A black luxurious minivan was followed by a truck as it stopped in front of the gates of the Grey Estate. From the minivan, Sigil, Alicia, Bethany and others got out with a tired look on their faces.
Behind them, the truck opened the shutter of its storage area as a number of animals walked out of it in a flurry.
John also got out of the van and left the area without addressing anybody. He would have decided to have a chat with his daughter, but in front of so many kids, he decided to give them their space.
"Huff, so tired." Sigil twisted his arms and shoulders as crackling noise could be heard from his joints. He even squatted and stretched his legs before doing anything else.
He wasn't alone, Jacob and other guys did the same. Although their stretching methods were different from Sigil, the motive was the same.
Meanwhile, the big elephant and the other two Familiars also appeared behind Sigil and waited for his instructions. Apparently, his training for preliminary discipline could be considered beneficial.
He looked at his Familiars and frowned a little. Their gazes were filled with love, respect and dependence. Even though their care for him was extremely moving, he knew that he shouldn't get too attached to them just yet.
He hadn't opened his Chakra Point yet and he had not decided the element and pathways he wanted to cultivate in. If he started to feel for his familiars and then needed to discard them in future, it would become a hurdle in his path of cultivation.
Alicia and others were the same. Even though they petted their Familiars, their feelings were indifferent.
He sighed and moved his arm while his palm faced the Rocky Elephant. Immediately, the large elephant walked near Sigil and bowed his head, rubbing and nuzzling his forehead against his palms.
'Sigh, caring for Familiars without feeling for them is extremely complicated. Even I am feeling conflicted when I think about the future.'
Sigil couldn't help but shake his head. His heart was feeling extremely heavy, but he understood the concept of sacrifice and knew that the path to power isn't filled with fluffs and candies, but filled with hurdles, thorns, pain and battles.
"What are your plans for now?" Alicia walked near him with a piglet in her hands and asked softly.
"I don't know. We are still allowed to choose one more familiar from the family. Father said that it will be held tomorrow. I can only think of the future after collecting everything."
He replied.
Alicia nodded and left the area with her Familiars. Similarly, Sigil did not wait for others to leave and only nodded at Bethany before leaving.
***
Outside the family's mansion, a car-sized Elephant laid on the ground and gently closed his eyes before sleeping.
Meanwhile, Sigil sat on his bed as he looked at the two palm-sized Familiars.
He had acquired a male Rocky Elephant, a female Fiery Lion and a unisexual dragonfly. He was looking at his laptop while it was connected with the flash drive.
This was the rewards received from the alliance. It contained the details of the Familiars he tamed and the methods to nurture it.
"How pathetic. Fiery Lion is one of the dark Guilds with the backing of a Grimoire Master and yet they are afraid to give out a male Familiar." Sigil sneered inwardly.
If the Fiery Lion Division had given out a male Fiery Lion, he would have been able to use that Familiar to reproduce under the environment of the family garden and get more Fiery Lions.
After reading everything, he removed the flash drive and inserted another flash drive. It was the reward he received from John for his contribution during the event.
"Hmm? Pathways and Elements?" Sigil started reading with interest. To a witch, the more knowledge one had about various elements and pathways, more options will be available to a witch during its ascension.
After studying for a while, Sigil decided to take out a parchment from his night table and started going through with it. It was the comprehensive information about various pathways and elements given out by the Alliance as the reward for his previous mission.
Lightning Path, Fire Path, Wood Path....
Information about various paths and their methods of identification were written down and explained.
After finishing with the information, Sigil looked up and found that the two Familiars were already asleep. It had already been hours!
"Elemental paths are more popular because of the availability of resources in the country. According to the information, our family also produce many resources regarding the Ice Path and Strength Path. But it's not as rich as Fiery Lion's resources. There are also many popular non-elemental paths like Vision Path, Poison Path, Blood Path and Soul Path. But most of the witches cultivating in these paths are considered extremely dangerous. They are also hunted proactively by both the dark guilds and the organisation."
Sigil was deep in his thoughts.
"The Family also raises many Familiars that belong to different paths. There is Elder Garthe's Thunder Owl and also Elder Bril's Speed Path, Sharp Legged Hound."
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Sigil rubbed his eyes and got up. He was in no mood to sleep just yet.
"Then there is also the family head that is a rare genius. Being able to cultivate in two pathways, making him extremely strong compared to his peers."
"The world is too big. Just in one state, I am able to see and experience so much. Familiar Eggs, different Elements and paths and also the strange situation of the constellation evolving."
He walked to his study table and sat on his chair. His back leaning against the chair and his legs placed on top of the table.
"Right now, I am in possession of many elementary spells belonging to cultivation curses, but none of them are any use to me anymore. There is also the memory spell from the library and the pictures in my smartphone. Too much to do."
He closed his eyes for a while before switching on his smartphone and diving into the various spells and information regarding the chakra stage witches.
***
In the living area of the Family, a dark figure could be seen walking towards the building filled with apartments. Most of the Watchmen were mortals with a few energy gates practitioner mixed within.
Strangely, the shadow bypassed all of them without making a sound and made its way towards the top floor of the building through the stairs.
As he moved, a strange undulation of energy leaked from his body whenever the shadow encountered any security cameras.
Soon, the shadow reached its destination.
The number plate on the door showed '18' as the shadow stood outside the door without making any noise.
"Basgh hui harde." The shadow turned out to be a man dressed in a black robe. His face covered by a black hood.
He pointed at the door and moved his fingers. As he recited the spell, his index finger let out a greenish glow and a strange mark was soon formed in midair.
"Go!"
He commanded and the mark stuck on the door.
Woosh
A light sound could be heard before everything turned silent.
The man took a deep breath and entered the apartment.
The moment he stepped inside the room, the silence was replaced by heart-wrenching screams. The voice was shrill and the man quickly shot towards one of the rooms and saw a horrifying sight.
On the ground lay a blue-haired beauty that was screaming loudly. Her skin was corroding as a green smoke invaded her body. Slowly, her smooth flesh was removed as it turned into green ashes.
The only thing that remained was a black smoke like substance that kept on roiling around.
"You know, I offered her my service. That way I could save her and capture you at the same time. Sadly, she decided to take hired help with her. Looking at you, I presume that her support is already dead." The man shook his head and spoke lightly.
The black smoke let out a hissing sound before the man snapped his fingers.
Tsssss
Immediately, a green light erupted from his body as the black smoke started to let out a corrosive sound until half of its body remained.
"Kue... kue... Daklll?" The smoke let out some whispers. It started to calm down as quietly spread itself on the floor.
"Your core is already sealed. I can exterminate your existence with a snap of my fingers."
"Kukuku.... karnd.... basell!"
"Devil King? Believe me, that's the least of your worries. You can carry out your task as you see fit. You can even take up your previous disguise. But I need some of the exclusive Familiars of the lower continent and of course, some complimentary materials. I will give you three days. In three days, you will bring me all of these."
The man threw a slip and started to walk away before stopping.
"Oh, one more thing. You try to ask for help and you will be killed immediately. I thought that you should know the consequences of betrayal."
The black-robed man spoke before walking away.
After the man left, the black smoke started to squirm as a layer of milky white flesh covered its body.
After forming the body once more, the blue-haired beauty— Bethany glared at the direction coldly before sobering up.
At this moment, she was completely naked. Her marvellous body displayed but no admirers in the vicinity. But she wasn't in any mood to compliment the beauty of this body.
She was almost killed!
"Wait, how did he even know about my cover. He did not have any detection type tools nor did he use any spell to confirm my identity. He just struck without any confirmation. Did he already know about the plan? After all, he spoke about saving this body before capturing me."
Her eyes were serious as she felt that their plan wouldn't be able to advance as smoothly as she thought.
She then took up the slip and her expression turned ugly. Too Expensive!
She then thought of the strange spell attached to her core and bit her lips.
"Damnit, It's too frustrating." She scowled and pulled the drawer of her nightstand before taking out a plastic 'spear'.
***
"Hmm? What the hell is this?" John's eyes widened as he looked at all the information placed in front of him.
"Eugene... Eugene... right! He was the one that had planned to create a treasured eye to advance his cultivation. So he was a warlock? And a warlock connected to the death element. Maybe, he belongs to the Reaper Faction."
"This is still very disastrous. The whole organisation has started to clean up all the spies. They even found some Devils involved."
Garthe's expression was serious as he reported.
"Devils... the lower continent will make a move again. Garthe, arrange a team of Elders and start patrolling the formation spell from tomorrow. I don't want to take any chances."
"Yes."
"Oh, right! Be sure to take Ricardo with you. He is a good seedling that has just uncovered his potential. Be sure to train him properly."
"Sure thing."
After Garthe excused himself, John sighed and leaned back on his chair.
"Sigh, the world is changing. It is always something big with the matters relating to those Devils. Hehe, what would happen if those higher continent bitches decided to join the fray." John couldn't help but chuckle.
"What do you think?" A silver light flashed and a small wolf was nuzzling on his laps.
"What should I tell you? I have eaten so many Devil Kings that this amount of pitiful spies can't even work up my appetite." A soft voice entered his mind.
"Oh, right! We have to start the plan. How are the preparations?" John asked loudly.
"The candidates have been already chosen. The materials are on their way. Once we have satisfied all the condition, we will be able to perform the mass spell."
A melodious voice spoke from behind John.
"Things are getting interesting. Keep a lookout for strange news. If you think that you can earn good profits, you are permitted to take a team for yourself and snatch it away."
Josh smiled and closed his eyes.
"Yes, master." The melodious voice agreed before the surroundings turned silent.
"How many devils did you smell?" John scratched the wolf's head.
"Hmm? Our family has four of them. The guy Garthe's daughter is one of them." A soft voice replied in his head once again.
"Hmm."
'They think they are smart, huh. I think they forgot how our ancestors feasted on their raw flesh.'
John couldn't help but smirk.
His eyes then fell on a framed image.
It was the picture of a mature, dark-haired woman with soft features. She was wearing a pure white dress as she looked towards John.
His gaze instantly turned gentle.
"Darling, everything is fine here. Alicia has grown into a beautiful lady and our adopted son has returned to the correct path. All I am waiting is for you to return quickly."
He spoke in soft whispers. He was confident that nobody could hear him talking to the framed image.
Strangely, the image of the woman smiled and nodded her head gently before turning back into an image.