Yui immediately felt happy after hearing the familiar voice…

However, the Sentient Arcana's aura seems to be quite different from before. Her gentle aura had turned into a fiery one… It might just be her imagination but she can't just ignore it…

​​

"Are you really Odette?" She asked. There was a bit of worry at the tone of her voice as she's unfamiliar with the current wand's aura…

"Yui? Of course, it is still me. What are you worrying about?" Odette was amused by her wielder's thought.

Nevertheless, her worry is valid considering that she was almost overtaken by the Cursed Mask as well. It seems that taking the power of another blessed is much more difficult than she thought…

"Then, about your aura… It's the result of the Cursed Mask? How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm good… It took us quite a lot of time but I'm already very strong… We can probably fight Reiji now and win… Hehehe…"

Odette replied and she seemed to be happy about it. Apparently, the two have acknowledged that Reiji's abilities were too powerful and they're not capable of going against him...

It is due to his Spiritual Pressure and arcane independence…

Reiji appears to be unaffected even though he is not being wielded by someone when he's using magic.

After all, Odette still requires Yui, her wielder, to cast powerful spells, and without her, the most that Odette can cast were low-tier Arcane Magic that is not effective against a strong foe.

But as they have observed before, Reiji doesn't care whether he's being wielded or not… The Arcana must've been awakened a couple of times already…

As for the Mystical Energy of each Arcana, it is still quite different since that energy is not meant to create Arcane Magic but to boost the magic itself…

It means that it doesn't matter how much Mystical Energy an Arcana could control if they are unable to use their powerful Arcane Magic, they would still have difficulty harnessing them…

At most, they can use the energy without any form to launch an attack on their target…

"You're that confident?"

Yui asked…

"Of course, he might be awakened but I'm sure that he hadn't taken any Blessed's power yet. Just remember how he was clueless about the Mystical Energy before…"

"Ahh… You might be right. But anyway, we don't have plans of fighting him… Should we give him our thanks now? They're still hunting some Evil Beast in the forest."

"Mhmm… Alright. How about we give him the location of another Cursed Arcana that he can consume for his own."

Odette suggested.

"Are you sure he can also do the same thing you did? Maybe he's not interested in them? Or he has a different process of advancement."

"Perhaps… But he must have got a use for them, right?"

Yui nodded at her explanation as they left the room.

As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by the various servants in the mansion as they were worried about her well-being…

"Young miss, are you alright?"

"What was that chilling aura ago? Are you safe?"

One of the elite guards asked. He looked at the young miss' body and she doesn't seem to be injured…

He heaved a sigh of relief after realizing this.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me… I'll be going out for now. There's no need to follow."

"I understand, young miss… About the members of the Crimson Reapers, we confirmed that five more noble families are involved with the recent human trafficking."

The guard reported which immediately caught her attention.

She ordered them to investigate those people since she felt that it was quite weird that Reiji's group were caught in trouble just after entering the city for less than a day.

After confirming that the rumors were true about the involvement of the nobles, she got a bit more curious and ordered for thorough investigation…

The guard handed a paper containing the list of the disgusting nobles… As a part of the nobility herself, she wanted to at least remove these kinds of nobles…

She felt that she has to do something to fix this now that she learned about it, she can't just turn a blind eye as the others did…

After confirming the names of the nobles, she burned the paper and headed outside…

"Let's see how strong you are before we meet with him again…"

Yui softly muttered…

Odette chuckled at this and agreed with her plans. Anyway, she also wanted to use her new abilities to real target without holding back and this is a good opportunity for her.

***

Three hours have passed after Rufus hunted his first Ancient Gazelle.

They managed to kill five more before deciding to move away from the place… Apparently, Reiji noticed that a leader of the Evil Beasts has appeared and perhaps looking for the young ones that were killed.

The Sentient Shinai felt that even if they managed to defeat this leader, two or three of his slaves would probably die in the process…

In truth, if not for his Heal and Rejuvenation, Ruthren would have died a couple of times already… As for Rufus, Reiji would always come in time to protect him so he doesn't need to be healed yet.

Aside from that, he also realized that they have gotten closer to the Three-Eyed Imp's cult…

He found six people wearing black cloaks as they blended with the black trees behind them. They are not making any noise or planning to move so it was almost impossible to notice their location. However, Reiji's Danger Sense works mysteriously that he managed to sense a bit of their bloodlust…

Then, he noticed that one of the six cloaked individuals was also looking in the direction of the three members of the Night Brigade… Reiji doesn't feel right about this person and he seems to be more dangerous than a Cursed Arcana…

It appears that they have gone too far in this forest already.

'Hey, about the Northern Hermit of the Cult… Have you seen him before?'

He asked one of his female sword slaves…

'We haven't seen him, master… We only heard about his jobs and the incredible achievements he made while serving the imp god…'

'Mhmm… I see…'

Reiji thought that it was already enough for today and was about to order them to return… However, he noticed the Evil Beasts lurking around their group.

"They found us… Run!"

Reiji shouted after noticing that five adult Ancient Gazelle got a whiff of their scent.

It seems that their Null Flower is not that effective to these high-tier beasts…

The six quickly moved their feet and ignored the other beasts around them as they run away from the place. As long as they got out of their territory, the Evil Beasts shouldn't be chasing them for a long time…

However, as Rufus was running, he noticed the three members of the Night Brigade! They haven't left the forest yet!

"Sir! We are being chased by several Ancient Gazelles, you might want to run as well!"

Rufus kindly reminded the group as he passed them over.

The three looked at each other not knowing what to do. Of course, they know that that they are being chased by some powerful beasts since they've been watching them from afar…

However, they're not scared of those beasts as well since they know its weakness…

In the end, Eoghan decided to follow Rufus' group to get out of the forest… Of course, he didn't forget to use his Arcane Magic that boosts their speed…

"Everyone, I'll be using my Arcana's ability to assist our run… Please, don't resist…"

Reiji instructed Rufus to agree to their request since he can't feel any danger from them even after using his Danger Sense.

As soon as got their approval, he cast it to them which gave them a surprise…

'Master… My body feels light. This is amazing… If we add this magic to our carriage, it might be easier to travel…'

Rufus commended Eoghan's Arcana…

Nevertheless, Reiji looked at his student's status and he's indeed affected by Arcane Magic.

[ Wind Haste ]

[ Time Remaining: 26s ]

It seems that the effect was only for a short time but considering the speed that they are going and the crowd it could affect, Reiji knows that this is really good in team battle…

Reiji can see that the leader of their group has three Arcana with him… A necklace, a sword, and a belt… He's unsure which one activated the Haste but he can feel that the Belt is actually his true Arcana… The other two were mostly like purchased from somewhere…

After running for a while, they noticed that they were finally safe and left the Ancient Gazelles far behind…

On the other hand, Reiji decided to remember that place…

He may not be interested in the Three-Eyed Imp Cult, but he sensed the six Arcana on those people…

'Well, I just hope that those six are at Unique-Rank or even higher…'

His advancement quest would surely happen someday and it would be harder than before.

So he's already considering where to find such expensive items or perhaps find deserving people to hunt their Arcana.

Reiji smirked at the thought of this.