Citadel and Mansion

A couple of hours earlier:

Elio was waiting in one of the alleyways that connected the Slums to the city.

This is the spot where Kye was supposed to meet him, but

'It's been half an hour already... where is that idiot?'

Elio was feeling bored and annoyed

'Not only the mission failed miserably, but I also have to stand here waiting...'

Elio couldn't help but think about the amount of scolding he'd hear from his supervisor

'Ruining such a simple mission bla bla. No one is gonna take our words about him having no aura or whatever seriously and they'll just say that we are making excuses.'

Time passed,

Elio's boredom turned into suspicion

'What's taking him so long? Is everything alright?'

More time passed,

Elio's suspicion turned into worry

'Something bad probably happened ... taking this much time is abnormal'

Elio began adding mana into his ring, which sent a signal to Kye, but he didn't get any reply.

More time passed

Elio's worry turned into certainty

'There's no way Kye is alright... I need to take this to my supervisor'

Elio became very confused

' ... For someone to do something to Kye, how strong could they be?

Kye is an Elite Water Knight ... he excels in defense, and even if his opponent's offense exceeded our expectations, no attack can penetrate his impeccable Skill.

Worst case scenario he would have just stayed inside it until I sent him a signal then he'd reply back with his location...'

The Crimson Guards' rings lacked the intricate design of The Library's Emblem. There were 1000s of Crimson Guards, so the rings had to be mass-produced, thus, they had to be more affordable.

Each ring featured a simple magic circle capable of sending basic signals to identical, active magic circles. Adding mana to a ring triggered a signal to all nearby rings within a few kilometers, causing them to vibrate.

If someone responded by adding mana to their ring, their location would be sent to the initiator.

This meant that one couldn't initiate by sending their location to surrounding rings; they had to wait for someone to signal their desire for the location, then respond by revealing it.

This design led to some amusing rules, like not responding to the ring's vibration if it wasn't expected or if it wasn't an emergency.

How would you know if it's an emergency or not? Trust your instincts.

Every department had its own Magic Circle to prevent unrelated rings from communicating.

That's why Kye couldn't reveal his location first, he had to wait for Elio's signal, and because Kye's defense, according to Elio, is impenetrable, he took it easy at first.

But now, he kept sending signals to Kye's ring for a while.

However, nothing worked, so Elio decided to directly meet his supervisor.

Elio walked with quick steps to the heart of the city, where two of the most important buildings were located.

- The Crimson Citadel

- The Red Mansion

The Crimson Citadel is a fortress built on top of an eminence, thus, if you stood atop its highest tower, you'd be able to see a spectacular view of the entire city.

The Crimson Citadel is in fact the oldest building in Crimson-Walls City; it was built first then the entire city was built around it.

It has huge, thick crimson walls fortifying it, and many tall windows scattered everywhere across its high towers.

It's the Crimson Guards' Stronghold, which makes it a place that's filled with hundreds of Elite Knights at any given moment during the entire year.

The Crimson Citadel's western side has a Skyway Bridge that connects it to the Red Mansion's highest floor. The Bridge's color as it exits The Citadel is crimson, but the further it goes from The Citadel, the brighter it becomes until it's as red as the Mansion.

The Red Mansion is a humongous manor that's composed of 10 floors, it's the residence of the City's Ruler, Ignatius Inferno.

However, it's not ONLY a residence, the Inferno Family takes up only the highest floor in the Red Mansion.

The floor below them, the 9th floor, serves as living quarters for the most important or promising individuals in the city.

Like:

- Remedy, The only Elite Light Mage in Crimson-Walls.

- Fiadh, The best Elite Darkness Knight.

Moreover, there are countless other talented individuals living on it, like the silver-haired Moonlight Princess and the ex-leader of the Crimson Guards, Elite Light Knight Sebastian, who currently holds the position of the Duke's Butler.

Arno, The Librarian, and Phoenix, the Crimson Guards' current Leader, were both invited multiple times to live in the Red Mansion, but both adamantly refused.

The remaining floors of the Red Mansion are dedicated to overseeing the entire duchy.

One floor is designated for the Water Department, another for the Talent Acquisition and Public Relations Department, a separate floor for the Magic Research Department, and another for the Duchy's Ecosystem Management Department, and so forth.

Living on the Red Mansion's 9th floor is the dream of every Knight and Mage in Crimson-Walls.

'Well of course. You're surrounded by servants, they provide you with everything you wish for, and if you're good enough, they do their best to make you overcome your bottlenecks, or so I heard.'

That's Elio's opinion about it, but right now, he had other, more important things on his mind.

'I hope I don't get fired ...'

'How should I explain that I first failed in my mission then lost my partner and now he's nowhere to be found? ... This is disastrous'

Elio looked at the imposing Citadel and Mansion for a couple of seconds, then sighed loudly

'Ahh, This is the worst day of my life and career.'

He took a few defeated steps towards The Citadel.

There was a long line of people standing in front of the main gate, but he walked to a smaller gate on the side, which had two knights standing in front of it.

He approached them and said

"Elite Knight Elio"

The knights saluted him and opened the gate, and Elio walked inside.