Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 514 - 513- Let’s end this

Was Ariana nervous? Yes, she would not lie about that. But rather than being anxious about the operation itself, she was nervous about how Adrian would react once he learned about the whole situation.

He could be a worrywart at times, and she adored that side of him. Still, some things needed to be done by stepping outside the safe zone. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

And this had to be executed to prevent another incident like the one a few days ago.

"How many Umbral members are in Antonmine?" Annabelle asked, breaking the silence as they changed their clothes.

Tiffany informed her Queen, "Seven, my lady. All of them specialize in scouting and assassination."

Annabelle nodded before asking, "Where could they be right now?"

Sarah was the one who responded. "I saw them at my house, in my father’s office."

Tiffany cut in, "But I doubt they would stay there for long, given that Clark accepted their offer. They might have already taken him to their base."

"And I am hoping you know where that is?" Annabelle asked, her eyes narrowing.

Tiffany grinned. "Of course I do. It’s an abandoned building near the edge of town. We can reach it in minutes if we use the teleportation portal."

Annabelle nodded. "I understand. Go there first and assemble the team. Find out where Clark and the cult members are. We will strike that location."

Tiffany gave a crisp salute, threw one last glance at Sarah, and leapt out of the window like a silent cat.

Once she was gone, Ruby turned toward Sarah and asked, "What are you going to do? We won’t ask you to take part in something meant to get your father killed."

Sarah bit her lower lip, her fists clenched.

She knew her father was evil. An egoistic creator who could not stand seeing someone rise above him, and for the sake of absolute dominance, he was willing to risk countless lives.

She had never been close to him, mostly because of his habit of prioritizing his work over everything else.

However, in the end, he was still her father.

Lowering her gaze, she asked softly, "Can you let me stay here for the time being?"

Ruby let out a sigh and nodded. "Understood. Come with me. I’ll take you to the guest room."

Sarah did not resist and followed Ruby in silence.

Once they were gone, Ariana turned to Annabelle and said, "Bella, I’m warning you now. Don’t lose your calm and go berserk. We’re here with you, as your support, so don’t even think about handling everything on your own."

Annabelle leaned against the wall, her gaze listlessly following the clouds drifting past the moon.

The lack of any response only worried Ariana further as she continued, "Bella, dear... you have to understand that the path Adrian has chosen, and the way he never stops speaking out against what is wrong, will earn him enemies on all sides. I won’t tell you to get used to it, but at least find a way to deal with them in a controlled manner."

Annabelle sighed and turned toward Ariana. "I understand. I won’t lose control."

Shaking her head, she added, "What I fear is your safety and Ruby’s."

Ariana smiled wryly. "Now, don’t you dare underestimate us. We might be lower in rank than you—"

"No, not that." Annabelle shook her head and calmly cleared the misunderstanding. "While my origin is connected to Nytharos, you and Ruby are still bound by those shitty deities."

She clenched her fist. "They can take away your ability to use your armaments at any moment. What if you’re facing a dangerous foe and, all of a sudden, your strength becomes useless?"

Ariana fell silent at those words. It had happened recently, when Umbral members tried to interfere with the academy ambush and were stopped by a force they could not fight against.

Adrian and Annabelle were unbound by such chains, but the same could not be said for the others.

"Then," a third voice interrupted their conversation, "we’ll just escape and leave you to deal with them however you see fit."

Annabelle turned toward the redhead standing near the entrance, a faint smile on her lips.

Ruby sighed and said, "We can’t just sit here and do nothing, knowing those bastards will try to corner Adrian again. And just because those deities can strip us of mana doesn’t mean we’ll be completely helpless."

Ariana took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. At the very least, we can escape, no matter how bad the situation gets."

Annabelle let out a long breath before nodding. "Well, I believe you two will stick to your words."

She then asked Ruby, "Where are my blades? You always keep a spare here, don’t you?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes, but before that—" She walked to the bookshelf and pushed a few books aside.

Soon, she pulled out a small box that clearly held something important to her.

Ruby opened it and took out three small discs.

"Here. Attach these to the backs of your necks."

Annabelle hummed in confusion. "Now... what is this?"

"Just do it," Ruby urged.

Annabelle and Ariana exchanged a glance, then shrugged and did as Ruby said.

They pressed the discs against the backs of their necks and waited.

Moments later, their vision darkened as black smog crept in around them.

"Woah... what are you even wearing, Ariana?" Annabelle asked in shock.

Ariana scoffed. "Say that after looking at yourself in a mirror."

Annabelle looked down at herself and frowned. "I’m wearing my normal clothes. What are you talking about?"

From Ariana’s perspective, however, Annabelle was clad in a black cloak that completely concealed her body and the upper half of her face. Only her lips were visible.

The same was true the other way around. From Annabelle’s point of view, Ariana was dressed in something identical.

Just then, Ruby, who had also been switched into the cloaked form, explained, "This artifact hides our faces and hair from anyone who sees us. We aren’t actually wearing cloaks, it’s just an illusion."

The other two let out an "oh" before Ariana added, "I was about to ask how Annabelle was supposed to move in something that restrictive."

In these appearances, they looked more like cult members than the cult itself ever did.

Ruby checked her armaments and handed Annabelle her own.

Ariana wasn’t carrying her flail but she does have a pair of small hammers that were tuned by Adrian some time ago.

The three of them stood close and exchanged a glance.

"Alright then, let’s get going."

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.