"Great We are not in a hurry. We just want to make sure that we'll be completely safe." Jin said after hearing Elowen's words."

"Of course, I can recommend two guides who have just arrived in the city. They've actually completed four similar tasks already. They brought people to the Shadow Immortal's domain safely, and one of them even gained a successful audience for the Immortal. You have to trust those two!" Elowen explained with a smug expression as she truly felt proud of those two Arcanists.

"Right, since they're experienced, the price for hiring them would be quite higher than normal escort missions." Elowen added.

"That's fine" Jin said while still feeling curious as to how other Arcanists were able to meet the immortal. He knew that these Immortals were normally arrogant after being able to possess Divinity.

They would normally disdain listening to others or even giving an audience to others.

"Money will not be an issue. We like to hire them if they're that good." Giorgi added.

Elowen then smiled at these two customers as she asked them to wait momentarily while calling the two Arcanists.

Luckily, it didn't take that long, as she seemed to have a link with their Communication Crystals.

"Meet your guides Fox and Axe They were using their codenames and doesn't want to reveal their real names, so don't ask them. However, I can assure you that they were trustworthy people."

Fox, with silver hair and eyes like starlight, stepped forward.

"The Forbidden Forest is a bit too far from here, but I've walked its paths. I'll guide you With my abilities, we can even avoid the Demons lurking in small groups."

Axe, a bespectacled and scholarly-looking man, added "And I've entered the Forbidden Forests for several times now. We will be able to avoid trouble as long as you stay with Furthermore, there were still remnants of the worshippers of the Eminence of the Sea Make sure not to tell anyone that you want to meet the Shadow Immortal, or we'll be attacked by those hiding worshippers."

Indeed, Fox and Axe were the agents of the Arcane Bureau and working for the Shadow Immortal. Kyle had been working with the many members of the Arcane Bureau all over the world to get real-time updates about the situation of the continent during this invasion.

This time, however, none of the two groups were aware of their secret identities

Jin and Giorgi exchanged glances. These arcanists weren' truly needed to visit the Forbidden Forest. However, they have to lie low for now and ensure that no remnant of Temporal Energy would be left in their bodies...

They couldn't use spells that could alter time, as the Shadow Immortal with the Dimensional Creature would surely notice it!

They had to approach the territory of the Immortal without being recognized as a Time Manipulator if they wanted a smooth mission.

Even if they had to use their Temporal Spells, that should be when they were fully ready to fight the Immortal head-on and steal the Golden Key from him.

"Very well Let's talk about the payment." Jin said.

Soon, they agreed to the terms, and the guild even provided them with a free enchanted compass. Elowen explained that these aetheric needles pointed toward hidden ley lines that would allow them to have an easier time avoiding the rifts of the Demons.

"It's created by the Rune Arts Faction and were being given to everyone for a dirt cheap price. The Shadow Immortal assisted them in making this when they entered the Abyss Realm." Elowen explained after seeing their surprised reaction.

She just smiled at this as she had a similar reaction when she learned that the Immortal assisted an Elite Group of Runecasters in studying the Abyss Realm for a brief duration.

It was truly amazing how the Shadow Immortal involved himself in various organizations.

***

As they left Aetherholm Arcanist Guild Hall, Fox and Axe led the way.

The city of Aetherholm buzzed with arcane energy as Jin and Giorgi stepped onto the cobblestone streets.

They were in a hurry a while ago but now that they were a bit more relaxed, they realized that this city was actually filled with strong Arcanists.

Ms. Fox hailed a horse-drawn carriage, its wooden wheels creaking as it pulled up. The driver, a grizzled old man, eyed the two familiar Arcanists

"Heh~ Off to the forest, are ye?" The old man spat on the ground. "Fools, all of ye. No good comes from meddling with the Immortals. I heard that they were just attacked by powerful demons You have to stay away from them since that Immortal is being targeted by the Demons."

"Haha You won't understand, old man Having an audience for an Immortal could change your life. No one wants to pass that opportunity." Fox replied as they boarded the carriage.

This old man was actually Barnaby. Another agent of the Arcane Bureau Their meeting just now wasn't a coincidence, as this old man would report this mission to the headquarters.

'Two Arcanists are headed to the Immortal's Castle.'

Barnaby grunted, but he cracked the reins, and the carriage lurched forward.

The city faded behind them, replaced by rolling hills and meadows. The sun dipped low, casting long shadows. Fox leaned back, his eyes half-closed.

"Fox" Giorgi asked. "What do you know of the Immortal?"

Fox's gaze sharpened. She remembered her first experience with the Shadow Immortal, and it was certainly not good, especially regarding what happened in one of their branches, where a huge battle occurred that almost destroyed the entire secret base!

After a few moments, she replied.

"He's no ordinary being. His power seeps into the land, twists reality. But he's probably not invincible. There are chinks in his weapons when I first saw him." She replied nonchalantly, not thinking whether this information was important or not.

Anyway, their conversation was just superficial.

Two days later, they reached the town of Ironridge and paid Barnaby.

In this town, the air smelled of coal and industry.

Here, the next leg of their journey awaiteda steam-powered train that would take them closer to the forest's heart.

The train station buzzed with activity.

Passengers hurried, porters shouted, and the locomotive hissed steam.

Axe, acted like a true escort as he scanned the crowd.

"Beware" he murmured. "The Eminence of the Sea's influence is strong over here." He reminded as Fox arranged their boarding tickets and payments.

Soon, they boarded the train after they heard its iron wheels screeching against the tracks.

As they looked at the window, the landscape blurreda patchwork of fields, villages, and distant mountains.

"Three more towns Three nights of rest. Then we'll glimpse the forest." Fox said.

That was plenty of time

As the steam-powered train barreled through the verdant countryside, Jin and Giorgi sat by the window, their eyes tracing the landscape.

The rhythmic clatter of wheels against rails lulled them into a sense of security.

More than half a day had passed since they left Aetherholm.

The sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the train's interior.

Passengers dozed while their faces were etched with weariness. But then, something caught Jin's eyea blur of movement outside the window.

Whoosh~

"What's that? Did you see it?" Jin asked but he didn't have to hear their answer as he could tell from the expression on their faces that they had seen it.

He leaned closer, his breath fogging the glass.

There, for a fleeting moment, he glimpsed a thrall once again. It was a creature of darkness that was racing alongside the train.

Its eyes glowed crimson, and its limbs stretched impossibly long. The thrall moved with terrifying speed, keeping pace effortlessly. No, it was speeding up as the darkness seemed to be helping this creature!

Soon, they could no longer see the thrall!

Giorgi felt something was off with that thrall... They weren't normally that impressive!

"What kind of mutation was that?" He muttered. He could only believe that it was an abnormal thrall.

Jin's mind raced. "That's a suspicious thrall" he said. "It normally craves for human lives But it's not attacking. It's just focused on its mission."

Giorgi frowned. 'Is that one of the Vampire's summons?'

He asked Jin through telepathy.

Jin hesitated.

'It can't be. The vampire is dead. Her summons should have vanished.'

Giorgi nodded, but unease settled in his gut.

The thrall's presence defied reason. It wasn't normaleven in a world teeming with demons due to the Invasion, there shouldn't be a thrall on that level.

He glanced at Fox and Axe, who sat across from them. The arcanists exchanged a knowing look, their expressions mirroring Jin and Giorgi's concern.

Fox also used a telepathy on her partner.

'We need to report this to the Arcane Bureau.' She said.

Axe grunted in agreement. 'That speedit's unnatural. The Bureau needs to know.'

As the train hurtled onward, the four people decided not to talk about it anymore.

Although Jin and Giorgi felt a little flustered as they thought that they were being targeted by the Vampire, they finally calmed down...

'There's no way that Vampire is still alive.' Jin thought to himself as he slowly relaxed.