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They once again set off in the direction where Delos was leading them, and soon came across the tree that encompassed the Old Temple. Or what remained of it.

The tree had been huge, as wide as a small house, but now it had all but reduced to ash. Charred bricks and pieces of walls of the old construction were lying in the midst. Although one stump of the temple was still defiantly standing, refusing to fall.

Delos had not let go of Evan’s wrist throughout the way and only stepped away from him when they crossed the Old Temple.

They walked across the length of the thorn walls that had been destroyed by Zeev in his frenzy last time. Crossing the overgrown shrubbery, when they entered the abandoned residential area, Evan and Delos both abruptly halted.

The thick scent of earth and fire and…resentment permeated the air. It was difficult to tell whether it was human or something else, but the heavy energy that saturated the atmosphere was too strong.

And it was headed their way.

With a mutual look of understanding, they both ducked into the nearest abandoned house. The inside of the dingy house was charred, walls plastered with a lifetime of accumulated ash and dust.

The last time when he’d come to this residential area with Xen, Evan was so engrossed in finding the relic and asking Xen questions that he’d not paid much attention to the place.

The houses were all blackened from the outside. Not due to lack of use or the heavy resentment in the air. But because they’d been burnt.

From the looks of it, this entire residential area, which could easily cover a small village, was burnt to a crisp a long time ago. If people had died in such an unfortunate event, that could explain the dense resentment and haunting of this particular patch of land.

Yet, strangely enough, no spirits had appeared before Evan even though he’d been there twice already. He didn’t even have his ring, Crimson Eye, to protect him, so why…

Creak. Creak. Creak.

The sound echoed from a distance. Evan cautiously moved to the window, Delos following close behind him. Moving the tattered curtain on the window aside, they both peeked outside at the source of the strange metallic noise.

At first, there was nothing in sight in the dark, the moonlight shedding only enough light to see the shadows of the dead trees dancing on the ground. Just when Evan was beginning to think he had imagined it, the same sound disturbed the dead silence of the night, closer this time.

Creak. Creak.

Evan’s ears twitched, and his eyes darted in the direction of the noise accurately, catching the sight of two shadows moving through the darkness.

Two tall silhouettes emerged from the overgrown bushes, gliding soundlessly across the ground. Their movements were so eerily silent, so smooth, it almost looked like they were floating. As they drew closer, Evan realized they were men, both in black hoodies. One of them was carrying something that made the strange creaking sounds.

They seemed to be talking to each other, but their words were too soft, so low that not even Evan’s sensitive ears could pick upon it. It was like a spell circled their hazy forms, restricting any ears from eavesdropping.

When they crossed the house where Evan and Delos were hiding, Evan leaned closer to the window, trying to see what the man was holding in his hand.

Silver. Chains. Smoke.

An incense burner.

A soft breath left Evan’s lips as his curiosity was sated, but that inaudible sound seemed to alert the two strangers.

The hooded silhouettes halted a couple of meters away from the house, then turned around.

Evan quickly ducked behind the curtains, one hand still holding his wounded head. With the other, he pressed his index finger to his lips as he stared at Delos, silencing him.

The silhouettes outside stared at the fluttering curtain, then looked at each other.

“Did you hear that?” the one holding the incense burner asked.

The other shook his head.

“I think it came from that house. Didn’t we already round this area once? Do you think we missed a spot?”

His partner shook his head again.

The one holding the incense burner looked at the house again, then sighed. “Probably a rat or something. Not sure I wanna run into one of those.”