Going Inside The Lion's Den

After pondering for a while, Felix shook his head. The possibility is endless but the fact that he immediately thought of him made him a little doubtful.

He met Hans back in New York and they talked about the incident that happened almost a month ago. However, his appearance was overwhelmingly different from this purple-haired man.

The physique, the height, and the confidence were like miles away from Hans Luther.

It's been so long since they last met. All personels monitoring Hans were already stopped by the director as they felt like he was not worth paying attention to anymore.

After all, Hans has become useless in their eyes.

Observing him would be a waste of money. The USA had so many problems these past few weeks and they couldn't lose manpower and personnel in such hard times.

"Fuu—"

Felix groaned heavily.

'This is tricky…' he thought.

Then, Gia explained all of their interactions with the purple-haired man in as much detail as possible.

From their first meeting all the way to the recent activities. It was at this moment that he found out that the purple-haired man is also here in Italy.

This only cemented his suspicions that the man might really be an asset of the 'Illuminati'.

From the very start, they planned meticulously. Every action was observed thoroughly until the day they could catch their prey, who in this case Freya.

Despite that conclusion, Felix still didn't consider it the truth. Many things remained unclear like how they developed the drug that could seal Freya's mana and their ability to create portals with ease.

No doubt, someone in a higher position is helping those guys.

Catching these guys would only result in a trap. A trap so deadly that they might not even escape anymore and this is what frustrates him.

The Illuminati was able to move freely with no restrictions. Unlike other hidden organizations, these people were hidden beneath the under.

And by the time they strike, it would cause their enemies a lot.

As for their purpose?

Felix had no idea what it was. The Ruined King's Tomb didn't appear after waiting for a few days.

However, since the mana had become denser in Venice, the tomb might have already appeared somewhere but the only ones who could enter is the people holding the five Ruined King's Gears.

The Illuminati's movements were unpredictable but they bared their fangs at this exact time.

Meaning, they must have been waiting for this tomb as well. The reasons are unclear but for sure, something overwhelmingly massive is brewing from the shadows.

Clack—

The sound of glass hitting the wooden table awakened Felix from his daze. He glanced at the glass of orange juice together with a simply made sandwich beside it.

With his brows raised, he lifted his head and stared at Gia who was currently chewing what seemed to be a dumpling.

Felix smiled.

"Hmm… a change of mind?" he asked as he picked up the orange juice and sipped.

"Don't misunderstand. You became a statue for 10 ten minutes so I uhmm… I thought about making a snack."

"Haha, really?"

Felix picked up the sandwich and gnawed it like some hungry beast. It's not because it's delicious but rather, he hasn't eaten anything for the last 22 hours.

Gia sat in silence, slowly chewing the dumpling like she had no appetite. Felix immediately noticed this and spoke.

"Don't worry, Freya is still alive. She wouldn't fall that easily."

"I know it's just…" Gia spoke but her voice began to break.

"She's not dead and she's still alive, waiting for us to save her. Don't think about anything negative. Freya wouldn't like seeing you so down like this."

Gia nodded but she quickly noticed something ruffling her hair. She raised her eyes and glared at Felix who's currently petting her head like she's a cat. But the problem is, the hand started running through her face.

"Can you take off your hand please?" Gia asked coldly.

"Oh."

Felix reacted and retracted his hand back. He looked at Gia and saw her expression becoming ugly as she stared at his face.

"I have a disease. My hand just, you know, moves on its own hehe." Felix chuckled.

"..."

"I mean you don't have to believe it though. I—"

"Get out."

"Fine, fine, don't yell okay?"

"GET OUT!!!"

...…..

Swish—

The three thieves dashed into the narrow alleys where the darkness reigned. Blurred figures appeared under the light but they swiftly vanished as they submerged inside the shadows.

One of them held a black cloth wrapped into something shaped in a circle whereas the other two served as a lookout if someone was following their tracks or not.

Swish—

The people were bustling on the streets. It's hard not to notice when someone acts differently, like running and such. Thus, the three thieves needed to be extra careful when passing through places teeming with people.

At that moment, the thief holding the orb of miracle shuddered and he quickly took a stop in a shadowy street.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and goosebumps crawled on his skin.

The other two thieves noticed him stop. Bewildered, they also braked, approached him, and asked.

"What's the matter?"

"I feel like someone's watching us."

The moment he said those words, the other two thieves tensed up and they immediately went into a defensive stance.

With no room to think, the two spread their perception, trying to find whoever is watching them. However, aside from weak mana signatures, they hadn't captured anything suspicious at all.

Their guards loosened and instead, traces of doubt surfaced on their faces.

"There's no one."

"Maybe, you are hallucinating?"

The thief who held the orb hesitated before finally giving out a soft sigh. Perhaps, these two are right.

The three thieves eventually reached a consensus and they sprinted in their direction once again.

As long as they complete this mission, their lives will finally be freed.

..........

"They noticed?"

Hans withdrew his consciousness but his perception still followed those three thieves.

One of them seemed to have noticed him but fortunately, they didn't investigate it further. However, that fact alone means that they are skilled and not to be taken lightly.

They could evade the sight of these guards here so their skills are surely off the charts.

Even then, Hans had no interest in killing them. He was merely curious about who was the mastermind of this planned robbing.

After all, these three thieves seemed to be going in a specific direction. A hideout is very likely the place they are rushing at and that is what Hans wanted to know as well.

'They are going too far. I should follow them now.'

Those guys are fast. Every movement was precise and silent as if they weren't even thieves but an assassin.

However, his only problem is the book. Ella is taking so much time.

His only option is to use a clone. Even if Ella notices that he's just a clone, there are so many excuses he could come up with.

What's more, once they found out about the robbery, their attention would shift to that case instantly.

Of course, it would be too late to get back the orb of miracle.

After all, he's gonna use it secretly.

.......

Garrett placed his hand on his space ring ready to take out his weapon anytime. Claus and Adeline continued exchanging words and curses at each other.

The tension was, even more, pressuring as Claus' guards were on stand-by. Their hands rested on the hilt of their swords while their gaze stared at the guards of the auction.

Lady Emilia maintained the peace between the two, trying all her best not to escalate the issue further. Once the Emperor gets a hold of this, these two will surely be punished which in turn, would cause her auction house to lose customers.

"Adeline! Don't think that you are still the crown princess! In my eyes, you're just nothing but a traitor just like the crown prince!" Claus shouted.

"Mentioning 'him' is forbidden, Claus. Have you forgotten that? Or are you just stupid on purpose? I could order the knights to imprison you if I want to." Adeline warned.

"You bit—"

However, Lady Emilia quickly interrupted before Claus could even finish his words.

"Claus and Crown Princess, please, if you want to fight just not here. If one of you truly wants the item, then it would surely go to the highest bidder. So please, let's settle this calmly and peacefully."

The two glared at each other and stopped bickering. The knights who already activated their defensive skills instantly withdrew their mana as well.

The scene fell into silence as Lady Emilia mediated the two.

In fact, she did this out of respect for other customers. After all, once these two fought here and destroyed the auction house's reputation, they would certainly switch to another auction site.

She doesn't want that to happen.

Many VIPs are still inside the room. Once they felt like their lives would be threatened even inside the auction house, they wouldn't even bother to come here anymore.

The business she built through blood, sweat, and tears would crumble into dust.

Building their reputation back from the scratch would be a tough and arduous task. The other auction houses might even take over just to prevent them from going back to business.

On the other hand, Garrett sighed in relief after seeing Claus and the crown princess finally stopped in their heated exchange.

He thought the auction house was going to be bloody. Fortunately, it didn't escalate into something big.

However, judging from Claus' attitude, this man will surely find a way to get back at the crown princess.

But no matter what he did, as long as it didn't involve the auction house, then he's not concerned about it.

Subconsciously, Garrett turned around and his eyes narrowed until they gradually widened in shock.

'The orb!' Garrett yelled inwardly.

Instantly, Garrett swept his gaze around together with his perception. His eyes restlessly scanned the area around but to his surprise, he didn't find the item.

Then, he suddenly realized another possibility. Garrett turned his head and shouted.

"Lady Emilia! Someone robbed the orb!"

......…..

After 10 minutes of running, Hans appeared outside the place where the thieves vanished.

When he left a clone back at the auction house, he didn't stay further and hastily followed the thieves towards their hideout.

On the way, he crossed through the dark forest blooming with lush trees and wild animals. The moonlight was obscured by the towering branches and giant size leaves. As such, it was dark.

Even then, since he could see through the dark this was nothing to him. What bothers him is that the moment the thieves hit a rock, they disappeared.

It's as if they were transferred to another space.

"This rock… it has mana."

In front, a giant boulder with a height of over 100 meters stood still. Green vines slithered around it and small insects crawled on its surface.

Just by looking at it alone, no one could really tell if it was special or not. Even as of now, Hans couldn't identify the strangeness of this boulder.

Aside from it having mana inside, it's barely noticeable. If not for him approaching it, he might have missed it.

Hans' perception couldn't penetrate it either.

"Who would have thought that they were hiding here?"

This place was like a paradise for thieves.

[Are you going inside?]

"Yes."

[But what if it's a trap?]

Plundy has a point but that wasn't enough to make him stop. He risked going here rather than resting back at the inn.

Unless he has the orb of miracle in his hands now, he won't leave. Of course, if this turned out to be a trap, he already made an escape plan.

"I won't die, don't worry."

With a firm determination on his face, Hans stepped forward and his figure was swallowed by an unknown force.