?"What? Where did he go?!"
Sage Merlin was furious. He had lost his prey, and he had no clue where he went.
He tried to expand his search by using his Magic Zone, which was empowered by his Divinity. This Spell allowed him to sense everything within 450 meters! However, he still couldn't sense the young man!
He also used his Magic Trace Spell, which enhanced his magic perception. At the very least, he wanted to know in which direction they disappeared.
"Tsk… How did he do that?"
It was all in vain. He should've placed a barrier or used his Domain Spell during their battle. If he did that, he wouldn't have this problem.
He could not find any trace of the young man, nor the person who helped him escape.
Well, he was certain that the bats were summoned by another Arcanist, someone who had a connection to the young man.
Since the young man was Dragon's Disciple, he knew that those bats were from a different Arcanist.
'Is it from a Vampire?' He mused.
'This is frustrating… If that's really Vampire, how did it manage to evade my detection? I even activated my Divinity at that time… I should've sensed a Vampire if they're close…' Sage Merlin was baffled and intrigued by this mystery.
He asked his disciples if they had any idea, but they all shook their heads, and they could only voice out some things that the Sage already knew.
"I'm also unsure about that Master Merlin… I didn't even sense where those bats came from."
"They came out of nowhere, so it must be from a Vampire."
"It's not just an Ordinary Vampire but probably a Noble Blood. Anyway, we are still unsure how they did it…"
In short, they were as clueless as he was.
Sage Merlin could only sigh as he retracted his energy.
He decided to give up on the chase and focus on his main objective.
He wanted to find the mysterious castle that housed the Dragon's Summoner, the one who had the power to control dragons.
He easily learned about this castle from the people in the towns they'd visited before.
If he was right, the Marquis knew about the location of that castle, but unfortunately, he was only an Overseer of this continent, and there were limitations to how much he could interfere in the situation of the continent.
He regretted making the Overseer's Oath.
If not for that oath, he could just force the Marquis to lead him to the castle, or torture him for more details. But he was bound by his word, and he could not break it. He could not even let his disciples do it for him…
The Sage then sighed and led his group away from the city.
He headed towards the eastern part of the Ruri Kingdom, the place where the castle was supposed to be.
"Master Merlin, are we going to the Cursed Forest?" One of the disciples asked.
According to what they've heard, that place was filled with dangers and horrors. A place where few dared to enter, and even fewer returned.
"Yes… It may be dangerous, but that's for fourth-class Arcanists… We won't be in danger exploring that place. We will only have trouble finding that castle." Sage Merlin said.
"Right, you mentioned that you've tried searching for it but you failed, Master Merlin."
"That's right… I'm not a Formation Arts Expert after all. However, we don't have to worry about it anymore… Another Half-Immortal is coming to find the castle."
The three disciples looked at each other, confused upon hearing these words.
They had no idea how their master knew that another Half-
Immortal would find the castle. They had never left his side, so they knew that he had no contact with other people aside from them.
Nevertheless, they didn't question him at all. They followed their master, feeling a bit excited as they might be able to meet another Half-Immortal!
Marcus III, the Pontiff of the Church of the Eminence of the Sea, listened to the reports of the Storm Knights.
They had spent two days investigating the kingdom, but they had only found one anomaly: a mysterious castle hidden in the cursed forest at the east of the kingdom.
They had gone to the place where the Pontiff had sensed the presence of an Immortal, but they had found nothing there. They had also detected another Half-Immortal who was searching the same area.
Of course, they did not want to offend another Half-Immortal, so they quickly left the place after doing some investigations and returned here.
They had changed their strategy and used their resources to look for clues about the Immortal who had descended into their realm.
"So you think that the Immortal is related to the Dragon's Summoner?" Marcus III asked the Storm Knight after hearing their reports.
"Yes, Your Holiness..." The Storm Knight answered.
"Then we must find that elusive castle... You said that it can't be detected by normal means... I suppose they're using a powerful Formation Arts to fool the people... Well, let's see if they can fool me. Let's go!"
With that, the Pontiff led the search for the castle.
The search was not easy. The cursed forest was a dangerous place, full of threats and traps. The Storm Knights had to fight their way through.
They faced many beasts and monsters, some of which were corrupted by the dark energy of the forest. They also encountered some hostile Arcanists, who were either hiding or hunting in the forest.
Of course, if not for the Pontiff, this matter would take longer.
After their search had taken more than three days, the Pontiff decided to be at the front, using his Divinity and his Magic Zone to scan the area.
He was looking for any signs of the castle, or the Immortal, or the Dragon's Summoner.
However, even with his abilities, he failed to find them in a short period...
This was most likely before the Cursed Forest seemed to be covered by a thick layer of fog that was causing an illusion that hid and distorted everything.
Fortunately, after eight days of searching, they finally found something!