As he lay eyes on the noble district below him and at the small group responsible for the mess, Attal felt the creepy gaze before he could pick up on its source. It wasn’t coming from the nobles watching disapprovingly from behind their windows with thinly veiled contempt at the “barbarism” taking place outside their so-precious estates. It wasn’t his own people, either.

  It was the yellow eyes. And he knew for a fact that the pair below looking up at him weren’t the only ones.

  It was as if he’d stepped in the territory of some swarm of beasts and had all of them turn toward him, appraising, considering if he was prey or not. Already, Attal’s vision was picking up on the signatures all around him and if he focused, he could see past the invisibility at the humanoid inky shapes. Some were above him. Some around. And multiple sets were looking at him from below, though these had the shapes of octopuses. But all of them, all of them felt the same. All were from the same being. Of that he was sure.

  It made his skin crawl.

  Setting his gaze on the man who had neutralized First Landing’s elites, Attal’s Identify punched right through the measly veil that had attempted to shroud its level. He didn’t know what he was about to find. Some sort of hivemind, he assumed, and already, his crossbow was shining as his mana flowed into the enchantments of the handle, collecting into a purple, blinding bolt. He wasn’t about to shoot it, as the situation didn’t call for it yet. But he was ready.

  [Veilwatch Kraken (B+) - Level 59]

  Attal frowned, and his finger moved away from the trigger.

  A kraken? B+?

  Curious. He was aware of the half-step rank, but he hadn’t expected a non-sapient to reach it. Then again, considering the display and the disguise, it was clearly sapient. And it had sensed his Identify slipping through its shroud, considering the flare of telepathic concepts he saw, now that he was looking for it. His gaze swiveled to the second individual, another one that was hiding, and his eyes squinted further.

  [Wanderlust Hermit (B+) - Level 44]

  It waved at him, a big smile on its human face, and as Attal looked into the third figure, he wasn’t even sure what to expect. Another sea dweller, he assumed. But the reality somehow took the wind out of his sails.

  [Human (B+) - Level 3]

  Narrowing his eyes, Attal tried to make sense of the situation. In what circumstance would a kraken, a “hermit”, and a human work together? Plus, considering the vest the girl was wearing, Attal recalled who was currently on his island and who had basically dropped this mess on his lap.

  Stowing the crossbow back in storage—at least for now—he flew lower, his cape trailing after him and though he was still pretty damn annoyed, curiosity got the better of him, a smile still tugged on the corner of his lips.

  “What the hell is she up to now?”

  ***

  Henry was happy to see the crossbow stowed away. Partially. But honestly? He was also a little disappointed. The purple bolt that had been charging within had made his skin tingle and he’d been wondering how he’d defend against it, but having the opportunity taken away had kind of miffed him. It was like yawn that never came through. Or a tight neck that wasn’t cracked.

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  “[He looks cool,]” whispered Maurice in their telepathic channel. “[Ash, are you sure that’s him?]”

  “[Yes. Purple cape. Purple eyes. Crossbow. That’s Attal.]”

  To Henry, the man looked like what he pictured a rich, noble mercenary hunter to look like. He wore dark, sleek leathers that shone to his senses with magic, with matching thin gloves. A cape swished behind him, making him look like a superhero as he floated lower toward them, and when he finally reached the ground, his dark boots hit the pavement silently while he never stopped examining them. Removing his right glove, a pale hand went up, scratching the stubble under his jaw as his eyes went from one to the next, pausing on the two Octominds that were immobilizing the two B-ranks.

  “I take you all three are with Velistraine?”

  His tone was curious, his voice… normal. And it didn’t really feel like a question. Like, he already knew what he was asking, he just needed the confirmation.

  “We are. Are you Attal of the Isles?”

  Attal had been looking at Ash when he had finished the question, so his brow lifted a little when it was Henry who answered. The man’s head tilted to the side. “I am.”

  Henry smiled. He knew that the man had seen through him already, he had felt his shroud destabilizing earlier before he managed to fix it so he wasn’t kidding himself. The man knew his nature, but he still had put his crossbow away and flew down to talk. So there was hope.

  “Great,” Henry said while next to him, Maurice waved, a big smile on his face. As for Ash, she kept quiet, giving the man a short bow. “We’ve come to talk to you, us and Velistraine. Though a little scuffle happened here,” Henry explained, nodding back at the still wet street. “Our friend had a disagreement with a noble and apparently, the local watch would rather back the man who almost assaulted their forces than the ones who had protected them. We tried to talk them down, but they insisted on their Skill-suppressing restraints and well… we’re not doing that. So we’re hoping you’d be able to mediate the matter? We’d be cool with paying a fine, if that’s possible. For disturbing the peace.”

  Attal listened quietly, pacing left and right, but while his attention on them never slipped, his eyes did twitch at the mention of the involvement with the nobility and when Henry was done, the man continued his silence, staring, until Henry began feeling weirded out until finally, the A-rank broke the silence as he played with one of the rings on his finger. “Mediate, huh… You’re not really a kraken, are you?”

  In response, Henry only grinned, then shrugged. “I am. But we don’t really know each other much for me to tell you my life story.”

  “Fair enough,” the A-rank said, nodding. “A fine, then. Sure. While we’ll be reviewing the details of this incident,” he said, glancing up at the B-rank still watching above—who threw down a quick salute—before looking back at Henry, “I could make the whole issue disappear if you help me test something out. You did escalate things to bring me out here. You did waste some of my time. So how about you give me a hand with a project of mine?”

  It was Henry’s turn to raise a brow and apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had suddenly felt a little creeped out. Through their connection, Ash’s voice floated into his mind. “[Be careful. Attal has a reputation for—]”

  A mental shriek suddenly filled the air, shattering the telepathic connection, and for the first time in a minute, Henry flinched. Ahead of them, Attal was still playing with the golden ring on his finger, but another one on his thumb was glowing with a quickly receding pink light as he spoke casually.

  “I’d like it if we keep the conversation out here, if you don’t mind.”

  “You could have just said that,” Maurice grumbled at the man, a pained grimace still on his face, and while Henry agreed, he didn’t want to harp on it. He didn’t want to make the situation unnecessarily more tense. But he was still a little annoyed, and he was pretty sure it came through in his response. “Fair. We didn’t know that was so offensive it warranted that reaction,” Henry simply said. “But fine. I’ll help you with whatever it is you’re testing. It might be better to go off the coast, though. Wouldn’t want to reduce any of the local buildings to rubble.”

  Attal gave him a bland smile. “Makes sense to me. Lead the way. You,” he said turning up to the B-rank above. “Leave them be. Get back to the HQ. Take those with you,” he said, nodding to the C-rank squad.

  The woman gave him a crisp salute. “Yes, sir!”

  With them dealt with, Henry turned to his companions. “Maurice, Ash, head back to the inn,” he said, and he gave Ash a look that he hoped she’d understand. If she started more trouble in the next few minutes, she’d be on her own so they’d better lay low. “I’ll see you guys in a bit,” he said, and while he didn’t put any emphasis on his words, he appreciated the fact that neither of them objected. The two nodded, with Maurice throwing the A-rank a narrow-eyed look, and with that, Henry lifted himself up in the air. With the A-rank close behind him, he flew toward the sea, propelling himself with a smooth use of Telekinesis while keeping an eye on the caped figure flying after him.

  Henry had no clue what the man wanted to test, but he was looking forward to poking holes in it.

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