Chapter 613: An Intruder

"Why not tell me what is inside the ruins, then?" asked Oriole with a frown. "It makes things easier if Arthur knew what he is fighting for, you know?"

"I made an oath to the princess to never reveal that secret, even to Arthur. As soon as the other guardians hear about this, regardless of how it will turn Runera into a bullseye."

Oriole was quiet before he nodded in understanding. These layers were challenging to crack to ensure that only Arthur gets to the end and knows what is there. This was also a way to protect the ruins from being explored by others.

"Then help me find him," said Oriole. "I need to tell him to leave this space as soon as possible. I will figure out a way to tell him about the ruins and all of this, but he needs to leave."

"I am troubled as well since this space was created by..."

"Master!" a figure rushed through the walls and dived toward the witch. As Oriole flinched and staggered back, he tried to see it. It turned out to be a small woman with wings. "I found one of the intruders! We are chasing it across the city!"

"Oriole, you will be my lucky errand boy," smiled Gala. "I don't have a physical body, so you will need to work with my spirits to chase the intruder and find Arthur's whereabouts. He must be trapped inside a certain space and try to navigate where he is."

"I guess this is the last time we meet, then," muttered Oriole as he nodded at her. "There are many things I want to know, like what happened after the battle, but I guess Arthur will figure things out when he clears the ruins."

"That is true. However, I will be waiting for your arrival with Arthur. Let us hope that it ends with our reunion."

Oriole was confused about that, but Gala was also running out of time. Then, she waved her hand, and the spirits flew toward him before grabbing his arm.

"Let's go and catch some intruders, mister!" said the spirit with a giggly face that concerned him. But, before he could ask Gala about the identity of the intruders, Oriole was pulled outside by the spirit under the eyes of the waving witch.

"Great luck on your quest, great warrior. I will be the maiden waiting at the end of it," joked Gala as she bid him farewell, and Oriole was brought outside by the spirit.

"I see that you have a spirit too, and I have three," said Maryam with her hand against the wall, surrounded by three curious spirits who looked identical to the one holding his arm. "Please tell me we will not be used for an alchemy experiment."

"How rude?" pouted the spirit. "If we wanted to do something like that, we would just eat you directly!"

"I AM RUNNING AWAY!" shouted Maryam before she bolted from between the spirits and ran into the city. "Every man for himself, Oriole!"

"You are not a man!" shouted Oriole before running after her with the spirit in hand. "These mischiefs are joking, Maryam! We won't be eaten!"

"...then why are they holding onto you?" she turned around but didn't slow down. "Are you being possessed by that spirit?"

"Look what you did," sighed Oriole as he rolled his eyes at the giggling spirit. "We have no time for this. The intruder will get away!"

"There is no need for worries, beautiful human," said the fairy before she pointed in the distance. "We are running in the right direction! Furthermore, I don't think that woman would be running this fast if not for my prank!"

Oriole couldn't argue against that logic, but he tried to calm down the runemaster. Before he realized it, they made their way back into the city and away from the mansion. Oriole decided for the runemaster to tire herself before he showed her that the spirits were on their side.

"...are you sure that you are just a runic-alchemist?" blinked Oriole at how fast she was running without a hint of sweat. "Hey, wait up!"

"...you are being outrun by a woman, human. That is pathetic."

"And that phrase is sexist."

"It is the only law that men have stronger bodies while women have a higher mana affinity."

"...I am a man of science," coughed Oriole as he ran forward. "Where is the intruder, and are they powerful?"

"The intruder is straight ahead, and they are hiding atop a giant tree while launching attacks at us!"

"...that does not sound powerful at all," frowned Oriole before he tried to run faster. "Are there other... fairies?"

"We are a total of three hundred sisters, but we are all the same spirits! However, we have no fighting capabilities other than annoying the opponent. It works against weaker foes, though."

"I guess that's the giant tree," muttered Oriole as he raised his head and looked at the giant tree on one side of the road. "I can feel the man turbulence from here. However, it doesn't have a singular source."

"And? And?"

"That means the opponent is either using an artifact or a domain user," frowned Oriole. "In either case, we need to be careful. An area of effect attack is quite troublesome to handle, so let us stay together since it doesn't matter if we split."

"We are here, but your friend is there!" pointed the spirit at Maryam sprinting straight toward the tree. "It seems she saw our comrades being shot down around that tree."

"This is what you get for making untimely jokes!" Oriole almost face-palmed before he used his ability. In an instant, the muscles in his thighs bulged before he sprinted forward, reaching Maryam in an instant. His hand reached out and brought the runemaster to the ground, making the two of them tumble and roll down.

"...my wounds!" Oriole almost cried as he held his right side. His regeneration never ceased, but such an impact almost made him bleed again. "You idiot, no one is eating us! The enemy is in the trees!"

"Those creepy fairies possess you!"

"These are tricksters, making a fool out of you! Our job is to find the intruder in the trees and apprehend them to find A... Alexie!"

"...just get off me already," said Maryam as she wiggled herself out. "I understand, but that face is not helping!" she pointed at the spirit which was licking her lips with a murderous smile.

"Just ignore them. I promised I would protect you, right?" said Oriole as he brought her face toward him. "I will never let anyone beat you."

"That's a relief," muttered Maryam as her face turned red. "Let me go now, forbidden fruit. Otherwise, I might seriously consider creating a love potion."

"Haha, apologies," said Oriole as he let go of her face. "Let us retreat for now since the intruder has probably spotted us. But, first, we need to formulate a plan to lure them out."

"Oriole?!" a voice shouted from above, shaking the buildings around them. It was high-pitched and strained, makingthem crane their necks to see the source! "What are you doing with these creatures?"

As Oriole tried to look through the countless branches, the intruder began to wave their arms to make him notice them. Then, his eyes widened when he saw the messy face of Julia, his fellow research member from Jerano.

"What are you doing up there?" asked the alchemist with confusion. "Are you the intruder...?"

"Master Julia is here too?" muttered Maryam as she dusted herself and rose to her feet. "It seems these creatures are attacking her because she was considered an intruder."

"...what a misunderstanding, but we need to remain cautious. It can be a shapeshifter that assumed her appearance," Oriole said as he remembered the cat he met in the underground cave. "Let us ask her a question that only her can know," suggested Oriole before mulling over it. "If you are truly Master Julia, you should know Grandmaster Yuvan's favorite food!"

"None! That masochist likes the feeling of being hungry!" she shouted back. "Can you ask these creatures to leave me alone if they are on your side?"

"There is no one else who knows how weird the grandmaster can be," nodded Oriole before turning to the spirits. "She is a friend, and we can ask her about Alexie's whereabouts."

"But we are hungry!" said the spirit while licking her lips, but Oriole glared in response. "Fine, she can come down. My sisters won't attack her!"

After the spirits retreated, Julia seemed to trust them and came out of the tree. The runemaster jumped and landed in front of them, her appearance looking as if she was homeless.

"These creatures... are the ones who did this..." said the runemaster while combing her hair. "How are you familiar with them?"

"That's a long story," said Oriole as he walked over. "I need to know where Alexie is, Master Julia. This is very important."

"This is what I am running here to do!" panicked the runemaster. "Alexie is fighting against a supervillain, and he is trapped inside an illusion! He asked me to find someone to attack the illusion from the outside!"

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