The Incubus System Chapter 1496. The Search
The Incubus System Chapter 1496. The Search
I paused with my hand still on the door.
Right… Girls’ room. Basic manners.
“I forgot about that,” I grinned innocently.
“You forgot knocking?”
“I’ve had a morning.”
Puriel lowered herself slowly, feet touching the floor with soft grace. “Ethan, every morning you have is a morning.”
“Exactly. That’s the problem.”
Astra opened her eyes too.
And yeah.
She stared at me.
Not the usual hostile stare.
This one was weird.
Shy?
Tense?
Curious?
A little horrified?
And there was definitely a blush.
A faint one, but there.
Her eyes met mine, then flicked away for half a second, then returned as if she was forcing herself not to run.
I narrowed my eyes. “…Are you okay?”
Astra’s posture became instantly straighter midair. “I am perfectly fine.”
Puriel glanced at Astra. Then at me. Then smiled faintly like she knew something.
I decided to ignore it because my life already had enough landmines. “Anyway,” I said, stepping inside. “Nathan is missing.”
Puriel tilted her head. “Who is Nathan?”
I stared at her. “The demon hunter.”
Puriel waited.
“The one who gave speeches about justice and kept hunting me when I fought the demon lord last time?”
Puriel frowned. “Who?”
I slowly blinked.
Okay, fair.
To me, Nathan was extremely memorable because he kept appearing in my path like a holy mosquito with a sword.
To Puriel, he was probably just one of many loud humans wearing moral certainty like armor.
I tried again. “The demon hunter guy with seven light swords hovering behind him like seven tiny suns?”
Puriel’s eyes lit slightly. “Oh. I remember him.”
“There we go.”
“So he is missing?”
“Yeah.”
Puriel’s brows furrowed. “What is the big deal? I thought you do not like him.”
I deadpanned. “I don’t.”
Astra finally lowered herself to the floor, her expression sharpening now that the topic had become serious. “Then why are you concerned?”
“I’m not concerned.”
They looked at me.
Both of them said nothing.
“I’m not concerned for him,” I corrected. “I’m concerned because the Colossal Eye visited me this morning.”
That got a reaction.
Puriel’s face tightened.
Astra’s eyes narrowed immediately. “The eye?” she asked.
“Yeah. Tennis ball size. Peeked through a dimensional tear and warned me about Light making a move.”
Puriel stepped closer. “What did it say?”
I folded my arms. “It said the one who wants purity is moving. The one who sees me as failure. The one who dislikes corruption and sees me as a threat.”
Astra’s expression became grim.
Puriel’s too.
“Then it said that person will borrow someone’s hand.”
Astra went still.
Puriel’s gaze lowered in thought. “Borrow someone’s hand,” she repeated.
“Yeah. Which sounds exactly like prophecy garbage for ‘someone else will do the dirty work.’”
Astra nodded slowly. “That interpretation is reasonable.”
“Thanks. My skill in translating creepy eyeball nonsense is improving.” I looked back at Puriel. “So yeah. Nathan is missing, and I don’t think demons got that guy.”
Puriel tilted her head. “You are sure?”
“I will put my reputation on it.”
Astra blinked. “You have reputation?”
I looked at her.
She looked back.
Puriel coughed.
I pointed at Astra. “That was rude.”
“It was genuine curiosity.”
“Worse.”
Puriel smiled softly.
“But why are you so sure demons did not take him?”
“Because Nathan is strong,” I said. “Annoyingly strong. Also, the wild demons in the human realm have decreased. Most of the remaining ones are small fries. If a demon strong enough to capture Nathan appeared, I would probably sense something. Or Mrs. Clea would. Or the Association would scream loud enough to wake the neighbors.”
Astra’s gaze sharpened. “Then you believe the Light Realm took him?”
“I believe it’s possible.”
Astra stayed silent after that.
She didn’t know the history.
Didn’t know how he hunted me, how he tortured Larry, how he still somehow left my name behind as an emergency contact to his sister.
From her perspective, I probably sounded like I was preparing to save an enemy because a floating eyeball told me a riddle.
Which, okay, sounded bad when summarized.
Puriel watched me carefully. “So are we going to search for him?”
I gave her my best innocent smile. “Can you search for him?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Like via dream spell or something?” I added quickly.
Puriel looked at me. Deadpan. “Why don’t you?”
I blinked. “What?”
“You can search for him through meditation. Follow his mana thread.”
I winced. Technically possible.
My powers had evolved enough that if I had interacted with someone’s mana, aura, blood, or emotional imprint before, I could attempt to trace them through meditation. Not perfectly. But enough to find direction.
If I cared. That was the issue.
I scratched my cheek. “I don’t know if I can recognize him.”
Puriel’s deadpan deepened. “You fought him.”
“Do you know how many shiny weapon users exist in my life?”
Puriel stared.
I sighed. “I don’t know his mana, okay? I don’t like him.”
Puriel crossed her arms. “Maybe I should lock you both in a room and tie you together until you learn each other’s mana properly.”
A full-body shiver ran through me. Absolutely not. My soul rejected that idea before my brain finished processing it. “I would rather fight the king.”
Puriel smiled sweetly. “That bad?”
“Puriel, if you lock me and Nathan together, one of us will kill the other.”
Astra looked at me sharply.
Puriel sighed. “You are very petty.”
I nodded.
“And you want me to do the search because you do not want to waste effort on him?”
I smiled brighter.
Puriel did not smile.
Astra, annoyingly, watched my face like she was studying the method.
I immediately dropped the expression. I really needed to ask Puriel what happened with Astra yesterday.
Actually, no.
Maybe I didn’t want to know.
“I mean it,” I said, letting the joking tone fade a little. “Maybe the king got him. Or someone under the king. Just check in case.”
Puriel’s face softened.
I continued, “I don’t know the king’s mana thread. I don’t know Loira’s. I don’t even know if Nathan is the borrowed hand or the bait. But if the Light Realm is involved, you two have better chances recognizing the trace.”