As Tyler's figure completely disappeared from the scene without a trace, so did the Universal barrier that had enclosed them. Naturally, the sharp instincts of these high-ranked Magicians did not miss the fluctuations in the Magic essence around them as they immediately scattered in all directions.
There had been no hesitation in their actions as their survival instincts had completely taken over. None of them even sparing a second glance at the other. Not because they suddenly didn't care about each other's safety, but rather this was the only way they knew to increase the chances of their survivability.
Once again, the twin-horned Bengal tiger recovered its bearings as it quickly tossed Teyla back on its back and dashed straight into the snow-covered forest, its destination? Back to the city.
Although their reaction was well within Albert's predictions and expectations. He did not immediately attempt to give chase as that would be too chaotic. Rather, Albert's keen senses and the eyes of a Demon kept track of every single one of them as they swiftly moved through the forest.
Taking a single step forward, he easily chased down his first target in an instant, the unfortunate bastard had become a complete mess as he desperately tried to struggle but was easily captured after passing out from Albert's aura alone.
Albert then casually turned around as his keen hearing picked up on the sounds of his next target but it seems he had gotten out of his Magic sense range.
His keen eyes of a demon also could not get an accurate fix on this person's position due to the trees blocking his line of sight. He also wasn't a rogue type and lacked the appropriate skills necessary for hunting so it was best he left it to the professionals.
Thinking this, Albert shook his head and sighed. Then he issued a command:
"Gail, Lora, deal with those two. Ah, right, eliminate the one who was disrespectful to Lord Ty, I'll capture the last one as ordered."
"Understood."
"With pleasure."
????????????
*Huff huff huff...
Sitting on the back of her trusted mount that had just saved her life, Teyla's barely stable mind tried its best to maintain any level of clarity as she ran for her life. The top of her Mount's back was already wet as she could no longer control her bladder at will and the bumpy ride made it hard to hold back.
Back in the city lord's castle, she had understood to some extent that Lix was a better Magician than herself, but she was unwilling to acknowledge that fact.
She was already aware of the insanely high standards of the Magic institute and was sure that they would never allow any incompetence in their ranks, yet for some reason, she could never bring herself to accept the truth even when it was staring at her right in the face.
Even after she had gotten kicked out of that meeting because of Lix, that man had not even spared her a single glance. Just the thought of that caused raging anger to boil inside of her.
I don't know what region you're from, but don't get in my way. How dare a nobody like you constantly attempt to belittle me in front of my peers. Crawl back to the cave you came out of asshole.
To Teyla, it was as though someone had trespassed in her territory.
She and her group had trained hard to fulfill their dreams, they had slowly climbed the ranks after countless close brushes with death, attaining the status and fame they had been denied simply because they were born commoners.
Or in her case, because she was a commoner, who in her naivety, was taken advantage of by a nobleman only to be cast aside later on.
Given how hard they worked to get were they were against all odds, It was only natural that they would be unhappy when somebody cut in all of a sudden and overshadowed them, not to mention while jumping several ranks in the process.
After going through such humiliation earlier today, Teyla had solemnly voweed in her mind. She would pull Lix down if she had the chance. She would ruin his reputation with false rumors and accusations thereby hurting his rapidly growing popularity.
That was what Teyla had in mind when she had chosen to set an ambush for Lix.
By defeating him, she would spread the rumor that he had run away from the quest with his tail between his legs and volunteer her party for the job after demanding a promotion for her troubles.
With the Magic items she had collected over the years, this was supposed to be an easy task even if he was slightly stronger than her. She could always wipe his memories of the attack with a tool as well, providing the perfect solution to any problems that may have occured in the future.
However —
Absolutely nothing had gone the way she had planned in the least. Rather, the impossible seems to happen over and over again as he had even managed to smash his way out of an infinite prison where Magic was unusable.
That item had nearly cost her party their lives as well as everything they owned, and it was considered a death sentence for even demigods yet, he had been able to destroy an infinite dimensional space as though it was nothing.
Such a thing should not be possible.
Despair, fear, terror, madness. Her body had gone through every single conceivable emotion possible. It was to the point where she had almost completely given up on the fear.
However, things had changed.
First, it had been one of her crew members who had reminded her that all she needed to do was survive. It didn't matter if she had already been humiliated here after facing such a complete and utter defeat, all that truly mattered, in the end, was survival.
As long as she could make it back to the city, there were countless ways of attaining her revenge on Lix, no, on Ty. Even her current disgraceful appearance could be used to her advantage. After all, he was truly the one who ripped her clothes off.
A strange smile suddenly appeared on Teyla's face as her hand subconsciously touched the wound on her bloody chest. The Duranium breastplate she had on earlier was nowhere to be found as she could feel her bare breast hanging out in the wind.
This would've been a humiliating sight for someone of her caliber to appear in, however, such a thing no longer mattered to Teyla as only the thoughts of revenge occupied her mind. The bleeding had already stopped a while back as one of the items she had on her grants a slow regeneration ability so she should be fine even if she was attacked right now.
The appearance of the three dangerous demon lord-level intruders had looked like the end for her earlier. But in the end, it turned out to be more favorable as she had managed to escape.
Her mount was an insanely rare Advance Class Magic beast with both stealth and speed-based skills.
'Bastard!!! Serves you right, I'll make it back alive for sure and then I'll disclose everything about you to the world!'
She did not know what Lix's true identity would mean to the Zorak family but she was sure she could find something to connect him with. There was no way such powerful being like them would be hiding their identity if they were on good terms with the ruling family.
Hell, this may even be enough to earn her the favor of the Zorak family and restore her noble status.
Though she was completely terrified of those people to the bone and knew that terrible weapon that man held might scythe down on her at any time, Teyla laughed, unable to suppress the emotions surging up in her heart, her screws seemly nonexistent.
She no longer cared about her comrades. No, if they became decoys that let her live on, so much the better.
'I will reach the top. Even after this humiliation, I will attain the impossible Rank 9 and become a Noble even greater than that man.'
There was no need for anybody strong besides herself. Her comrades had always just been a convenient means to an end and she would not allow them to be the reason for her downfall.
Attaining a noble status and wealth greater than that of her family, were the ultimate goal she aspire to ever since she was rendered a lowly peasant girl wandering the streets of South borough. This was why there was no way she could allow it all to end here.
But then, there was a man who was going to stand in the way of her dreams — was going to surpass her and her team. Worse, he was doing it as a part-time job, maybe even as a side job.
That reality had almost driven her mad.
Lashing on the reins of her mount, she urged it to run as fast as it could. Leaping from tree to tree as it avoided leaving any traces behind. She could almost see it now, the exit of this forest and a straight path to the city under the watchful gaze of the city's sentries.
The fact that Teyla could constantly bring her mental state back from the brink of being broken over and over again was a testament to her incredible willpower and determination.
However—
In the next moment, ripples coursed through Teyla's heart; big ones.
'What just happened? Where is this place? I was being careful not to be tracked but there's no way my Tiger can lose her way in such a familiar territory like this right?'
Teyla felt that this was right, and the Bengal tiger seems to agree with her. However, her sixth sense said otherwise.
A Bengal Tiger would not get lost even if this was their first time in any particular forest. Yet, for some reason, she was still uncertain of their location.
' I'm I imagining things or have I fallen victim to an illusion?'
She thought that but did not believe it as this did not feel like her imagination at all. Neither did her anti-illusion Magic item activate at any given time. As an high ranking Magician, she was completely prepared for almost anything and having a tool that protected against illusions was part of that preparations.
However reluctant, she had to acknowledge that this was real.
"...Am I lost? But… how the hell can a Bengal Tiger be lost in such a familiar forest?"
Teyla did not want to believe this. Not only was she— a rank 7 magician with an increased sense of direction — lost, but also a Bengal Tiger. A beast that usually resides in the depths of the forest even if it was still winter.
However, a strange, unsettling feeling filled her and her heart began to pound loudly. This forest now seemed like the gaping maw of some vast carnivorous beast.
"A trick! No, have I fallen into a dream?… A deception spell?"
Unease and anxiety welled up inside, as a change came over the forest which should have been completely familiar to her. The fear and despair she had almost succeeded in burying deep in her heart seems to be wiggling their way back up.
And then—
—She heard the sound of quiet rustling accompanied by footsteps muffled by the snow.
Teyla recalled the angry old man from just now and jerked her head back to look at the source of the sound, her heart nearly flying out of her body. However, she saw a young girl's head poking out from behind a tree as she smiled at her.
'A child?'
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