Vellin Villa was located in the Libra District, a highly influential place that only a few nobles and wealthy individuals could afford.
Presently, the two stood about 300 metres away from the mansion.
"T-two hours?" A look of disbelief crossed Gabriel’s features when he saw the timer.
Wasn’t the time too little?
General Vellin had several guards in place; he needed to be sneaky, and though he didn’t really have a good grasp of the target’s strength, Gabriel knew he wouldn’t be weak in any way.
Alice smirked evilly. "Did you think I was joking when I said I’d make this evaluation hard for you?"
Seeing her cocky expression, Gabriel’s electric blue eyes glinted with determination. "Fine then."
With that, he started to approach the mansion.
"Hehehehehe, good luck." She chuckled with a wink. "I’ll follow you but won’t lend a helping hand. So just act as if I don’t exist."
He ignored her, and as he drew closer to the mansion, he pulled out the [Combat Visor MK.I].
It was the visor he had extracted from the mechanical dummy.
Alice raised a single brow when she saw this. With a single glance, she could tell the visor was crafted by a talented mechanic.
’Mechanical items are rare and very expensive.’ She narrowed her eyes. ’Isn’t he homeless... how was he able to afford something like this?’
After putting on the combat helmet, Gabriel’s vision improved exponentially.
Despite it being night, from his perspective, it was no different from daytime.
Alice pursed her lips and asked, "Where did you get this?"
Silence.
He didn’t respond.
A frown appeared on the assassin’s face. She was about to say something, but he beat her to it.
"Remember, you don’t exist," he simply said and walked forward, leaving her standing with a complicated look on her face.
"This... bastard, using my own words against me." She muttered under her breath.
Fortunately, the walls of the mansion weren’t high, and thanks to the mechanical visor, Gabriel was able to track the patrol guards’ movements.
He kept an eye on their patrol pattern, and when he saw a gap, he quickly jumped inside, landing softly on the other side.
Shortly after, he sensed Alice’s presence behind him.
With no map, it was quite difficult to know where to go, so he could only trust his instincts.
He snuck behind the mansion and tried to burst through the back door when suddenly a voice called out.
"Hey! Who are yo—"
’Burrow Shift!’ Gabriel muttered, and instantly, he vanished underground.
The patrol guard’s eyes widened, and before he could make a scene, a pair of strong arms twisted his head.
Snap!
The guard’s lifeless body fell to the ground awkwardly.
Of course, Gabriel didn’t leave the body there. He dragged it to a darker part of the mansion.
Soon, he stepped inside the main building. Because it was late, it seemed everyone was fast asleep.
Except two people.
A chef and a maid. They were strapped naked and making out right there in the kitchen.
"Oopsie," Alice whispered, her cheeks flushing red when she saw this.
Gabriel’s expression remained impassive even within the visor.
"Who are you people?!" the chef demanded as he quickly jumped off the woman, not even showing a bit of shame despite being naked.
A gleam of disappointment shone in Alice’s eyes when she saw the tiny thing.
Gabriel didn’t bother replying and charged at him. He didn’t use any skills—it was just pure physical strength.
Naturally, because the man was a normal unawakened individual, he couldn’t keep up with that monstrous speed and suffered a fate similar to the first guard.
"Please, please don’t kill me, he forced me!"
Seeing her partner’s lifeless body fall beside her, the maid began to apologize with tears in her eyes.
"I do not care about whatever activities you were doing," Gabriel said, hiding a trace of disgust in his tone. "But if you value your life, you’ll do something for me."
"I’ll do whatever you want, please just don’t tell Master about this!"
"Tell Master?" He raised an eyebrow, eyes glinting with confusion.
"She probably thinks you work for Vellin," Alice said softly.
"You’re not with the Master?" the maid gasped.
Neither of them answered her.
"Listen up!" Gabriel said in a deep voice. "If you want to survive, you’ll do everything I say."
"Y-yes!" She nodded vigorously.
"Good. How familiar are you with this mansion?"
"I—I’m the head maid."
"That means you know every nook and cranny." His eyes glinted. "I want you to take me to your Master’s bedroom and follow a route less populated by guards."
"I do know a route with fewer guards, but we can’t completely avoid them." The head maid frowned.
"Why?"
"Because... Master Khaor has two henchmen. They’re powerful martial artists from the Tialan Kingdom and they never leave his side."
Some time later, under the maid’s guidance, they walked through the corridors.
And just like she had claimed, there were no guards present.
According to her, this corridor led straight to Vellin’s chambers, and it was a route meant for only him.
"What level are the two martial artists?" Gabriel asked as they moved.
"I don’t know, but they’re very powerful."
"Of course, all Awakened seem powerful to mundane humans," Alice rolled her eyes.
Eventually, they arrived at a T-junction, with two hallways splitting in opposite directions. The maid pointed to the right.
"That way. Toward the end, the double door is where the Master resides," she said.
Instead of replying, Gabriel called out, "Grizzlenaught."
The crimson Grizzlenaught bear slowly rose from the ground, startling the woman, who was about to scream—but he held her mouth just in time.
"Keep quiet. He won’t harm you," he whispered. "He will only keep you company while I’m gone, to make sure you don’t get away."
"It seems he’s really acting as if I’m not here," Alice sighed, watching his back disappear.
Gabriel had only walked a few steps into the dark hallway, illuminated by his visor, when he began to sense several presences slowly surrounding him in a circle.
"It’s just as I thought." His eyes flashed dangerously. "She lied."