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With a spike of adrenaline, Evan straightened and grabbed Xen’s arm, trying to drag him away. “No way. Not happening. Forget about it. Let’s go.”

He would havetriedto consider doing something about the Hellguard, maybe distract it, so they could sneak into the temple for the relic. But if that Reth belonged to a literal royalty of the demon race, Evan’s fate would be worse than a simple beheading.

No, those creatures would hang him upside down and start chomping off his flesh while he was still alive, his bloodcurdling screams aiding as background music. They’d skewer his eyeballs and present them to the Demon King for a taste test.

But even with the rush of blood pumping strength into his muscles, Evan couldn’t even budge Xen from his position on the ground. That made him realize how bizarre his actions were.

Why was he trying to take Xen with him when he could just leave him there? It was as if he was actually concerned about thislow-level creature falling under the Hellguard's feet rather than hoping for it to happen.

Gritting his teeth, Evan tugged on Xen’s arm with more force. “Get your ass off the ground!”

“Mm.”

“Get up!”

“Why?”

An itch burned in the center of Evan’s palms. He was two seconds away from wrapping his hands around Xen's throat and choking him straight back to hell. “Again, did youseethat thing? That big, rocky…hideous thing? If that's the guard, can you imagine how horrifying his master must be?”

Xen’s brows furrowed. “I can imagine.”

There was something in the way he said that, as if his vision differed vastly from how Evan was imagining it. Like he was almost offended.

“Good. That’s why we need to leave before one of us—or both—gets trampled under his foot.”

“As I mentioned already, he won’t hurt you.”

“How do you know that?” Evan gritted out.

Xen didn't reply, lips firmly shut. The way he was looking at Evan almost felt like Evan had kicked him when he was down and was asking him to get up so he could kick him again. How cruel.

With an exhausted sigh, Evan stopped fruitlessly trying to tug Xen up and crouched down beside him, trying his best to induce a patience he didn’t possess into his tone. “Okay. Alright, we’ll get you your relic. Just…not at this moment. For now, let’s head back, okay? I’ll go home and study about this kind of demon, find its weakness and then come up with a plan—”

Thump. Thump.

The sudden nearness of the footsteps made Evan jump, and clumsy as he was, he ass-landed straight into Xen’s awaiting lap.

A grunt escaped Xen that went unnoticed. Evan’s wide eyes were locked on the shadow of the Hellguard drifting across the ground.

A feather-light drizzle cascaded from the heavens, barely seeping through the dense atmosphere of the haunted land. It was almost dusk. God knew what creatures would crawl out once night fell. Evan couldn’t even blame them if they tried to eat him. He’d basically crawled onto their plate, thoroughly garnished and all.

“If you’re not coming with me,” Evan finally whispered, body stiff in Xen’s lap as he watched the shadows dancing around them, “I’m going to leave you here.”

“Please don’t,” Xen’s gaze settled on Evan’s exposed nape. “What if I get trampled on?” Although he intended to sound pitiful, he, in fact, didn’t. Two arms snaked around Evan’s waist from behind, then a chin came to rest against his shoulder. Xen sighed. “You know, if you tried to fight him, you’d win.”

A vein throbbed in Evan’s temple. “Stop bullshi—Hey!”

Xen gripped Evan’s sides and yanked him closer, flush against his chest. He took Evan’s hands into his own. “Stay still.”

“Don’t mess around—”

“Stop talking.”

Evan clamped his lips shut.

As the Hellguard’s footsteps thumped around them, Xen’s huge hands covered the back of Evan’s own, pressing his clammy palms together. Leaning close, he whispered in Evan’s ear, “Focus your spiritual energy into your arms. Feel it flow through your hands and direct it towards your palms.”

Even though Evan’s heart was gripped with dread because of the demon around them, he tried to heed the instruction, using it as a distraction to make sure his heart didn’t suddenly give out.