(Manami POV)
I entered the Grand Hall of the Divine Path Sect, where a meeting between the Sect Mistress and the other prominent members of the Sect was currently taking place.
This was the Sect that I got teleported to after stepping through the portal, the same one that tried to attack me when they saw me.
And because of that, I found out that our strength had been greatly enhanced after my simple fireball Technique killed their Sect Mistress, four of their Masters, seven of their Elders and burnt down half of their Grand Hall in one blow.
The current Sect Mistress was the next in line for the position and quickly ordered the entire Sect to submit to us. Smart girl.
Seeing my entrance, everyone within the hall quickly got down on a knee.
"This unworthy follower humbly welcomes High Priestess Manami!" The Sect Mistress greeted me with her head bowed low.
"Ara, ara? There's no need to be so tense you know? You have not done anything wrong this time, ufufufu~"
"T… Thank you… High Priestess…"
"Now just continue with what you're doing, I'm just passing through. No need to mind me at all~"
"Y… Yes!"
All of them stood back up while I went to an empty chair behind the Sect Mistress's seat, depositing myself in it unceremoniously.
The rest of them waited for me to sit down before following suit, trying their best not to glance in my direction while I busied myself with brushing my tails.
Without Master around, I've tried to take special care of my tails such that when we are reunited again, Master can enjoy my tail's fluffiness without holding back.
Ufufufu~ Just imagining Master immersing Himself into my tails while we cuddle each other… Ahhhn~ Such bliss~~
"Umm… As I was saying… What have our scouts reported about the power fluctuations?" The Sect Mistress asked, trying her best to recover the mood that was there before I entered.
One of the Elders stood up and bowed her head, "Reporting to Sect Mistress! My people have concluded that the explosion of Quarks located south east of Village One-two-seven has no relation to our most respected God!"
"Unnn… And the others?"
Another Elder stood up and bowed her head, "My apologies! My team has yet to reach the epicentre of the cause at the Eternal Winter Mountains! Could we ask for more time?"
The Sect Mistress turned to look at me but I pretended not to notice her gaze and continued brushing my tails.
She turned back to her, "Granted… I expect a report by tomorrow. As long as you can determine the signature is enough, no need for the scout team to go all the way to the epicentre."
"Yes! Thank you!"
"What about the incident at Village D?"
Another Elder stood up, "Reporting to Sect Mistress! My team managed to strike a deal with the locals and we were granted full rights to explore the impact zone! Preliminary inspections reveal that it might be 'Subject X' who was responsible for it! I have told them to double check it before reporting back with a confirmation!"
"Unn… I understand. Continue to monitor the area."
"Yes!"
Subject X, that was the name we gave the mysterious girl that Master had been chasing through the portal.
When I first saw her at the auction house with Master, I never thought that she would be someone of significance and paid no mind to her. That was my mistake it seems.
When we were told by Master's monsters that the girl had possessed 'a picture depicting a person with uncanny resemblance to Divine One', I knew she was not someone that could be overlooked.
Ara? Now that I think about it, my collections of Master's candid pictures seem to have stagnated recently. That's no good, I will need to make more when I have the time later, especially the memories of our beach trip with Master. The ones where we're all… Ufufufu~
Oh I'm already looking forward to having fun with those pictures in bed tonight~
One of the Master Practitioners stood up, "Reporting to Sect Mistress! The area around Alria town has been secured by the Tenebris Sect where another of that energy explosion had been recorded! They are stopping anyone from getting close to it, what should we do?"
My hands stopped just as the Sect Mistress turned back to look at me.
"Is that place close to the capital city?" I asked offhandedly.
The Sect Mistress gulped audibly, "Y… Yes… High Priestess…"
Both of our eyes met and I simply said to her, "Anyone who interferes with us deserves death. High Priestess Lian Li will go there to eradicate those insects tomorrow."
"Hi… High P…. P… Priestess Lian Li… Will? I… Understood!"
Since Lian Li said that she wanted to investigate one of the anomalies personally, I thought it would be alright to volunteer her for this small mission. But to these people who are still not used to our presence and power, hearing that one of us would be moving personally must be a big deal for them.
Not that it matters to me anyway since anything besides finding Master's whereabouts was not worth my time worrying over.
The fact that we have not yet found Master even after mobilising so many people and utilising all these resources is quite vexing to say the least.
All the tracking Techniques that we had secretly planted on Master were also not responding, it almost feels like there was someone intentionally making it difficult for us to find our beloved Master.
This is why I have little patience for anyone seen to be interfering with our search right now. If obliterating the Tenebris Sect would help us find Master even a second faster, I would not hesitate to raze their entire Sect to the ground.
With that said, I went back to brushing my tails, showing that I would leave the details to them.
The Sect Mistress caught on and quickly turned back to the others, "Issue an evacuation order out to any of our people around the area. Send Tenebris Sect an ultimatum and give a warning to the other Sects who are also there. Make sure the town is also properly informed about our arrival."
"Yes, Sect Mistress!"
Ufufufu~ This is why I like this girl quite a bit, she does have a smart head on her shoulders.
The fact that she took to worshipping Master quite easily helped her case quite a bit too. I have no use for anyone who is unable to see Master's greatness after all.
Ara? Alria town? I believe Brendan should be nearby there as well, I wonder how he and his group of 'merry men' are doing?
Maybe I should call him later and ask about his situation, wouldn't want him to be accidentally caught in Lian Li's lightning.
"Other than that, is there anything else to report?" The Sect Mistress asked.
Everyone remained silent.
"In that case, this meeting is adjourned. I trust all of you to complete your tasks in the name of our most benevolent God."
All of them dutifully clasped their hands together.
"All for Master."