Minutes after the collapse of one of the buildings in The Faceless Ones, Vicente left Ironcrest and arrived at one of the nearby mountains, at the place where he, Jasmine, and Layla had previously met.
On one of his shoulders lay the body of an unconscious black-haired woman.
It was obviously Sarah Mercer, Nash's former companion, who had barely survived the previous collapse due to her proximity to Vicente at the crucial moment.
She had been hit by debris while trying to get to Vicente's side and was unconscious now.
In any case, her heart was beating, and Vicente would not leave this witness of his deeds behind.
"Cesar?" A voice he hadn't heard for weeks called his name as Layla got up from where she was to see Vicente again.
"You survived another tough confrontation..." She said.
Vicente felt more relieved to face these two, finally having confirmation that Jasmine's rescue had been successful.
He looked at the pink-haired woman and asked. "How are you? Did they do anything to you?"
She smiled, sensing concern in Vicente's tone. "I'm fine. And they didn't do anything to me. They couldn't have. They intended to get something from my father, so it would be foolish of them to do anything to me."
"Sigh... Good." Layla commented as the three of them stood side by side, looking toward Ironcrest.
Jasmine asked. "What happened? What's the status of The Faceless Ones?"
Vicente summarized. "The Faceless Ones will probably no longer exist after today. However, several of its members are still alive, including Nash, the group's leader.
I used a strategy to escape from Ironcrest, but that was all. I had no intention of killing this man, as that would be too much work and would greatly increase my risk of being caught.
Then we must consider that he will also manage to escape, which could become a problem for us in the future. He's not an easy man to deal with."
The two became more serious when they heard this, for indeed, a High-level Mmage like Nash would be a problem.
Now, he had lost his pack and was likely to become a lone wolf, someone tough to track down and neutralize.
"The Congregation of Revelations will hunt him, and he will also become a wanted person of the royal army with a bounty on his head. That will limit him, but there's a chance he'll try to pay it all back." Jasmine commented, pondering the matter.
Layla said. "We have to be more careful from now on. He probably won't act out in the cities, but every time we leave a city to travel, we have to be twice as careful."
Vicente said. "If he's smart, he'll get out of the Seidel Kingdom. But I feel he'll want revenge, so we'll be as careful as you suggest.
Anyway, I think he's our only concern. I confirmed that all the members of the Congregation of Revelation died in that area before I left. So, there are no witnesses that could cause us any problems.
Everyone will think that The Faceless Ones are solely responsible for the whole incident, so there won't be any kind of investigation that could hurt us. Apart from the problem with Nash, we don't have to worry about anything else".
Jasmine sighed, not liking the idea of sacrificing another member of her organization but understanding the necessity of it on this day.
"What now?" Layla asked as she looked at Vicente and the black-haired woman he had placed on the floor in front of her.
Vicente looked at Sarah and said. "I still haven't decided what to do with this woman. We used to be enemies, but now her situation has changed a lot. She has nowhere else to go, and I made her a promise... I'm deciding whether to keep my word or do something else."
"Killing her would be easier," Jasmine said, but she didn't want Cesar to be too cold.
If he was like that, how long would it be before he broke his promises to her and killed her?
She said. "But keeping your words has an important weight. It can create a regret or a weakness that can hinder your progress. There are other ways to punish or keep someone in line."
"I'll think about that when she wakes up." He sighed before saying. "But for now, you should go to Millfall. It's been a long time since you acted like members of the Congregation of Revelation. It can't go on like that much longer."
Layla took the things Newton had given her to give to Vicente and handed them to him as she spoke. "This is what we will do. We'll try to get away from your problems for a while and act normally as normal members of our religion. But what about you? Are you going to hunt your pentagram now?"
He looked into the eyes of this woman who was not masked now. "More or less. I have some business to take care of first." He put away the things Newton had sent. "So we won't see each other for a while. But in the meantime, keep an eye on your fellow cult members. If anything happens related to my group, try talking to my people in Millfall."
"We'll do that," Layla promised.
Jasmine then approached Vicente and showed him one of her hands. "Thank you, Cesar. I know you rescued me to keep yourself out of trouble, but it came in handy. At the beginning of all this, I didn't expect us to have a good relationship, but today I think differently. I hope you won't be put off by the beginning of our alliance. Let's look at this day as a new beginning for our relationship."
He squeezed her hand, not disagreeing with what she had in mind. "That's better." He smiled. "Now go. You must return to the city and start cultivating again. Try to reach the 3rd stage before I return."
With those words, the two groups split up, with Vicente and Sarah staying behind on the mountain near Ironcrest.
While the black-haired woman was still unconscious, Vicente picked up the communicator Newton had sent and tried to talk to his contact in Ironcrest.
A minute later, Newton's voice came from the shiny object in Vicente's hand.
"Cesar, is that you? Where are you?"
Vicente smiled at the interest in the man's voice and answered. "Yes, it's me, professor. Unfortunately, we won't be able to meet. I'm near Ironcrest, but I have to leave right away. So we'll have to talk through this device."
"Oh?" Newton didn't need to hear Vicente's report to understand everything that had happened. "I see. You must leave immediately. All right, I'll tell you what I have to say right here."
