Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

The atmosphere within the city was weird. Cedric didn't need his superior senses to notice that.

It was a prickly feeling that just rubbed you the wrong way. It's faint enough that not everybody could sense it, only those who pay attention would notice the tension in the air.

Ultimately though, Cedric was different than most...

With how large his field of senses has grown, he could tell the majority of the things he wanted to know wherever he was in this city.

He didn't need to unfold his field of senses completely to notice a few figures dashing amongst the shadows. He didn't intend to spy on them and it's not his fault that he could sense them. It's either they're lousy or his senses are just way too good.

...the latter seems more plausible.

Flipping channels, he didn't discover any news talking about this, which probably means that it's a cover operation.

His guess? It's to catch the cultists that have scattered across the city. He did catch them in the act after all. And while he didn't participate in their apprehension, he told Arishem where they must've sparked this covert 'witch-hunt'.

'Will they find them on their own?' Cedric mused to himself.

It's not strange for him to have doubts. After all, if it weren't for his tip, who would've known that hidden base? If not him, then the authorities might've taken longer to discover them. How much damage would they cause if they were given more time?

'Eh, I'll leave it up to them. I shouldn't underestimate their means. They're in this business for longer than I have anyway.'

He didn't like the idea of doubting the authorities but that couldn't be helped. Right now though, he decided to not interfere.

Was he testing them? Probably. But while he could say that he was already involved in this, Arishem hadn't revealed his identity yet.

He doesn't have a firm grasp of Arishem's attitude and tendencies but he would know if his identity was compromised. The System would notify him of that. And since the System hasn't alerted him yet, it's safe to say that he's still a nobody in their eyes.

"Cedric, hey!"

He was woken out of his stupor by a sudden greeting from his neighbor.

"Oh, hi Erica! Welcome back!" He replied while relaxing on his lawn.

"Yeah, I just returned yesterday night." She said while adjusting her hat. "By the way, thanks for looking after my house. It looks just like how I left it. I thought that I'd come home to a dust-filled house but I guess not. How did you do that? I don't remember giving you a key."

"Ah, that? It's nothing. Just a little array I built during my free time. I didn't enter your house, actually, I didn't even step foot on your property at all. I just left the array disk on your lawn and that did the rest for me. Oh, speaking of which."

Cedric took out a device and pressed it, causing the said array to deactivate. The disk then flew out towards him and he cleanly caught it.

"There's no use for this being there since you've already returned." He smiled as he pocketed the disk.

"Wow, I didn't know that you can make those." Erica sounded impressed.

"I remember telling you that I'm a Scribe, though?"

"You did?" Erica tilted her head and thought for a bit, then as if she suddenly remember, she grimaced and cursed: "Shit! I just remember. Yeah, you certainly did alright. Gee, me my and my poor memory. Sorry about that."

Cedric stared at her for a bit before replying: "It's alright. Happens to the best of us. But you look quite tired still. Have you gotten any sleep yet?"

He raised a brow since he could just feel the sheer exhaustion emanating from her. Erica probably wasn't aware of how haggard she looked or how unhealthy she appeared to Cedric.

"I did get some sleep but not a lot." Erica smiled tiredly. "I don't know, I want to sleep too but I just can't for some reason. Maybe I just needed some sunlight and food and I'll be okay. Don't worry about me though, if things escalate, I'll call for a doctor."

"Well, if you say so. I'll leave you to it then. Rest well."

"I'll try. See 'ya!" Erica then left and returned indoors.

Cedric however, kept looking her way, sporting a faint frown on his face as he stared at her retreating visage.

Mumbling something to himself, he shrugged and returned to his home.

All of a sudden, he paused. Then, he made his way towards the kitchen. He prepared several drinks like tea, coffee, soft drinks, lemonade, and plain water. He also made several snacks while he was at it.

He then brought all of them with him to the living room using a tray. He placed them down on the table and sat down on his comfy couch. With a wave of his hand, the security system of his house was deactivated.

"You all can come in. I've prepared some snacks and drinks for you."

Swoosh

All of a sudden, three people appeared out of nowhere. One was an old man who looked a bit smug and not at all surprised that Cedric sensed them while the other two looked the exact opposite.

"I told you, the brat's senses are quite scary. He sensed us coming way ahead of time that he even made these for us." Arishem softly commented as he sat on the couch. "Well? Don't just stand there with mouths agape, come here and accept the kid's hospitality."

The other two visitors woke up from their stupor and began moving. From their body language, they appear to be on guard towards him.

This behavior was understandable. After all, they just got a taste of what it's like to be completely exposed after so many years. Just like Arishem, his companions were also people who move behind the scenes, it wouldn't be wrong to call them assassins too.

Assassins were meant to be unseen. In fact, they don't 'exist', yet here was a man who not only sensed from afar but also was decent enough to welcome them openly to his house.

This behavior alerted them greatly, but since Arishem seems to be at ease with the man, they have no choice but to believe in him.

"Good tea, Kid. Much better than the shops around these parts." Arishem commented.

"Thank you, Sir. I haven't got much practice so I'm glad that you liked it." Cedric replied politely.

He then paid attention to the two stiff men sitting down beside their colleagues and asked: "Uh, is there anything not to your liking? If so then please tell me. I'll try to accommodate you."

"N-no, no! There's no need. We don't mean to offend but you must understand that this is highly...unusual, for us. Please excuse our behavior."

"Right, we're just not used to being...noticed."

"...I could imagine. Don't worry, I mean no harm." Cedric smiled as he took a sip of his coffee. "May I know the purpose of your visit then? I'm afraid I wasn't informed ahead of time."

'That's because you weren't supposed to know at all. In fact, this setup shouldn't have happened in the first place!' The two strangers exclaimed inwardly.

"I believe you already have an idea, but well...it's about what happened last night." Arishem unceremoniously revealed.

His companions looked distraught by how casual he was acting. Forget about that actually, this whole thing was weirdly 'casual'. This wasn't how they usually operate because...you know, they're assassins and all.

"Ah, that!" Cedric exclaimed but didn't look surprised. "That discovery was quite a coincidence on my part though. I was originally out to unwind but my senses picked up a sinister presence. And since you're the only person from the authorities I know of personally, I called you instead."

"...was it a mistake that I did that?" Cedric asked, sounding unsure.

"No, no, no!" Arishem along with his companions shook their heads. "If anything, that's probably the perfect move to make in a situation like that cause if the public were to know of what happened there, this city might've turned upside down."

"Understatement of the year." One of his colleagues commented softly on the side.

"That bad, huh?" Cedric hummed.

Now he felt a bit left out since he didn't spy on the operation last night. Well, how could he have known that it was going to be big? He just senses a sinister presence, that's all. Besides, he was with someone at that time so he didn't think much about it.

"Real bad. So bad that the reputation of the 12 Zodiac Saints is at great risk if this information were to be released in public." Arishem replied, much to the surprise of his colleagues.

They weren't expecting him to reveal that piece of information at all.

"Am I authorized to learn of what happened?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, you are. You're at Lv.8 System Authority. If anything, I'd say that you're supposed to know."

"Lv.8 System Authority!?" The two beside him looked at Cedric incredulously.

Cedric could only smile wryly at their reactions.