After giving his light-hearted warning, Kulkiri wandered off to bother someone else and left Endyr to her own thoughts.
She dwelled on his words for a few minutes before opting to put them aside. Her instincts warned her to take everything Kulkiri said with a grain of salt. Interacting with him gave Endyr the same feeling as talking with one of her siblings: a complete waste of time and effort.
Soon, everyone finished getting their equipment in order and Anna gathered them together again. After giving a few last minute pointers, the group of twelve left the chapel and began to traverse the streets of Sky Cross.
Along the way, Endyr ended up next to Aryll and Himmel. The two Adventurers were discussing battle plans in hushed tones, with the lady doing most of the talking and Himmel just nodding or shaking his head. Seeing this as an opportunity, Endyr asked a question that had been on her mind for a while.
"Excuse me, but what are the chances the Blood Coven knows we are coming for them? I mean, the notice was clear on the board in the Guild Hall. Anyone could have just walked in and seen it."
At Endyr's question, Himmel snorted and rolled his eyes. "Ah yes, a newbie like you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? Well let this senior enlighten you then. The Guild deploys certain sensors that can detect your Mana signature. Everybody has one and while it can be hidden, faking it requires much more effort. Even then, each Guild is outfitted with special arrays and formations handcrafted by an Artisan of the Machine Church-that is, the Church of Metallus. With it, one would need to be at least a Legendry Tier being or hold an equal level Artefact to escape its notice."
"Believers of Evil Gods like Navruavati, Aenrys and Seraphic all carry special traces on them, unique even amongst other religions. The former two always have traces of Nether on them, while believers of Seraphic emit "His" light from their Core. It's some sort of blessing, or tracker "He" puts on them. Thanks to that, the most obvious troublemakers are kept away. But the system goes a level deeper than that."
"Positioned in every Guild building is a Mind Mage. These guys can scan the mind of anyone who enters the Guild on a level deep enough to know of their religion or malicious intent. Now, due to privacy policies, the Mind Mages can't scan below the surface, but when coupled with the other functions, the net is tight enough to catch most fish. And finally, we have simply Diviners to see if any missions have been compromised."
At the lengthy explanation, Endyr raised an eyebrow. 'Quite a few layers of security...Plus I'm sure the Cultists already know they are being hunted, even without the Guild mission. It makes no difference to them.'
"Wait a minute, I though Mind Mages worshipped the God of Dreams? Isn't "He" an illegal Secret God?" Endyr asked with a frown. She knew the relationship between Orthodox and Secret Gods varied from strained to completely hostile.
This time, Aryll chipped in to answer. "The Gods came to an agreement on this case. Chanteur supplies the Mind Mages in return for political and religious freedom within certain measures. After all, "He" is a relatively pacifistic God and keeps to "Himself". And don't forget, the Adventurer Guild was created by both Orthodox and Secret Gods in the first place."
'Ah that's right. How did I forget that already?'
Endyr frowned and shook her head, suddenly conscious of a slight haze covering her mind. 'What is this tiredness? Is there a limit to using Split Double? No, the System claimed it can operate indefinitely as long as Altair keeps providing the bare minimum Mana for the Skill itself. For everything else, I have my own Mana Pool to use.'
Feeling something was amiss but realising there was nothing she could do about it, Endyr tentatively put it aside and turned to Aryll. "How long have you two been Adventurers?" she asked.
"Myself, Himmel and Ruby have been partners for eight years at this point. The rest of our group decided to sit this one out, so they aren't here. An a collective, we are B Ranked Adventurers and closing in on A Rank. Completing a few missions like this one will allow us to cross that gap."
Expressing thanks for the information, Endyr picked on a point Aryll had revealed. "You are part of a larger group?"
Himmel squinted at Endyr as he spoke with slight disbelief. "You don't recognise us? We're parts of the Apollyon Knights! Our leader is an A-Ranked Adventurer that is a also an Epic Tier being with a A+ Core!"
Upon receiving only a blank stare in response, Himmel's eye twitched as he rapidly took several breathes to clam himself down. Aryll watched with amusement from the side as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Himmel. We already know Endyr here is new to the Adventuring business. We can't blame her for not knowing about our group."
Himmel calms down and turns around, ending his part in the conversation. Aryll flashed Endyr a slight smile as she also detaches from the talk. Realising the two are done, Endyr distances herself from them and walks in silence.
After ten minutes of walking, Isabelle stopped and raised a fist, causing the rest of the group to do the same. They had entered a different region of the city, a darker and more putrid quarter. The few houses visible were more run down, and the air thick and permeating with filth and rancour. Further in, Endyr could see rows of dilapidated warehouses, taking up the majority of the district space. She could see why such a place was the hotbed for crime and occultism in Sky Cross.
Realising they had arrived, the slight hubbub of the group died down, as more serious and solemn looks overcame everyone. Isabelle and Anna had everyone group together tighter and cast a spell over them. According to the Priestess', it would muffle sounds and smells, and had the added effect of making them invisible to any non-Ascender.
The dozen men and women advanced quickly but silently through the seemingly abandoned district, hands on their weapons and senses overclocked for danger. Endyr ended up near Arnold Favonius, the bald man with green eyes. He walked with a steady gait, a small frown on his face as his eyes wandered across the rooftops. "It's a bit too quiet..." he mumbled.
"Hmm?" Isabelle heard him, turning her head back. Seeing he had caught her attention, Arnold repeated himself. "It's a bit too quiet tonight. Even if it is very late, slums always have activity. The area around your chapel was only clear because your presence scared the thugs off. Yet there should be no such presence here. Something is wrong."
As Isabelle fell into thought from Arnold's words, Menes quipped in from the side. "The Blood Coven likely knows we are coming. Divination can only be blocked, not misdirected. If the Vampires did a security check-up but found they were unable to access the network, then they likely realised they would be attacked soon. However, your men have clearly not reported the Vampires fleeing, so its likely they are hold up in their base and defending right now. Or maybe setting up ambushed along the way."
No sooner had Menes finished speaking that a dazzling ball of flames suddenly appeared in the street ahead of the group. Endyr barely had time to raise her arm in surprise before the flaming ball shot forward like a cannon, crashing just short of Isabelle at the front.
On the old warehouses surrounding them, bright patters made of mysterious shapes emerged, glowing a deep red. Before anyone could blink, the patterns flashed and summoned more fire balls, shooting them outwards.
"Ambush!"