Julius stood in the shadows behind the Smelting center, his blood seemingly frozen solid.
His jet-black eyes were locked tightly onto that slowly fading silver figure.
That was Helos from his memories.
But it wasn’t.
Her appearance was still exquisite, but that aura of icy indifference, those pale purple eyes that no longer held the slightest glimmer of light—they were like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing into his heart.
But what he felt went far beyond that.
Julius could sense the aura emanating from Helos.
What a chaotic aura that was!
That’s right… that was the aura of “Chaos.”
‘I would never mistake it.’
Over the years, on those twisted “inhuman remains,” he had smelled this nauseating stench countless times.
It clung to Helos’s soul like an invisible layer of grime.
Julius’s fingers clenched tightly, almost completely bloodless.
‘I can’t believe that Helos—the one who was so lazy yet utterly pure in my memories—could be tainted by such an evil power.’
He instantly connected the information Eleanor had given him.
‘It’s those bastards! They’re the ones who led Helos astray!’
An uncontrollable rage and murderous intent surged from his chest.
He almost couldn’t restrain himself—wanted to rush forward immediately and slaughter all those damned Chaos Believers!
But he forcibly suppressed his impulse.
His gaze refocused on Helos’s back.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed.
No.
Julius’s keen perception as a chosen one detected something off.
The chaotic aura on her… seemed to be mixed with something else.
It wasn’t “pure.”
The cultists lurking in the south—their auras were fanatical, filthy, filled with a desire for destruction.
But the aura on Helos, though equally chaotic, carried an extreme “iciness.”
It was a “will” that seemed to transcend everything, indifferent to all things.
That “will” even faintly suppressed the chaotic aura?
This was too strange.
Julius didn’t reveal himself.
He knew that now was absolutely not the time to stir up trouble.
He had to figure out what had happened to Helos.
Was she forced? Or a volunteer? Was she still “Helos”?
He suppressed the tumultuous emotions inside him and, like a shadow, slipped silently out of the darkness, following Helos’s footsteps.
He deliberately kept a great distance.
Julius’s current physical abilities had already surpassed those of ordinary people.
He could easily control his movements.
Thus, he hung about a hundred meters behind Helos, using the flow of people on the street and the shadows of buildings to perfectly conceal himself.
He wanted to see where Helos was heading.
Helos really did seem to have exhausted a lot of energy from her research.
She walked very slowly, still with her head down, indifferent to everything around her.
She passed through the courtyard of the Comprehensive Research Academy, intending to head toward the dormitory building.
But just after Helos had walked a short distance, a petite golden figure suddenly rushed out from the corner of the dormitory building, running straight up to Helos.
Julius immediately stopped, hiding behind a large tree and narrowing his eyes.
That was… a blonde girl?
She looked about the same age as Helos, and wasn’t she wearing the Olivia family’s maid dress?
Could she be a new personal maid?
But why was she here?
Julius was filled with confusion.
He saw that the blonde girl seemed very excited.
She ran up to Helos, grabbed her arm, looked up, and seemed to be saying something passionately.
And Helos’s reaction was just as cold.
Because he was too far away, Julius didn’t catch their conversation.
He could only roughly infer from their body language that they seemed to be arguing about something.
The blonde girl kept gesturing, as if pleading or coquettishly begging.
Helos, on the other hand, kept shaking her head.
She tried hard to pull her arm back, her face full of impatience.
Their “argument” lasted a full minute.
In the end, Helos seemed to finally get fed up with the pestering.
Julius saw her sigh helplessly, her whole body slumping as if she had given up resistance.
She nodded reluctantly.
And the blonde girl, upon seeing Helos nod, immediately cheered and leaped with joy!
She was as happy as a child who had gotten a new toy, hopping excitedly on the spot for a couple of times, then quickly fell in behind Helos.
Helos didn’t go back to the dormitory. Instead, she led the blonde girl straight out of the academy.
Julius watched this scene, his brow furrowing even deeper.
‘Who exactly is that blonde girl? What is her relationship with Helos? Why would Helos show that kind of impatient expression toward her? And where are the two of them going together at dusk?’
The mysteries in Julius’s heart multiplied.
Without hesitation, he continued to maintain that absolutely safe distance, following the two of them out of the gates of the Royal Magic Academy.
They didn’t linger at the academy gate but walked straight toward the nearby public stagecoach station.
Julius kept his distance, following them for a long while.
Until he watched with his own eyes as those two figures boarded a windrunner beast stagecoach that was waiting for passengers at the station.
Gaa—!!
Shortly after they got on, the windrunner beasts let out a sharp, long cry, pulling the carriage and instantly picking up speed.
Now it was Julius’s turn to be dumbfounded.
“Damn it!”
He cursed under his breath.
He hadn’t expected them to take a windrunner beast stagecoach.
Obviously, a man relying on his legs could never catch up to that stagecoach.
He watched helplessly as the carriage sped away, the dust kicked up by its wheels almost spraying into his face.
Julius stood there, watching the stagecoach grow farther and farther away.
Was he just going to give up like that?
How could he?
A hint of determination flashed in his jet-black eyes.
Julius gritted his teeth.
He spun around and charged into the narrow alley parallel to the main road.
He started sprinting flat out!
The speed of a windrunner beast stagecoach was far faster than the fastest carriage in the Imperial Capital.
They were magical beasts specially tamed with mana. When running on flat stone roads, a normal person simply couldn’t keep up.
But Julius was faster!
He didn’t run wildly on the wide main road—that would be too conspicuous.
While needing to stay hidden, he was actually closing the distance to that stagecoach using nothing but his own legs!
The black-haired youth’s figure turned into a blur in the shadows of the alley.
He kicked off a grimy wall, his body shooting into the air like a cannonball, precisely grabbing a third-floor windowsill.
His arms suddenly exerted force, his body tracing an incredible arc through the air, and he landed silently on the uneven rooftop of a residential building.
He no longer tried to hide.
The youth’s feet stamped across the rooftops, yet each step was soundless!
He was like a black panther hunting in the concrete jungle, ignoring all obstacles, chasing the target speeding along the main road in the most direct, most ruthless way.
After this breathtaking chase, the windrunner beast stagecoach finally stopped not far from the South City Gate of the Imperial Capital.
Julius had slowed down a kilometer away.
He leaped down from the rooftop and merged back into the shadows of the street.
His rapid breathing calmed completely within seconds.
He saw the carriage door open.
Helos and the blonde girl stepped out one after another.
They didn’t head to any nearby shops. Instead, they secretly slipped outside the city?
Julius hardly had time to rest. The ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger.
He hurriedly continued to follow.
The two girls’ steps were quick.
They passed the gate guards and left the Imperial Capital entirely.
Following the dirt road outside the city, they headed straight toward that forest, which looked somewhat eerie in the twilight.
Julius stood at the edge of the forest, watching the two petite figures walk without hesitation into that darkness.
He knew that tonight would probably not be peaceful.
The youth stared at their backs, let out a helpless sigh.