The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"It's not her." Erden dismissed the thought immediately, sounding very certain. As Demon quietly floated and followed after her, Erden peeked his tiny head out of the sleeve, sighing wordlessly in their shared thoughts. "Even fully clothed, she resembles Avril but is not her. Unlike me, it's natural to be duped since you never cared for her." He didn't forget to get in a quick insult at Demon.

Demon resisted the urge to squeeze the life out of the beast. He focused on the black-veiled woman who resembled Avril as she turned several corners. The gait of her strides, the briskness in how she darted her head around, and the scent Erden picked up all were a close match to Avril, but upon closer inspection, as Erden mentioned, they had their minute yet distinct differences. Who was this woman? Why did she give off such a familiar presence to Avril? Digging into his and Oscar's memories, he found the most probable answers: Avril's older sister or mother.

'Careful! Careful!' Ignyres warned. "I sense others lurking nearby. If you carelessly follow, they will notice you!" He showed Demon the locations of certain rises in temperature lurking around with intent.

He slowed down and lightly kicked off the air using Reis while hiding his Ein, remaining invisible to the prying Prinstycts of the strangers. Lurking corner by corner, he inched closer in silence, careful not to alert the others who encircled the woman. Strangely, they move skillfully in a defensive formation, covering each others' blindspots. It seemed they were protecting her.

The lamp posts diminished the longer he followed her into a darker district. Steel rods and long wooden planks had been organized into neat piles beside incomplete ships awaiting their craftsmans' hands on the morrow. Smoke piled onto the clouds from the large chimneys atop great workshops. Shuffling his body behind a pile of scrap parts, Demon watched the faint shadows of his quarry enter inside a large warehouse, a few staying outside, their watchful gazes peering out.

Several more body heat flared up from behind. Demon rolled quietly under a tarp, able to see an inch off the ground from the gap. Slowly, the newcomers' steps grew louder, and one stamped right near his nose, gifting Demon with a fresh spray of mud. He felt one of them had the powers of a Greater Marshal Exalt, a rarity in a city unless they were honorable guests like Helen, who attracted a heavy amount of attention upon her arrival. It was odd. A Greater Marshal Exalt and a woman who might be related to Avril…what a unique combination.

The steps grew smaller, barely discernible from the audible breeze. He uncovered himself from the tarp and leaped over the pile of scraps. To avoid being caught by the sentries and sensed by his Ein, Demon zipped to the nearby incomplete ship by force of Reis. He observed the sentries and lunged to the next hiding spot when the opportunity arose, barely escaping a sentry's gaze. One by one, he finally made it one step before the warehouse. Matching his breathing to the shifting eyes of the nearby sentry, he floated up, targeting the ledge near the roof.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, and his robes flapped audibly to the whimsical tunes of the air. Gritting his teeth, Demon spun and rolled across right as the sentry rushed over. He could hear the man's breathing and saw the fingers curling around the edge of the ledge, the nails scraping on the stone. They shifted from left to right and back as if the man was confused. The sentry gave up and walked away. He had come close to canceling his Duality to avoid capture.

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'Nice hiding spot.' Erden transmitted from the first scrap pile. Demon had left him behind with his space pockets in case of the worst-case scenario. Blood Transmutation and Duality made for a surprisingly good combination of intel-gathering. Not wasting another second in retorting the beast, Demon listened to the whispers in the warehouse. He could make out the shapes from the heat emanating from their bodies but not their faces.

"Are we still one short?" An impatient, gruff voice hollered out.

"Serit is held up. A strange group has ported. He's investigating." A short-spoken old man said. "One Greater Marshal Exalt, an alchemist. A Lower Marshal Exalt, yet feel fear. And a small child."

"Fear. Elder, you felt fear? From a Lower Marshal Exalt?" A voice that sounded much like Avril yet lacked the quirkiness of Oscar's beloved spoke in a gasp. Her tone dropped to a frightening chill. "Enemies?"

"Perhaps. Or. Perhaps not. Serit will find." The one they called elder answered. He paced around what Demon guessed to be a table. He couldn't see, so he had to imagine the rest by the fluctuations of heat wafting by. The elder contemplated loudly in a groan. "How are preparations?"

"I have my men positioned in the auction. They've given me the blueprint of the palace and will provide the distractions we need to get into the vault. Once the signal arrives, we'll infiltrate the basement and take all the goods. But we must be fast before the guards realize what is happening." The gruff man sounded like he had something stuck in his throat.

Demon listened in on their intricate plans to perform a heist on the treasures of the auction, the same one he and the others would attend later this week. Even he could not deny how well they planned it, from the entrance to breaking the traps to their escape. He had his main body write down all the details by quickly changing consciousness.

"Well done. Lead well. Tiron." The elder praised.

"By your will, great elder."

"Avila. You look…unwell."

"Do I?" The woman, finally known as Avila, looked away to gaze out the window. Even her name sounded similar to Avril's, further cementing that they may be related. Avila continued to stare outside as if looking for something. "It's been so long since I joined your cause, partly for revenge but mostly for your promise that you would find her."

"Keep promises. That is true. But she is…."

"My sister!" Avila said, her hand smashing the window as the glass shattered into dust. "I have done a great service for the cause, but what have I got in return other than scars and this power? Nothing!"

"Avila! Stand down." Tiron shouted. "We have people everywhere looking for her. But either she's dead or good at hiding her tracks."

"I expect my sister to be great at hiding since she managed to escape that witch! For all the boasting of your trackers, I have got nothing!" Avila shouted louder, almost choking on her words in near sobs. "I will fight to kill that wench and the ones behind her. You can trust me on that. But I need my sister. Work your trackers harder. Bring her to me." She kicked open the door and put on her hat, leaving under with her guards behind her.

'Erden. Follow her.' At his word, Erden sprang into action and disappeared into the alleyway.

"Find her. We keep promises." The elder stated.

"I am trying. We are coordinating with others, but the girl is a ghost. I fear she may have died or gone into Shattirma. And finding a person in that maze is…well, it's impossible." Tiron emphasized the last word.

"Find her. Avila works hard. Proved herself. She needs her." The elder left with these parting words, slowly exiting the warehouse, followed by Tiron, who went in a separate direction.

'I found her current lodgings. Your plan?' Erden asked.

"A talk sounds nice."

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