Edward was jumping from roof to roof, heading for the Regalis estate. Even now he was feeling the malice attempting to invade his mind and corrupt him. It couldn’t bypass his aura but it was a persistent strain on the back of Edward’s mind. It’s starting to get tiring. Maintaining my aura at all times is not that costly but it prevents me from resting. I can’t imagine continuing like this for weeks. I have to find one of those Damkinan medallions that the knights had. If it’s part of the standard equipment for the emperor’s guards I’m sure he must have a few spares, especially with the number of them that must have been killed by the monsters’ assault.

Edward vaulted to the next roof and found himself almost nose-to-nose with a manticore. The low visibility had prevented him from sensing the monster any sooner and he hadn’t expected to find a monster standing directly on the roof since until now he had only seen them roaming the streets. The creature was all black just like all the others made from the mist. It deployed its leathery wings, each was about three meters in length which was quite impressive but should have been far from enough for a beast of this scale to fly.

With one flap of its wings, the manticore bounced on Edward its maw wide opened and ready to take a bite. Edward teleported behind the monster, avoiding its charge. The manticore turned on itself and swung its scorpion tail. Edward leaned on the side, avoiding the blow. It is fast, but not faster than me even when I’m not using my acceleration. The beast slashed its paws and mist blades prolong its attacks. Edward teleported behind the attacks letting them continue in their tracks now that he was out of the way. With his perception limited at thirty meters he didn’t sense the blades dissipate, they kept going until they disappeared inside the mist.

Okay, let’s try not to be hit by that. It packs some serious power.

Edward tried to get closer to get on the offensive as well, but each time the manticore assaulted him with relentless fury forcing him to avoid its attacks and fall back.

If that’s how you want to play it so be it. Edward was about to use his acceleration when he changed his mind. You know what, let’s do it like that instead, it will be good practice.

His image blurred as two spitting images of him appeared at his side. As the manticore appeared befuddled, each Edward separated and formed a triangle formation. The manticore had very good offense but it couldn’t guard every direction. All of the Edwards attacked at the same time, brandishing their daggers that had turned to the size of swords with the help of his aura.

The manticore flashed its wings once, then twice, and took off, its paws leaving the roof’s slates. The different Edwards followed it, pursuing the monster into the air as well. All of this training wasn’t for nothing. I wouldn’t have been able to do that before, keeping track of everything is quite mentally taxing. Let’s end it quickly.

The manticore tried to escape but it couldn’t be everywhere at the same time. One Edward after the other managed to land blows. However, Edward wasn’t that happy, each strike was hitting true but only inflicted limited damage. This beast is fucking tough. It may be not as fast as the Arachne but its defensive and offensive capabilities are top-notch.

However, from the moment the manticore got surrounded the issue of the fight was already decided, unless Edward made a mistake it was only a question of time before he killed the creature. Although the beast continued to attack fiercely, it was useless since it wasn’t able to land a single hit. All it managed was to reduce the surroundings to rubble, destroying several mansions during the fight. After suffering from one cut after the other, the monster finally stopped moving and dropped from the air while dissipating into mist.

I hate not being able to absorb their essence. I defeat them fair and square and I’m not obtaining anything from it.

The two clones fused back with him, not wasting the aura they had been charged with. This power is mentally taxing and complex to use but consumption wise it is quite good. If I wanted to defeat that monster any other way, I would have had to use a lot more aura than that. I guess it depends on how you use the clones. If a clone full of aura gets destroyed right at the beginning it is a big loss, but alternately I could make a clone with no aura to serve only as a distraction and it could tank a powerful attack. And I can mix illusions with clones able to carry attacks. This power has more depth than I thought.

Still in the air and not distracted by the monster anymore, Edward noticed something amiss within the mist. What is this? It’s pitch black but that’s not mist, it’s a solid structure. He came closer to it, rising in altitude. A single line of condensed mist to the point it looked more like metal was extending in the distance until it escaped his perception. It looks the same as when I materialized my aura, except it’s made with mist energy. The black line was the thickness of a steel bar and had nothing particular about it except for the fact that it was floating in the air hidden within the mist.

Should I investigate it? It’s obviously linked to the mist covering the city. Hiding it there is a clever trick. Within that pea-supper, you can’t see anything, and it’s not like many people have the ability to fly. Besides, flying is kind of useless for scouting if you can’t see the ground. This thing could cover the whole city and none would be wiser.

Edward hesitated on what to do but he sensed the malice pressure on him increased, he could even hear faint whispers again. Shit! I better fall back. For now, I have only faced mindless monsters, but whoever thought about this scheme is no idiot. I should regroup with the other patriarchs before attempting to confront the mastermind behind the mist.

Edward teleported away before swiftly leaving the area, the pressure on him failed to follow. He hid inside a nearby building and waited for some time, making sure that everything was all right before heading out again. This time he moved more carefully not wanting to find himself facing another monster from up close even if he could deal with it.

He reached the Regalis mansion without further trouble. Just like in Gobéliard, rather than adopting Roman architecture, it looked more like a Yorkshire mansion, except one with a courtyard defended by walls. The mansion looked abandoned but in a better state than most of the city. There were a few impacts on the walls as well as broken windows but nothing was collapsed yet.

Edward teleported inside the courtyard without making any noise. It looks deserted. I hope I won’t find another message to go elsewhere. He entered the mansion, keeping ready in case he was ambushed by a monster. He scried the nearby rooms with his aura for any sign of a living presence. The ground floor was as deserted as the city but the monsters didn’t seem to have made it inside, and although everything was covered by a layer of dust, nothing was broken.

Edward was about to head to the next floor when he sensed an empty space between two walls. The mansion’s walls were quite thick, but this one was empty from the inside. One person would have the space to venture inside if they moved on their side. From the outside, it was hard to notice that anything was amiss. Even with his aura Edward had taken several seconds to notice it, the aura that he sent through that area of the walls was strangely sluggish. It wasn’t something as obvious as his aura not able to cross through it, but more as if it had been anesthetized, its feedback being slow and blurry.

A secret passage, interesting. And with added protection against probing auras. I guess this makes sense, in a world where any dangerous individual can probe his surroundings with his aura, a secret passage without any probing protection wouldn’t stay secret for long.

Edward teleported inside and follow along, the space was cramped, but it was a necessity to make it harder to notice. The passage headed to the inside of a tower with stairs leading down. Once he reached it Edward was finally able to move at ease. He rolled his shoulders. I thought it will be easier knowing that I can teleport outside any time I want, but tight spaces still make me feel ill at ease.

Edward followed the stairs, climbing down below the ground level. There weren’t any torches to light up the way but his aura was enough to probe his surroundings. It wasn’t the first time he was exploring an environment with very little or no light at all. Additionally, the mist was a lot thinner in this passage than in the rest of the city. Edward didn’t notice it when he was squeezed between two walls but now that the passage was getting larger it became obvious. There is almost no mist here. It seems the runes protecting against aura probing are affecting it as well. He walked down one stair at a time. How deep does this go? I must be at least ten meters under the surface already.

It turned out that it kept going for a while, leading down a good fifty meters under the ground. At the end of the stairs was a thick wooden door reinforced by lateral iron bars, Edward could feel people behind the door and it seemed they sensed him as well from the way they moved.

The door opened briskly and Edward was blinded by a man wielding an arc of lightning in his hand as if he was Zeus himself. Powerful. He is at the patriarch level. Looks like I found the patriarchs. “Who are you? Were you followed?”, the man asked aggressively.

He was a man that appeared to be in his forties with disheveled blond hair. His hair seemed to have been affected by his lightning with strands repelling each other and dancing wildly in the air. He had blue eyes and was well-built with prominent musculature. However, his mighty appearance was somewhat belittled by the dark rings under his eyes and his exhausted complexion. He was wearing armor with a crest of a yellow crown turning on white on a purple background that kind of looked like storm clouds.

That’s the crest from the Regalis family. “I’m Edward, but that won’t help you since I doubt you have heard of me.” The man indeed looked befuddled, his hostility decreased since he saw that Edward didn’t have hostile intent but he didn’t dissipate the lightning he was holding yet. “I’m from Gobéliard. The Vega family managed to reach us, I learned about what happened to the capital and I’m here to help.” Edward explained. “And no, I haven’t been followed.”

The man finally removed his lightning. “Good. I’m Adotinus, the Regalis patriarch. Truth be told you are the best news that happened since those blasted creatures invaded the capital. Come inside.”