When he t Rory and Bart, as well as the 1st and 2nd stage soldiers ditating on the last level of the Scarlet Syndicate headquarters, Vicente noticed how much they had suffered.
Bart was a beast very close to advancing to the Mid-level of the 3rd stage, but he still had several purple wounds all over his body, cuts here and there, and even part of his wings torn off.
These more external injuries made Vicente realize how difficult it must be to face the Viscount, the strongest man in the city.
But as he thought about it, walking slowly through the large ditation room, Torne couldn't help but congratulate his master.
'These two are really good assets, master. If they don't die prematurely, they could be very useful to you in the future and help you grow.' The old spirit said in Vicente's mind.
'This is especially true for this beast. The beast is still young and can reach the 4th stage if well nourished. As for the young human, he's not particularly impressive now, but once he becos a Mage, his powers will blossom.
Given the average strength of our area, he might be able to run the family's business in this province in the future. But if the master wants him by your side, he won't be a burden to you either. He probably won't make it past the 4th stage, but there's still a long way to go, and you can grow together.'
'Hmm, I know.' Vicente said, already knowing the day would co when the difference between him and Rory would be too great for them to fight side by side.
But before that, he wanted to achieve his goals of revenge and a stable position in this society. After that, it would be natural for him and Rory to go their separate ways, with families or whatever they wanted.
Neither of them had ridiculous goals. They just wanted to be stronger and get justice. As for what they would do once they had achieved their goals, that wasn't sothing that concerned them at the mont.
Vicente wasn't worried about being separated from his great friend one day. They didn't have to live their lives together all the ti, and he felt he could complete all the goals and plans he had made with Rory during their childhood until the difference between them beca unbearable.
As Torne looked at them positively, everyone in the room realized their boss was watching them.
They ca out of their ditation states. Soon, everyone there smiled at being able to see their leader again, knowing the many dangers Vicente had faced on the mission he was on.
"Did you really survive a Mages attack?" Rory asked before he realized Vicente's level.
But one of the soldiers asked first. "Boss, you reached level 4? How is that possible?"
Vice hid part of the truth since these people had no idea of his second magical form. "I had an encounter with destiny. I was lucky enough to get a head start before facing eight Mages."
"Eight?" Rory only knew of six, so he was surprised.
"Yes, a group called The Faceless Ones followed in the footsteps of one of the two groups I invited to The Vile Altar. Anyway, I wanted to ask you to investigate this group. I have a feeling we will have problems with them soon."
"The Faceless Ones? The most powerful criminal group in Ironcrest?" One of the soldiers said, making Rory and Vicente look at him.
He explained. "They are the second largest underworld faction in Scott Province. They are said to have several Mages in their group and even have the support of a Marquis."
Rory looked at Vicente. "If that's true, we're in trouble!"
Vicente bitterly laughed. "Investigate that carefully. I killed Commander Hogan before I ca here, so we shouldn't have any problems with the army in the short term.
He was the only one in the army who knew about my invitation to The Vile Altar, so the deaths of those n in those ruins wouldn't be tied to so quickly.
The only imdiate problem is The Faceless Ones faction. I don't know who else in that group might know of the Mages I confronted if those ruins."
"Even if the army and the temple don't co after us in the future. If there's an investigator with a skill similar to Jasmine's, we're screwed." Rory comnted in a terrible mood.
He already knew about the woman's situation, so The Faceless Ones weren't their only problem at the mont...
Vicente sighed. "We can only deal with this for now. We'll try to prepare for whatever cos our way... Anyway, I also want you to investigate the Hogan family of Arthur and Christopher Hogan. I want to know if there's any connection between this family and ."
"Oh?" Rory narrowed his eyes, fully understanding what was on Vice's mind.
"Christopher Hogan never made think of that possibility. But his brother reminded a lot of her." Vicente comnted as he looked into Rory's eyes, indicating he was talking about Kate.
"Okay, I'll look into that for you, along with the problem with The Faceless Ones faction. But that might take a little longer. As far as I know, this Hogan family is from nearby Saltstar City, which is a lot farther away than Ironcrest."
"It doesn't matter. I'm in no hurry." Vicente said.
At that mont, the door to the ditation room opened, and a gray-haired, slender, relatively small woman appeared with a worried expression on her beautiful face.
"Cesar! You're finally back!" She called as she ran towards Vicente.
Everyone there looked in the woman's direction as she quickly appeared at Cesar's side.
Vicente had a good mory, so he imdiately recognized the woman by her gray hair, similar to that of the masked person who had attacked him with Jasmine when he had left Ironcrest weeks ago.
"Layla, I presu." He said, still with the mask on his face. "You're really fast. Unfortunately, not fast enough to get away from the enemies with Jasmine."
Vicente's comnt didn't bother Layla, and she got right to the point. "Cesar, I'm here to sign my contract with you. Are you still going to do what you promised, right?"
"Hmm, what happened doesn't change my plans for you. But we are all in danger, Layla." He said seriously.
"I know that. That's why I'm also here to ask you what you're going to do about Jasmine. We must save her as soon as possible, or we'll all be in trouble." She said in a more sharp tone.
"We're not going to do anything for now. It's out of our hands."
"What? Are you crazy?" She didn't like what she heard and raised her voice as she approached Vicente.
Vicente answered her. "I know how important your situation is to all of us. But I have a lot of problems here. I can't leave the city until I'm sure my family is stable."
"But Jasmine is under enemy control! We don't know what might happen to her!"
"I'm sorry, it's too dangerous for us. Besides, I don't think the enemies will move imdiately. We have a few days, maybe weeks, to try to rescue her."
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