Chapter 263 Catching Betrayer?
In a lone, dilapidated alley, Daniel arrived, accompanied by Envy. Even Penthesilea, who had received news from one of her subordinates patrolling the area, also came to assess the situation.
Within this alley, Daniel and his group discovered Sloth peacefully sleeping in her wheelchair. Surrounding her were field medics from the base who had arrived earlier, tending to her needs. They checked her pulse and used peculiar equipment to examine the mana in her body.
The energy of her wheelchair had long been depleted, halting all automatic functions that would typically transport her back to their base if there was no one around when she fell into a slumber due to the curse of Sloth.
As Daniel and the group approached Envy, she noticed traces of corrosion on her wheelchair, indicative of exposure to the dream realm. Although it was subtle, the impact was clear.
"Dream realm corrosion!?" Envy exclaimed, lowering herself to get a closer look at the corrosion on the armrest and wheels. She then turned to Daniel with a worried expression.
"Daniel… We need to burn the wheelchair and all of her clothes she's currently wearing with holy fire. Then, leave her to me. I'll cleanse her body from the influence of the dream realm," Envy stated.
"The Dream realm!?" Daniel echoed, a hint of surprise in his voice. The information about the Dream realm was also within the scope of the Archmage profession card that he had absorbed.
"You said that Sloth can enter the Dream Realm with her real body!? Is that even possible!?" Daniel inquired.
"Of course, it's impossible," Envy responded, proceeding to explain, "What she did was create a direct connection between the real world and the dream realm. She brought the dream mist from the dream realm to the real world and let it influence the surroundings. Then, she allowed the unlimited horde of dream beasts residing within the mist to take care of her enemies."
"I see, that's why her clothes and this wheelchair are tainted by the dream realm corruption," Daniel nodded in understanding. Bringing the dream mist to the real world and allowing the influence of the dream realm was within the realm of possibility. They needed to destroy everything affected by the dream realm.
The reason behind this action was the mysterious nature of the dream realm. Since anything could happen in a dream, there was a risk that items affected by the dream realm could become beacons for the nightmarish creatures residing within the dream realm, serving as gates to enter the real world.
Daniel then began to command the female medics to look after Sloth and proceeded to burn her clothes and wheelchair with a holy napalm grenade that one of the Atlantean Vanguards brought with him.
Next, Envy took Sloth to a secluded corner of the alley with the help of two female medics and used her magic to cleanse Sloth's body from the dream realm corruption. While helping Sloth, Envy's face twisted in anger as she noticed a trace of Sloth's mind being invaded by terror magic. There was only one clan that specialized in using terror magic powerful enough to pierce through mage mind shields.
"Path of Knowledge! Eisenhart Clan! And that damn Cyrus!!" Envy uttered with deep grudge.
To her, Sloth was akin to her youngest daughter, as she had raised Sloth from childhood herself. Sloth was the unwanted child born from a prostitute of one of the mage clan patriarchs. Envy saw that Sloth had already become a Witch of Sloth the moment she found her sleeping on the roadside near her castle in Somerset. This indicated that Sloth had already died once before being bestowed with the power of Sloth.
Back then, Envy didn't know why Belphegor chose to bestow the power of Sloth onto a baby that didn't seem to bring him any benefit, but she decided to take care of her since then.
For Envy, being betrayed was still within her forgiving zone as long as it didn't go too far. This wasn't the first time she had been betrayed, and she had always managed to come out on top. She also worked on using her magic and building her character to be more calm and forgiving as she tried to suppress her curse of Envy. Otherwise, if left unchecked, she would become a disaster for this world.
That's why she didn't mind that much when she got betrayed. However, bringing harm to her loved ones was an entirely different matter. She loved Sloth just like her own child, no different from how she loved Sylvana right now.
Unknown to Envy, her expression full of anger and grudge was witnessed by Odysseus all along. He let out a satisfied smile and nodded to himself before excusing himself with the reason that he still had a lot of things to do.
However, as Odysseus walked toward the alley exit, his satisfied smile was noticed by Penthesilea, who was suspiciously observing Odysseus from afar while checking her tablet, displaying data and information about the patrol routes and guard positions of the people within Daniel's forces who were working in these few days.
— Dock Area - 10 PM —
The dock area lay cloaked in the embrace of the night, a serene yet mysterious atmosphere enveloping the surroundings. The distant hum of the city faded away, leaving only the rhythmic sounds of lapping water against the sturdy docked boats. Dimly lit lampposts cast a gentle glow, creating pockets of illumination that danced on the water's surface.
In this quiet haven, the occasional creaking of boat moorings and the soft murmur of the night breeze played a melodic symphony. The air carried the distinct scent of saltwater, a reminder of the proximity to the open sea. The moon, a radiant guardian in the night sky, cast its silvery sheen upon the dock, lending an ethereal quality to the scene.
This secluded dock, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, welcomed only a few occasional stragglers passing by, their footsteps echoing lightly on the weathered wooden planks. The tranquility of the night bestowed a sense of solitude upon the area, making it an ideal location for clandestine meetings and discreet observations.
Alone in this nocturnal realm, Odysseus moved with purpose, his footsteps echoing subtly in the quietude. His keen eyes scanned the surroundings, assessing the security detail that guarded this secluded outpost. The soft glow of his tablet intermittently illuminated his face as he cross-referenced information, ensuring that every detail aligned with his expectations.
With a swift movement of his hand, he adjusted the new patrol route to synchronize seamlessly. This secluded spot represented the only opening in the tightly knit patrol route of the guards from the Atlanteus base. Now, the patrol route had undergone a slight alteration to work in perfect tandem.
At that moment, a cold sensation of a sharp blade touched Odysseus's neck. He immediately halted in his tracks, recognizing the blade as belonging to Penthesilea's spear.
Odysseus slowly raised his hand into the air, signaling to the owner of the blade that had grazed the side of his neck.
Penthesilea, at that moment, began to decloak her stealth suit and took the tablet from Odysseus's hand. Glancing at it, she saw that Odysseus had just changed the patrol route to cover up his actions a moment ago.
She recalled that in the report from three days ago, the patrol route was flawless. Why had it suddenly changed to match the report just a moment ago?
"So... it's you who let those dirty rats in, huh? Explain slowly for me to understand why you did this, and I'll consider only crippling you and letting you live," Penthesilea said in a cold voice. She was aware that the likelihood of Odysseus betraying them was low, and there had to be a reason behind his actions.
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