Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

"So, did you feel her presence?" Ethan asked.

"No. You?" Ian shook his head.

"I have some tracking skills, but since I am not good at that kind of thing, I didn't use it," Ethan explained. "I might have revealed who we were if I tried."

"Well, it doesn't matter," Ian shrugged. "Emily knows our presence, so she will appear if she is around… probably."

There is always the chance that Emily even might try to leave the city after learning that they have come for her. After all, she was prideful enough to refuse all sorts of help. There is also the issue that her actions might cause some problems for her family. Things like that could be solved if Emily learns about how come they came for her, but for that to happen, they had to meet first.

"It may be possible that she is out of the city with her dad," Ethan said.

"That is unlikely," Ian said. "In this kind of situation, many soldiers and summoned heroes like us would stay most of the time near the dungeon. So, in the middle of the day, Emily and her father would also be easily spotted in an area where only the country's inhabitants were supposed to be. Those two will probably come to the scene at night, where they can't be easily found."

Ethan nodded. In the end, Emily's father had come to help some friends of his, but he won't be able to help anyone by causing a ruckus by exposing himself that much. In any case, they waited for quite a while in that cafe where they could be easily spotted from the hotels which the tourists used. However, Emily never showed up.

"We should get going," Ethan said. "It is getting late, and I am tired of drinking coffee."

"What?" Ian frowned. "You didn't even drink two cups."

"I prefer juice," Ethan said.

"Why didn't you order that, then?" Ian asked.

"It would be weird to order juice with my current appearance," Ethan shrugged.

Ian sighed. Ethan was really like a clumsy warrior down to his very core; he wasn't malleable to that kind of job and worried about the weirdest stuff. Still, Ian had to agree with him. Even though they only had been in the city for an hour or so, it was already getting dark since Ghana was in another zone, several hours ahead of their home country.

Although they headed to a certain hotel to rent some rooms, it was only for the sake of appearance since they were planning to investigate the area where the dungeon appeared at night. After all, both of them had the skills to leave the capital without letting anyone notice. After ordering some food using the services of the hotel, both of them waited until 09:00 to move. They met at the rooftop of the building.

"Hey, Ethan," Ian said. "If something happens, don't use your big sword. I know that you like to show off and everything, but it will be bad if we use our main fighting style when the time comes. Use some daggers or magic instead."

Ethan ignored Ian's taunts, but he recognized the fact that he had a point. Although he was planning to change his main weapon eventually, his fighting style still could be identified. Fighting with his fists seemed like the best option, but that wasn't good either for similar reasons. Although Ethan learned a little bit about how to fight using two daggers, he decided to go with magic for now.

After that, those two began to cross the capital by using the rooftops of the buildings. Although Ethan wasn't that quiet, he at least could decrease the noise he made whenever he landed by using Dark Stealth. As for Ian, he could jump several meters in the air and still land on the ground without making any noise.

When they left the capital, Ethan and Ian saw several tanks positioned around it. Still, they didn't know if that was really a good idea. While defending the capital was necessary, if they thought it was necessary to go that far, perhaps evacuating the place was the most logical thing to do. After all, if the government decides to do that, they also are sealing the only exit of the place since, on the other side, the inhabitants will only find the ocean.

"It looks like you two managed to sneak out. Can you give us a proper status report of what you saw?"

"Didn't you hear us talking?" Ethan asked.

"I wouldn't try to eavesdropping the talks of two teenagers. We are working together this time, but even though it is only temporary, some level of respect and privacy is necessary."

Ethan wasn't used to that kind of stuff, so Ian gave the report. When they heard that the first attempt to locate Emily failed, they had some conclusions. It was unexpected, but maybe Emily had left the capital along with her father and probably wouldn't return until the whole situation was solved.

"To think that they would expose themselves that much… No… maybe there are working with the inhabitants of Ghana while disguised as mercenaries. Even though, for the sake of appearances, most countries wouldn't ask for help, things are different when mercenaries come into play. They have to obey the contract and, for the sake of their fame, don't spread around intel about their previous contractors."

Ethan and Ian nodded at each other. That would make sense, and if some local bigshot said that they were mercenaries, only someone stupid would try to prove otherwise when a bigger problem was troubling the country.

"I will try to find if someone influential in the area has ties with Emily's father. If I don't return with intel before you two arrive on the scene, wait for a while before doing anything."

"All right," Ethan said.

Ethan and Ian knew that approaching an area filled with mercenaries armed with magic items and summoned heroes wasn't a good idea. They had more mana than most individuals, so their presence would be quickly and easily felt. It was better to play it safely before anything.

The area between Accra and the dungeon was completely dark since the government was using all possible resources to keep the dungeon and the area around it completely in check. Still, even from a distance and without any proper help to find it, Ethan and Ian found the place amidst the darkness. The smell of blood was that strong… and by the look of things, the situation wasn't under control yet.