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Evan recalled that time back at Greene Mansion, all those dark energies, crawling malicious spirits drawing to the place because of Xen. If not even such a strong containment array could suppress his presence, now that he was unbound, what kind of creatures would come seeking him?

Xen was a demon—a magnet for darkness, a beast that didn’t belong in this world. He moved along the fine edge between life and death. And yet, when he looked at Evan, his eyes shimmered with light.

A warm flutter buzzed below Evan’s clavicle, and he waved a hand over his chest, as if trying to dust off the feeling. “Right. Coming back to the relic. Does it have a name?”

Xen’s gaze lowered, long lashes fluttering against pale cheekbones. Just as Evan thought he wouldn’t answer, his response filled the space between them.

“Reth.”

Evan nodded slowly. “Reth…”

Based on the name alone, it wasn’t possible to imagine what it could be. Considering the way Xen spoke of it, the stiffness in his voice, there was no doubt it was precious to him in his own little demonic way.

As they entered the streets, walking close to the walls on the sidewalk, Evan pocketed his hands into his coat, dropping his voice. “Why do you need Reth so badly?”

Xen’s eyes switched warily over every face that passed them by on the street. “I have things I need to protect,” he said, then gave Evan a pointed look. “As do you.”

The Shadow behind them, invisible to the masses, shifted closer as Evan frowned at Xen. “What are you implying?”

“Surely, you must know all these disappearances before the Reaping Moon are not a coincidence,” Xen said. “It’s a preparation for something bigger.”

It had crossed Evan’s mind when Delos had suddenly brought up the Reaping Moon while they were discussing the missing people. But for all the goodness he tried to conjure in his heart, he couldn’t care less about the disappearances. The reason he got interested in this matter was because of Mila and Victor’s case, and the reason he got involved was Aaron, which was a little stupid now that he thought about it.

There was no solid proof that Aaron was kidnapped by a religious cult wanting to sacrifice him to a Dark Spirit. Perhaps he’d had an emergency back home and left in a hurry, dropping his phone along the way. Perhaps.

But his phone was found in the opposite direction to his way home, and that made every remaining logical assumption disappear into the trash.

Evan and Xen turned a corner, passing bustling shops, the old library, some poorer parts of the town, and into the woods. Evan knew his way around these forests better than anyone and led the way towards the chains restricting entrance into a narrow pathway, impassable through the overgrown weeds. Beyond these chains were the haunted grounds surrounding the Old Temple. A place where—despite his interest for years—Evan had not trespassed.

Stopping right outside the chains, Evan turned to Xen. “Did you say “preparations for something bigger”? What are they preparing for?”

Xen tilted his head, staring into the narrow pathway, seeing God knows what. “Bloodbath ritual.”

Evan’s eyes widened slightly. “What the—Why?”

“Mass sacrifice of innocent souls can be very advantageous. For example, to bring the dead back to life. Or to feed a growing beast with spiritual energy until it can take human form.”

Evan’s face twisted. “Who exactly is thatadvantageousto?”

The books that provided information about the divine arts of spiritual energies—like The Doctrine of Blackwood Exorcists—were the same books that warned users about the darker uses of the same power. In more detail than necessary.

A Bloodbath ritual, like its name suggested, was a bloody sacrificial ceremony that devoured the lives of innocent people. Some believed through this ritual they could please the gods and attain immortality. Others argued that such customs were established by their ancestors, and continuing them was their responsibility. But a few foul-minded bastards drained blood from innocents just for the thrill of it.

In ancient times, it was even a tradition to leave a few children in the woods to satiate the monstrous appetite of creatures of the dark, in hopes that a few lives could salvage several others. Although those children probably fell prey to wild animals rather than fictional monsters, their deaths were tragic and unfair all the same. It was downright repulsive.

But it had been a long time since such rituals were discontinued for the sake of preserving the now-endangered species known as humans. Then why now, and which god were they trying to please this time?

“What does the ritual have to do with the Reaping Moon? They could sacrifice people any day,” Evan pulled out his pack of cigarettes, plucking the last one.

Xen stared at the cigarette between Evan’s lips. “The scent of blood and essence of unnatural deaths would gain them unwanted attention—”

“—of the Reapers,” Evan finished, pieces of the puzzle falling into place in his head with aclick. “If they sacrifice the people on the Reaping Moon, the essence of the wandering spirits would be too strong. Strong enough to drown out the scent of the sacrifices.”

It would be like concealing a faint odor with a heavier one. And the grim reapers would already be too busy reaping souls to notice anything amiss.

“Precisely,” Xen quirked a proud smile at Evan, then flexed his index finger before the tip of Evan’s cigarette. It lit up with a crimson hiss.

Evan took a long drag, eyes never leaving Xen. “What is their intention behind this Bloodbath ritual?”