Infinite Realm

"This doesn't make sense. Cecilia was at the sight with the others. How could she not be a member of the Arnhaunt family?" Sato quietly muttered in shock.

'Is she possibly a hidden piece?' Sato thought.

The concept of a hidden piece wasn't anything new to him. In large families, it was quite common for the heir a parent to be raised in secret while a figurehead remained in public to keep the attention of both public opinion and private enemies away from the character. This was a simple but effective ploy that left one's enemies in the dark of the true abilities or structure of the family. When all was set, revealing the hidden figure at the opportune moment could help the said family or organisation to get an upper hand against their opponents.

It was quite possible that Cecilia was the hidden chess piece of the Arnhaunt family, meant to only be revealed once she matured enough. As for why she was here, maybe it was as she said and that the family was in trouble.

'No. Staying with the rest doesn't necessarily mean she's an Arnhaunt[1]. There are various possibilities that could serve as an explanation. She might have been a third party during that event.' Sato thought as he recalled his past experience as he compared it to the report he got.

The site Sato had found Cecilia was one of alarming bloodshed and carnage. Corpses were strewn all over the place with the corpse of the monster taking the spotlight. At first sight, upon seeing Cecilia's weak and feeble self in the midst of such terror, one would presume her to be a victim of such and in the same team as the others; heck, Sato had even thought so too. However, a new discovery in the report proved him wrong.

According to Cecilia's 'testimony', the Arnhaunt family was under attack by a much stronger great family and so, needed external aid to retaliate. However, the report Sato got proved that there was nothing of such. On the contrary, the Arnhaunt family was in their heyday, enjoying a steady rise in status and prominence. 

While Sato wasn't inclined to believe everything straight off, as the chances of some hidden battle taking place from hindsight existed, he wouldn't exactly forgo the evidence before him. At least publicly, the Arnhaunt didn't seem to be coming under fire or suppression, and with Cecilia's name not being in the family's registry, there was a chance that she was a fake; an outsider who had coincidentally been involved in the crossfire between the guards and that monster.

'No matter what her identity is, it doesn't change the fact that she's hostile towards me.' Sato thought as he began planning his next move.

Escaping the area was quite difficult as Sato had gone deep into the terrains of Maldora. If he wanted to leave, it would take him at least 2-3 hours of running at full speed, and obviously, this wasn't something he could pull off as he might attract the attention of those monsters.

Since he couldn't just charge out, Sato needed a plot that would help him escape Cecilia's clutches and depart from here.

'If I had a map of the place, this would have been easier.' Sato sighed.

Currently, Cecilia was most probably running around the place looking for him. Since Sato couldn't discern his way around, the best course of action was to wait, and hopefully, Cecilia would get tired of searching and depart. But there were two problems associated with this.

One, Sato would need to find a good hiding spot that would not only keep him away from Cecilia but also from all the other powerful monsters in the area. As for the second one, it was more of Sato's worries. 

Hiding in a secluded area till further notice implied that Sato would not be able to join the team anytime soon. If he couldn't do that, it meant that their dungeon raid progress would be behind the other teams, and their chances of taking the first completion achievement would drop.

Truthfully, there was a simple solution to all of this and that was to commit suicide. Doing so would send Sato to the respawn point in town and he could make his way back and head for the dungeon instead. But Sato didn't want to consider this option. Dying would affect his progress in the game as Sato would have to lose some experience points. While it wasn't a lot, it certainly wasn't small either and for a level 18 Sato to get back those points, he would have to journey once again into the depths of Maldora Canyon. Apart from that, there was also the mental barrier that usually held back players. No one wanted to die recklessly even if the painful sensation of death wasn't included. If a situation could be avoided without dying, why not do so?

. . .

. . .

. . .

Elsewhere within Maldora Canyon...

'Damn it. Don't tell me I really lost him?' Cecilia came to a stop at a certain location. 

Despite being behind Sato by only 2 minutes, without a lead to follow, Cecilia had already lost track of him.

After Sato had left the river, he had immediately changed to new armour and clothing to prevent Cecilia from tracking him via smell. As a result, Cecilia didn't have any clue where he went. While she did have a special spell that could solve the issue at hand, using it might attract the attention of other terrifying monsters. This wasn't something she wanted to see. Hence, Cecilia had no choice but to go the conventional way and search for Sato with her eyes. 

Obviously though, this method was sorely lacking and not reliable otherwise she would have found Sato long ago. Heck, Cecilia was currently a mile away from Sato and this was a conservative estimate. Sadly, she wasn't even aware of the wide gap between her and her target.

'If he gets wind of my identity, my mission would be at risk.' Cecilia frowned.

She was sent by her superiors on a special mission that was vital to the rise of their organisation. While the mission wasn't exactly difficult, it was a very crucial step to the bigger plan of her superiors. Failure was not an option and it was punishable by death; and no, not a quick and easy death like beheading or such, but one far more frightening. Her body would be sliced into ten thousand pieces and her soul pulled apart bit by bit while she was still alive. The agonizing pain from such an experience would make one run mad and wish for death so desperately that they would take it as a blessing. But the psychopaths in the punishment division wouldn't let things end so quickly. In fact, that was but a part of the punishment and not the full package; not even the main course. 

Simply thinking about their methods made Cecilia's blood run cold and her hair curl.

'No! I have to find him.' 

Reminding herself of what was to come if she failed the mission, Cecilia resumed her search with even more fervor.

"There you are." A female voice tinged with indignation and fury sounded out of nowhere.

Cecilia was initially stunned when she had the sound as she didn't sense anyone close by. But almost within that same second, her eyes widened in shock as her Dacula expression was a mix of both that and fear. Shivers ran through her body as she found it difficult to take any step further. 

Abruptly within an instant, Cecilia leaped from her previous position to a spot a few metres in front. After that, she immediately turned behind and was greeted by a lithe figure.

"You, you, you're alive?!"