Chapter 584 Behind Sealed Doors
"Wait!" Alba exclaimed, her voice cutting through the tense air.
The members of the Crimson Crane, a nomadic group known for their resilience and cunning, were poised to defend their leader, Alba. Their loyalty was unwavering, especially after the recent assault that had almost taken her down. Yet, at her command, they halted, their weapons still drawn but their movements frozen.
"Don't you remember, the two of us met before?" Alba asked the woman standing opposite her.
As the adversaries stood closer together, Alba's memory sharpened. She recalled the woman's distinct temperament from a previous encounter. It was during a visit to the Lethal Bite Clan with Rayna in an effort to locate Raze. This woman had been at Raze's side then, and here she was again, seemingly aligned with him.
"Of course, I remember who you are and know who all of you are," Anna replied with a cold, dismissive tone. "You are members of the Crimson Crane, a wandering group that is infamous merely because you are wanderers. If you weren't wanderers and part of a regular clan, then you wouldn't even be a name worth remembering."
"What did you say!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes narrowing and her grip tightening on her spear. She was visibly agitated, her body tense and ready to strike at any moment.
Alba's query to the woman wasn't just about recognition; it was driven by curiosity and concern about why she had been in Raze's company all this time. The underlying dynamics of their relationship were unclear, and the recent confrontation had only deepened the mystery, especially since Alba hadn't felt any Qi during the attack.
"You know that Raze is a member of the Crimson Crane, that he is part of our group," Alba continued, her tone even but firm. "And you are with him all the time. It's curious to know why you are with him?"
Anna's connection to Raze was deeper than Alba had known. Unbeknownst to Anna, Raze was also known as the Dark Magus within the Crimson Crane, a fact that had eluded her despite their association.
Anna struggled with the revelations about Raze. He was a man who seemed to lead multiple lives, existing in different areas and factions, which now included being a part of Alter, a mysterious and powerful organization.
"Raze is a colleague of mine. He told me to gather crystals from the portal, which I have done, so I'm here to give them to him," Anna finally answered, providing a piece of the puzzle yet leaving much unsaid.
Inside, Raze had made a number of preparations. For one, he had been making better Mana restoring pills out of higher-tier crystals.
The Dark Spirit form used up a lot of Mana, and he needed it if he was to go exploring around in Alterian as well.
Last time, it was a close call with everything that happened, and Raze didn't want to go through the pain again.
Still, he had also prepared one Cursed Mana restoring pill, just in case, and didn't even want to place a second one in the formation.
The large headache that he had experienced was causing his hand to shake even while putting the thing down, and in the end, he decided against it.
'It's okay, if my spirit form dissipates it should be fine. I'll let Alterian deal with the mystery instead of having that effect on me again,' Raze thought.
'Besides, I don't plan on entering such dangerous places where I will get into a fight again.'
There were a lot of crystals, Qi pills, and magic circles drawn all over the place, and Raze was pleased that he had knocked down the walls to create such a space.
'I've done this in the cave multiple times before, but now that I'm here I need to start creating safe places in my own territory.' Raze took a deep breath as he sat cross-legged on the floor.
'Let's start the meeting of the Dark Guild.'
The light lit up from underneath, and Raze was returning to Alterian.
