CHAPTER 779: MARKER

After leaving the Sun Church branch island, it didn’t take long for Alice and Gwen to reach the mainland.

Unfortunately, it was a different port than the one Alice wanted to go to but there was a reason for that.

First, the Sun Church had a branch in this port as well, meaning Gwen could get some support tracking down her target.

Second, there was a unique branch of the Underground. One where they specifically specialise in tracking down bounties.

Most Underground branches work with information as a whole but rarely do they heavily skew towards one type.

But when they do, it’s because they’re one of the best if not THE best.

"Syrion The Blade Sovereign huh? That’s a rather dangerous Hunt you have chosen there Miss Guinevere." The manager of the branch smiled.

Since an esteemed Cardinal was visiting, an Apostle’s child at that, the best courtesy they could show was have the branch manager service her directly.

He was a tall young man with short black hair, a jewelled eyepatch over his right eye and wore a standard Hunter’s attire.

A simple jacket, padded clothing and pouches holding useful tools scattered across his body.

There was nothing ’unique’ about his appearance aside from perhaps the eyepatch.

Had it not been for the fact that they were told he’s the branch manager, it would’ve been impossible to even make the guess.

Even for Alice, all she could see was that he possessed Six Sigils.

Outside of seeing the six markings above his head, he felt like a normal person.

Too normal in fact.

"Can you track him down?" Gwen asked though the answer was rather obvious.

"Of course. Though I must warn that sufficient preparation are to be made before departure." The Branch manager nodded.

"I’m well awa-"

"It’s not for this Sovereign specifically but rather for every Hunt you are prepared to embark on. You see, there’s been some. . . anomalies that have been occurring recently. Gateways and fissures leading deep into the Abyss." The Branch manager cut her off with a shake of his head.

Recalling what she and Kaia experienced with the Lord that climbed out of Terminus, Gwen fell silent.

"The beasts are undergoing rapid enhancement. Some evolve at a rapid pace, others somehow ascend to Lordship. There were even a case of a beast managing to regenerate despite having been turned into Abyss Blood.

"Armour that began to engulf the user, incarnating them into a new subject of the bestial race. These incidents have been happening rather often as of late. Thus I must warn Miss Guinevere to progress with the knowledge that Syrion will be far stronger than whatever information you gather might suggest." He warned.

Hearing this, Alice frowned.

They’ve been on the boat recently so in regards to what’s been happening, she wasn’t sure.

[Seems like we’ll need to gather some information again.] Cayla sighed.

Even though she already updated her database in Caelan’s library, information was everchanging.

New information appear, old ones become outdated.

IF she was completely unsealed, she could read the threads of energy to some extent, even with half of herself missing.

But since they brute forced a partial unseal, the rest of the seal was hanging on even more tenaciously than before. She’ll have to readjust her unsealing formulate to break through.

Alice coughed feeling Cayla’s glare which thankfully disappeared quickly.

’Do you think it’s something to do with the Abyss? Having a gateway open into Terminus was weird enough as it is. Especially considering that the things down there are meant to be sealed off for good with all the teleport gates leading down being broken.’ Alyss frowned.

The beasts in Terminus weren’t limited to just the Sealed Lords. There were also Lord level beasts confined in the depths or beasts that would cause mass destruction if they were to break free.

Having a gateway forming between the layers felt like an ominous omen of what’s to come. A downward spiral towards whatever the Will was planning.

[If it was just one or two beasts, I would disagree but having so many experience the enhancement is definitely weird. But in this case, it’s something to do with the realm itself rather than the Will.] Cayla folded her arms.

’Oh? How so?’ Alice blinked her eyes curiously.

[Because the Will isn’t responsible for the deployment of beasts. The realm is. Hmm, think of the realm as something that’s running autonomously with the Will being able to make certain adjustments here and there. But the overall functionality is still decided by the realm rather than the Will.

[And I doubt he has the authority to make such a drastic change to the deployment of beasts. If all of them are getting stronger, then it must be from the connection that beasts have with the realm.] Cayla theorised.

’So would it affect us? Seeing as how you’re a relic of the Abyss, wouldn’t you experience some changes?’ Alice asked but Cayla shook her head.

[While I also have a connection with the Abyss, it’s different to the connection that beasts have. If anything, I’m more worried about Rosalyn considering her identity.]

With Rosalyn being a beast, a connection will most definitely be formed. They can only hope that it’s nothing harmful for now and simply a case of increased strength.

At the end of the meeting, the branch manager gave Gwen a list of previous sightings regarding the whereabouts of Syrion.

"Allow us some time to verify and update his whereabouts. If it goes well, she should be able to attach a ’marker’ to him so the pursuit will be easier." He bowed with both Gwen and Alice being confused by the term marker.

"Are you going to be sending someone to come with us?"

"You misunderstand. The Marker is a recent invention that we’ve started to make use of. Simply put, it’s a tracker that locks onto the energy unique to that beast and that beast alone. Once a Marker is attached, if you inject energy into the receiver, a tether will be formed between the two.

"The. . . linking process takes some time but once it’s recorded the signature, as long as you keep the capsule safe, even if they dive deep into the Abyss or fly through the Void, you’ll be able to track them down." The Branch manager explained.

Immediately, Alice felt warning bells ringing in her mind.

Recording a target’s signature then storing it in a capsule. If she was to. . . shift her thought into tracking a person down instead of a beast.

Alice swallowed her saliva nervously.

She absolutely cannot let her signature be recorded!

If the Zenia or anyone else were to get their hands it, she’ll be done for!

Just thinking about it sent a shiver down her spine.

To know that someone was tracking her every movement every passing second.

How there was a chance that the moment she sits down to rest, they could ambush her. . .

"It seems like the young lady here knows of the implications of such technology." The branch manager smiled seeing a small shift in Alice’s posture.

"I would love to reassure the young lady that what she fears won’t come to pass but unfortunately that’s not the case. Thankfully, the ones who made this ensured that the linking process takes longer on humans than beasts so unless you want to, it should be relatively easy to break free." He explained.

"What do you mean by break free?" Alice frowned.

"In order to link, one must be within a certain distance and ensure that the signature isn’t muddied by other sources. So the target must be isolated. Only by fulfilling these two requirements can a link be established. So if you see someone trying to isolate you, there’s a good chance that they’re trying to establish a link."

In a way, Alice could see the safety measures put in place. But regardless, it was still a risk, even more so with someone like her.

"Do you have a spare marker and receiver? It seems like my friend wants to investigate it a little." Gwen chuckled as the branch manager nodded his head.

Excusing himself for a moment, he stepped aside to retrieve the item.

"How did you know?" Alice glanced at Gwen who simply smiled.

"You had the same look on your face when we were at the branch so I figured you probably wanted to break it apart and see how it links. After all, you’re someone with stealthy abilities that can even evade Vision. A marker like this is a threat no?" Gwen stuck out her tongue.

Alice scratched her hair and sighed.

"Yeah it is. But is my face really that readable?" Alice pouted.

She noticed this with the people that she’s become friends with. All of them felt like they could just look at her face and see what she’s thinking.

"Nope~ I’m simply that observant. Did you forget I don’t have friends so I spend most of my time observing people? I’ve come to tell the differences between shifts in expression. Guilt, sadness, pity and so on. Every little shift of the eyes, the way they speak, how they posture themselves. I got a little checklist up in here to see what they’re thinking about." Gwen pointed at her own head.

Hearing this, Alice’s smile twitched.

"That is simultaneously impressive yet sad at the same time."

"Don’t you think that’s a little blunt and rude? But I’ll forgive you." Gwen kicked Alice’s leg with a chuckle.

Indeed, it was both impressive and sad. However, this skill had its own perks so she wasn’t too bothered.

Soon, the branch manager returned with the item and the two left the branch.