Hunter of the Evernight-Chapter 832: At Maelstrom’s edge

After several seconds of silence, Alex let out a drawn-out sigh, aware that they were in deep trouble.

If the monsters outside the manor were like Platadoris, then there was little chance of them winning a fight, which meant their only option was running but then, where could they run to?

"Have you tried communicating with others?" he asked, hoping for a little light in the overwhelming darkness.

"There aren’t any long-range communication tools here, so that’s impossible."

"I see." Alex pursed his lips as he glanced at Elena. "How about shifting dimensions?"

"Already tried that."

"And?"

"I guess the best way to describe it is that this cavern is landlocked. It’s been isolated from the grand network."

"Grand network?"

"That’s what I call the connection that exists between dimensions, the connection that allows me to shift," Elena explained.

"I see." Clicking his tongue, Alex took a moment to ponder before shifting his attention to Ana. "How about peering into the past?... Maybe you could figure out how we got here which could help with getting a way out."

"Already did that."

"And?"

"If not for Elena and Arwen, I’d be a raving lunatic."

Alex’s expression fell. "The Beast?"

"He’s most likely the one that brought us here so it would track that trying to look into how we got here would be so dangerous."

At this point, Alex seemed to be out of options.

It was clear the Beast had stuck them in here as a sort of punishment, which meant getting out wouldn’t be easy at all.

However, he wasn’t completely hopeless.

The fact that he was still alive served as testament that not all hope was lost yet.

"Take me to the manor owner," Alex remarked. "I’d like to have a word with him."

Since the manor owner had been here longer than they had, perhaps he might be able to provide some more insights into what they were up against.

***

It was an unfortunate turn of events that baffled both Victoria and Nadia as they found themselves alone.

The news about Sklaviunt’s destruction led them to check on Alex and Arwen by heading to the Maelstrom and from then on, things just kept getting worse.

Currently, they had returned to the Maelstrom after trying and failing to get hold of Ulysses in Scholastica.

"Anything yet?" Nadia asked as she paced back and forth behind Victoria like a worried mother who’d lost her child.

Victoria was more annoyed than worried, not at Nadia’s pacing, though, but at the fact that she could not find Alex.

The duo had made a temporary camp on a hill not too far from the Maelstrom, but far enough that the Pellasian camp wouldn’t discover their presence.

The last thing they wanted was to get involved in a scuffle with individuals who were skilled at dealing with supernatural folks.

With no response from Victoria, Nadia asked her question again and this time, Victoria managed a rather brief response.

"No."

"What now?... We can’t just keep watching from up here?... What if..."

"No!" Victoria loudly said, putting a stop to what Nadia wished to say.

She knew what she wanted to say and did not plan on hearing her say it, not right now.

"I’m sorry." Nadia apologized. "You’re right, I shouldn’t make such inauspicious remarks."

"I’m glad you understand that," Victoria said. "Nothing has happened to master, after all, I can still feel the presence of the Night."

"I feel him too," Nadia remarked.

"Good, so let’s focus on tracking him down."

"Understood." Nadia nodded in agreement before returning her attention to the Maelstrom ahead.

Staring at the crystal clear waters, it was easy to recognize what it was.

The River of Time.

To think that there would come a time when such a concept would be forced into the physical world.

Just what happened in Sklaviunt to result in such a phenomenon?

"Perhaps he’s lost in time?" Nadia made a bold guess, putting her thoughts on the presence of the River of Time into perspective.

Victoria seemed to see reason with her thoughts as she intoned. "Which would explain why Ana and Elena are missing as well."

"If that’s the case, then how do we help out?... Do we dive in as well?"

"Are you insane?... The River of Time isn’t something to just dive into. We could end up drowning or worse."

"Sorry, I guess I’m just not thinking straight."

"We need to confirm anything before we make any plans. Perhaps we could seek Lady Vessina’s counsel?" Victoria suggested that Nadia shoot her suggestion down.

"That won’t be possible."

"Why?"

"Just know that it won’t."

"Nadia, this..."

The rest of what she had to say was swallowed up by a powerful explosion emerging from the Pellasian camp.

Both shifted their attention over, quickly discovering the camp to be in a state of great turmoil.

The flames from the explosion quickly spread, covering the entirety of the northern quadrant and even threatening to spread further if not for the fact that the camp was demarcated properly, ensuring that each quadrant was separate from the other.

"What’s happening down there?" Nadia asked no one in particular.

"Seems like they are under attack." Victoria breathed out, able to keep track of the situation in the camp due to the farsight afforded to her by her identity as a vampire.

"Attacked by what though?"

From all indications, it was clear that the fighting was from within the camp, which meant two things.

Either the enemy were dissenters from among those in camp or worse, from the Maelstrom Heart.

"We need to leave," Victoria remarked as she got to her feet.

"No, wait," Nadia replied.

"You want to wait for whatever is attacking the camp to get to us?"

"What if it’s Alex or someone we know?... Someone that could help us figure out what happened in Sklaviunt?"

"The chances of that being the case are extremely low."

"But not zero, right?"

Victoria went silent, taking a moment to regard the burning camp ahead before shifting her attention back to Nadia.

"Right?"

Gritting her teeth, Victoria remarked. "On the first sign of trouble, we run."

"Understood." Nadia quickly agreed before shifting her attention back to the Pellasian camp.