Fera, the red-headed woman, and Hesta's teacher squinted at Michael and tilted her head slowly.

"Is he going to make it?" She asked her disciple, not even trying to hide her doubts.

"He has many Soultraits and still reached the Late rank of Tier-4 at such a young age. Lighno'vsh seems to like him, and you know how she is," Hesta responded with a shrug.

She didn't know how strong her younger brother was, but Lighno'vsh acted friendly before him. That was rare and indicated how highly she valued Michael's combat prowess. Lig was known for her unique attitude. She wouldn't pay much respect to anyone weaker than her and was known for challenging others to a fight if she was sure to be stronger than them. "Right. I heard he fought Lighno'vsh before but didn't pay much attention to it," Fera recalled. Still, she had a hard time believing Lighno'vsh would behave like this. She was a Tier-5 Curse User on the right track to advance to Tier-6. In a few years, she would probably advance to Tier-6, thus leaving Michael behind.

"You shouldn't mind him too much. The Nest Leader likes him as well. Don't anger Selena unnecessarily," Hesta warned her master, but Fera could only scoff.

"The Nest Leader only pays so much attention to him because he has two strong Curses. He was lucky by not losing control of himself when he awakened his Curses."

Michael's eyes flicked to Fera and his sister at that moment. He heard everything they said but ignored their attitude. They weren't worth his emotions. Still, his Curses didn't seem to like Feraor was it her Curse they didn't like? Michael didn't know, but he allowed them to act.

Michael's presence changed from one moment to the next, yet only Fera noticed the sudden change. It was directed at her alone.

A massive hue two, to be precise seemed to shroud Michael suddenly. One was golden, and the other was an intense poisonous green. The hues engulfed Michael and split up, instantly transforming into two massive heads that filled the entire room. The wolf head growled at her, exuding enough pressure to force Fera to her knees while it looked like the massive serpent head was about to lung at her.

Fera stirred. Her eyes widened, and she broke into a cold sweat. The Curse within her screeched and responded to the sudden attack. It released a burst of curse power through Fera's body, returning the Curse User's control of her body. Fera stood up slowly and stared at Michael, ignoring Hesta. Her hair crackled, and the atmosphere intensified, but Michael wasn't looking at her anymore. There was no need to waste any time with that woman. The mere presence of his Beast God Curses was already enough to overwhelm Fera. She was weaker than expected.

'Hesta should be stronger than her master. Fera seemslackluster.' He shrugged and continued talking to Lighno'vsh while the pressure of his Beast God Curses dispersed.

However, his chat with Lig was interrupted again when Lighno'vsh turned to Fera. The other Curse Users did the same. They turned to look at the woman who released curse power and bloodlust simultaneously. "What is wrong?" Hesta asked for the Xth time, but Fera shook her head, "Nothing. I'm fine"

She glared at Michael but regained control of her Curse before anything worse could happen. The woman turned to the Nest Leader, who gave everyone orders. She distributed all tasks while Evee prepared the bridges.

"Most Numbers can be found in two locations. We will split up into two teams of four. Team one will be the Cleavers. They know what to do when they see one of the Numbers who look like your lover and friends," Selena said, "But like I said. They will merely drop you a message. If your lover and friends attack the Cleavers, they will respond with force. The Cleavers aren't known for taking hostages, so you better be fast when they drop a message."

The Nest Leader turned to Fera, "You, Hesta, Michael, and Lighno'vsh will be the second team. I don't care who your team leader is. Just make sure everyone survives, and we won't lose anyone to the Numbers or your Curses."

Everyone nodded, but Michael suppressed laughing aloud when Fera puffed her chest. She looked proud that the Nest Leader spoke to her instead of the others, almost like she thought Selena expected her to become the second team's leader. However, Michael looked at the situation a little differently. Like Michael, the Nest Leader heard what Hesta and Fera said about him. But, contrary to the other Curse Users, she also noticed Michael's Curses and how Michael didn't do anything to make them move. Michael continued talking to Lighno'vsh while his Curses nearly consumed Fera, forcing the Nest Leader to check on her.

Selena was worried about Fera, but the woman misunderstood the situation completely. But then again, Michael didn't care too greatly who their team leader would be. As long as nobody obstructed him, he would be okay with everyone. "Are we going to leave now?" Michael asked into the group. The Nest Leader grinned at him, but he tried to ignore Selena. Her whole existence was confusing, and Michael couldn't help but think that Selena lost her sanity a long time ago. Sometimes, she acted normal, mostly in moments where seriousness was required, only to turn into a fool a moment later.

"You can leave whenever you want. The bridge is ready for departure." He shifted to the others.

"I'm ready," Hesta shrugged while Lig nodded.

Fera glared at him but said nothing. Instead, she told the Nest Leader, "We will return with glory!"

Selena nodded and left the office. A few minutes later, their team departed. They reached the teleportation chamber, where Evee configured the bridge to bring them to their designated location.

Once the bridge was active, Michael and the others stepped through. They teleported through space and were spit out on the other side.

But rather than landing in the middle of nowhere, their team landed in the center of a massive foundation. The foundation was white fancy marble and surrounded by massive pillars of the same material. The pillars towered tens of meters into the air, releasing an ominous amount of energy.

Seer was used to the fullest to activate true vision. Michael checked the pillars and the foundation and noticed a gigantum array of miniature runes. The rune array was tens of meters in depth and width. It was surprising, even more so because the massive array was etched into the ground with miniature runes. There were millions of runes, and each of them was perfect. They were seamlessly connected, creating the desired effect through high compatibility.

But there was more to it. Underneath the enormous rune array was something Michael barely noticed through the array's concealment. He strained Seer and true vision quite a bit to see what was hidden underneath, but Michael finally unraveled the secret hidden under the enormous foundation.

A enormous Energy Vein, tens of times larger than the one in the Sacred Desert, appeared before true vision.

"Damn."

Hesta just smiled.

"Welcome to Claerus."