'We're in…'
Ivan looked around warily, he and the others downed an invisibility potion but its effects would only last five minutes anyways.
He planted a strange device with four suction cups on the floor, fiddling with it as the red light in the middle turned green. And then a large holographic projection appeared above the device and showed the ground their location.
"We don't know the schematics of this place but with x-ray and electromagnetic pulse technology we can get a rough estimation."
The castle was huge, made to seem even bigger on the inside. The halls were tall enough to fit 20 ment stacked on each other's shoulders, red carpets everywhere gilded by golden linings.
That sort of fancy decoration made a striking contrast to the dark brick walls and stone.
"Display life forms." With an utter numerous red lights illuminated the holographic diagram. Numerous detections skills were activated and each detecting heat sources or irregular movement.
Looking at it all Ivan only sifted through the halls to see the best path to the throne room without obstructions.
"Sort by energy."
The red dots disappeared as a blue one appeared in what Ivan guessed was the throne room. If the Demon Lord was the strongest entity, then sorting by the biggest source of mana made things much easier.
Even with the amount of skills he inputted into the device, it was unable to surpass the cloaking energies of the apostles. So even if it seemed like the Demon Lord was the only thing to worry about, Ivan knew that within the walls stood the doll-like sentinels.
At that point there would be no choice but to break into an all-out brawl. Ivan hoped it would be a swift one as well, lest he would have to deal with the demon lord, the apostles, and his lackeys.
Sneaking through an enemy's fortress was no easy feat, especially when it was done with a group as large as seven. Numerous times the group were met by guards who weren't previously in place but moved to do their patrol.
Instead of waiting for them to move Ivan brought out another construct of his. He placed the scanner on the floor again to make sure no one else other than the patrolling guard was near.
If he knocked out the guard then the likelihood of another patrolling one discovering their body would be high. The same would happen if the guard just mysteriously disappeared, at least if they were diligent in their duty then they'd consider a missing royal guard who should've been patrolling a big hint that something was wrong.
Four purple pins came out of his ring, each with a suction cup of their own. Ivan placed them in a square formation with equal distance from each one. The square is large enough for a grown adult to climb through.
*clap*
With the palm of his hands the purple pins glowed with a blue tint and a thin purple see through film filled the void of the square. And through that film was what should have been on the other side of the wall.
Quietly they passed through it.
"..."
*slap*
Though Ivan did need to slap the hand of Felis who kept playing with the film, amused by its rippling.
With the flash of his ring the four pins teleported into storage and the pass-through film disappeared.
'We are a lot closer now.' Observing the situation there were no other life forms detected on the path they were following now. Hurriedly they rushed down it, no concern for making noise or a random guard appearing crossed their mind.
And there it was before their eyes.
A staircase that stretched out for 20 meters, dressed lavishly with red pristine carpet and ornate chandeliers hanging above each island.
There were three islands in total before it met with the grand double doors at the end. Each island is occupied by two guards. Unlike the slackers outside, or the almost dull ones they ran across before, the ones guarding the stairs were particularly on high alert.
Not to mention the gold gilded white pristine armor they adorned on their bodies. Not a single piece of skin was revealed to the air as the six guards stood perfectly still as though they were statues.
"They aren't apostles, I can sense a mana reading from them. It's dense but nothing we can't handle. But stealth is our element, down another invisibility potion and equip these."
Ivan whispered to the group behind him as he threw each of them thick steel greeves. Upon closer inspection one could notice the purple coil like material melded into where someone's fingers would be if they equipped them.
With a little bit of circulated mana the greeves' coils glowed a light purple. And then— the rest followed suit as Ivan climbed up the walls with ease.
"U-Uh, Father, are you sure this is safe?!"
Turning his head Ivan was met with the sight of the frightened tigress as she quivered in fear, each movement trembling as she hurriedly crawled toward him.
"...." Ivan only stifled a laugh before turning forward again. Seeing Felis flop around while they were upside down was just a ridiculous experience for him.
"Ugh, I think I'm going to feel sick…" Claire on the other hand removed one of her hands from the ceiling to cup her mouth. Her cheeks expanded before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Tio just snorted proudly toward the two as she made easy strides forward, not at all concerned that by leading the charge she was essentially showing off her undergarments for all to see.
As for Claire and Ari, they just ignored everyone and made it a race to see who could surpass Tio first, a serious yet eager expression on their faces as they crawled forward with stern expressions.
And as for Yue…
"...."
"Oh, we're here." Ivan used telepathy to halt the group, shuffling his way forward, the film passed through devices stuck to the frame of the door as it created a rectangular passage for them to go through.
*THUD*
All notions of stealth were undone in a single move. Ivan and the others deactivated their greeves and fell to the floor like a rock. And in front of them, even more stairs.
But at the top of those stairs was a magnificent throne.
"Hoooh~ If it ain't the visitor from another world, and I see you've brought your posse as well…"
And on that throne resounded a grand voice, deep and rooted with confidence. Every word the figure uttered sounded as though he held a perpetual smirk on his face.
*STEP STEP STEP*
His footsteps echoed throughout the lonely room, resounding as his feet firmly pressed into the stairs below him. It was when he was halfway down to the level where Ivan and the others were that he stopped, seemingly intent on staying there.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dienleed Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl, the Demon Lord and Queen Atletia's uncle~!"
He slightly bowed, one arm in front the other as he closed his eyes. Kneeling ever so slightly toward where Yue stood.
And in response, she just stared back at him, her brows lightly furrowed.
"....."
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It's as if those good feelings I felt yesterday were just an illusion. My brain was quite muddled writing this chapter, probably related to the sweltering heat and the fact that I hadn't eaten anything despite the day being halfway done.
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