Transcendent Gene-Chapter 285: The Old Duke [1]

The party didn’t stay in the bunker for a moment longer than they needed to. Fabian was the only real connection they made before the entire situation collapsed, so there wasn’t anything tying them to the space.

Even as they rushed through the sewer tunnels, they couldn’t avoid the bloodshed. They had no choice but to charge through it to escape.

’Then tunnels are being invaded through the closest entrances. None of those are the ones we usually use to enter or exit.’

The main entrance to the bunker was a drain that could be accessed from the outside, but there was a secondary exit that they’d been taught when they first left.

’We just have to follow the same path again.’

More and more of the Old Duke’s forces were pouring in with every passing second, and the legions of them fighting outside could be heard even from below the earth.

Even knowing that they were djinns, it was hard to watch the scenes of slaughter they were forced to ignore to save themselves.

Gio didn’t know if it was because they were lucky or if they were being intentionally ignored because they were young. Whatever the reason, they were barely targeted. The few who tried to challenge them didn’t give chase when they continued to run without paying them any mind.

The world worked its magic to allow the four of them out of the sewers before the point of no return. They climbed out of the tunnels and looked at what was happening outside.

Lyverne was a mess. The Old Duke’s forces were causing mayhem everywhere. The corpses on the street told Gio that they were killing anyone who didn’t directly submit.

Almost every entrance to the sewer was destroyed. Even the manholes in the street were carved out into shafts leading into the tunnels below.

The number of people outside was in the thousands at the very least, but that number was decreasing as more and more of them entered the sewers below.

’The mansion is in that direction. I don’t see much over the–’

Gio’s eyes narrowed out of nowhere. He stopped the party’s rush and abruptly forced them to take cover nearby as he went over his memories to confirm what he’d seen.

In the next moment, he was peeking back in the direction they came, looking for what he’d seen.

It was easy to find. The sight stood out more than anything else on the battlefield.

There was a man in the distance.

A grey and white pinstripe suit, a cane, a pair of circular glasses, and a cigar defined his aesthetic. He was indeed a large man as he was described. His belly was massive, but with his height, it made him look more like an ogre than anything else.

He walked calmly through the chaos that intentionally avoided him out of fear and respect. His identity as the Old Duke couldn’t be questioned.

Gio’s sudden pause alerted the other members of his party, who soon looked over as well. They realized his identity as fast as he did, but they didn’t understand why Gio was concerned with his presence.

The Old Duke was a powerful figure in the scenario, but he wasn’t someone they had to focus on. In fact, his presence at the sewer was exactly why they had a chance to hit the mansion.

Wasn’t their main priority to reach it?

That was indeed the case before Gio spotted the man.

Unfortunately, [Memory Book] existed. Gio couldn’t forget what he saw even if it only appeared in the world for a single second.

The wind breezed past the Old Duke as he strolled the battlefield. His goal was a sewer tunnel that served as the main entrance to the bunker.

His suit jacket blew open in the wind before he pulled it closed and buttoned it so it would not do so a second time.

They were there. Two unmistakable crystalline nameplates that could be nothing other than the clues Gio was searching for. He’d seen three of them by now, so they were hard to miss.

He gritted his teeth and looked back at his party members.

"Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it," Serene said before he could speak.

They were in a relatively safe area outside the sewers, but the world around them was covered in battle. They didn’t have the freedom to take a detour for whatever Gio was plotting.

’But this chaos is also my best chance to grab those. I can’t risk it being taken away.’

"He has the clues on his body. I’m going to try to grab them," he said.

"You can’t," Serene immediately responded.

"It’s too dangerous. If he was alone, maybe the four of us could take him, but his people are all around here. We’ll go down before we can–"

"No. There’s no ’we.’"

Gio stopped her. He also knew that the mansion was also an important objective.

On one side were the treasures that would help them grow and on the other were the building blocks to an even greater reward that would come if they cleared the quest before anyone else.

"I’m going to trail him and see what I can do. The three of you go ahead. If I don’t rendezvous with you at the mansion, then wait for me at last night’s campsite."

"What? How can you–"

Boom!

"Now is not the time for arguments."

Gio looked at Neriah, knowing she was the only one who wouldn’t try to fight out of concern.

"Our best outcome is the one where we get both of these things done at once. I trust the three of you to secure the treasures in the mansion without my help. Trust me to do the same with the clues."

The fact that they were three and he was one didn’t matter. Even before they entered the scenario, the three of them barely had a chance to defeat him.

Neriah narrowed her eyes with a frown. They were pressed for time, so they truly didn’t have the freedom to argue. She had to make a split-second decision.

"Haa..."

She knew what she had to do.

"You two," she said as she grabbed Shiro and Serene.

"You’re following my lead now. Any objections?"

They had plenty of objections, but they didn’t get the chance to voice them. When Neriah grabbed them, Gio gave her a grateful look and rushed in the direction of the Old Duke.

"He’s stronger than all of us combined, and I have a feeling that he’s still hiding parts of his strength. If he’s stronger alone, then let him go alone this time. You can voice any complaints when all of this is over."

Neriah didn’t make any attempts to make them feel better. She was equally perturbed, but she couldn’t deny that it was the best way for them to split themselves to prioritize efficiency.

"Let’s move."

She got up with the other two in tone. Shiro and Serene looked back at Gio, who was only a blue blur in the distance by now, and begrudgingly followed after Neriah.

On the other side, Gio became the wind as he hopped between buildings and tailed the Old Duke. He only slowed down when he got close, and even then, he stayed relatively far away to keep himself concealed.

’He’s being intentionally intimidating.’

Every step the Old Duke took was meant to strike fear into the hearts of those around him. The battles outside were quiet with most of the action being inside the sewers, but everyone who saw him immediately froze.

Some of them ran inside to warn others while others gave up hope entirely and fled. Gio watched it all happen with a deep frown.

’The others are leaving. Why is that?’

When Gio first started trailing the Old Duke, he sensed the presence of other people who were doing the same. Those presences slowly dwindled until he could no longer feel any of them.

Were they trying to avoid the sewers?

’Or is there something I don’t know about?’

As Gio contemplated it, the Old Duke suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"You’re not someone who should have the balls to trail me."

It was fine to think of it as a bluff, but that changed when he shifted his gaze to directly where Gio was hiding.

’Is it a Sequence? I didn’t expose myself at all. If he knows anything, it’s a general location. I just have to move.’

Gio’s heart jumped when he was called out, but he didn’t immediately panic. As quietly as he could, he tried to move away from the rooftop and make more distance.

"There were a few others before, but they all ran away when we got this close to the fighting. You’re the only one that stayed," the Old Duke continued, his tone not rushed in the slightest.

"Is it because you’re confident, or because you’re stupid?"

Boooooooom!

For a second, Gio doubted whether their power was really suppressed to the same level or not. With a swipe of his arm, the Old Duke released a wave of furious energy that demolished the building Gio was standing on.

His eyes widened as the floor fell from beneath him.

’I’m caught.’

It wasn’t a general location. The enemy knew exactly where he was. It could only be the results of a tracking or perception Sequence.

The rubble gave Gio good cover that he could use to retreat. At the very least, he could avoid fighting the person who was feared by the entirety of Lyverne.

’...but I came for those tags.’

His goal wasn’t surveillance. Now that he was caught, he couldn’t delay a confrontation.

He had to see what the Old Duke was about before deciding that retreat was necessary.