Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Argo drop me down there. And wait nearby."

Eren commanded his demon beast. The latter released an eagle cry before descending to the ground. Argo didn't have to land on the ground. Eren jumped from Argo's back when he maintained an altitude of approximately 10 meters.

Argo flew off in the same direction he came from. He had seen a few mana beasts he could hunt and eat in the nearby forest. He was preparing to do just that.

Eren had landed near the city of Ainari. Since it was located a bit away from the Badlands borders, it had a bustling trade of merchants and rankers alike.

He was here to meet Dianna Remus. The ranger of his team had offered him a barren plot of land, which was later converted into a guild asset.

One of the main attractions in Ainari was the Remus auction house. The other was a place called Mystic Revitalization. They both attracted a lot of rankers. The increase in rankers' numbers would spike every month as the auction event was arranged at the start of every month.

In more ways than one, the city of Ainari was a lot like the city of Nilami from the duchy of Lionheart. It had its own set of laws. But where the city of Nilami was mostly frequented by cultists, the city of Ainari was populated by neutral rankers.

Of course, Eren wasn't here to take part in any auction. He was too broke to even consider anything like that. At least for now. He was here to get his hands on the Total Control spell as well as Diana.

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"You finally made it. I was beginning to think you weren't cut out for this deal. Hehe."

Dianna greeted Eren with a friendly hug and led him inside a building. The place was named Misty Revitalization. They had walked together inside the building.

Dianna had worn a cute dress in white with red stripe accents over it. It complimented her wine-red hair. It was neither too tight nor too loose, stretching till her knees. Her red lips, deep-looking eyes, and petite nose made her look pretty and playful at the same time.

Her hip-length hair was tied in a simple bun. She smelled of lavender and all kinds of floral freshness. She did not wear any accessories on her. And she didn't need those to grab attention. Her presence alone was enough for that job.

Mystic Revitalization was a one-story building located near the northern district of the city of Ainari. It had a spacious and luxurious lobby. The space was well lit and smelled of an ocean breeze, thanks to the usage of arrays.

The facility had a large welcoming counter that was manned by young and cheerful women attendants with smiles plastered on their faces. They all stood in a straight line along the length of the long counter, welcoming their patrons one at a time.

"Good morning, dear guests. How can we revitalize you today?"

The waitress asked when it was the duo's turn to make a reservation. Eren wasn't aware of anything about the place so he let Dianna take the lead.

"Hello. We would like to book a spot for two for the whole day today. Which venues are currently available?"

Dianna asked elegantly while tucking her hair behind her ears. The attendant replied promptly.

"Of course madam.

We have Abandoned Lake, Underground City, Barren Garden, Moonview Hill, Misty Spring…"

The attendant started speaking a bunch of names or terms that Eren didn't completely get. But he saw Dianna's eyes lit up when she mentioned that Misty Spa was available. She replied hastily.

"Please book Misty Spring for us for the whole day. Here's our payment."

Dianna didn't waste time. She booked Misty Spa by paying upfront in Extols. The latter received the money in the array placed near her side of the counter.

"Thank you for choosing Misty Spa, dear guests. Here is your array key. You can do it whenever you feel like it."

The attendant placed a palm-sized array disk on the counter after confirming the payment. Dianna nodded at her and took the array key before grabbing Eren's arm with her other hand. She then led him towards a giant array.

The array was being used by a lot of people at once. They would walk inside the 15-meter large array eye and use their array key by imbuing their mana over it. The rankers would disappear from their spots in the next moment.

"Hehehe, this will be fun, Eren. Imbue it with your mana. I'll do the same."

Dianna asked Eren to hold the array disk from one end while she held it from the other. The butcher smiled at her, seeing her excitement. He then did what his companions had asked him to do. Soon after, the pair was teleported away from their location.

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"Hmm. This place is… interesting."

Eren said as he found himself in a seemingly different place than the city of Ainari. That's because this place wasn't buzzing with people. There were no densely placed buildings or facilities.

The spring in front of him kept on producing bubbles. The spring was like a giant pond that had been well-defined by man-made architecture.

There was an outer dining table shed nearby the spring along with a one-story wooden cottage that was carved with elemental runes.

The place looked real, as did everything inside it. But there was a touch of mysticism surrounding it. That's because a layer of dense white fog had surrounded the spring. As a result, this spa seemed both real and fictional to Eren.

Eren also found out that he and Dianna were not alone in this seemingly isolated space. The pair were greeted by two gorgeous unranked lady servants.

Dianna led him to the open dining space near the bubbling spring. The butcher smiled at what was in front of him. A variety of cuisines were placed over the dining table– awaiting the duo's consumption.