Ren glanced briefly at the blue tent before saying in his hoarse voice, "An old woman? Alright, thank you for giving me the information, Sir." After saying that, he turned around and walked toward Liam.

  He saw him kneeling with both hands covering his face as if he had surrendered to the situation.

  "How long are you going to stay like this?" he asked. "Come on, I've found the old witness," he said with a faint smile.

  Liam lifted his head, and the two exchanged glances for a moment before he finally stood up. Ren nodded, signaling him to follow immediately.

  The two of them walked toward the blue tent to meet the old woman who knew and had witnessed the cause of the riot in the square.

  Beside the blue tent were crushed fruits and broken wooden crates. Ren glanced at them before pushing aside the tent flap as he stepped forward, with Liam following behind.

  An old woman sat on a simple wooden chair. On the bed beside her lay a man drenched in cold sweat, grimacing in pain.

  Another person turned around, stood up to greet them, and asked why they had come.

  "Are you relatives of this victim?" he asked, pointing at the man lying weakly.

  Ren shook his head in denial and continued walking toward the old woman on the left.

  "Sorry to disturb you," he said softly. "Did you see who caused this destruction?" he asked to make sure.

  The old woman stared intensely at Ren before speaking in a low voice, "Yes, I saw them… Many people, not just one. Around six people, each wearing black robes and part of their faces covered."

  'Ugh, that group again,' he thought, unable to hide his shock.

  "Thank you for the information," Ren whispered. He signaled Liam to follow him immediately.

  The two of them stepped out of the tent. Meanwhile, the man who had previously spoken with Ren looked confused and approached the old woman to ask further:

  "Is he your relative, ma'am?"

  The man glanced to the side and added, "It seems like he was looking for someone."

  The old woman said nothing, and the atmosphere inside the tent suddenly became tense, but it quickly eased when three residents entered. The tent curtain closed, then opened again a few seconds later before two more people entered with anxious expressions on their faces.

  "This is serious. Get out of here immediately! Take the injured man to a safe place, along with this old woman," one of them said in a panicked tone.

  "What happened, Yatsh?" one of the three locals who had just entered asked.

  "Don't ask too many questions, just take them away quickly!" he said sharply.

  They hurried out of the tent without being told what had actually happened. The old woman stood there confused, and in the end, one of the villagers led her away from the square as quickly as possible.

  The crowd of townspeople returned to their homes, urging their families to flee and seek shelter.

  The residents quickly believed him because the officer was very friendly and trustworthy, having served for more than eight years.

  Those who lived near the village square rushed out of their houses, carrying useful and important belongings, with lanterns to light their way.

  Several minutes later, the two of them had already run roughly hundreds of meters from the square, heading toward the outskirts of Forgenate, searching for the group of robed men before they got too far ahead.

  As he kept running, even though his breath was becoming ragged, a strange question suddenly crossed his mind. Liam instinctively slowed his pace, speaking to himself.

  'Who exactly is he? How did he know without the old woman saying anything that a group of robed men were in Forgenate?'

  He glanced to the side and saw Ren's serious expression, as if hiding something. Liam shook his head while gripping the revolver behind his shirt and trousers, choosing to focus on saving his mother first and investigating everything later.

  Twenty minutes later, not far from their position, two diverging roads appeared. From where they were running, they were still on the outskirts of the square, while the left path led to Forgenate.

  He observed the surroundings before turning left.

  Liam realized two things after walking along that road;

  A strange, uncomfortable feeling, and faint whispers drifting in the air. His thoughts began to wander into darker places. A streetlamp flickered on his left, while on the right, the shadows of buildings and his own shadow ran alongside him.

  Consciously and with full alertness, Liam slipped his hand inside his coat, ready to draw the revolver if danger threatened him.

  Not long after, the two of them stopped briefly to catch their breath, then continued their journey toward Forgenate District.

  Meanwhile, Liam took out his pocket watch, opened its cover, and saw the time showed 7:20 PM. His eyes widened for a moment. He realized it had been about an hour since he left home.

  He closed the watch and put it back into his trouser pocket. Liam stepped twice closer to Ren, who was adjusting his clothes.

  "Is it still far?" he asked, forgetting how to breathe for a moment.

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  "No," Ren replied casually. Then he added, "And there's no need to hide anything, Zavi." His blue eyes stared without blinking.

  "What do you mean…?" Liam stammered, trying to make sure.

  "Hmph, forget what I just said." Ren turned away and gestured with his chin, signaling that it was time to move.

  'It seems I can't hide about that anymore,' he thought, occasionally glancing at his younger brother with a pitiful expression.

  Liam ran behind him, still thinking about those earlier words. Remembering them only made him more irritated.

  "Damn him," he thought with a cynical smile, recalling Ren's almost mocking expression.

  Suddenly, in front of them, several wandering spirits appeared, flying forward like a rushing river current about to crash into them both.

  The spirits passed through Liam's body, and in that instant, without seeing and without having time to react, his body immediately collapsed and lay limp on the silent, cold stone road.

  Ren heard the sound and instantly felt a piercing presence behind him. He turned around and immediately ran to help his younger brother.

  But it was too late. Zavi had lost consciousness, and his soul was being dragged by the evil spirits toward a silent, overlapping place.

  Ren growled angrily, the corner of his lips lifting, almost smiling as he stared sharply at the wandering spirits that quickly turned, intending to attack their next target, which was him.

  "Damn you evil spirits! Leave this world!" Ren shouted, without changing his expression in the slightest.

  He quickly reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a pistol, aimed it forward, and pulled the trigger.

  The curious spirit, although it did not have a physical form, possessed thoughts not much different from humans in general, and it knew that weapons like pistols would have no effect on them.

  A thin gray mist dripped from top to bottom, merging and reacting to form something before a mocking smile appeared.

  Ren grinned in disbelief, his neck muscles tightening, his jaw clenching after realizing they had underestimated him.

  'Level One, from Transmitter, Controller.'

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Thin smoke rose from the muzzle of the pistol after the last shot. Three bullets shot forward, shattering the smiling gray mist and piercing the building wall behind it.

  Several wandering spirits floated silently in the air, merging into one form resembling a human, transparent, but with a fish-like tail at the bottom.

  The spirit laughed loudly. Its strange voice pierced Ren's ears, triggering his irritation. Moments later, a purplish-black droplet about the size of a snake fruit seed appeared right above the spirit.

  Unnoticed by them, the purplish-black droplet fell like rainwater flowing from a roof before hitting the ground. In an instant, its form shattered into fragments, shrinking smaller and smaller until its existence in this world completely vanished.

  "Curse you, human," it screamed in a shrill voice in the final second before disappearing.

  The three bullets embedded in the wall detached on their own, flew backward in an instant, and reentered the pistol's magazine as if the previous shots had merely been an illusion!

  'Huh. What a waste of time, damn it.' Ren cursed inwardly while returning the pistol to his coat pocket.

  He walked toward Liam's unconscious body, trying to wake him so his consciousness would not be dragged any further and so they could continue their journey as soon as possible.

  Liam's consciousness slowly returned after Ren flicked his forehead twice, and his eyes moved left and right as if reacting to the touch.

  "Where am I?" Liam tried to get up but failed. "Damn, my head hurts so much," he said softly while touching his forehead.

  Ren glanced at him briefly without saying anything. He bent down slightly, extending his hand to help him stand.

  "Take my hand."

  'If you look at it closely, his condition is different from someone possessed by wandering spirits?' Ren smiled faintly as he thought about it.

  Zavi froze upon hearing those words. His blue eyes gleamed for a moment as he looked at his brother's face, and they stared at each other for several seconds.

  In the end, he smiled faintly and accepted Ren's outstretched hand before standing up. Liam realized that he had just been saved by him.

  Even so, the suspicion he had felt earlier still lingered in his mind. He wanted to express what was swirling in his thoughts, but his tongue felt heavy. In the end, he chose to keep the question in his heart.

  Liam brushed off his coat to remove the dust and let out a long breath before speaking softly, "Thank you for helping me," he said briefly, even though he did not fully understand what Ren had done earlier.

  A secret that only he knew, and he did not want his siblings to follow in his footsteps, and more than anything, Ren wanted them to live long lives and one day have families of their own.

  "We have to hurry. It's already dark, and if we're late, that robed group might leave Moran."

  "I hope that incident never happened at all."

  Ren fell silent for a moment.

  "So, can you still stand?" Ren asked calmly, though in his heart he was worried about his condition.

  Since childhood, Zavi's body had indeed been weak. He could only lift weights under fifty kilograms, and anything beyond that would overwhelm him, no matter how hard he forced himself.

  At worst, he would faint for hours. Their mother had worried about Zavi's condition from around the age of seven until he turned fifteen.

  Ren and Isabelle knew about it, but Zavi had always considered it not a big problem, feeling that it did not affect his daily activities.

  "Ckk. I'm fine," he replied shortly, adding in a near whisper, "even though my head is still throbbing."

  Ren was silent for a moment, thinking, then said, "Don't push yourself. It's better if you just go home."

  Liam seemed not to hear those words. He assured Ren that he was fine and insisted on continuing the search until their mother was found.

  Hearing that, Ren was struck by hesitation. He stopped, thinking two steps ahead before making a decision.

  "You bear the risk yourself," he said shortly.

  Liam responded with a hesitant nod. After that, the two of them decided to head toward the outermost edge of Forgenate, an area of abandoned residences.

  Even though the distance between Chapena District and the city square was already far, not to mention the main road of Forgenate, they did not give up on bringing their mother home.

  Several minutes later, they arrived at the outskirts of Forgenate. After searching back and forth, asking from one person to another. In front of them stood a large building, covered in green moss and thick bushes.

  "They're here," Ren said while pointing at the moss-covered abandoned mansion.

  "How are we going to get in?" he asked awkwardly.

  'There must be someone guarding behind that moss-covered door.' Liam answered that question to himself.

  "Ah… as for that. Let her handle the distraction." Ren straightened his arm and opened his right palm.

  Liam was confused, not understanding what Ren was doing.

  'What exactly did he just do? Is it some kind of divination, or more precisely is he going to use a talisman? I know talismans in this world possess terrifying power, unlike those on Earth.' Liam truly finished his thought.

  A moment later, from the middle of the road, a cold and sharp female voice was heard.

  "So you're already here, Mr. Xiri, eh, Actitus," the woman said as she stepped closer.

  Ren immediately turned around, calmly approaching the long black-haired woman. Her brown eyes stared sharply at him, and she wore a black lace dress adorned with gold accessories, hair ornaments, bracelets, and a shining ring on her ring finger.

  "I placed you here at the right time," Ren whispered softly. Then he continued, "As I said before, inside that building there are several hostages, including my mother. Your task is to distract them, while my brother and I deal with some of those robed men. Perhaps."

  'Yes, although I don't know whether there are high-level Receivers or Hollow from that robed group inside.' His breath caught for a moment thinking about what would happen afterward.

  "Alright, Sir," she replied coldly, then moved to slip into the building beside it before her body suddenly vanished from their sight.

  Ren chuckled softly as he walked back toward Zavi. "Time to save them," he whispered, staring at the large building covered in creeping vines.

  ...

  Half an hour earlier, in Chapena District. Isabelle sat on the white sofa, her hands clenched, hoping her two brothers would return with their mother. Her anxiety made the living room feel even more suffocating.

  A few seconds later, light footsteps were heard from the direction of the door, making Isabelle immediately turn her head.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  Isabelle swallowed. She stood up and stepped closer, but fear stopped her a few steps from the door.

  "What if it's not them?" she thought doubtfully.

  "Who's there?" Her voice trembled.

  There was no answer. The air around seemed to freeze, and Isabelle seemed to forget how to breathe properly.

  Instinct made her step back twice. Isabelle quickly turned around, intending to go to her room. As she stepped onto the first stair, the knock sounded again, this time accompanied by a cold wind creeping along her nape, as if something was whispering for her to open the door.

  Isabelle froze. Fear gripped her chest, but staying silent only made the sound feel more pressing. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, curiosity forcing her to turn back and slowly approach the door.

  Her trembling hand reached for the doorknob. The last knock still echoed in her ears, its rhythm now slower, yet commanding.

  The air in the living room felt colder than before, as if something was standing right behind the door.

  She took a deep breath and slowly turned the handle.

  Click.

  The door opened wide enough for one hand to slip inside. Isabelle peeked out, facing a black-haired woman whose head was covered by a black velvet hat adorned with a cream ribbon and a row of fine feathers curving gracefully at the top.

  The woman's brown eyes stared sharply at the part of Isabelle's face that was visible.

  "Don't be afraid," she said gently. "My name is Zeta Audervin. Are your siblings inside the house?" she asked, trying to convince her that she was an ordinary human, more or less so.

  'An acquaintance of Zavi?'

  "Ah… Zavi? He left about an hour ago," Isabelle replied hesitantly, her heart pounding, but her fear had been answered by the woman standing before her.

  "Um… are you human?" Isabelle asked to make sure.

  Zeta tilted her head, confused, then answered briefly, "Ckk. Of course."

  Isabelle's anxiety slowly subsided, assuming the earlier knocking might have been done by a supernatural being or just a prank. Even so, she did not expect there to be a woman brave enough to go out at dusk.

  "Maybe it's better if we talk inside." Isabelle opened the door a little wider while waiting for an answer.

  "No… thank you for being willing to talk to me." Zeta immediately turned around and walked away calmly, choosing to return to Tezny. Her visit was solely to ask in more detail about Forn.

  However she failed to find the cause because Zavi had already left. Like it or not, Zeta decided she would visit again tomorrow and hoped Zavi would be at home on Tuesday.

  "Strange woman. Is this why Zavi is always rejected by other women?" Isabelle muttered in confusion, then quickly shut the door tightly before thinking and returning to her room.