Just as Michael was about to continue listening, his attention shifted.
A row of soldiers passed through the ruined pathway ahead, moving in an organized line formation.
Their armor bore the unmistakable insignia of the Federation. They looked alert.
They also did not seem to be patrolling, but searching. Looking for sothing or soone.
Michael was not particularly worried they would notice him.
The concealnt layered over him was not ordinary magic. Between Fade's suppression trait and the illusion distortion from Blue and Purple, even active scans would struggle to lock onto him unless perford by soone far above his level.
Still, he remained cautious.
After all, these soldiers belonged to the sa giant power the Federation General operated under.
Just the thought of that man made Michael's gaze harden slightly.
It was only after he left Hell that Michael felt he would be comfortable speaking freely with Federation personnel again, and even then, only under specific conditions.
Michael watched silently as the soldiers moved past his concealed position.
Even the strongest among them, who was approaching the late stages of Rank Three, did not notice anything.
Seeing them pass without incident, Michael was just about to relax his vigilance slightly when the conversation of the group he had been listening to shifted again.
"Haven't they found what they're looking for yet?" one of the students asked quietly, glancing toward the direction the soldiers had gone.
Another student shook his head.
"If they had, they wouldn't still be searching like this," he said. "They've been sweeping the ruins all day."
"What exactly are they even looking for?" a third asked, unease creeping into his voice.
One of the students lowered his voice before answering.
"I heard they're looking for a student," he said.
That imdiately drew reactions.
"A student?" another repeated in disbelief. "What student could be worth all this? They've even locked down the exit portals. We were supposed to move out hours ago."
That made the first student frown.
"Wait. We were?"
"Yeah," the tall student replied.
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
"But then suddenly no one was allowed to leave anymore. The evacuation got paused without explanation."
A certain suspicion surfaced in Michael's mind as he listened.
But he did not jump to conclusions.
He remained silent, his expression unreadable as he continued to listen.
"What kind of student would cause this level of lockdown?" the first one asked again. "Unless they're soone important, this is excessive." The fourth student hesitated.
He looked around once more, confirming no soldiers were close
enough to overhear.
Then he spoke in a lower tone than before.
"I heard the na once. I'm sure you all know this person. In fact, there's a chance you had seen them once, though it might not have been a pleasant encounter and may have ended in an exchange of hands," he said.
The others leaned in imdiately.
"Well? Who is it?" the tall one urged.
The fourth student swallowed slightly before answering.
"They're looking for soone called... Michael Norman."
From the shadows, Michael's pupils contracted slightly.
Wait. They were looking for him?
A few hours ago.
From the position Michael vanished from, silence fell for a fraction of
a second.
Then both n stopped moving.
Caelum halted mid pursuit, eyes locked on the space where Michael
had just been.
Arven slowed as well, his outstretched hand still hanging in the air
where Michael's shoulder had been an instant earlier.
The distance between them closed naturally as both ca to a stop within the fractured sky of the Fifteenth Floor.
Neither spoke imdiately.
Caelum's expression was the first to change with shock.
"He disappeared..." he muttered.
His senses exploded outward instinctively, pressure waves spreading
across kiloters in every direction.
But he found nothing. Nothing.
Michael was simply gone.
"That was spatial movent," Caelum said, voice tightening.
Disbelief crept in despite himself.
"He comprehended his Law only a few days ago... and he can already
use spatial magic?"
His gaze darkened as anger followed shock.
anwhile, in front of him, Arven looked very different.
Unlike Caelum, he was not shocked.
He looked enlightened.
His eyes remained fixed on the location where Michael had vanished, but instead of frustration, there was clarity behind his gaze.
"So that's it," Arven murmured softly.
"I was wondering how he maintained that level of velocity earlier,"
Arven said. "I did not know he had already awakened a Law."
One should know that only creatures who had a Law seed could use
the void to teleport.
However, Arven could not help but wonder if Michael's Law was related to speed or had a strong amplification effect on his velocity.
From the position Michael vanished from, silence hung for a breath.
Then Arven and Caelum turned to look at each other.
One wore a faint smile.
The other was frowning, jaw tight, irritation leaking out of him in
waves.
Arven's hand slid back into his pocket. He tilted his head slightly, eyes
bright with that calm, maddening curiosity of his.
Then, as if the situation was not serious at all, Arven gave a light,
almost silly sounding sound.
"Oops."
Caelum's gaze sharpened.
He did not respond.
He did not even acknowledge it.
He simply looked away as if Arven had not spoken at all, then adjusted
his posture, gathering himself back into control.
"I have urgent matters to attend to," Caelum said, voice cold.
He did not bother asking permission.
He did not offer explanation.
He excused himself in the only way soone of his status ever did, by
deciding he was done with the conversation.
The pressure around him surged, compressing the air beneath his
feet.
Then he shot forward like a storm released, cutting across the sky of
the Fifteenth Floor, senses stretched wide as he began searching.
Arven watched him go for a second.
The smile remained.
But it thinned slightly.
Because for all his amusent, Arven understood sothing clearly.
If Caelum found Michael first, the outco would not be in his favor.
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