"Um…" I shared an uncomfortable glance with Alya.
Alya was already leaning on the pillar adorned with Gothic black bricks, a low-hanging golden lantern brightening her pale white skin.
Alya let out a long sigh, bowing lazily. "Unfortunately, sir, we are busy. Please call for somebody else." It was really fucking hard to get out of this place. Problem after problem.
"Hmm… Sure… I understand. Can we talk for a bit, at least?" He clearly didn't understand. "It won't take long, and maybe you could also call for someone who is free. I will tip generously to everyone!" He insisted impatiently.
"We are really busy," I replied apologetically before striding in the opposite direction.
I can imagine losing your daughter should be tough, but we didn't really have the luxury to take risks and call for others. Talking with people who didn't know much themselves wouldn't do him any good either.
Alya followed right behind, her expression passive.
"Wait!" He raised his voice.
This guy… He really needs to learn how to take a no for an answer.
"You're being a hindrance to the staff. We are working hard to protect everyone from the terrible accident that just took place… Sir. Please cooperate." Alya's eyes narrowed as she replied coldly without turning back.
I touched the hilt of the sword on my waist. Please leave us alone now!
Any average wealthy person should be scared when two armed Mari Swan goons with swords are being this hostile.
"So be it! I need answers… please." But he was different.
My eyes widened as he began walking towards us. The blonde-haired woman's lips curled upwards as she passed even the old man, clearly eager to reach us.
"This isn't normal…" I muttered to Alya. Maybe the daughter he's talking about is a toddler who got lost and would die if we didn't take action? Then why is that chick smirking like she's about to kill us?!
"His emotions are genuine," Alya whispered in my ear. "He's scared and panicked. Though that woman… She feels only hatred towards us. But she's worried about something as well." Alya explained without blinking.
Her ability was so useful! I patted her on the back.
"Alright, alright. Stay where you both are and make it quick." I raised my hands from the sword; they both froze on the spot, visibly surprised by our compliance.
We shouldn't catch too much attention after all. If push comes to shove, we will just bolt for the exit. With this many people, it wouldn't be too hard to slip by.
He stammered, "I… She, I am looking for my daughter! She, uh… was visiting the basement to check what she liked. Can you tell me how to get there? I don't mind if there's nothing that can be done for the runaway slaves. Just… tell me where she is!" He said it all in one breath.
"He's lying about something."
"I see that too. Something's seriously suspicious about him…" I muttered to Alya, whose jewel-like red eyes were lost in thought.
My eyes itched as purple veins appeared around my forehead.
They looked oddly at me as I looked at them without a word.
With one look of [Eye of Sanguine], I confirmed it. There were two layers of temperature around them: one embracing their bodies from outside, bending around every part, mixing and manipulating their physical bodies' appearance.
The second was a bright red light deep inside their nerves, hidden behind the outward orangish layer, which made them look like normal humans.
Both had Arcana and were disguised through some sort of ability…
Their faces lost some color as I still didn't say anything. Sharing a glance with each other, they were about to say something.
Before they could, though, I silently raised my hand, pointing towards the stairway's direction with my index finger. "Just go straight, then take both rights. But that place is dangerous."
The blonde-haired girl looked back, as if checking out the area, before nodding to the man.
Alya's lips had fully parted, too. She probably read my emotions, then checked them out herself. They were strong enough to overwhelm us in a direct fight.
Bustling crowds around us had thinned considerably in just a little time. Even though there were still people, it wouldn't take long for this place to go into a lockdown state.
Alya looked at me. I somehow knew she was thinking the same thing. We shouldn't shove our noses where they didn't belong.
Tap! Tap!
My stomach churned as I noticed both of them closing in on us.
The fuck? They were seriously creeping me the fuck out.
I motioned to Alya with a jerk of my head towards the other end of the massive hall. The exit should be there according to Vanitas' map.
I looked around for my coworkers' help. None noticed, as if we didn't exist, busy with the people they were evacuating.
"So… You figured it out, huh?" A soft, feminine voice echoed. The blonde girl spoke for the first time.
The next second, we were running. Her words were clear: she knew that I knew.
There were tens of reception desks connected to parallel-placed steel grills that led like a maze to them. These steel grills covered most of the area of the hall, besides a lot of sitting arrangements everywhere.
We parkoured through them all, I jumped over steel grills, Alya slid under the row of tables, and leapt to crouch behind sofas, running towards the exit.
Even without Vanitas's buff, we were pretty fast, traveling hundreds of meters across the hall. I tried to get my colleagues' attention, but they continued to ignore us.
"He's still following…" Alya whispered low enough to be picked up only by my ears while jumping over three people.
I turned back slightly, my heart almost leaping out of my throat.
The gray-haired man was on all fours, running like a tiger left hungry for days, leaping tens of meters with every "step." The blondie was nowhere to be seen.
Before I could even turn back ahead, I was inside an elbow's grip, squeezing my throat hard enough to make it look thin like a stick, breaking both the wind and the food pipe.
"I smell Ren on you! You must have done something to her… I am so glad you yourself gave me this opportunity." I froze as the feminine voice echoed just inches away from me.
Ren?
"How…? You are still alive? Interesting… Not bad for fragile little humans." She talked to herself before pulling me closer to her.
I ground my teeth as she began fully suffocating me against her soft body. I barely managed to glance beside me; Alya was in the exact same situation. Drool leaked from her mouth, her jaw fully widened. A wink was all I needed to communicate a plan.
What? My pupils dilated fully as I made eye contact with a holy knight standing just a few meters to our left. Are you not seeing this, dude?!
I expected him to shout, alert everyone, and rush to help us, but he just turned the other way, like there wasn't anything worth paying attention to here.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat as I turned ahead, "We have used an illusion. Not even a saint class could see through it." The gray-haired old man shook his head, standing up from his dog-like position just a meter away from us.
So that's why… All those guards weren't ignoring us. We were literally invisible. They were clearly determined to kill us. It made sense since we worked for Mari Swan and saw through their disguise.
I sighed deeply. Guess we cannot avoid it…
My eyes sharpened as I solidified my will.
Undo of shift.