Luca slipped after the man clad in black, hiding the suspicion in his gaze as he flowed through the churning crowds. He didn’t get too close. Normally, he would have kept an even greater distance between the two of them than he currently was. Tracking someone was a simple job for a high-tier Rank 6 such as himself.
Even someone powerful.
But Rake had been very clear about this job. It was too important to let himself take his typical precautions or pace. He had a very sharp time limit. Before the tournament ended, he needed to figure out exactly who Spider was. Those were the instructions that Luca had been given.
And that meant Spider was a bit too important for Luca to risk slipping out of his view. Tracking him down in the banquet had been surprisingly difficult given how much of a nuisance the man seemed to enjoy making of himself. There was definitely a lot more going on to this mage than met the eye.
Of course, Luca had known that before he’d officially gotten started.
Rake wouldn’t have had him tracking some random mage. His Faction Head had made it clear that this was potentially a Rank 8 threat who had knocked himself down a few levels in strength to infiltrate the tournament and… for some reason, help Vivian out.
That, at least, was the story.
It seemed Rake had some doubts.
Luca did too.
A Rank 8 definitely had better things to do than dawdle around parties like this, making minor nuisances. His motifs just didn’t make any sense. Either he was truly a Rank 8 and was working on something far more sinister than what he’d told Rake…
Or he was no Rank 8 at all.
Tonight, Luca would determine exactly which of those two it was. There were few places better to trail someone than a party in Aqua Terra. With the anti-domain field interfering with everyone’s senses and the sheer number of mages milling all about them, it would be practically impossible for someone to spot him following them.
He just had to keep a good distance.
And Luca’s efforts had already paid off.
Spider’s connections ran considerably deeper than just Vivian. He had associations with the Apostles.
That was already a very juicy tidbit. Rake would definitely be quite curious to hear about exactly what Vivian’s ally was doing working with one of her most public nuisances. Luca didn’t bother preventing the grin that danced across his lips. It wasn’t like anyone would know why he was smiling.
There very well might have been some double-crossing going on.
These kinds of jobs were his favorite. It was the kind of thing that wasn’t just fun. The importance of this task was enormous. The Faction Head likely would have tried to do it himself if his presence wouldn’t have drawn intense attention. But he had no choice but to call upon his subordinates. And that meant this was the perfect opportunity for Luca to ensure his ascension in the ranks of Endless Path. Rake would reward him well for anything he learned tonight.
And there were a few other things nipping at the back of Luca’s mind as well. Rake had chosen him for more than just his tracking ability. His magical sense was uncommonly acute. Even Aqua Terra’s anti-domain field wasn’t quite enough to entirely contain his probing… and Luca could have sworn that something about Spider felt a little more familiar than it should have.
The man’s magical signature strongly resembled one that shouldn’t have existed anymore. It was faint, so weak that he wouldn’t have picked it up if he hadn’t been there just recently.
But Luca was quite certain that Spider reminded him of a certain fallen kingdom.
And that was quite odd. People didn’t just randomly end up picking up feelings like that. Not without extensive exposure at the very, very minimum.
Except everyone from Arbalest should be dead. There were no survivors. Vivian herself reported that. There’s a chance that she lied, of course. I wasn’t there for the fall. But even a survivor wouldn’t smell like this. Besides, it wouldn’t be possible for Spider to actually be from Arbalest. He’s too strong. Even if he was just at the peak of Rank 6, I can’t believe someone from that little experiment could ever impress Rake so much… right?
Luca shook his head.
Even if Spider was from Arbalest, that wasn’t what he was feeling. Someone from Arbalest wouldn’t have any real traces of their presence in the empire still remaining on them. Even Luca wouldn’t have been able to pick something like that up. Not unless there were a large group of them all together, all of whom who had been within the empire for a long time.
No, what Luca was feeling right now wasn’t literally Arbalest’s presence.
Spider felt like the Long Night.
He felt like the ancient power that had destroyed the Arbalest Empire.
And that was even more odd. Something very, very strange was going on. If Spider had enough resemblance to the Long Night for Luca to be picking it up within Aqua Terra, then he’d definitely been involved with Vivian and the fight against the ancient monster to some capacity.
Rake would definitely want to hear about this.
But first, Luca needed to finish gathering his info for the night. Spider looked like he was heading somewhere. Maybe he was planning on meeting up with somebody else. Luca couldn’t miss it. Who knew when the next chance he’d get to spy so closely on the other man would be.
I’ll have to try and follow up with that girl he was speaking with earlier. I couldn’t hear exactly what his conversation was with Rake… but she’s definitely important. Emily, I think her name was. She didn’t seem to like Spider much. Maybe she can tell me more about his past. It shouldn’t be hard to get Rake to compensate her for that.
Luca’s lips curled. This was good. Better than good.
Rake was going to be thrilled when he reported back—
Someone suddenly stepped out of the crowd and right into Luca’s path, far too fast for him to avoid in time. The two of them bumped into each other. Luca stumbled back with a grunt and a curse. It was a young man — a demon from the looks of it — with sharp features and narrowed eyes.
“Watch where you’re going!” Luca snapped, trying to step around the idiot, keeping his eye on Spider’s fading back in the crowd.
“Hold on, there,” the demon said, stepping to match Luca. “You think you can just drive into me and then stride away without so much as an apology?”
You were the one that bumped into me, you dolt!
Luca’s jaw set. He didn’t have time for this. Spider was going to get away, and only the gods knew how long it would take to track the man down again. He was missing out on vital information with eery passing second.
“My apologies,” Luca said. He inclined his head slightly. “I didn’t see you coming.”
“Accepted,” the demon said with a coy smile. It struck Luca that he seemed rather young.
Luca tried to step around them.
But, for the second time, the demon intercepted them.
“Move, please,” Luca said sharply. “I have somewhere to be. I do not wish to start trouble pointlessly.”
“Oh, I know,” the demon said. His sly smile grew wider. “You’re really in a big rush. A big enough one that you can’t even realize that the thing you’re looking for is right in front of you.”
“What?” Luca asked, frowning. Something about the demon’s voice gave him pause — and Spider had already vanished into the crowd. The trail had been broken. Anger burning in his chest, he looked down the bridge of his nose at the interfering demon. “What are you going on about?”
“You’re chasing Spider, aren’t you?” the young demon asked in a low, conspiratorial tone.
Luca blinked.
How did he know that?
“What makes you think that?” Luca asked. “I don’t even know who Spider—”
“Yes, you do. And I can help you,” the demon said. The crowd shifted around the two of them, washing Spider’s trail away even more. But Luca couldn’t look away from the demon’s eyes. Something about them was… captivating.
“You can help me?” Luca repeated. His eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Spider has enemies,” the demon replied simply. “You want information about him, don’t you? For the right price, I’d be willing to give it to you.”
Luca’s head tilted slightly to the side. Then a grin crossed his own lips.
I don’t know how he figured out I was tracking spider… but how lucky can I get?
“You know him?” Luca asked.
“I do,” the demon said.
“Pay can be arranged,” Luca said. “I can assure you, it’ll be worth it.”
“I know it will,” the demon said. He put a hand on Luca’s shoulder as the grin on his lips widened. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Luca said. “Who is he? Where is he from? Do you know?”
“I’m in the business of knowing,” the demon replied. “And you’re asking for quite a bit. That’s going to be expensive. When will I get my pay?”
“I told you, I’ll be good for it,” Luca said sharply. “Come on. Do you know or not? I’m not here to play games. If there’s a lot, then give me the important bits.”
“Expensive indeed,” the demon said slowly. “I will give you some information. Then you will pay me. And, if you want more, we will continue our business afterward. Does that suit you?”
“Yes!” Luca hissed. “Tell me! Or I will leave now and assume you speak nothing but air!”
“Spider is from Arbalest,” the demon said with a small shrug.
Luca’s eyes widened.
I knew it!
“From?” Luca repeated in a hushed whisper. “Within the Empire?”
“Within it,” the demon said, nodding. “He’s allied with both Sievan and Garina, along with several other powerful demons from the Damned Plains. That includes Yoru of the Rising Moon. Last I heard, he was a Rank 5. I suspect he has gotten far, far more powerful in the time since then.”
That… aligns perfectly with everything I have gathered.
This information is real.
“How do you know all of this?” Luca asked. Then he shook his head. “No. Actually, tell me later. Give me more now. What else do you know?”
“There is still the matter of my payment,” the demon said softly. “I have given you much. Now it is your turn.”
Luca’s lips thinned. Then he nodded. Rake wasn’t here right now, but he had a fair number of Crystals himself. This was more than worth the investment. Only a fool failed to take a fortune when it was put out before them. Rake would reimburse him. “Fine. I can get you Crystals—”
“Crystals?” the demon asked. “I never said I wanted Crystals.”
Luca frowned. “What do you want, then?”
“For information like this?” the demon asked, his eyes boring into Luca’s. “A few bites will suffice.”
A sharp, agonizing spike of pain tore through Luca’s soul.
His entire body went stiff as his thoughts suddenly ground to a halt. A scream froze in his throat, not even allowed exit, as he felt a chunk of something tear free from within him. It vanished, swallowed by the cold, sly eyes of the young demon standing before him.
Then Luca blinked.
There was a hollow spot where there had once been… well, something. A dull ache throbbed between his eyes. He pressed a hand to his head, swaying slightly.
“I… what was I doing?” he muttered. His eyes affixed on the person that was standing in front of him. It was a young man — a demon from the looks of it — with sharp features and narrowed eyes. “I… I’m sorry. I seem to have lost my train of thought. Where are we?”
“This is a party. For the tournament,” the demon replied. “In Aqua Terra.”
Luca blinked again.
“A… party?”
“Yeah. Are you okay?” the demon asked. “You look a bit… lost.”
Luca squeezed his eyes shut. Then he shook his head.
“Fine. Yes, I’m fine. I… how odd. I don’t remember coming here. Were we speaking?” Luca asked.
“No,” the demon replied. “You just bumped into me. That’s all.”
“Oh,” Luca said. His thoughts just wouldn’t line up. Thinking felt like trying to scoop water out of the ocean with nothing but a fork. “I… think I might need some help.”
“Not from me,” the demon said. His smile turned colder. “You can’t afford it.”
Then he was gone, slipping back into the crowd.
Luca glanced around the sea of unfamiliar faces. His last memories of the demon’s features were already fading. He was just too addled to commit them to memory.
He blinked once more.
A party?
Why was I at a party?