Chapter 95: Pathless

"What? An Advanced swordsman?" Elias muttered, his expression changing immediately.

Mekah nodded somberly and leaned back in his chair. "Lord Berlic had the Exalteds examine the dead bodies... if you could even call them that, and they all reached the same conclusion. The killer is, at the very least, an Advanced swordsman."

Elias’s expression darkened as he processed the information.

An Advanced swordsman was only a few minor steps away from awakening their aura core and becoming an Exalted. If the killer continued progressing at their current pace, they could soon become even more troublesome for Kilmir, and that possibility made Elias understand Berlic’s decision far better than he had before.

Shutting the city gates was an extreme measure, but there were reasons for it.

The citizens who normally left Kilmir to hunt, gather resources, work on farms, or travel between settlements would no longer be able to do so freely. They would have to survive using their savings and whatever relief the city could provide, while the sudden reduction in supplies would inevitably cause the prices of food and other necessities to rise.

For Elias, whose financial situation was already approaching collapse, that was another problem he could hardly afford.

’Leaving Kilmir really is the only good option.’

He glanced toward the old priest before asking, "What about the carriages leaving for the main western church?"

"There should not be any issue with those," Mekah answered. "We will also be bringing additional support and supplies for these turbulent times."

"That is great..." Elias mumbled, his heart relaxing slightly before another concern immediately returned to his mind.

He looked at Mekah and asked, "Your Greatness... you know about my wife’s condition, right?"

Mekah chuckled softly and raised an eyebrow.

"I first need to know which wife you are talking about."

Elias gave him a wry smile. "Monica Ragnar."

"Hmm... the Arcane Flower, or the Death Flower now," Mekah mumbled with a thoughtful expression. "I do know that she has been afflicted with a strange poison."

"It is about that very poison," Elias explained. "No one can approach her without the pills provided by the Mage Tower, but they only give us about an hour before their effects disappear, and we do not know whether those pills will work on horses."

"I believe you are worried about her boarding the carriage," Mekah said, stroking his beard. "It does sound like a troublesome problem."

"She told me that when she came here in a carriage, runes were restricting her poison from spreading," Elias said. "So I was wondering if there is a runesmith in the city."

"There is not," Mekah answered with a shake of his head.

Elias frowned, and the brief hope he had been holding onto disappeared.

’What now? Should I ask Monica to teach me runes? Can I even draw them in the first place?’

He lowered his gaze while his thoughts raced through every possibility, but none seemed particularly useful.

Mekah remained silent for a while, apparently considering something, and then a distant, reminiscing look appeared in his eyes.

"Ah..." he mumbled. "There is one."

Elias immediately looked up.

"Who?"

"Calm down, Sire Elias," Mekah said with a faint smile before continuing, "I do not know if that man would even help you in the first place."

"Why is that?" Elias asked.

"That man is a Pathless."

Elias’s expression immediately fell.

A Pathless was an Awakened who had lost their path, whether through the destruction of their mind’s eye, aura core, or spirit bridge. Natasha was also a Pathless, and Elias already understood how devastating such a condition could be.

Repairing a destroyed path was incredibly difficult, and in most cases, it was considered nearly impossible.

’So we have no choice but to stay...’

He slowly fell back against the chair, his expression becoming vacant as the last bit of hope drained from him.

"So we really cannot leave," he mumbled.

"It appears so," Mekah answered quietly.

Elias nodded mindlessly before eventually forcing himself to stand.

"Thanks a lot for listening to my worries, Your Greatness," he said.

"I simply did my duty," the old priest replied, offering him a comforting smile.

Elias nodded once more before turning around and walking toward the door.

He left Mekah’s room and proceeded through the church with his head lowered, his thoughts occupied entirely by the problem awaiting him. He passed through the church’s entrance without noticing the figure approaching from the opposite direction.

Berlic Draveon was entering the church at the same time.

The guards accompanying the City Lord immediately noticed Elias’s lowered head and the complete lack of acknowledgment toward their lord. One of them glared at him, clearly offended by what appeared to be blatant disrespect, and his hand moved slightly toward his weapon.

Before the situation could escalate, however, Berlic raised a hand.

"Leave him," Berlic muttered coldly. "I do not care about the manners of these worthless commoners."

His eyes remained fixed on Elias’s retreating figure, and a cruel smile slowly appeared on his face.

"I am here just to see that bastard cry in blood and die."

Elias, completely unaware of Berlic’s presence behind him, continued walking.

His thoughts remained focused on a single question.

’Would we ever be able to leave this city?’

He eventually returned to the manor, but the question continued weighing heavily on his mind even after he passed through the streets and reached the familiar gates.

However, the moment he approached the gates, Elias noticed two familiar figures standing at the entrance.

Stella and Natasha were waiting for him.

Elias blinked several times as he looked at them.

Unlike her usual simple clothing, Stella was wearing a beautiful velvet dress that fit around her body and revealed her waist. The fabric gave her a surprisingly elegant appearance, but Elias’s attention was drawn toward something else.

[Image]

His eyes immediately settled on the three red rings on her waist.

He stared at them for a moment before recognition surfaced in his mind.

"Those were called Auracle, right?" he mumbled.

The strange thought lingered for only a moment before another idea suddenly appeared.

Elias’s expression changed.

His eyes widened, and without wasting another second, he rushed past the gates and toward Stella.