Chapter 89 - It should have been obvious
Emil
After the initial onslaught of chaos, the rest of their daytime study session passed with relative peace. Kai's presence was surprisingly helpful. He had a knack for explaining abstract and complex concepts in a way that was intuitive and easy to digest. Anna was reasonably more well-behaved once he had assisted her through a couple of the material that she was struggling with.
"…Why weren't you ranked higher during the entrance exams? You could have easily taken a top spot," Anna asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "I could have avoided some of the harassment if I wasn't the only commoner in the top ten."
"Think of it this way. What's more interesting of a story? An unknown person who climbed to the top out of nowhere, or someone who already had expectations rising to the occasion?"
Emil suddenly found himself as the focus of everyone's attention.
"Exactly. The unknown person is much more intriguing, isn't it?" Kai exclaimed.
"I see. So you wanted to grab attention by starting at a lower spot and then rapidly ascend the ranks." Anna clicked her tongue out of begrudging respect. "You really are just as conniving as people make you out to be."
"Oh, please. It's called being strategic. You only have yourself to blame for failing to see the bigger picture," Kai said, "Besides, it's not like I've reaped the rewards of this conniving move yet. For all I know, it might backfire on me. Just like how my plans for the Clash of Dawn nearly got derailed because I underestimated Emil."
Emil smirked. "In hindsight, I really did toss you a lifeline, didn't I?"
"And I already paid back the favor numerous times!" Kai raised his fist in protest. "Don't you dare try to squeeze more out of me!"
As the evening arrived, the study group eventually parted ways. Anna had her daily sparring sessions with Liesel, while Kai and Charlotte had been invited to a banquet held by the nobilities residing in Azure City. The timing was perfect.
Once night fell, Emil immediately snuck out of the campus dorms and headed towards the southwestern quadrant of the Second Sector. According to Petra's intel, the caravan of interest was normally spotted enroute towards the sixth laboratory an hour post sunset. He had to hurry if he wanted to get a glimpse of what he needed to track.
***
I'm here.
Emil landed on the rooftop. He moved over towards the edge of the multistoried building and looked down. A portion of the route that Petra marked for the caravan laid just before him—a muddy, dilapidated road that led into a sprawl of densely packed houses. The dwellings here were noticeably shabbier compared to the rest of the residences within the Second Sector. They included wooden shacks clumsily held together by mud, hand-woven tents, and the ruins of partially collapsed buildings, tightly clustered together in sporadic, disparate patterns.
Emil was instantly reminded of the slums of Lower Dannan.
He shook his head, quickly shutting off the unpleasant memories that accompanied this fleeting period in his life. Now wasn't the time to dwell on the past.
Instead, he stared past the disorganized array of improvised shelter. A few blocks down he saw moving lights flickering back and forth. Torches. Against the dark night, they were difficult to miss. Just behind them was the faint silhouette of what appeared to be a walled compound. Underneath the moon's illumination, Emil could make out the metallic glint of thin barb wires that lined the top of the walls. He was too far to see anything else beyond.
Looks like they abandoned the "Hidden" part of this laboratory.
In truth, if this site was out in the open, then whatever nefarious research taking place here was likely being concealed under paperwork and bureaucracy. Hiding in plain sight. Not that it particularly mattered, given that the ruling authority of Azure City—the Council of Mana—was behind these initiatives. With Steiger forbidden from operating in the city, there was no checks and balances in place to keep corruption at bay.
Emil turned back towards the road, alerted by the sound of something heavy creaking along the muddy path.
A caravan.
It was an old, worn-out vehicle pulled by a pair of horses. Emil wasn't sure what to expect since Petra didn't mention any distinguishing details. In hindsight, it was probably unnecessary. There was no other reason why a caravan would willingly trek through this portion of the city unless it was headed for the Sixth Hidden Laboratory.
Just in case, Emil watched as the caravan reached the front of the walled compound. After a few minutes of scrutiny by the Sentinels, the caravan was allowed entry through the fenced gates.
Well, that confirms it.
Emil descended the building onto ground level. He was tempted to get closer to investigate the premise of the laboratory. No, I should leave that to Petra. She was likely somewhere in the area as well, assuming she was able to find a place to use her Gift safely.
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After making sure there was no one else nearby, Emil approached the trail made by the caravan wheels along the muddy road. With a solemn breath, he closed his eyes and lightly pressed his hands against the tracks.
"Trace."
Mana flowed from his Azurite pendant and latched onto his body, using his vessel as a channel. The ethereal energy coursed down the length of his arms until it reached the tips of his fingers. As it exited his body, mana rippled outwards in short pulsating waves, scanning the earthy characteristics of the caravan tracks.
When Emil opened his eyes again, he saw a faint airy trail colored in azure in the dark of night, clinging along the ground's surface as it followed the marks left behind by the caravan.
This was a new way of using Bulwark that he created over the past month. Now that he was assigned as Aoife's guard, he needed some way of tracking down the princess's location should she ever be kidnapped again. This was the fruits of his labor, aptly named Seismic Sense. Leveraging Bulwark's ability to let him manipulate earth, Emil created pulsating mana waves to identify and track characteristic trails left on the ground. In principle, it was not dissimilar to how a skilled hunter might track down an animal or how a bat perceived using echolocation.
With his ability active, Emil backtracked towards the original location of the caravan.
***
Thirty minutes passed until Seismic Sense took him to the end of the wheel tracks. Emil found himself still at the outskirts of the Second Sector, surrounded by a plethora of abandoned buildings packed together in dense arrays. The air was eerily still; the vicinity barren of life. Darkness engulfed the space due to the absence of street lamps and the meek moonlight. Ruined stone proliferated the surrounding area.
This is the southern most area of the Second Sector.
The province of Gharia was a few day's travel below this part of Azure City. A vast part of the province was a large, sprawling desert called the Saar, which was the native homelands of the tribal Gharians. A few decades ago, the geographic area was annexed by the previous Ardairan royal family based on rumors of hidden veins of Azurite located in the region. Once Gharia was absorbed into Ardair, a significant number of Gharians attempted to migrate and integrate themselves into Ardairan society.
This array of abandoned buildings standing before Emil used to be a district that provided temporary housing for Gharians seeking to find new lives in the kingdom.
Now defunct and unused, it remained as a relic of the past.
What exactly was that caravan doing here?
The wheel tracks ended before a narrow path sandwiched between two buildings that led deeper into the abandoned district. Emil observed the ground, searching for hints. There were marks along the uneven earth just in front of the wheel tracks. Footprints. Recent.
"Trace."
Seismic Sense revealed more footsteps originating from the narrow path. Emil winced. His experience living in the slums gave him plenty of apprehensions about trekking down an unfamiliar corridor. The lack of space gave him no room to move. The buildings on the flanks provided ample opportunities for a concealed ambush. He would also be forced to retreat in a straight line without cover in the worse case scenario.
…Whatever.
He took a deep breath and channeled Bulwark. Beneath his night gear, he shrouded his skin in a thin armor of earth as precaution before he stepped onto the narrow path.
It was a tight squeeze. The corridor was barely large enough for two adults to stand shoulder to shoulder. Emil kept his ears alert. Periodic ripples from Seismic Sense continued to reveal footprints amidst the darkness. The earthy stench permeating the space was intermingled with the distinct foulness of trash and human excrement. It was obvious that people were still living in this abandoned district, despite the eerie stillness and lack of activity.
Just what the hell was that caravan carrying into the lab?
The skin on his back crawled as his mind trembled with innumerable possibilities. Emil had a terrible premonition. It was then his ears caught a sound just a few meters in front of him.
It was faint. Nearly unnoticeable. He might have mistaken it for the breeze—if it weren't for the fact that he was in a narrow passage flanked by two buildings.
Emil stopped in place. His hands hovered over the dagger hidden on his leg. He squinted. His other senses went into overdrive. But it felt futile. The absence of moonlight made it nearly impossible to make out what was nearby.
Just as he was about to take a step forward, the space before him was suddenly drenched in bright lights. Emil winced. Against the dark umbral night, the sudden influx was blinding. The shining lights seared into his eyes as he struggled to adjust. Momentarily dazed, he strained his ears for signs of an ambush.
The subtle snap of drawstrings echoed from a few meters above him.
Immediately, Emil raised his arms to cover his face and dove to the side. A barrage of arrows whizzed through the air, plunging into the muddy earth in faint thuds. A few clanked off his body, repelled by the thin stone armor that he conjured earlier.
The ambush wasn't over. Footsteps thumped against the ground from just ahead. Still seeing stars, Emil caught a glimpse of a silhouette rushing towards him. Either there were gaps in the walls of this passage or there were covers in front of him hidden by night. A silver glint flashed in the assailant's hands. A knife.
Emil raised his elbows. The assailant swiped as they closed the distance, aiming for his neck. The knife instead bounced off the stone armor protecting Emil's arms. Undeterred, the assailant continued their relentless assault. As they lunged for a second attempt, Emil dropped his guard and reached for the assailant's arm. Like a snake, he instantly latched onto his foe's wrist. With a small twist, he forced the knife out of their hands. A painful groan escaped his foe's mouth as Emil then slammed him to the ground.
"I suggest you don't move," he said with a snap of his fingers. Blaze activated, immediately shrouding his body in its dark flames. Emil kept the blaze close despite the ravenous tendrils eagerly flickering towards his assailant.
"If I see a single arrow, I will also burn everything down."
The air was suddenly still. Over the cackles of his flames, Emil heard the weapons being lowered. Satisfied, he retracted Blaze once his eyes had grown accustomed to the influx of light. His assailant was on the floor. A piece of cloth covered the lower half of their face. Their eyes, however, were trembling with visceral fear.
These are Ordinaries.
He knew the instant they exchanged the blows. His assailant's attacks lacked weight and strength. Even an Exalted with below-average physique and no combat experience was capable of much stronger strikes.
"Don't move. I only have a few questions I like to ask."
Emil reached down and gently pried off the cloth mask.
Fuck.
A boyish face, dirty and thin, caked in mud and grime with a trail of blood pouring down their nose. Factoring in malnutrition and the lack of food, his assailant was likely a teenager, not much younger than him. Their crooked and rotting teeth bared, jaws clenched, ready to pounce with the wildness of a savage animal. A miscreant of the slums. A child.
An orphan.
Of course.
Emil felt the insides of his chest burn with fury.
Why did I expect anything less?
It was obvious what the caravan was here for. The heinous research conducted at the Hidden Laboratories required experimental subjects. And there just happened to be plenty of it right here.