After two and a half days of non-stop sprinting, Garoa had finally made it back to the Kingdom of Heishi – the Capital of the Dark Alliance.

  As a Bishop of the Cult, Garoa was very well-known by the citizens of the capital. As a result, he was able to directly ehe city without being stopped, but that didn't prevent him from receiving odd looks from those he passed.

  Though he was uninjured, after running that long without taking a rest, his appearance was more than slightly dishevelled, but the main reason everyoopped to stare as he passed them was the appearance of a young teen being held over his shoulder.

  Ace had woken up several times over the st two days, but as a ninth-rank warrior, his senses were incredible. Despite Ace's best efforts, the Bishop was able to sehe moment Ace woke up and immediately knocked him unscious.

  Though he wasn't worried about Aehow managing to defeat him, he was well aware that with Ace's ridiculous ability to fight above his rank, the youth on his shoulder was more than capable of giving him enough trouble to slow him down and with an unknown superpower presumably bag him, he couldn't afford to slow down, even slightly. As such, the easiest thing to do was to keep him unscious until he returned.

  In the middle of the city, a giant castle stood higher than any of the buildings iy. Despite being in the capital of a city trolled by a fa with an ominous name like 'The Cult of Darkness', the castle, which served as their main headquarters, wasn't ominous at all. In fact, it gave off an almost valiant air.

  As Garoa approached, the guards bowed respectfully and moved out his way. Like everyone else he passed on his way here, he indifferently ighem as he made his way through the castle's winding corridors until he reached the basement, where there were tey cells and an armoured warrior at the peak of the eighth rank eared to be on guard.

  "Bishop Garoa," The man called out respectfully. "This is…?"

  As a high-ranking member of the Cult, the man on duty 'guarding' the empty cells was aware of the Bishop's mission to hunt down the Divine Dragon that had escaped them all those years ago. So he was shocked to see him return with a boy instead of the Dragon.

  "This prisoner is to be monitored as if your life depends on it," Garoa anded as he tossed Aside one of the empty cells. "Is that uood, Dea Joureil?"

  Joureil couldn't help but look at A shod fusion. Each of the cells were made of Adamantium, so unless you were at the saint rank, you could fet about even attempting to use force to break out.

  Garoa, of course, khat, but as far as Ace was ed, he wasn't willing to take any ces. Ace was the Cult's ce of rising past their rivals, the Radiant Church, and reag the same level as the O'Brien and Yun Empires, the only two human fas with a deity at the helm.

  Even though he was shocked, the Dea didn't dare to disobey a direand from a Bishop.

  "Yes, Bishop," Joureil answered respectfully. "I uand."

  As soon as he was dropped in the cell, Ace was finally given the ce to awaken properly, and the moment he did, his eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise. He quickly spread his [Observation] to get a better idea of his current predit, only to sense almost a dozen saint-level presences.

  Aiden had already told him that at the rate of improvement of his spiritual essence when he broke through to the fifth rank, no ordinairy mortal would be able to feel his [Observation] due to the ridiculous power of his spiritual essence. Of course, that didn't include freaks like himself, Wukong or any of Arianna's disciples whose spiritual essence had long siered the realms of saints.

  It was for that reason that Garoa wasn't able to sense Ace's spirit when he locked onto them, but the saints in the castle all clearly felt Ace's [Observation] pass over them, even if only briefly.

  Without hesitation, each of them stopped what they were doing and headed straight towards the source of that spirit.

  Garoa, who'd only just closed the door to the dungeon, was shocked to discover so many of his superiors suddenly in front of him.

  "Sirs, Madam Empress," the dishevelled Bishop hollered respectfully as he dropped to his knees.

  "Bishop," A woman in the tre of the group dressed in a fitted bck robe with elegant and ostentatious golden stitg that highlighted her alluring curves called out as she coldly eyed the closed door to the dungeon. "Do we have a new prisoner I don't know about?"

  Her name was Shelia, and she was the Dark Empress. The leader of the Cult Darkness and ruler of the Dark Alliance.

  "Yes, Empress," Garoa answered respectfully. "I was just ing to find you to report back to you."

  She didn't even g her kneeling Bishop as she floated straight passed him and into the dungeon.

  "Madam Empress," Joureil greeted respectfully as he too dropped to his knees.

  Just like with the Bishop still kneeling oher side of the door, she proceeded to ighe Dea guarding the prison. Instead, all her focus was on the youth sat on the cold dungeon floor, calmly staring back at her without so much as a hint of fear.

  "The boy?" Shelia asked, not seeming to mind the ck of respect she received from him. "Who is he?"

  "He cims his name is Luffy, but I suspect that to be an alias of some kind," Garoa expined, his voice ced with fear and awe. "I met him whilst we were trag the Divine Dragon…"

  As Bishop Garoa expined everything about his running into Ace, the Dark Empress calmly listened. All the while, her eyes remairained oeen whose apparent achievements, despite her perfect cealment, thhly shocked her.

  "… And so I hurried back here without stopping," Garoa expined, still kneeling.

  "I see," Shelia replied simply. "You were right t the boy back. As for his ability to locate you without you disc him, that should be because of his unique ability to spread his spirit, which has surpassed that of many ninth-rank mages. If I had to guess, that and the ability to turn his body and on bentioned is part of an inal bloodline ability."

  As her voice waned, both Garoa and Joureil were shocked. As far as they knew, only those desded from the four supreme warriors had bloodline abilities. For there to be another… How could they not be shocked?

  "Luffy, was it?" Shelia asked as she addressed the teen before her for the first time. "How would you like to bey Son-In-Law and the prince of the Dark Alliance?"

  Though he was looking at the Peak Saint before him, Ace was actually focused on his versation with Leonel.

  When his partner first told him of their pn to create a beast tide to attack, Ace wao curse. If Leonel were the leader of the Beast Tide, at most, he'd be able to elicit the support of magical beasts of the eighth rank.

  Though that would be quite the fearful Beast Tide to most cities, there were at least ten saints in the castle alone. Any one of them would be able to singlehandedly deal with a beast tide of that level, but when Leonel expihe entire pn, Ace was suddenly filled with fidence.

  fidence may have been to of a word; maybe hope was more fitting. It was still a gamble, but it was one he was willing to make, but when he heard the proposal of the Dark Empress, one of the most powerful and iial figures on the ti, Ace couldn't help but look at the Empress in surprise.

  "Not ied," Aswered straightforwardly after quickly getting over his surprise.

  "INSOLENCE!" One of the other saints shouted. "Her majesty's proposal is yreat fortune. Who do you think you are to reject her goodwill?!"

  Ace didn't dare spread his [Observation] again with so many saints present. Though they had correctly guessed that it was a bloodline ability, he didn't wish to do anything to antagohe situation any more than absolutely necessary.

  Still, his spirit was s now that he didn't o use his [Observation] to sehe auras of those around him. He immediately reised the loudmouthed saint from his earlier use of his [Observation].

  The man was a miniature giant standing over seveall and dressed in an eerie bck armour somewhat simir to Bishop Garoa, but Ace could sense from the instability of his aura that he was a newly promoted Saint. His name was Sulturn, and he was an Archbishop of the Cult.

  Though Aew he was far from a match for the man, after spending five years in the Yin-Yang Pavilion, it would take a lot more than the p of a man weaker than ead every one of his instructors to intimidate him.

  Ace calmly g the man before disregarding him altogether as he turned his attention back to the empress. "I'm not ied."

  Though Ace's tone of voice couldn't be cssed as actively disrespectful, that was only if he were talking to a peer. Shelia eak Saint and the leader of one of the most powerful fas on the ti. Still, Ace didn't seem phased in the slightest.

  The newly asded saint was about to blow his gasket when one of the castle's guards arrived at the dungeon. Normally such a low-ranking cultist had no business being anywhere near so many of the top figures of the Cult, but this time he came with hat couldn't wait.

  "Ugh…

  Erm…

  Excuse me…

  Ma…

  Madame Empress…" The man stammered, uo keep his posure in front of so many saints. "Outside…"

  "Good god, what is it?!" Sulturn snapped.

  He k had to be important for a trivial guard to dare interrupt them, but he was too frustrated by Ace's arrogao wait for the guard to get his words out patiently.

  "A saint-level lion is outside, and with him is the princess of the Rohault Empire," The guard expined as respectfully as possible. "They have demao see the empress."

  "I suggest you speak to them," Ace said with a calm fidehat gave birth to a faint worry for many of those present.

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  P.atreon./ACoilingDragon

  Book 4 - Chapter 34