Chapter 888: Dark Future
After the previous situation, Vicente, and his people traveled around to investigate more terrain in the sizeable area the elves had told them to investigate for another three weeks.
In the days that passed, they saw other similar situations where humans were taken by vampires, and even watched as superior vampires sucked the blood of humans to their deaths.
During this time, they were certain that their enemies were not acting by chance. After several tense moments in which they almost acted out, they couldn't help but suspect that this was an enemy plan to make them show themselves.
But each of them was very determined about what they had to sacrifice to achieve their goals!
This was especially true for Vicente, who had seen his own death and how strong Demien Bloodthorne would be in a few dozen months.
In each of the situations of the last three weeks, they had remained motionless, not moving even when humans were killed by the vampires.
Unfortunately, these were lives that could not be saved!
At the end of these three weeks of investigation and growing frustration, the group had cleared a lot of territory and gotten closer to their goal, although they still hadn't found it.
Having already explored more than half of the territory indicated by the elves, they could stumble upon the site of Vicente's vision at any moment.
...
After eliminating another enormous area this afternoon, Vicente and his companions had taken a brief break.
They hadn't meditated for nine weeks. Given the dangers of the area they were in, it would be too dangerous to cultivate, so they stopped once a week to rest for a few minutes.
This was not a physical rest, but a mental rest. The journey so far had been very stressful. Even powerful beings like them could get lost in their frustrations and emotions if they didn't occupy their minds with other things for at least a few minutes every few days.
After surveying the area they were in, the group stopped at the top of a hill overlooking a large river on one side and a large forest on the other. From this green spot, covered in a thin layer of mist, the group ate and enjoyed the view.
As negative as this border area of The Ivory Desert was, it wasn't what its name implied.
The Ivory Desert was an icy wasteland, marked by negativity and the absence of plant life for most of its length. But at its edges, the area had plant life like any other area of the continent, and was not marked by the low temperatures that characterized it.
But if the group continued in a straight line for another 80 kilometers west of where they were, they would see the vegetation they had become accustomed to over the past few weeks disappear and the cold rise to sub-zero temperatures.
"We must be close to your destination. What do you plan to do when you find it?" Elmo asked as the group kept an eye on their surroundings, the humans sipping drinks and the beasts chewing leaves.
Vicente looked in the direction where they would leave in another 20 minutes to continue their investigation, where the nearby river was. "If the pentagram appears, I'll have to store it quickly and flee. A group with a High-level Paragon vampire will appear near it shortly after it appears. Unfortunately, I won't be able to absorb it on the spot."
"A High-level Paragon vampire? That's going to be difficult. A being of that level is as strong as an Advanced Archmage of my race." Bonfi said in a pessimistic tone.
His group couldn't handle such a strong creature right now!
"If we can't outrun it, I will risk absorbing both pentagrams at the same time in the middle of the battle." Vicente announced, getting the full attention of his ten companions.
"That will be risky."
"No more than getting caught by a group led by a High-level Paragon vampire."
"There is no easy way out. If we want to survive, we'll have to risk our lives every step of the way."
"We will do our best to help you, Vicente. If you have to resort to such a method, we'll risk our lives for you." Elmo said as he looked earnestly into the black-haired human's eyes.
Everyone knew it would be dangerous, but they agreed that there weren't many ways to avoid it.
Vicente sighed as he closed his eyes, wondering if that was why he was alone in his vision of fighting Demien Bloodthorne.
'I hope not... I hope they just decide to return to their territories after I succeed in my current mission.' Vicente thought to himself.
He was confident that he would survive this group that would go after the cyan pentagram as soon as the essence appeared. After all, in the vision the four divine dragons had given him, he would fight Demien when he had four essences in the Throne of Darkness.
Today, he only had three essences in the throne, so his chances of survival were almost 100%.
But that didn't guarantee the same for his companions!
As much as some of them would stop accompanying him as soon as he gained enough strength to continue his journey alone—like Ayden, Paul, and Jacob—he was sure that others would continue at his side.
Not seeing them at his side when he faced Demien was not a good sign, so he was worried.
"Let's do our best. It's only a little over a month until the cyan pentagram appears, so you'd better get ready. Soon we won't be able to avoid confrontations with enemies capable of killing us." After Vicente's words, the group remained silent for a few minutes until it was time to leave.
They were closer to their destination than they had expected. In another two weeks of travel, they would finally come to the place identical to the one Vicente had seen.
Then it would be time for them to finally settle down and prepare for what would happen after the cyan pentagram appeared.
But while they were preparing to deal with a group led by a High-level Paragon vampire, other elements that would add to the developing situation were secretly approaching them!
Unbeknownst to them, the group was being hunted by traitors to the human race, Dark Path magicians in search of the group's four Light Path magicians!