As soon as he killed the last of the seventh-ranked cultists, Ace dashed backwards, putting as much space between him and the final two members of the Cult of Darkness as possible, but instead of chasing him down as he had initially anticipated, Garoa simply began clapping as he emphatically smiled at the incredibly talented youth before him.

"Well done," Garoa voiced. "Very well done! You may be the most talented youth I've ever seen or heard of."

Ace frowned as he listened to the man he originally assumed to be an enemy. Out of all the actions Ace was expecting, his being so friendly never even crossed his mind. Still, he didn't lower his guard because of it. In fact, he became all the more cautious as he worried about what he wanted.

There was nothing scarier than someone powerful whose intentions were a mystery.

"You don't need to fear me," Garoa explained upon seeing the rising caution on the boy's face. "I mean you no harm. My name is Bishop Garoa of the Cult of Darkness, and you are?"

"My name's Luffy," Ace lied, deciding to play the game of the Bishop in front of him, trying to waste as much time as possible whilst he awaited Leonel's arrival.

"I see," Garoa replied with an amused smile, seemingly able to guess that the boy was lying. "Well, Luffy, it's nice to meet you.

The reason I wanted to talk to you was because, over the last few decades, there have been many incredible talents appearing from the likes of Olivier and Blumer Akerlund and Wharton Baruch of the War God's Academy, his brother Linley Baruch, and Dixie Leon of the Ernst Institute. Of course, those are just a few, but one thing they all have in common is that they're supported by some of the top powers of the continent.

That brings me to my true purpose. As a Bishop of the Cult, one of my duties is to recruit any worthy candidates into our ranks, and you, my little friend, are nothing if not worthy.

I understand that you likely already belong to a force or have a master who may well be a saint, but I also know you're not from any of the continent's major powers or the disciple of any of the reclusive, truly powerful saints. If you did, there's no way I wouldn't recognise you.

Someone with your potential can only live up to their full potential with the backing of a major force. If you agree to join us at the Cult of Darkness, I promise you'll rise through the ranks with incredible speed, and there's a good chance that one day you may even rise to the position of pope, where you will be the leader of one of the six most powerful forces on the continent."

Ace could hear the borderline fanaticism whenever he mentioned the Cult of Darkness, a force like that was the last place he'd ever join, but he also knew that he couldn't outright reject him. First, he was still waiting for his Beast Partner, and if he was to tell him that he belonged to a force with almost ten individuals with the power of a saint, he knew this Bishop wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

The fact that Ace had killed four of their high-ranking warriors was already more than enough of a reason to kill him, especially if he came from a force with such a powerful line-up. A force like that wasn't one they would ever want to antagonise for no reason. It would be safer and easier to simply kill Ace and hide his body, so no one ever found out.

"Ooh, and I already know that you were able to turn the Azure Dragon into your familiar." Garoa voiced, a smirk suffusing his thin lips when he saw the shift in Ace's expression. "I'm not sure how you were able to figure out that we were chasing it, but the fact that you went out of your way to destroy the tracer and then immediately try and escape gave you away.

I'm guessing that it was injured in your fight, which was why you tried to intercept us on your own. Of course, now that you realise you can't get away on your own, it's hurriedly making its way to help you.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I should warn you that your plan's futile. The difference between the eighth rank is bigger than you can imagine. Even if you and your Divine Dragon were to team up against me, I'd still be able to easily defeat you. The only reason I brought assistance to capture the dragon in the first place wasn't because it stood a chance against me but because of its ability to fly."

When he heard that, the surprise on Ace's face turned into a frown as he was filled with helplessness. Even though Garoa had made several mistakes in his deductions, he was close enough to the truth that Ace immediately ordered Leonel not to come – he couldn't afford to risk the lives of Amira and Julius.

"Okay, fine," Ace said unwillingly. "I'll leave with you."

"Good choice," Garoa replied before using a movement technique of his own to appear behind Ace and knock him unconscious.

Ace's last thoughts before he fell unconscious were just how much he'd underestimated a warrior of the ninth rank. With his [Future Sight], Ace had predicted Garoa's sudden attack, but the difference in speed was simply too much for him to react.

As shocked as Ace was, Garoa was several times more surprised as he looked at the unconscious body of the teen. He knew how fast he was when he used his movement technique; very few below the saint rank could keep up with him when he did.

Ace was just a fifth-rank warrior, and yet, although he failed to dodge, Garoa realised that Ace had somehow been able to follow his movements just enough to attempt to move out of the way.

The Bishop's calm expression from when he was communicating with Ace all but disappeared. He had been lying when he said he believed Ace came from a small force. There was no way a small force could raise a genius on the level of Ace. Only the major forces or one of the reclusive Prime Saints could create a genius of this calibre.

The only thing he wasn't kidding about was wanting to recruit Ace to join the Cult. Ace's talent was simply unmatched, and his abilities were out of this world. Add that to the fact that Ace had already contracted the Divine Dragon, controlling Ace was getting two future peerless figures for the price of one.

He knew there was no way Ace would be willing to join of his own accord, but his Cult of Darkness had their ways of forcibly controlling him.

The only thing he had to worry about was getting back to the Cult's HQ before he was stopped. He may not know who stood behind Ace, but he didn't believe for a second that they'd be willing to risk a talent of Ace's level going out on his own without giving him some way of contacting them if he ran into a situation he couldn't handle on his own. For all he knew, they were already on their way.

Without a second thought, Garoa slung 'Luffy' over his shoulder and used his other hand to pick up 'Newgate' – Ace's glaive. 'A Glaive made of Ichor wood and Adamantine? There's no way a minor force could get their hands on a weapon of this calibre!'

Thinking to there, the Bishop decisively put the glaive in his interspatial ring before indifferently turning to his injured subordinate. "Make your own way back!"

Roquen could only stare helplessly as his team leader suddenly disappeared without giving him a chance to even respond. But from Garoa's deductions, he too was able to guess that Ace likely came from a powerful force, and Garoa needed to get Ace back to their HQ as quickly as possible.

He didn't even dare to wait for the Divine Dragon – the original objective of their mission. As soon as Ace was under their control, gaining control of the Dragon would simply be a matter of time.

.

.

.

Not long after Roquen had hurriedly taken his leave, not wanting to be there when Ace's reinforcements arrived – especially in his injured state – Leonel, who was still carrying Amira and Julius, arrived at the location of Ace's battle with the Cult.

The bodies of the fallen Cultists were still there, but Ace was long gone.

Leonel let out a deafening roar to vent his unwillingness. Via their connection, he could sense the direction Ace was being carried, but from the speed they were moving, even if he didn't have to carry Julius and Amira, he still wouldn't be able to keep up, and if that wasn't bad enough, Ace was unconscious so he wouldn't be able to slow them down.

"I know you can't speak yet, so I'm just going to ask you yes or no questions. I just need you to nod or shake your head," Amira said, her voice frighteningly calm as she pointed to the west. "Are they heading in that direction?"

"Can you catch them if Julius and I get off your back?" Amira asked when she saw the jet-black lion nod.

Seeing Leonel shake his head, Julius began to panic, thinking about all the things that were likely to happen if they were unable to rescue Ace. Still, Amira remained composed as she voiced her next question – a question that brought no small shock to Julius when he heard her words.

"Can you start a Beast Tide if I tell you the destination?"