38 Chapter 38

Gabriel left the city, going through the doors he came in from.

"Those two guards...?"

As Gabriel left the city, he noticed two guards standing at the entrance, which surprised him. The two guards were none other than the guards that Lira had killed when she entered the city. They were completely identical

"How are they still alive?"

"Don't worry about them. They aren't real humans. Those two are also Numens, albeit ones made by one of the weakest Demigods, the Puppet Master."

"Despite being Numens, they aren't any special. They are no stronger than an ordinary human. The only thing that's special about them is that they can heal themselves, but even that takes a lot of time. So whenever you want to get in, just kill the two and enter."

"If they are so weak, why would Lambard use them as guards?"

"Only Lambard can know the answer to that question. Even I believe it's useless to keep them here. Anyone can kill them easily and get inside. Then again, it's not like anyone can do anything inside the city itself. I guess he just used them here since he wanted to find some uses for these useless puppets."

"The Numens... They certainly seem to be amazing. Just how many Numens are there in this world?" Gabriel inquired.

"Well, no one knows exactly how many there are since only a few have been discovered so far. I did hear there were around a hundred Demigods in existence," Lira explained. "However, there were also some powerful Demigods who created more than one Numen Artifact. Based on that assumption, there might be a couple hundred Numens in existence."

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"And how many have been discovered?" Gabriel asked, taking a subtle glance at the Ring of Apophis.

"The answer to that question is also unknown. As you can guess, not many people come forward and declare that they found a Numen Artefact in fear of being killed. Only Lambard is an exception, but that's because he has the protection of his city."

"Do you know how many are with Lambard then?"

"No one knows the exact number, but if I were to guess, I'm sure there are more than thirty at least."

"Even with his thirty Artifacts, he can't come out of the city with confidence to survive?"

"With the kind of enemies he has made, I doubt he can survive leaving the city without hiding. The Numens came from the Demigods, while the Grimoires came from the Gods themselves. In a battle between the God of Light and thirty average Demigods, I'm sure you can guess who would win?"

"That's why Lambard is always looking for more Artifacts, especially the highest-ranking Numens like the city he possesses. The Numens of the Strongest Demigods are yet to come to light, and those are what Lambard wants. Who knows where they will be."

"Anyway, I'm sure this is far enough. You can stop here," Lira chimed in.

"Hmm?" Gabriel observed his surroundings. They were in the middle of barren land, far away from any city. Why was Lira asking him to stop here?

"Why here?"

"So we could greet the guest who has been following us for quite some time," Lira answered. " I'm sure this is far enough to use my Grimoire without attracting too much attention."

"Following?" Gabriel stopped the horse. He glanced back but couldn't find anyone.

"Look above." Lira reminded him as she got off the horse.

Gabriel looked up, only to find Ruyi floating above them. "It seems like you knew I was following you. That's very perceptive of you."

"Your stench isn't something that can be ignored, can it?" Lira lazily stated.

"You're still as talkative as before. It seems like you never learn. That's understandable though. Who will be arrogant of not two Dark Mages, am I right?" Ruyi landed before Lira, holding her staff firmly.

"For some reason, I can't sense your aura," she gazed at Gabriel, but since you're with her and also hiding your hands, It is easy to guess that you're also a dark maze. Right?"

Gabriel didn't respond. He was slightly pleased though. Ruyi couldn't sense his dark aura; that meant the gloves that came with the attire and the staff were working and hiding his dark aura. Even the Head Priestess couldn't sense his dark element aura even though Lambard wasn't here to hide his aura.

This was good news since it meant he had a higher chance of staying hidden in the Royal City. As long as he didn't use his dark spells or Grimoire, even a higher-ranked mage couldn't sense him. The only thing which he was still curious about was if the gloves could fool a Head of Church as well.

He could've tested that if Lambard hadn't hidden his aura before Elora. He realized that he had missed an opportunity there.

"You can hide your aura, but too bad your partner can't. I was pleasantly surprised when I sensed that aura after leaving the city. With this, I now have complete authority to kill you. I won't even have to hide it. After killing you, I'll drag your body back to Elora!"

The mocking tone of Ruyi continued as she laughed at Lira, who failed to even hide her aura.

Gabriel scratched the back of his head, amused at this idiot. He knew that Lira was more skilled at hiding her aura. If her aura could be sensed after she left the city, that meant she wanted Ruyi to find out who she was, so she continued chasing them.

It wasn't Lira who had fallen into Ruyi's trap while making a mistake. Instead, it was Ruyi who had fallen for the intentional mistake of Lira, and now here she was, all alone before Lira. She thought she was too smart, but Lira so easily played with her.

The only question that now remained was if Lira was actually capable of defeating a Head Priestess of Water? Lira didn't have the Ancestral Staff, so her spells were weaker after all. Unlike Lira, Ruyi already had her staff out. Then again, Ruyi didn't possess the Holy Grimoire of Water. So both ladies had some kind of disadvantage and an advantage over the other.

"Should I help you?" Gabriel asked Lira. Even though he didn't have too many spells, he had some which could be helpful in battles.