if their lives depended on completing their tasks as soon as humanly possible.
The “information room” had been put together the hour after Quinlan began his sweep across the duchy. It was meant to track his movements, anticipate his targets, and coordinate defenses.
Chaos would have been a kind description.
Dozens of artifacts lined the walls and tables, each carved with house crests or inscribed with spellmarks that allowed long-distance communication. They rang, buzzed, flashed, and hummed without synchronization. The cacophony pushed the staff to speak louder than they wanted, yet they remained rigidly polite.
A silver bell trembled on the left table.
A clerk snatched it up. “This is Greenvale Palace. State your matter, Lord Harroway.”
A frantic voice answered, “I saw shadows outside my granary! I bet it’s Devil! I request immediate protection!”
“We understand. Are your troops deployed?”
“I sent them to the duke last month! I want them returned at once!”
“That request was registered earlier. Please remain under shelter until confirmation arrives.”
Another artifact shook violently.
“Palace receiving. Yes, Lady Fernridge, I hear you.”
“My steward swears he heard noises on the roof. I think the villain is about to kill me!!”
“Please try to confirm the information. Have your guards inspect the perimeter.”
“I do not have guards to spare! All of them are needed to stay with me at all times!”
“… Then stay inside, my lady.”
A third communication flared.
“Greenvale Palace. Go ahead, Lord Penrick.”
“I AM UNDER ATTACK! I request immediate backup!!!”
Shouting filled the channel.
“That is… three chickens, my lord.”
“They were startled! Something is coming!”
“We will note it.”
Every table was the same. Some nobles begged for troops. Some demanded their own forces back. Others claimed to be under siege when nothing was happening. A few actually were under threat, but filtering those from the false alarms left the room in a constant scramble.
Kaede stood at the center of it all.
A large map covered the table before her. Dozens of markers, some carved stone and others small metal flags, indicated places where portals had appeared over the past week. Lines of ink connected earlier sightings with the most recent ones, but the pattern was erratic.
Chizuru stood behind Kaede with her hands clasped behind her back. Her eyes moved slowly from symbol to symbol.
“This portal ability of Devil’s is a logistical nightmare. He can open them wherever he wants, it seems.”
Lilith leaned forward, resting her knuckles on the table. Her jaw tightened as she studied the cluster of new reports. “He truly is a villain… What a perfect slippery ability for scum…”
Jallen stood a step behind her. “And he can cast it practically without limit. He appears, wipes out a defense line, disappears, and does it again somewhere else.”
Kaede traced her finger across the map. She had been trying to find consistency, a route, even a rough prediction, but Quinlan’s jumps ignored terrain and distance. The best they could do was guess which nobles he hated the most.
But such information was simply not available. He barely interacted with any, at least as far as they could tell. Most criminals who warranted at least half as much attention as he did had centuries of history.
But Quinlan was different. Not only was he acting lowkey for most of his time, but that time itself was incredibly short. His name first appeared less than a year ago.
Kaede’s concentration broke when the sound of high heels clicking could be heard.
Duchess Ophira hurried toward them. Her hair was slightly out of place; she hadn’t even tried to fix it before entering.
“A sighting was just confirmed,” she said, breath tight, the words pushed out fast. “This one is real, or so I believe.”
Kaede didn’t have a reason to doubt Ophira. While she might not have liked the woman, she was not exactly incompetent when it came to administrative and logistic matters.
“Where?” Kaede asked.
“Count Reddholm’s estate. He sent the report less than a minute ago. He claims Devil reached the keep, broke the front gates using a blend of earth and fire magic, and is already inside. He’s begging for immediate support.”
At the sound of that, the thus-far silent Queen Morgana shot to her feet and sent a certain young adult woman with oriental features a meaningful look.
“We go. Right now.”