"Ronny… you are safe. I was worried about you."
Julie Ekheart rushed towards Ronny and hugged him. She softly said to him while hugging him:
"I… I didn't know. You have to trust me."
Jules could tell that Ronny was in a sour mood. She tried to clear the air around her name- lest he thinks she was involved in the "clean up" operation.
Ronny didn't say anything. He just lightly tapped Julie's back and gestured to her to give him some space. Renar on the other hand couldn't keep his cool for longer.
"Lady Zee, you sure…"
Just when Renar was about to confront an Adept ranker, he felt a tap from behind him. Ronny had stopped him from worsening the situation. He pulled him back and walked ahead towards Lady Zee. He stopped a few meters away from her and looked her in the eyes before saying:
"All that you have done for us, all your efforts, Lady Zee, I'll be sure to remember it."
Ronny also flashed Adept Zee his most innocent smile. Her skin had slight goosebumps when she faced him. This was even though she was a whole rank ahead of the guy. Somehow, Ronny looked like he had regressed into his ranking.
"What happened to your mana core? Why did it regress?"
Lady Zee narrowed her eyes and asked Ronny. The latter simply chuckled before answering:
"People happened. Monstrous people. Never mind that. We only wish to get out now. Tell us where to drop the goods we are bound by the contract to drop it for you guys."
Lady Zee sighed and directed the group towards a separate place meant for the participants to drop their agreed portion of the rewards they had committed to share with the Illuminati. Ronny and his henchmen stuck to the contract and shared some of the fortunes.
Ronny had mostly shared the loads of Extols he had gained from the underground dungeon along with relatively less significant potions. Every other participant did the same.
Ronny talked with Jules some more and told her when and how she could contact him. The group parted ways with the rest of the Illuminati.
It seemed that unbeknownst to Ronny, Renar, and Viper, a group of rankers followed by an Adept was on their trail. They kept on maintaining their distance for a while. Things soon took an ugly turn.
**********************
"What… What is happening? Why is there an earthquake?"
Some days before Ronny's exit from purgatory. An earthquake took place that could be felt in the vicinity of Purgatory's entrance. A group that was camping in the vicinity became alert because of the sudden event.
"Calm down, Ari. It might just be something natural. No need to panic."
Marie said to Arizihana while still skewing a few pieces of meat on the campfire. Ari shook her head before replying:
"Then what about the strange mana pulse setting off? Can that be a coincidence too?"
Ari asked. But this time it wasn't Marie who had answered.
"This seems to be the consequence of… something forbidden taking place somewhere. But it's weird. It's not as prominent as it should be. Is there…. Any separate dimensions nearby?"
A man who looked to be in his 60s said to himself. He had his eyes closed and his palms were touching the ground as if to get a read on the earthquake that had just happened.
"What should we do then, Grandpa Tai? Try to follow the source of the disturbance or stay on the trails of those anthropes?"
Marie asked while carrying a few pieces of meat on a plate for Adept Tai to eat. He stood from his position, took the plate, and shook his head before saying:
"No need. We stick with the rats. I have a feeling they might lead us to something significant. Besides, who said following Renar and following the source of this disturbance are two different things?"
After stating his prediction, Tai began eating the meat. Ari and Marie looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. They had followed the trail of Renar, Viper, and Belar till here because of the tracking potion Marie had Ari use on them.
But the trial ended in the vicinity of the underground cave's entrance. And there was no sign of Renar and the company yet. So Tai concluded that there was an entrance to the separate dimension nearby.
There were other rankers nearby the campfire too. They all belonged to a different branch of Beast Bloods. Grandpa Tai was their leader on the mission. He told them to spread out so they could wait patiently for a few days. Their prey eventually came to them.
***************
"I don't see anyone following us. Are we really being tailed? Your deductions just might be your paranoia, you know."
Renar said to Ronny while they were using their movement skill to traverse through the forest. They would go to the nearest city first and then take a colt service from there.
Ronny had already told Renar and Viper about the next set of actions they were supposed to take. They would part ways with him after finding the city and following his instructions after their separation.
But Ronny insisted that they should not reveal their true intentions just yet. They were now heading in the opposite direction from their destination. The reason Ronny gave to the duo was simple– they were being followed.
"You can bet your furry ass that we are being followed. Hehe. don't worry though. Help is on the way."
Renar raised his eyebrows when he heard another of Ronny's predictions. He was a simple man. As a result, he didn't like to calculate so far ahead as his leader. He sighed and wondered out of curiosity:
"Where is that help then? How can we find it?"
Ronny smirked at Renar's question and narrowed his eyes in front of him while maintaining his speed. He nudged Renar and Viper to look ahead and said in a calm tone:
"No need to find it. The help will find us.
In fact…"
