Chapter 65 - Hunter Of The Night

The daylight have long since escaped, ducking below the horizon by the time the Purple Cloud Auction came to an end. The silver half-perfected disc, the moon shone brightly atop the star-filled night sky.

*Swoosh!*

A strange shadow disrupted the steady chirp of insects and the irregular sounds of the passing vehicles. Far above the ground, crossing through the building tops with supernatural ease, a strange creature, only vaguely resembling that of a humanoid could be seen zapping through seemingly following a lonesome dark BMW vehicle.

Reaching the end of a large four-story block, the creature jumped across the vast chasm, defying the laws of physics without care. As it sailed across the air, the silver moon bathed in its gloomy light, revealing the dark silhouette.

Aziel, transformed into his perfected battle-form, was following the mysterious old man's car as it drove back hopefully to their home where he could strike down and test out just how long he can extend the [Mind Compulsion]'s effect actually.

Though he also desired for the decade-old wild ginseng, he had made a decision which route to follow. Eventually, the prospects of a personal base, a hidden 'domain' of sorts in the middle of the vast ocean felt much more important than that of the herb.

Thus, after separating from Lydia, he made his way quickly atop a nearby building overlooking the parking lot and waited until the life signature belonging to the old man left the building. He followed its path as it entered the back of a luxurious car, and another, much weaker signature, probably his bodyguard or perhaps driver, drove them away.

Then, Aziel transformed to his old, much more preferred form, with all his prehistoric, dominant traits ready for his usage. Although he may have been able to keep up with the car and follow them in his human form as well, unfortunately, despite his strong cultivation as the peak of the Earth Realm, his control over his own [Aether] wasn't perfect yet, much less his effective usage found in his surroundings. He needed to rely on his acquired physical traits for this task, thus the monstrous appearance.

His protective armor covered his body, with the shredded, torn remains of his clothing hanging around his waist as well as from his shoulders. His digitigrade feet now resembled that of the famous or fearsome predators of old, the velociraptors. Lean strains of muscle could be seen stretching, supporting his body and his leg joints as well. A thick, meaty tail provided that much-needed extra support as well as assistance to lounge forward with even more explosive power.

A bulkier and taller frame stood steadfast atop his waistline, with two draconic wings growing from his back shoulder blades. His face, though mostly retaining its humanoid features, with the difference of a more glossy, sturdier darker grey skin replacing his previous pale one all around.

"Go... go my little sheep, bring me to your den... let me find out your secrets..." He flashed a sinister smirk as he continued to leisurely follow along the vehicle, crossing, nay flying from building top to building top.

As the roads were mostly empty, the old man's journey was relatively swift. In just a few minutes they have already crossed a relatively large distance, leaving behind the harbor district, entering one of the business ones. Looking at their journey from a birds' eye view, Aziel guessed that their destination was probably somewhere to the northwest parts of the city.

From his acquired memories, Aziel recalled that the way they were heading was the so-called prestigious part of the city. Similar to the high-profile nobles and even more dignified aristocratic families from back his old life, that part of the town was home to the rich and wealthy.

With Lydia's and Myra's family home being one of the rare exceptions, most of these traditional, privileged were living in their closed-off communities, each attended and surrounded by armies of servants and guards.

Not that it mattered to Aziel that much in the end. He was determined to take claim on that island, even if he had to go on a murder spree and clean up an entire household, he would do so.

Even though it would bring some unwanted, much earlier-than-planned attention to him, he would still do everything he needs to claim that island.

Still if preferable, he would try to subjugate this old man and his family. Though his inner power that he seems to actively cultivate, no matter how meager it is, would be beneficial to him, whilst also he would gain new important knowledge through the old man's memories... ultimately, a servant of his caliber would be still a better investment.

Clearly, this old man had some pull to be able to be considered a VIP by the auction house standards and even be able to move such astounding amounts of money.

For what reason he decided to fight with such unexpected ferocity for the Heaven's Trove Islands remains a mystery, Aziel knew at that moment he needed the loyalty of this human.

Flying through the darkness, high above the eyes of the citizens, Aziel kept pace with the dark vehicle, eventually leaving the center, and just as he expected, leading towards an enclosed community.

Tall, bone-white stone walls stood high and protected those living within its territory from the filth of the outside world.

A double-arched bronze barred gate blocked all traffic. A single guardpost was erected at the side, allowing entrance only to those that were registered and could prove their identities. For anyone else, they could only turn around and drive away, lest they would face gunpoint with the licensed, armed guards' heavy rifles.

As the dark BMW drove in front of the beautifully designed, illustrious gate, the driver showed a keycard that served as an ID to the stationed guard who then promptly buzzed them in and opened the way.

Aziel watched from atop a nearby building, frowning as he sent out several pulses of [Aether] to scan the area. Each scan returned with a bit more of a picture of what was going on inside.

Dozens upon dozens of strong life signals surrounded a series of buildings, patrolling in a manner that covered all blind spots, allowing no enemy to sneak past by their line of defense.

Whilst each life force was relatively strong, at least to this world's standards, none were actual, true cultivator, but strong Martial Warriors with a few reaching into the Master realm. As for Grandmaster level fighters, such as the old man, Aziel couldn't sense anyone else from the first few scans, although for some reason he couldn't see into the largest building standing at the center of the smaller ones. A strange invisible force seemed to block his attempts, which, honestly caught him slightly off guard.

'Hmm... I should keep a low profile and try to remain unseen. Alerting the old man ahead of time would only cause bring further, unwanted complications.' Aziel said inwardly.

Following his line of thought, ripples appeared across the surface of his body, as his appearance shifted once again. The animalistic, predatory traits receded, vanishing back into the essence, and rested in his Power Core. His previous humanoid appearance returned, albeit with the shattered clothes he looked like a vagrant, or mayhaps an escapee, a victim of an assault.

Still, he didn't bother with it, as his frame continued to shift once again, losing more and more height, and muscle with each passing second. His lean, toned body lost more and more vitality, whilst a supple, youthful appearance gradually appeared replacing the fearsome hunter of the night.

As a minute passed, Aziel's transformation also slowly came to completion.

Under the shining moonlight, a young child, barely looking more than 10 or maybe 12 years of age stood in place of Aziel, smirking proudly at the world below!