Death… And Me

Chapter 4533: Early Arrival

When Kentucky came out of the Rosvelt Sect, he was in his normal humanoid form. On the way back in, however, he was now in his Minokawa Form.

One of the lower elders saw him flying and immediately complained. "Hey, you are too big! Go back to your humanoid form or go to the Demon Beasts’ ward!"

Kentucky scratched the back of his head with one of his wings. "Sorry, sorry. My master is Kabriu, the Ironfeather Condor. He asked me to see him at the meeting hall before the monthly gathering starts. I’m already late getting there, so I’m flying to get there faster."

The elder narrowed his eyes, but he did know Kabriu because of his Law God mother. It was also true that Kabriu was expected to reach the Law God Realm at some point with his current progress.

"Just because he is your master, that doesn’t mean you can break the rules. I’ll let it go this time, but make sure not to use your real form outside the Demon Beasts’ ward or your own private residence in the future."

"Yes, sir!" Kentucky nodded obediently before resuming his flight.

On the way to the meeting hall, Kentucky was warned a few more times by elders and disciples who saw him. However, he gave them the same excuse each time while showing his badge, and that was enough to make them back off. Turns out that his direct disciple badge did indeed have some use in Rosvelt.

Now then, why was Kentucky in his real form?

That’s because he wanted to look big... at least to whatever detection system the sect employed.

Since Celestial Senses and Godly Senses didn’t work in Woster, the Rosvelt Sect was bound to have other methods of preventing undesirable guests from entering without anyone noticing. Otherwise, a cultivator with sufficient concealment abilities could simply walk into the sect without being detected.

Rean was pretty sure they used arrays for that purpose, but the level of arrays available in Woster was rather pitiful compared to what they had access to in Besgol.

That’s why he had Kentucky stay in his real form. He was enormous, and thanks to that, Rean and Celis could remain on Kentucky’s back without being detected. Kentucky’s own presence would overlap with theirs, making it much more difficult for any detection system to distinguish them.

At the same time, Rean had his Light Bending Skill active, hiding both himself and Celis on Kentucky’s back. Kentucky could also use Rean’s Light Bending Skill, but he would have to enter the meeting hall again once he returned. Because of that, Rean would be the one responsible for hiding Celis after Kentucky went inside.

It was a simple trick, but considering how poor the Woster’s detection methods were compared to what the twins were accustomed to, it should be enough.

—

Only eight minutes had passed since Kabriu told Kentucky to come back quickly. Kentucky entered the meeting hall again, this time in his humanoid form. As for Celis and Rean, neither of the two followed Kentucky inside. "Master, I’m back."

Kabriu looked at Kentucky and nodded. "Good. Come, a few more elders have arrived, so I’m going to introduce you to them as well."

Kentucky didn’t mind and joined Kabriu, following him toward the other elders. Still, he noticed that Kachia’s expression was pretty bad, so he contacted her through the RC. ’Did something happen while I was out?’

Kachia sighed. ’What do you think? He is obviously very skeptical that a Zone God like me is playing the role of your helper here in Rosvelt. He kept saying that at my level, I would gain a lot more on my own if I joined some other power, even if I couldn’t pass the Rosvelt Sect. He believes I’m trying to fool you.’

Kentucky put a hand on his chest, showing a deeply pained expression. ’So that’s what you were trying to do... You wanted to fool me and rob me of my resources, just for my master to see through you. I’m deeply emotionally hurt.’

*Pah!*

*Ouch!*

Kentucky received a slap on the back of his head.

’Now you are hurt both in mind and body. How about that?’ Kachia asked with an angry expression.

The exchange obviously caught Kabriu’s attention. He turned toward the two with a frown. "What the hell are you two doing?"

Kachia smiled brightly. "I saw a bug on the back of his head, so I got rid of it for him. Isn’t that right, Kentucky?"

"Ahem..." Kentucky smiled bitterly. He knew better than to argue. "Of-Of course! I don’t like bugs..."

A bird that didn’t like bugs.

That had to be a new one...

—

Outside the meeting hall, no one noticed the sudden appearance of a new tree in the garden. It blended naturally with the other trees, looking no different from the many others already growing there. The elders and disciples passing by on their way to the meeting hall didn’t pay attention to it even once.

On one of the branches of that tree, a white-haired young man leaned his back against the trunk, quietly watching the movement both in the sky and on the ground not too far from them.

Naturally, the tree was Celis, while the young man was Rean.

’Is this really fine?’ Celis asked through their connection. ’Kentucky isn’t close to us anymore, so wouldn’t we be found here?’

Rean wasn’t concerned. ’It shouldn’t be a problem. There are just too many elders and relevant personnel coming for this monthly gathering. The problem was getting here in the first place. As long as this meeting continues, we should be able to blend into the many auras going back and forth.’

Rean looked toward Celis. ’What about you? Can you do it from here?’

Celis was still working on detecting the power that controlled the Navy-Blue Strands of Energy. He had already been focusing on it for quite some time, but the distance and the meeting hall’s own walls made the task considerably more difficult.

’More or less. This meeting hall seems to have some blocking capabilities, so I’m having to work with what I can feel coming out of there. Give me some time. I can try to pinpoint the energy flow being used to connect with the Threads attacking Roan.’

Roan was obviously watching everything through their connection. His situation, however, was considerably more urgent. ’At this speed, I’ll take four hours to get to the city, but in fact, I probably have only one and a half hours or less.’

’How come?’ Rean asked.

’If our theory that someone intervened with my investigation is correct, this someone might be behind the fact that these threads are now pursuing us. That also means they likely know where we are and where we are going. We are being targeted by these Navy-Blue Threads directly, after all.’

Roan continued, ’I highly doubt anyone connected to these events isn’t at least a Law God. That said, chances are there are a few Law Gods coming after me at this very moment, but they are coming from the city. If we are talking about flight-capable Law Gods, like Demon Birds, Angel Birds, Devil Birds, or spirits, they should definitely be faster than Rean’s airplane.’

’So forget about the four hours I will take to reach Dlaval City. I will most likely be intercepted before getting halfway there by them,’ Roan concluded.

Celis understood the danger. ’That makes sense. Roan, make sure to fly in a straight line to the city, or as close to it as possible. That will make my job of finding the right energy flow much easier.’

’Very well,’ Roan accepted the task.

And so, Celis began to focus entirely on the energy flow coming out of the meeting hall, carefully separating it from the countless other energy signatures filling the surrounding area.

—

Back inside the hall, everyone was talking about various things while Kabriu continued introducing his new disciple to the elders he was acquainted with. The atmosphere was relatively relaxed, with many of the elders exchanging casual words before the monthly gathering officially began.

But then, everyone stopped talking.

Almost simultaneously, they all looked toward the back of the meeting hall.

A door that had remained closed until now suddenly opened, immediately catching everyone’s attention.

"Master, is something happening?" Kentucky asked.

Kabriu narrowed his eyes. "That’s weird. Since that door is opening, the Sect Master must have arrived. However, the Sect Master only comes out when everyone is already gathered and ready to start the monthly report. Why is he coming out now? Many are still missing, and we have quite a few here who aren’t part of the gathering, like you and your helper."

Kentucky’s expression became slightly curious. If even Kabriu found the situation strange, then something was clearly different from the usual monthly gathering.

At that moment, a voice came from behind Kabriu. "My little Kabriu is right. Something must have happened."

It was Kabriu’s mother.

That definitely caught Kentucky and Kachia’s attention.