"What actually happened? Did his companion take him away?" asked Havio frantically, while helping his friend stand up.
Finn Ushimi and Havio Zarsca were "Hollows". They were chasing the three cloaked figures because a terrible danger was about to devastate the entire city of Shrie, including the entire southern continent.
The two of them moved in groups to monitor the Flotine Festival, which they believed to be the destination of the three cloaked figures. Their other companions were in the east, southeast and west of the city. The two of them were not given detailed instructions, only to bring the three figures back alive.
Now the three cloaked figures had disappeared, their location unknown. Havio felt frustrated because he could not do anything and could only rely on his friend.
Finn tried to calm his friend's mind, while his eyes continued to stare at the pool of blood that was only a few inches away from the tips of his shoes.
He took his glasses, wiped them with a cloth, and said, "Come on, let's get out of here. I sense a group of people heading this way." His index finger pointed behind Havio.
The two of them returned home empty-handed. Havio was still pensive because he couldn't complete the task, while Finn was still thinking about a man he had glimpsed.
Meanwhile...
Kyle had moved into the transparent world through the grey stone, bringing the robed man with him with the intention of interrogating him. However, the plan did not go smoothly; the man was no longer breathing. His pulse was gone, cold, as if his life had been absorbed by the place.
Kyle was silent for a few seconds, staring at the lifeless body with his jaw clenched. He did not despair. There was still one more person he had managed to capture, and this time, he would not fail. He already knew the location. Without hesitation, he quickly walked towards it.
From a distance, his eyes caught sight of a figure lying unconscious. Kyle quickened his pace, his heart beating faster. Once he arrived, he turned the person over.
"...A woman?" he muttered.
Kyle's eyes widened in disbelief. The cloaked figure he had thought was a formidable enemy turned out to be a woman.
Feeling that the woman's strength would be troublesome, Kyle tied her hands behind her back before waking her up, patting her cheeks and shoulders. Shortly after, Kyle saw the woman's eyes blink.
As consciousness began to return, Kyle took a step back. The woman had opened her eyes completely and was shocked to see someone she had once fought standing there, staring intently at her.
The woman tried to attack Kyle, but her hands and feet were already bound by grey stones circling clockwise behind her body.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" she asked in a panicked tone.
Meanwhile, Kyle began to realise that the deep voice commanding him to perform the ritual could not possibly belong to a woman. Something was wrong here.
"Are any of your other companions men?" Kyle asked, staring intently at her.
The woman fell silent, feeling a strange sensation piercing her entire body. "No... my companions are all women!" she stammered.
Kyle stared at her in disbelief. His eyes widened when the robed figure suddenly fell to the ground in front of them.
The woman froze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Fear gripped her as she realised her companion was dead.
Kyle approached, pulled back the hood covering the corpse's face—and paused for a moment. Sure enough, the cloaked figure was a woman. He just sighed, then turned and walked away.
The bound woman screamed, struggled, begged Kyle to release her. But Kyle did not turn around. His body slowly faded, disappearing from view like mist swept away by the wind.
All that remained was silence. The woman stared at her friend's stiff body and realised that perhaps her fate would be the same as her companion's...
Kyle was in the same place before he moved to the transparent world, and beside him was a pool of fresh blood that he had seen before.
He just stared. He decided to go home because his body felt heavy after moving to the transparent world.
The long journey had passed, Kyle's breath was labored because he couldn't bear the weight of his body, which was getting heavier and heavier. Every time he took a breath, his chest felt like it was about to explode.
With a sluggish movement, Kyle opened the door to his house, accompanied by the creaking sound of the hinges. He had locked the door, but Kyle was reluctant to climb the stairs, so he chose to move to the left and planned to sleep on the sofa.
The night was quiet and comfortable, and sleepiness began to overtake him, causing Kyle to unconsciously close his eyes tightly.
Morning had arrived..... Kyle had woken up and was now in the kitchen, making herbal tea to warm his throat since he hadn't drunk anything since his previous monitoring session.....
He climbed the stairs, holding a cup of herbal tea in his right hand. The bedroom door was open; Kyle pulled a chair up to the window he had opened earlier. He sat down, put his feet up, and once again enjoyed the beauty of the morning sky.
"The words of that woman named Hana cannot be trusted just like that. Have I been watching the wrong person?" he thought frustratedly, taking another sip.
"But those two women have abilities that ordinary humans don't have. Hmm, I'd better interrogate that woman until she opens her mouth. And if necessary, I'll do something dirty..."
After thinking about his next plan, Kyle finished his drink, went downstairs and put the cup in the kitchen. He left the kitchen and headed for the bathroom to the left of the stairs.
Kyle had taken a shower. He put on a shirt and a black coat over it. He sighed, closed his bedroom door, and went downstairs to pick up the hat on the table in the living room.
His preparations were complete. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined himself in a transparent world. Suddenly, his body jerked, carried away to that world, and he appeared right in front of the bound woman.
This time, her gaze was empty, as if her life had no meaning. Kyle felt pity, approached her and said,
"Hey, don't you want to live anymore?" Kyle asked in surprise.
Kyle knew that after he arrived, the corpse had disappeared from his sight. He thought that maybe that was what made the woman frustrated.
"Is it because your friend's corpse is gone? If you want to know, I didn't kill him, so don't blame me," Kyle whispered.
But the woman didn't believe his words. She shouted loudly. "If it wasn't you... then who else killed him!"
"Those two men killed him, and one more thing, one of your friends is still alive..." Kyle shouted back, trying to calm the woman down.
"What? Where is he now? Tell me quickly!" Hearing this news, her anger slowly subsided.
Kyle paused for a moment. His index finger pointed straight ahead, towards the bound woman behind her. Quickly, the woman turned around and was shocked to see her friend was still alive.
"How did you end up here?" she asked, her feelings mixed.