After stepping out of the [Spatial Gate], the two of them arrived in front of a familiar building located at the other side of the city. Emery quickly pulled her inside, where he brought her to take a seat at one of the corner tables.
A few moments later, the two of them noticed someone approaching. An employee of the place, a man whose face was all red, went over to their table.
"I can tell when someone is on a run, you know"
Silva immediately became alarmed when she heard those words. However, Emery quickly motioned her to relax saying, "Don't worry, we are safe here, He's a good friend of mine."
Turning to the red-faced man, Emery smiled and said, "Can you please get me and my friend here a drink, Aeon? Thank you."
Aeon glanced at Silva, before turning to Emery and replying with a shrug. "Sure. Wait a minute."
When the man walked away after giving them the drinks, Emery turned his eyes to Silva for a few moments before finally saying, "So are you going to explain what is happening now?"
Facing Emery's gaze, the Ouroboros Princess casually said, "It's just the usual. My mother, the queen, is being too protective of me again." Seeing the expression on his face, she added, "It's such a tragedy, what happened with the academy and I really wanted to help too… don't worry, I will return as soon as this mission is over."
This explanation however only made Emery ask more questions. "Do you really have to join this mission? …I mean–"
"What? What do you mean? Do you mean that I'm not as capable as top acolytes like you and all the others?!" The white-haired girl seemed annoyed by Emery's words. "Let me tell you this, if my mother and the clan hadn't forced me to quit the academy, I would have shown you that I can also reach a top position!"
Emery smiled wryly at her outburst. He believed there was some reason why Silva was brought in to join the mission and he wanted to know what it was. After all, even if he trusted her, he wished to uncover all of the puzzle pieces.
Seeing the look on his face, Silva sighed and relented. "Alright, you got me.." She then said, "The truth is I was involved in obtaining the intel, hence Headmaster Delbrand let me join the team."
"You were what?" Emery was taken aback by this revelation, knowing how resourceful she would have needed to be in order to get ahold of such intel. But then, he remembered how the white-haired girl had played an important part in revealing the half-bloods' devious plot in the past.
"Do you understand now? Do not let my family bring me back if you really want to save your friends and dear girlfriend."
Emery was silent at those words. Staring at her, he knew that there was something more that the girl was hiding. However, he also realized that it would not be easy to break through her many layers of secrecy and reveal what her true intention was.
So for now, Emery decided that he would follow her wish and not let her family catch her. With that said, the two of them prepared to leave, carefully and stealthily.
"Leaving already?" asked the red-faced Aeon, to which Emery replied as he placed one spirit stone on the table, "Thanks for the drink, Aeon. I'll come back again later"
With Emery's help, the two of them were able to sneak back to the blacksmith workshop without being seen by many people. They quickly went to the reception and picked up their now enhanced swords.
[Savage Sword]
[Longsword - Tier 5]
[Masterpiece Quality]
[Legendary soul binding - Increased durability, increase sharpness]
It wasn't just the notification about the sword that entered his mind; Emery could also sense energy flowing into his body as he grasped the hilt of the sword. He then did a few test swings and found them much lighter but more powerful.
"Very good! Nicely done!" said Silva in an approving tone as she swung her white sword as well. She then turned to Emery as she said with a smile, "I can't wait to try this out for real."
Now that they had retrieved their swords, their business outside was all done, and thus the two of them swiftly returned to the hideout. Most importantly, there were only a few hours left before they departed for the mission.
The sun was high in the sky as it was already midday by the time Emery and Silva arrived safely at the Golden City's teleportation gate, undetected by the Ouroboros guards. However, just as they were about to enter the portal, Emery stopped in his tracks as he noticed a dozen medium sized spaceships with the insignia of the Magus Alliance leaving the city.
Feeling him stop walking, Silva followed his line of sight and said, "Ah, now is the time, huh?" Eyes also at the departing spaceships, she said, "Those are the transport ships that carried the acolytes heading to different sectors. You would have been there too if it wasn't for me."
Apparently, with the situation at the Magus Academy still in disarray and the recall method being questioned for its safety, it was decided that all of the acolyte graduates would be sent to their homes via spaceship.
This means that right now Julian is on one of those ships, leaving for Earth.
Emery couldn't help but feel mixed feelings as he saw those spaceships disappearing in the horizon, he somehow believed that it will be a while before they can see each other again.
"Have a safe travel Julian"
When they arrived at the secret hideout, the two discovered that a medium-sized spaceship had been waiting for them. Apart from the seven selected acolytes and the headmaster, there were also twenty magus individuals who joined them in the mission – which was far less than Emery had expected at first.
"Don't worry. We will join forces with another group later" said Headmaster Delbrand, surprising Emery as the man seemed to always know what he was thinking.
This mission was going to be a covert operation – one that would take them beyond the border. They would travel under the radar and were estimated to take five to seven days to arrive at their destination.
Thinking of the mission, Emery couldn't help but be worried about his friends' situation. Alas, there was nothing he could do but hope that they were safe till then.
Since there were several days before their mission actually started, Emery decided to use the free time to once again absorb the spirit mist within his spirit cores.