Chapter 356 - Faceoffs
Scarlett stood silent for a long moment, her gaze sweeping over the newly arrived group.
How had they made it this deep already? That part still didn’t make sense.
Her party had been the first to enter Beld Thylelion. That much she was sure of. The system itself had essentially confirmed it, and she had little reason to doubt it on that front. They’d also taken a near-direct route toward the middle layers of the ruins. Even if another group had entered right after them, they shouldn’t have been able to catch up this fast.
Unless, of course, they hadn’t entered through traditional means. Had they come in another way, like she had?
Beside her, Fynn narrowed his eyes. “They look familiar.”
Scarlett turned slightly towards him. “In what way?”
“They’re wearing masks. Like those ones from before. The Adepts.”
“Adepts?” Kat asked, frowning. “Wait, as in Cabal Adepts? Like the creeps you and I took on in that ambush, Scarlett?”
Scarlett met her gaze briefly, then looked back to the group ahead. “…Presumably.”
She squinted at them again. It was hard to tell from this distance, but the theory held. This was the Hallowed Cabal, then. If so, those likely weren’t Cabal Adepts, but Cabal Ascendants. To her current party, the Adepts would be little more than fodder. The Ascendants, though… They could be more of a nuisance. At least in larger numbers.
Was this better or worse than the Undead Council?
She stayed quiet for a while longer, thoughts threading through the possibilities. Her eyes swept over her companions. Most of them were waiting on her signal. Arnaud’s brow was furrowed, his sharp gaze shifting between her and the Cabal with quiet, assessing focus.