After some persistence, Noha finally said why he was looking for Mystic.
He reported the sixth elder's leaves and the fourth elder's message: - Tell her to come meet me after she regains consciousness.- Monica ordered.
Mystic was puzzled inside after hearing her bodyguard's report.
Till now, she only saw Monica two times without the latter having any interest in her.
Furthermore, she awaited her up to she woke up.
'…Why?'
Anyway, the fourth elder's order is not something she could ignore.
Because of that, the only choice she has is to comply.
'How annoying'
The situation wasn't easy.
Belonging to this clan, signified she knew how insane they were.
However, she let her bodyguard open the way towards Monica's tent.
In the meantime, Devon left her side, going into the Pets' Garden.
After a minute of walking, both arrived in front of Monica's lodge which was guarded by two knights.
Mystic looked at the two guards and bowed to them to show her respect.
Although they were dressed in full armor, she could identify them by looking at the blazon on their chests.
A wolf skull split by six swords, is the symbol that the members of the Hellwolves carry on them.
Every member of this squad has a very high status in the clan.
Mystic is only a junior.
"Only you, the young chick must wait outside."
One of the two men responded indifferently.
Mystic nodded and waved for Noha to wait for her.
She wasn't confused by the guard's words, after all, Noha's nice facial features looked more like a girl than of a man.
But Noha didn't see this in a good light, although he couldn't blame the guard for it due to his rank, he still gave him a dark gaze.
When Mystic lifted the curtain to enter Monica's military tent, she stopped when she saw the tip of a blade against her throat.
Giving in to her opponent, she looked at the person behind this sneak attack.
'...Such an insane.'
She didn't blink although she could smell his blood flowing from the minor wound caused by the tip of Monica's blade.
If she had been careless, she would have seriously injured herself or even worse...
Monica looks at her niece's eyes and her calm before whispering.
'She looks...different.'
Like the others, she only cares about the talented.
That's why Mystic is so well-known by everyone, even though she has become trash again afterward.
She removes her sword from Mystic's path and licks the small drop of her blood off its blade.
"Follow me." After sheathing her sword on her back, she ordered.
She neither explained nor got bogged down in the formalities that Mystic had to show her.
For her part, Mystic did as she said without altering her expression.
After taking a seat, Monica darted Mystic standing in front of her up and down as if she saw something that ordinary people couldn't.
"Your grimoire."
At her command, Mystic made her grimoire fly towards her.
'Such refined control right after its evolution? Quite impressive.' Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes had something different as she murmured.
She didn't hold Mystic's grimoire.
Instead, she looked at its overall appearance.
The grimoire's current cover was made of iron instead of copper.
Rune-like symbols that no one could interpret were on the back of the grimoire.
After a while, Monica ordered Mystic to summon her soul beast.
At Devon's appearance, Monica frowned but said nothing.
"Adam's offspring, what's our clan's crest?"
Mystic frowns at the 'offspring' word Monica has used to call her.
"Power."
But she remains silent about that.
"What's power?"
"A weapon."
"...What's power."
"A weapon."
She frowned as Mystic stuck to her answer.
"Why? What will you use this weapon for? To protect others? To protect yourself? Or for something else?"
Mystic's eyes remained unfazed despite the crushing pressure she felt coming from Monica.
"None of that. For me, power has no other use than to crush those who look down on us, snatch away what we desire from others, erase what we dislike, and put the world at our heels."
Her voice did not waver throughout her speech.
'...That's how you grew up, huh?' Monica thought for a moment and smiled.
"So rumors were true, you're as insane as they said."
"...Insane?" Mystic frowned.
"Yes, insane, almost everyone in our clan is. Well, I heard you left that madness behind after losing all hope of--
"With all due respect, Fourth Elder, there's no one more sane than me, it's just that the others are too normal to see it." She interrupted Monica without sounding proud or contemptuous.
"...Kheheh~, so, you're the sanest? That's exactly the definition of your madness."
"..."
"Humans have been creating what they fear the most since the world began. Power has no limits other than the one we set for ourselves. It is violent, brutal, lonely, hateful, and fearful."
She neither affirmed nor denied Mystic's words.
Power is a broad field that everyone defines in their way.
Some believe in the power of money, others in intelligence, ...and so on.
That's why, even though the credo of this clan is power, the members have different perspectives.
However,
She then puts one leg on the other on the table in front of her and lights her pipe.
"The old man brought you to me to train you, do you know what that means?" She got straight to the point.
Mystic frowns.
As expected, something stunk in this story.
Mystic had understood it at first, but she is now certain.
"You are still immature, with age, you will end up understanding why we respect this old fox who is the leader of the pack to which we all belong."
"What do you mean?"
"How do you plan on hiding your intentions with such thirst for blood shining in your eyes?"
"..."
Mystic didn't say a word after hearing Monica's comments.
"Anyway, although the desire for revenge can make those who embrace it, ..."
She paused, gazing at Mystic's unchanged expression nonchalantly.
"However, Adam's offspring; these flames are not something an ignorant brat can handle.
As the saying goes: who fights monsters must be careful not to become one of them."
"...Thank you for the advice, Fourth Elder."
"From this moment on, you will call me Instructor. That is the task the old man gave me."
"...Understood, instructor Monica."
She smiled at Mystic's audacity as she added her name without batting an eyelid.
'How ironic, I have to take care of the daughter of a person I dreamed of surpassing.'
Her eyes seemed to be caught up in confusion as she thought about that.
"I believe you have a bodyguard...?
"Noha…?"
"Yeah, Noha. You'll have to part ways with her for a few months. If you both survive, you'll meet."
Her answer was nonchalant as if there was nothing strange with them.
But Mystic wore a suspicious face at her words.
'Why do they think that Noha's a girl?' She wonders.
But as always, she put aside the unnecessary topics and focused on the most important.
"Will I go somewhere?"
Before she had even finished asking that question, she had noticed a jerky smile on Monica's lips.
"What's that question? We are at the front after all. Here, the movement is omnipresent, we change bases every week to go deeper into this jungle."
That said, this answer did not satisfy Mystic.
"You're going to train me along the way?"
"Pffthahahahahah...
She watches Monica laugh at her question as if there was nothing more ridiculous.
Nevertheless, if there was one thing she was better at, it was keeping her calm no matter the situation.
As a result, she remained indifferent until Monica got tired of it.
"Adam's offspring, here, we train with blood. You will fight in battles like you've never seen.
You will dance with your sword and in blood, bathe in it, and be reborn again and over. That's your training."
As she spoke these words, she left her chair and wore her black cloak over her shoulders without running her hands through her sleeves.
"..."
Mystic watched her like a stranger walking towards her before stopping right in front of her.
With her pipe's tip under Mystic's chin, she lifted her face to her with a 'beautiful' smile.
"But first, you're going to show me what you can do with that magnificent sword on your back."
Meanwhile, she looked at Devon right next to Mystic.
'What a strange creature.'
She thought as she passed.
Then,
"Come with me." She ordered as she left her tent.
Mystic followed her silently without saying a word.
Outside, the soldiers seemed more active than usual.
Although this camp only has about five hundred soldiers, only about 10% of them share the same traits as Mystic, they all belong to the same clan nonetheless.
As soon as they stepped outside the tent, Monica was approached by one of her subordinates for instructions.
"Ma'am, should we wait for daylight to move our camps?"
The subordinate asked.
"...Yes. This forest is quite dangerous at night. Let's wait until daylight to move."
"Understood."
Before the knight left, she added...
"The night is too beautiful to sleep."
"...sorry?"
She smiled at her subordinate's confusion.
"Pass this message to Jeevak, he will know what to do."
It was only after hearing it that the knight understood that it was a coded message.
"Understood." He bowed one last time before hurrying elsewhere.
Probably towards the tent that houses this supposed Jeevak.
After that, Monica continued on her way toward the forest, followed by m her two guards, Mystic, and, of course, Devon.
Once she reached the edge of the camp, she stopped and waited patiently for the others.
'By now, Danzel should have already set off.'
...
--The forest is more dangerous in the night.
Two hundred kilometers from the camp, a group of thirteen people were running like lightning through the woods.
Their speeds were nothing compared to what a human could achieve.
Although the red mist was thicker than anything Nikolas and his group had seen before, these people did not care.
In front of them, a man with a muscular build guided them with a map floating in front of his eyes.
Although he wore a red wolf mask, his pupils and the shape of his horns were enough to identify him.
"Sir Danzel, scavengers seem to restlessly following us."
The closest one who was racing at the same pace as Danzel informed.
"Forget them."
"Roger!"
At his subordinate's short reply, Danzel sped up.
His men did the same.
'The mist is getting thicker, and the spiritual energy is increasing as well. No doubt, the progenitor must be ahead!'
Despite his special eyes, Danzel struggled to see more than a meter ahead.
However, his speed increased considerably, like a shadow piercing the red mist.
The beasts that tried to approach them were all ignored by them.
And thanks to their speed, none of these beasts seemed fast enough to catch up with them once they were overtaken.