Kapitel 31: Traitor; A Challenge

"Add Sigil, Buster, Gary and Mican to the list." A melodious voice emerged as three figures could be seen sitting in a dark room with a crystal ball placed on the middle of the table. The figure had ruby-red hair as her figure spoke of fullness and her healthy skin increased her charm.

She was Ruby, the director of the Black Spider Faction belonging to the Carefree Alliance.

"Aside from these high-profile kids, we should find some strange ones. Those could be the possible suspects behind the incident." Sabar spoke as his rough voice filled the secret room.

"Can't you speak lightly. Your voice booms back!" Ruby glared at the muscle head and continued looking at the crystal ball.

"Some strange event has already occurred. There is a kid in the Grey Family and he has opened his Chakra Point." Old Sparrow spoke lightly.

"What's so strange with that?" Sabar frowned.

"He had only opened his second gate before entering the ancestral pool."

"That's... definitely strange. I am adding the kid to the list. What's his name?" Sabar asked.

"Ricardo."

"Let's not forget about the kid in Eyesian City. He actually tamed a Mature Wolf-type Shadow Familiar. His whole family dominates the area as the influx of a mature beast has strengthened the Witch's Organisation." Ruby spoke as her expression turned dark.

"Eyesian City isn't far and Shadow Path is one of the suspected paths of the Grimoire World. We should send some of the spies to that city." Old Sparrow nodded his head.

"Sigh, all this work is affecting my skin." Ruby yawned and stretched seductively. She was wearing a cream coloured dress that had a deep neck and was hanging from her neck through a thread. With such a gesture, her beautiful and shapely breasts threatened to spill out.

After completing her action, she looked at her peers with an exhausted expression.

"Those days were better when you guys couldn't control your feelings." She sighed sadly.

"I still can't control them. You have simply lost your charm. Why would I want to have a go with a 100 years old virgin?" Sabar spoke in a mocking tone.

Without any words, Ruby's hand extended as a Crimson-Red book appeared in front of her.

"You are dead." She spoke coldly as both of them disappeared from the room.

"Hmph, kids!" Old Sparrow snorted and focused on the crystal ball. Surprisingly, he could easily see the various scenes happening in the ancestral pool situated in Chestcovia City.

***

Mist Divine Country.

The headquarters of the Witch's Organisation was situated in the capital state of the Mist Divine Country, Mist State.

Mist Divine Country had two extremely powerful states that had become the supporting pillar of the country. The names of the States are Mist and Divine, getting the first and last name of the country because of their military prowess.

Out of these two, Mist State was slightly powerful.

The headquarters of the Witch's Organisation was actually a skyscraper with more than 80 floors constructed. Right now, many commoners could see mystical beasts and various supernatural entities emerging near the front door of the building.

Inside the reception hall of the HQ.

"Haha, we would like to welcome our strongest Elder. Elder Eugene Oregon! Even though he is only a Witch with four chakra points open, he used his extraordinary methods to capture a Grimoire Master of the enemy country. He is the pride of the Organisation and we look forward to his future legends. Let's welcome our Guest Eugene with a round of applause." The host was experienced as he directed the crowd of extremely powerful Witches to applaud for a witch weaker than them.

Under the rounds of clapping, a brunette, thin man emerged from the backstage. He was dressed in a handsome black tuxedo and his eyes were extremely bright. A confident smile hung on his mouth as he walked near the microphone.

"Thank you for your warm welcome." Eugene waited for the clamouring to stop before continuing.

"I know that many Elders have always been curious towards my methods. On such a rare occasion, I would like to present my secret to you guys." Eugene smiled and his words attracted everyone's attention.

They were all elder level Witches with higher cultivation than Eugene. Yet, he was able to capture a Grimoire Master alive while they couldn't even beat the opponent that was slightly stronger than them.

"The truth is, I am a spy. The Grimoire Master I captured was a slave from the Origin Country and I am the only son of the president of the Country." His mannerism was noble and graceful but his words caused the entire hall to be stunned with shock.

Before anybody could speak, they suddenly felt that they were stuck in their position without being able to even move their mouth.

"I know what you guys are thinking. Some are thinking that I am playing a prank. Some may ponder on my motive to come clean. The truth is, I just wanted to leave the country with a bang." The moment he said 'bang', the heads of all the witches exploded into a bloody mist.

"See, you guys will always remain a weakling. Too afraid of real power. In Olden Era, you witches exterminated the Scholarly Wizards, in the Bloody Era, you tried to end the lines of us Warlocks. Too bad, you guys aren't capable of defeating the war maniac brothers of Wizards." He spoke lightly in the hall filled with bloody mist. It felt like he was venting off his frustration.

Slowly, a mark of a black skull appeared on his forehead as various rotten hands emerged from the floor in a mysterious manner. Slowly, the rotten hands dragged the bodies into a black vortex and disappeared.

"With so much nutrition, a breakthrough is imminent." He smiled happily as he walked away.

Inside the empty hall, the chandelier kept on giving off strange radiation as one could see a crystal ball placed on the chandelier alongside a black Rubik's cube.

***

"It's here." Ivan suddenly spoke as he looked towards the ten-legged spider on the top of the totem.

Sigil walked forward and reached the window to observe a strange scene.

The statue of the spider seemed to have gained life as its body shuddered and it started crawling towards the ground.

Slowly, it started laying out different sized eggs. Some were dark in colour while others were light. Some were only the size of a palm while the others were as big as a human being.

After laying 12 eggs of varied sizes and colors, the spider stopped in its tracks and cracks of various depths and sizes started forming on its body. Slowly, the body of the spider started to fall off and its body crumbled away.

But nobody seemed affected by its disappearance. The moment it crumbled away, the magical energy coming from the totem stopped and they could feel their surroundings turning normal.

"According to the information, we only have 8 minutes left before the barrier of the pool disappears. At that time, even the family leaders will fight for the egg since the rules clearly state that the ancestral pool had collapsed and our advantage will be gone. We need to get everyone in a single place." Ivan spoke with a hint of urgency.

"Yeah, yeah, leave it to me." Sigil spoke lazily. He was fully recovered by now.

He slowly opened the door oh their house and walked out with firm steps. Right now, he was the strongest fighting force in the ancestral pool. This wasn't arrogance but extreme confidence in his abilities.

If he had merely formed a simple howling Wolf constellation, he would be stronger than others because of the physical talent of the constellation, but now, his strength wasn't something a regular Eight Gates Formation Witch could compare to.

Because of his existence, all the competitors had some of their scouts keeping their eyes on the house they were staying at. The moment Sigil came out of his house, every team leader was notified.

Sigil did not bother transforming yet. Not only did his transformation cost a huge amount of stamina, but he also needed to act according to their plane.

"Do you think it will go well?" Bethany couldn't help but ask while Alicia's body remained tense.

On the other hand, Ivan remained calm.

"All long-range attackers, prepare your gun. Nobody will fire without my command. Alicia, you should be prepared to join the fray, I will be supporting you and Sigil in close combat."

The group nodded as they waited.

Meanwhile, the leader of various groups that were staying at various buildings frowned when they heard about Sigil's movements.

"Why the hell is he coming out?" A grey-haired youth rubbed his chin. His eyes were sunken and his triangular shaped face gave him an extraordinarily fierce image. His hair was uncombed and looked rough.

Beside him, a beautiful figure– Yasmine shuddered unconsciously. She was still healing but her limbs were properly joined once again. An image of a Furious Demon emerged in her mind as her legs couldn't help but tremble. She did not want to go through that unimaginable pain again!

"Pathetic!" Nox, the leader of the Old Sparrow group spat coldly. A person's heart and resolution define their self, but Sigil broke that very resolution. The lofty Yasmine, the genius of the Yellow Spider Family, one of the direct apprentices of Alan– the family head, had lost her will and confidence.

Now, her only use may be her beautiful flesh that can attract weak-minded mortals.

Nox thought for a little while and still couldn't think of Sigil's motive. Is it an ambush? Is it a call of truce to distribute the treasures peacefully?

Before Nox or other leaders could think, a loud roar could be heard.

"Hahahaha, did everybody piss themselves? You guys don't even have the guts to face me, Sigil?" Sigil's wild laughter could be heard in the surroundings. His voice hoarse, like a beast's roar.

The moment he said these words, expressions of every top-level witch couldn't help but change.

A challenge!?

To all of them!?

Is it a trap or utter confidence in one's own abilities?

Meanwhile, Sigil took a deep breath and returned to his human form. No matter how hard he shouts, it couldn't achieve the impact of a Wolf's howl.

After achieving his aim, he could only wait. He had already planned with Ivan and now, everything will depend on the situation.

Previously, Sigil had proposed that he should just steamroll the enemies and pick up the eggs by himself. After all, with his strength, he could achieve the goal without involving anyone else. This way, the members could live safely and earn profits.

But the moment he proposed the idea, Ivan rejected it immediately. He gave two fatal weakness of this plan.

First, what will happen if somebody shot at the eggs? The moment the Familiars woke up from their hibernation and looked towards the nearest human, they would belong to them. This increased the uncertainty of the plan as all the Familiars may end up choosing someone else and their own alliance will earn nothing.

The second reason wasn't a typical weakness, but the policy of their alliance. If Sigil ended up doing everything, how will Ivan and others earn their gains? They needed to contribute themselves to earn the appropriate profits.

"Alright, you guys move out. The moment those guys appear, you will search their base and cripple their backup members." Ivan spoke to four members of his team.

'Come on!' Ivan looked towards Sigil's direction with a hint of anticipation.