Alex sat up straighter, his fingers tightening around the pendant.

Zahara and Mira, sensing his shift in mood, exchanged glances but remained silent, waiting for his response.

Alex knew how Vanessa was. He knew that she rarely reached out to him like this, and when she did, it was never without reason.

Taking a deep breath, Alex finally answered. “I’m in the Demon Realm’s Desolate.”

A long silence followed.

Vanessa didn’t respond immediately, and Alex could almost picture her expression—cold, unreadable, yet undoubtedly calculating everything she had just heard.

Desolate was a vast expanse, so one would ask where in desolate, but that was what was interesting about desolate.

Once you enter the desolate, you won’t get where you want to be.

Searching for something in the desolate was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

So Vanessa knew asking for Alex’s location was a waste of time.

Zahara and Mira, however, tensed beside Alex, both aware of the implications of Alex revealing his location.

The fortress he had established here was meant to be completely hidden, unknown to even the highest authorities.

Yet, knowing his mother, she had likely already searched every corner of the academy and found his absence alarming enough to reach out.

Finally, Vanessa spoke again, her tone devoid of any emotion. “Bring me there.”

She was sure Alex had some way of traveling in and out of the desolate, so she asked him to bring her there.

Alex exhaled slowly. There was no point in refusing. “Alright.”

………………………..

Minutes later, Alex, Zahara, and Mira sat across from Vanessa in a secluded chamber within the fortress.

It didn’t take long for Alex to bring them here because the teleportation device took an instant to move one from one place to another.

And the moment he had used the device to teleport himself to Originveil City, Vanessa, who had been waiting for his mana signature to appear, whooshed next to him.

Without delay, Alex brought her here.

Now, as she sat on her seat, Vanessa, as composed as ever, met Alex’s gaze with her usual piercing stare.

Her presence alone commanded the room, even though her body remained unnaturally still due to her condition.

Behind her stood Alenia—her shadow.

Alenia, unlike Vanessa, wore a small smile, her sharp yet warm eyes studying Alex with relief.

Beside Alenia, however, was someone unfamiliar.

A woman with striking features, long dark hair cascading over her shoulders, and an air of authority that Alex recognized instantly.

She was powerful. Very powerful.

She was someone Alex didn’t know, but Vanessa had asked to bring along.

‘It seems Mother trusts her…’ Alex concluded. Based on that conclusion, he had decided to trust her as well since Vanessa rarely trusted anyone.

But more than that, something in her expression—specifically how she kept her arms crossed and avoided looking directly at him—made Alex pause.

Vanessa spoke first. “This is Beatrice.”

Alex glanced at the woman again, watching her shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

His instincts told him she had some personal interest in him, though she wasn’t willing to acknowledge it.

It made him force himself down memory lane, trying to recall if he had seen this woman before, but he couldn’t think of any instance.

Still, he had no time to pry into that now.

“Why did you call me, Mother?” Alex asked, as this was the most pressing thing.

What could’ve made Vanessa do all of this?

Vanessa’s snowy eyes darkened. “There has been movement.”

“What kind of movement?” Alex asked, his voice steady.

Vanessa was silent for a moment before finally saying, “Your name has caught attention.”

Alex frowned. “Whose attention?”

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, Alenia stepped in, her voice softer but just as serious. “There are certain people who have begun taking an interest in you due to some… actions Beatrice has taken.”

Alex’s gaze flickered toward Beatrice, who finally looked at him but said nothing.

He could sense regret and apology in her expression, so he didn’t jump to any conclusion and make her into a bad person. He exhaled. “And what kind of interest are we talking about?”

“A dangerous one,” Vanessa said simply. “You’re being watched. And if they see an opportunity, they will come for you.”

Zahara and Mira stiffened, their gazes turning sharp. Mira’s grip on Alex’s sleeve tightened slightly, a silent but clear show of concern.

This action, of course, caught Vanessa’s eye as her own disciple seemed closer to her son than to herself.

Alex, however, leaned back, contemplating the weight of Vanessa’s words.

“Is this related to the attack during the competition?” He asked as this was the one instance where he couldn’t understand anything.

Those glitched beings that had interrupted the competition with him as their goal came suddenly and out of nowhere.

His words, however, made Vanessa, Alenia, and Beatrice frown.

They had just reached Originveil and started searching for him the first thing, so they didn’t have time to know what had happened in their absence.

Looking at their expression, Alex could make that out as well, so he decided to tell them everything.

He told them whatever had happened from the moment his fight with Valieth started to the moment he finished, when an elder from the academy came to his rescue.

Until now, Alex had faced many enemies but never felt as helpless as he felt back then, so the moment his mother talked about danger, that was the only thing that came to his mind.

The way even Alenia’s expression turned cold upon hearing him recite everything made him surer.

That incident was related to something he didn’t know about.

His enemies this time weren’t your normal enemies.

They were something else entirely.

“Who are they?” Alex asked, his firm voice breaking the silence.

Vanessa met his gaze, her expression unreadable, but a moment later, she shook her head. “That is something you don’t need to concern yourself with. Not yet.”

Alex clenched his jaw but didn’t argue.

He knew her well enough to understand that if she was withholding information, it was because the truth was more dangerous than she was willing to let on.

Beatrice, still silent, finally spoke, her voice carrying a slight edge. “Regardless, you need to be careful. This isn’t something you can ignore.”

Alex smirked slightly, though his eyes remained serious. “When have I ever ignored a challenge?”

Alenia sighed, shaking her head fondly, while Vanessa simply stared at him, her cold mask never breaking.

“You can joke all you want, but from now on, every move you make will be watched,” Vanessa said. “Be prepared.”

Alex nodded before he curiously asked. “Still, Mother, do you think this enemy would be able to find me here?”

By here, Alex meant the castle in the desolate, and Vanessa, instead of answering, glanced at Beatrice, who nodded, taking a device out of her storage ring.

A holographic image of the castle and its surroundings popped up in front of them the second she brought it out.

Alex stared at it in amazement as he saw Beatrice zooming out on the image, and slowly, she found out where they were in the desolate.

That, however, was only possible because she was in the castle, so she hummed thoughtfully before replying to Alex’s question in Vanessa’s stead.

“It would take a while, but yes, they can find you if they want to.”

Those words didn’t deter Alex, though; he grinned. “What if this place continuously keeps changing its location within desolate?”

As soon as that question was asked, Beatrice’s expression froze as she stared at Alex in disbelief.

Moving a place as big as this wasn’t impossible, but continuously?

Only Orginveil City—the strongest force on the planet—had ever been able to do it; that alone spoke volumes.

That was why they all knew if this palace could move, then finding them would be almost impossible.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep