Chapter 761: Alaric

In the Second Sanctuary, Alaric and his team moved cautiously through an unknown desert.

They had been exploring this region for several weeks, ever since they’d acquired intel about it. A place where anyone who entered never came out, no matter their strength, Evolver or Surpasser alike.

An off-zone, now avoided by all, a territory that could only mean one thing, beasts above A-Rank. S-Rank creatures, the apex predators of the Sanctuary, lurking somewhere in the golden dunes.

Emma held her twin daggers ready, her hazel eyes sweeping the horizon for any sign of ambush. Beside her, Alaric kept one hand resting on his sword hilt, poised to unsheathe at a moment’s notice.

Despite his seemingly casual posture, he was vigilant, not letting his guard down for a moment.

"Whatever resides here knows how to hide," one of their team members muttered, a tense edge in his voice.

"We’ve been at this for weeks and found nothing. It’s going to take time to flush it out. And honestly, it’s getting boring. There’s barely any beasts wandering this region at all for obvious reasons."

Emma nodded her head. An area with little beasts meant that something very wrong, and that’s why they had come here.

The archer of their team, a young woman with her bow already in hand, started to agree. "Inde—"

Emma’s own reply caught in her throat.

Her eyes had registered something in the distance. A structure, rising out of the shifting dunes, and it was one they all recognized instantly, yet this one was different.

"Do you see that?" she breathed, shock lacing her voice, staring at the shape that loomed ahead.

A spirit pavilion.

It rose from the desert ominously, its beautiful white marble gleaming under the sun’s radiant light, its elegant architecture both familiar and deeply unsettling to find in a place like this.

"Yes," Alaric said, his hand tightening on his hilt. His eyes narrowed at the distant structure. "It seems it’s not a beast behind the vanishings after all, it’s none other than the spirits."

Everything made sense now, whether it was the empty region with the scarcity of beasts, or Surpassers who entered but never returned.

A spirit pavilion with this grandeur and a spirit guarding its domain could be far more dangerous, far more cunning, than any beast.

Emma’s grip on her daggers tightened. "This is at least an A-Rank Spirit Pavilion..."

"Yes," Alaric agreed, his gaze fixed on the gleaming white marble in the distance, his sword arm tensing. "Immediately contact the base, and give them our location. We will scout the place before doing anything."

Once Alaric finished speaking, one of the team members immediately took out his communication device and relayed the sword saint’s orders.

With several lives of his friends depending on his orders, Alaric took his actions very seriously. Despite his confidence in his new strength, he still needed to be cautious for those around him.

Then, the team gathered behind him, weapons ready, eyes fixed on the ominous pavilion rising from the dead desert, and began their cautious advance toward the source of the vanishings.

????

Moon woke the next morning, washed up, and made his way to the living room.

Yara and Selene were already up, and the smell of a fresh breakfast greeted him as he entered. He joined them at the table with a warm smile, thanking them for the meal.

He took his first bite, and his brows rose appreciatively.

"This is really good."

"It was actually Selene who made breakfast today," Yara said, a small, mischievous grin tugging at her lips.

Selene who was sat beside her immediately blushed faintly, nudging Yara under the table sneakily, but the movement didn’t escape Moon’s honed senses. He smiled to himself, saying nothing.

"Oh?" he said instead, taking another bite. "No wonder it tastes so good."

"I know, right?" Yara’s grin widened, clearly enjoying herself. "Selene would make such an amazing wife, wouldn’t she?"

Selene’s face went as red as the tomato in the salad, the embarrassment so complete it looked like steam might start rising from her head. She shot Yara a mortified glare.

Moon stayed silent, neither confirming nor denying, simply focusing on his plate with a small, unreadable smile.

Yara smirked, satisfied, and decided to let the two of them off the hook, having gotten her teasing in for the morning.

"So," she said, mercifully changing the subject, "what are everyone’s plans for today?"

"Tom signed me up for a B-Rank expedition," Moon said. "So I’ll be heading out for that."

"Oh? Where’s it at?"

"Same zone as Sierra’s estate, actually."

Yara’s eyes lit up. "Really? Then do you want to take the same shuttle together? I’ll have teacher’s butler book me a second shuttle from there to the estate, I need to go in for training today anyway. No sense traveling separately when we’re headed the same direction."

"Sure, that works," Moon agreed. "As long as you’re not late."

"If we leave within the next hour, I’ll be fine," Yara said, waving a hand.

"Alright then."

Moon turned to Selene, who had finally recovered some of her composure. "What about you? Any plans?"

"I might tag along with Yara," Selene said. "Learn some new things from Sierra while I’m there. Beats sitting around here alone all day, and I don’t want to head back to the sanctuary just yet."

"It’s decided then," Moon said, finishing his breakfast. "We’ll all go together. One shuttle to the zone, then you two can continue on to the estate while I head to the gate."

The three of them finished their breakfast together before quietly packing up.

Moon helped out with cleaning too. Once they were all done, they made their way out of the house.

They made their way to the orbital station, and took the nearest orbital shuttle towards their destination, which didn’t take long, approximately five minutes.

The three of them got in, and made their way to the vip section, away from the ruckus that the common lounge contained.