As he got closer, he was able to sense more people who were coming inside and out of the warehouse. There were at least half a dozen of them.
However, what really got his attention was the empty void he detected in the building. It sort of reminded him of when Dante removed himself from his spatial perception, but larger.
He suspected it was some sort of spatial isolation barrier, that prevented any teleportation.
It was kind of like the ones that were set up at Goldencrest, but this was way less subtle. But it also prevented Julius, from being able to sense what was going on inside of this space. And that was annoying.
While he hadn't been able to find Reinera yet, it would be a pretty good guess to say that she was within that barrier.
He needed to find out more about what was inside, which also meant he needed to get closer. So with mindful steps, he carefully snuck past the people and peeked around without being noticed.
Second time today that I am acting like a thief, he mused to himself.
When he got near, he finally saw what the barrier looked and felt like from up close.
It was basically an enchanted barrier that contained the entire internal space of the warehouse, with inscriptions running up along the wall.
His biggest problem was that he didn't know how he was going to get past the barrier.
He had no idea if the barrier would detect his presence if he walked past it. Although, he was expecting something like that, otherwise what was the use of a barrier?
However, there must have been a way for the other people to enter. Julius had seen several people walk through a doorway, that was covered by the barrier with no problem. The issue was how was he going to do it.
So for the next hour or so, he just sat in a dark corner and observed.
He watched as people came in and out of the barrier, with no issues. It was only after a very close inspection that he noticed something.
It was fast and he had been overlooking it this entire time, but there was a flash of mana the second they entered the barrier.
It took another several looks at it before he was confident, but once he was, he was able to see it clearly.
The moment these people would pass through the barrier, a charge of mana would activate from something within their pockets or on their person.
Julius suspected it was something like the access card to the rifts he got from Lord Lagos, but this time for entry.
Now that he had a lead of what he needed to get in order to enter, he just needed to figure out how he was going to get his hands on one.
The most obvious choice was to follow a person who was leaving and ambush them. Once he took care of them he would steal their access card and be able to enter on his own.
I guess I kind am a thief this time around, he realized with a chuckle.
He couldn't really think of a better plan, so that was what he went with.
Although he waited for a long time already, he would have to do some more waiting.
This time, he would be keeping an eye out for anyone leaving or anyone who was isolated.
Eventually, he believed he spotted his victim. There was a person who had exited the barrier and who was now leaving the abandoned warehouse, back to their home or to a bar.
They, like all of the rest of the people, were wearing black masks. That meant he didn't get to see their face, but he could tell that they were a female.
The fact they were a female made him pause for a moment. It wasn't that he had a problem with hitting women.
Okay, that came out wrong.
He was just surprised to see a woman involved in what is a kidnapping of a young girl. He would have thought that women had higher standards. Men were idiots, so he could understand why these men chose to be criminal scum but to see a female criminal scum was kind of unexpected.
Or perhaps that is just me being naive.
Regardless, he needed to do this. So he toughened up and mentally prepared himself.
Sorry in advance, but you have my friend and you're my best way to get her back, he apologized to the unknown woman.
So as she was walking away from the warehouse, Julius carefully followed her at a distance.