Ren's body was successfully leaned against the wardrobe. She gently stroked his cheek to wake him up, but her efforts were in vain.
Zavi stood up and turned towards Veranica, who was lying on the dirty floor. She thought for a moment, realising that she couldn't carry both Veranica and Ren at the same time.
She sighed softly, having no choice but to seek help outside.
Before doing so, he hid the bodies of the three men in robes in a place where no one else would see them. To the left of the room, right next to the cupboard, he saw an old door.
Zavi walked slowly towards the door, trying to see if there was a room inside. The room was dark, with no belongings left behind by the owner of the building, unlike outside.
After that, Zavi dragged the bodies of the men in robes one by one and placed them in a row in the left corner of the room, not forgetting to tell Ren about the three men in robes after he regained consciousness and thought that he would take care of them.
He closed the old door again...
He took out his pistol again, staring at it with a surprised expression.
"How could 'he' have such extraordinary abilities?" he said softly, turning his head to the right.
He put the pistol back in the right pocket of his coat and continued walking towards Veranica, who was lying in front of him.
He bent down, slowly turned her body over, and tried to place her next to Ren, before leaving the mossy building to seek help.
But unbeknownst to him, on his right—in the dark corridor—appeared a man leaning against the wall, dressed in a brown shirt over a long black coat, wearing a round hat, his blue eyes fixed on him.
The man had been in the dark corridor when one of the robed figures tried to revive Carlz, and he had been watching Zavi's every move, including the pistol he had used earlier to kill the two robed men.
"Who are you?" Zavi took out his pistol and pointed it directly at the man's head.
The man turned to his right, circling Zavi with an indifferent expression on his face.
He stopped and said in a high-pitched voice, "How long are you going to pretend to be dead, Carlz?"
Zavi's eyes widened. He turned at the sound of faint footsteps behind the old door.
... The doorknob turned slowly, Zavi watched as the old door swung wide open and a familiar face appeared from inside; Carlz Vairanz, who was currently wearing the same clothes as the man he was talking to.
"Well... Pretending to be dead was the worst idea!" he said, cleaning his glasses with a cloth before putting them on.
"I forgot again that if I didn't do it, those two men in robes would have noticed." Carlz sighed, continuing, "It's a troublesome ability, isn't it, Ren Actitus?"
He spoke calmly and continued walking towards Zavi.
"Who is he?" Zavi said softly, barely hearing Carlz's words.
It was true that the man in the robe had previously tried to revive Carlz's corpse, but it seemed that he did not know that Carlz had faked his death, that he was not actually dead.
The previous attack on Zavi, which he had done well, pretending to be shot in his left shoulder and shouting incoherently at him, was part of his plan.
For a year and a half, Carlz had joined the robed group, forced to do inhumane things to humans, performing heretical rituals with the humans they captured as ritual intermediaries.
He did all of that reluctantly, with no other choice, because it was the only way to destroy the heretical sect from within.
Additionally, with his Level Two "Magician" ability, Carlz could carry out his actions with ease, though every move he made was closely monitored by the cult's leader, Conwuqoam, who could hinder his movements.
The four individuals, Veranica Holdun, Carlz Vairanz, Ren Actitus, and Clark Michelle, were teammates working under the leadership of the Morotuane Church—Moran.
More precisely, Morotuane provided funds and letters of recommendation when they conducted investigations in certain areas of the city to search for criminals and evil cults that had blended into society.
Led by Clark Michelle along with five other colleagues, their small group was known as the "Devouring Dark" in the supernatural world, like someone called "Hollow" in the inner world.
–––
Clark stepped forward cautiously, aware that Zavi was still pointing the pistol directly at his head. It was natural for humans to fear a pistol, but since he was Ren's partner, he knew that this pistol was no ordinary weapon.
"Calm down, Mr Actitus," he said calmly, even though he was afraid of being shot by the pistol.
"How did he know that name!?" Zavi turned to Ren. "Are they both his friends?" After thinking for a moment, Zavi decided not to shoot.
The pistol went back into his right coat pocket, he glanced at Clark, and walked over to Ren, who was on his right.
After that, without hesitation, he carried his brother, Ren. He walked slowly out of the building, ignoring the two of them completely.
Seeing this, Clark chuckled softly and said, "Yes, brothers and sisters are no different. His attitude is too cold. If he continues like this, he won't have a girlfriend." He put his hat back on, walked towards Carlz, and handed him a bottle of beer he had just bought on his way here.
Clark walked towards Veranica, who was lying unconscious in front of him. He signalled to Carlz to leave this place as quickly as possible, and also told him to erase all traces in the building.
He nodded and immediately carried out the order.
Meanwhile, Clark gently carried Veranica's body on his shoulder.
"As usual, Veranica. You always push yourself to fight until the end." He glanced up, looking at the beautiful face on his shoulder.
"What else can I say? Your brother must be furious that I didn't protect you!" Clark chuckled softly, imagining what would happen if that happened. Finally, he slowly walked out of the empty building to wait for Carlz outside.
On the other hand, in front of the iron gate surrounding the old, moss-covered building, the residents living nearby were still anxious about the sound of the explosion.
However, some of them had returned to their homes after being instructed by several local police officers who had immediately arrived at the scene after receiving reports that an explosion had been heard in the building.
Eventually, Zavi had gathered with his mother and five others, one of whom was the woman who had spoken to him, promising to protect his mother.
"Thank you, ma'am and gentlemen," said Zavi with a relieved expression, looking at each of the six people standing in front of him.
"Well then, I'll be going home first, sir..." said one of the men dressed in simple clothes.
"Alright," Zavi interrupted.
"Besides, my mother must be worried about me because I didn't come home earlier than usual." He said again with a worried expression.
Zavi nodded. He was unaware that the man was the son of an elderly woman who had spoken with Ren earlier, and because of the information he had provided, the two of them had coincidentally managed to repay her by saving her son.
"In that case, I'll take my leave too," said the four men in unison.
Zavi tilted his head and nodded afterwards. His mother, who saw this, chuckled, having not seen Zavi carry Ren in a long time.
"We should also go home, Zavi. I'm worried because Isabelle is home alone," his mother said worriedly, placing both hands on her chest.
Zavi slapped his forehead hard. His mother, who saw this, was puzzled and tilted her head.
Eventually, they walked home to the Chapena district, where their house was located, and Zavi chose to hide what had happened from his mother, worried that she would overthink it.