No one responded. The air remained still, as if nothing had happened at all. But Zad did not let his guard down and continued to hold his stance, his senses still stretched to their limit. Time passed in silence, each second dragging as he waited for any sign of movement.
Then, he heard his communication device ring from inside his office, the sound clear and distinct against the tense silence. It came from his desk, just beyond the open doorway. It rang for several seconds, before stopping when no one picked it up. Zad only coldly glared at it from where he stood, his eyes narrowing slightly, but he did not enter his office, refusing to lower his guard even for a moment.
Another ring echoed again, but this time it came from his wrist. The sound was sharper and closer, coming from the device embedded within his forearm guard. This time, Zad slowly stopped maintaining his stance, though his body remained tense. He raised his arm slightly and accepted the call, but he did not revert back to his original form.
"Have you sensed it?"
Right after Zad accepted the call, an old, hoarse voice sounded through the device and asked the question without any greeting or delay. The voice was rough and aged, carrying a quiet authority that did not need to be emphasized.
Hearing the old man's words, Zad's eyes narrowed slightly as realization set in. The presence he had felt earlier was not something confined to his office alone. It was not actually coming directly from his office, but may have been projected across their entire headquarters, passing through multiple areas in an instant without leaving a clear trace.
"Yes, but it was too faint. Do you know whose aura it was?"
Zad replied in a low and controlled voice, though his gaze remained sharp as he continued to observe his surroundings.
"No, the aura is foreign, likely came from someone I do not know."
The response came without hesitation. Hearing that, Zad understood the severity of the situation. His expression hardened further, the slight tension in his face becoming more defined. If even the old man could not recognize the aura, then the intruder was not someone within their known circle. It meant uncertainty, and uncertainty within their own headquarters was dangerous.
"Be vigilant, someone brazen enough to scout the entire base using their aura is clearly not afraid of the empire. Conclude them as enemies."
The old man said, his voice hoarse but firm, leaving no room for doubt. His words carried clear intent, treating the unknown presence as a direct threat rather than something to be investigated passively.
"Understood."
After Zad replied, the communication was immediately cut off from the other side, the faint sound from the device ceasing as silence returned once more. He brought down his arm slowly, his fingers relaxing slightly as the call ended. A brief pause followed before his body shifted again, his draconic form retracting as scales receded and his figure returned to his original appearance.
Without wasting any more time, Zad turned and entered his office with a serious expression, his mind already moving ahead to the implications of what had just occurred.
...
On a random mountain several kilometers away from them, Relict was calmly standing near the edge of a rocky slope while staring at the direction of the base. The wind passed through the area in steady intervals, brushing against the uneven terrain around him, yet his posture remained completely still, as if he was unaffected by the surroundings. From his position, the distant horizon stretched far, though the base itself could not be clearly seen with the naked eye.
He had just expanded his aura in all directions, letting it spread outward in a vast range, passing through forests, rivers, and open land, until it finally reached a concentrated point of activity. For the first time, he managed to locate a draconian settlement, its presence distinct compared to the lifeless surroundings he had observed earlier.
"That should be the empire's national headquarters. There are some strong people that managed to detect my aura... How intriguing."
He subconsciously touched his chin while deep in thought, his fingers resting lightly against his face as his eyes remained fixed in the same direction. His expression showed clear interest, though it was restrained.
"Unfortunately, no one even managed to locate my exact position. One tried to trace it, but eventually stopped halfway. Are they afraid or just cautious?"
Relict lightly murmured, his voice low and calm, carrying a hint of curiosity as he recalled the brief reactions he had sensed. Though curious, he was not stupid enough to go there and declare his presence. He remained where he was, and maintained his distance. He was just routinely spreading out his aura to detect a draconian settlement, and the moment he had sensed their location, he immediately retracted it without hesitation. However, even within that short moment, several people still managed to react to it, something that only deepened his interest as he stood there in silence.
"If I am assuming their strength based on their reactions, then only two out of the others may have the strength to harm my body. But, it is very clear they are not transcended beings."
Relict casually concluded, as if he was merely stating a simple observation rather than making a careful judgment. His gaze remained fixed toward the distant direction of the base, his expression calm, though his eyes carried a faint focus as he reviewed the reactions he had sensed earlier.
Though, the power level he was using to assess the draconians' strengths was based on his long forgotten era, something that may no longer be suitable in the present time. The standards he once knew, the scale he used to measure strength, all belonged to a time far removed from the current world. Knowing this, Relict did not dwell on the thought any longer. His figure slightly shifted before he used his spatial walk to continue traveling southeast, his body disappearing from his original position without leaving any trace behind. However, he deliberately detoured around the base, adjusting his path to avoid getting too close, ensuring that he would not be seen nor be traced by anyone who might still be on alert.
After just a few seconds of using his ability, Relict encountered the next draconian settlement. His figure reappeared in a quiet area, the surroundings changing once more as another stretch of land unfolded before him. This time, he did not expand his aura at all, choosing to rely only on his vision as he observed from a distance. He remained cautious, avoiding unnecessary exposure. He managed to locate it without relying on his aura, thanks to the clearly visible manmade road that connected both settlements, cutting through the land in a long, defined path.
He stopped upon a random plateau, still several kilometers away, facing the direction of the settlement. The wind passed lightly across the elevated terrain, carrying a faint chill, but he remained unmoved as he stared at it. The settlement was huge, stretching hundreds of thousands of kilometers square in an elongated form, its structure extending far into the distance. It was positioned between high mountains on the north, their peaks rising sharply and forming a natural barrier, and a vast river on the south, its wide flow outlining the lower boundary of the area.
"If the memories serve right, that should be the capital of the empire, Arendar. It is quite big and fascinating for a backyard civilization."
Relict said as he observed the settlement, his voice calm, carrying a faint note of interest, though it remained restrained.
After several seconds of observing the city, he eventually managed to faintly see the powerful aura enveloping the whole place. At first, it was barely noticeable, like a distortion in the air above the settlement, but the longer he focused on it, the clearer it became. The aura stretched across the entire city, forming a massive, continuous presence that did not fluctuate like a normal individual's aura. It remained stable, as if it had been anchored there for a long time.
"Thankfully, I did not expand my aura recklessly, or else I would be immediately caught by this thing."
Relict lightly said, his voice calm as he continued to observe the phenomenon before him. His eyes traced the form of the aura as it became more defined in his perception. It resembled a massive dragon like entity coiling around the city, its immense body spanning from one end of the settlement to the other. The visualized behemoth's head was positioned on the west, slightly raised as if watching over the land beyond the horizon, while its long body extended across the city, with its tail reaching toward the east. Its presence was overwhelming, not in an aggressive way, but in a constant and dominating manner that made its existence impossible to ignore.
It was quite intimidating. Even from several kilometers away, the scale of it was enough to make the entire city appear as if it was under the watch of something far greater than itself. The aura did not move like a living creature, yet it gave the impression that it could react at any moment.
"If this thing came from an individual, then undoubtedly it is a transcended being. But if it is not, then more or less this is a huge complex array."
Relict said as he analyzed what he was seeing. He carefully examined the consistency of the aura, noting how it remained evenly distributed across the entire city without any noticeable fluctuations.
Understanding this, Relict stopped his thoughts on entering the city directly. The risk was too clear. There was a high possibility that his body would be detected the moment he stepped within its range, even though it was anchored from a higher dimension. He remained standing on the plateau, his gaze steady as he continued to observe from afar, choosing not to act hastily.
After a few minutes of contemplation, Relict failed to come up with a proper idea to enter the city using his current body. He remained standing in the same spot, his gaze fixed on the distant city while his thoughts moved one after another, carefully weighing each possible approach. Every solution he considered carried too much risk. Some required direct contact with the barrier, while others involved exposing his presence for a brief moment, and all of them had a high chance of being detected. None of them met the level of certainty he required. As a result, he could not proceed with any of them.
Therefore, he let out a deep sigh, the breath leaving him slowly as his shoulders lowered slightly. He then shook his head once, a quiet gesture of dismissal toward the ideas he had just reviewed. Without lingering any longer, his figure shifted as he used his spatial walk, and his body vanished completely from the place without leaving a single trace behind, as if he had never been there at all.
Since he could not enter the city through this vessel, then he would enter it in a roundabout way, even if it would take a long time.