Five minutes later, Liam finished eating first, surprising his siblings and disbelieving that it only took him five minutes to finish everything. Liam stood up, pushed his chair back, and walked to the sink with two plates, quickly washing them under running water.
The clock showed 6:00 p.m.
The three of them had finished eating before sunset, but afterward something made them uneasy. They wondered why their mother had not returned by this hour. Based on her routine as a market vendor in the town square, she should have been home within thirty minutes at most.
At 5:15 p.m., according to the policy of Mayor Novewilian Alistair, vendors in the town square were required to dismantle their stalls and return home no later than 5:40 p.m.
But this time felt different; they had a strong sense that something had happened to their mother and the other merchants.
Isabelle told her brothers that if their mother was ever going to be late or planned to go somewhere after leaving the market, she always informed Isabelle before heading out in the morning.
Hearing that, Liam and Ren considered another option, deciding to wait fifteen minutes, and if the set time passed, they would immediately begin searching.
But Isabelle disagreed with the plan. Acting recklessly, she ignored her brothers' advice and wanted to look for her mother on her own.
Liam watched Isabelle hurry up the stairs, running toward her room as if searching for something.
"Ren, stay here! I'll stop her from doing something stupid."
Ren nodded, and Liam went upstairs, heading toward his sister's room.
After all, after what had happened that afternoon, going out at night was extremely foolish. He had no idea what lurked outside. Still, maybe it was worth trying.
Liam let out a quiet breath.
He stood facing the closed door, hearing the sound of objects bumping into one another. Liam raised his hand, about to touch the door, but then changed his mind when the noise stopped.
"What are you doing in there?" he asked, trying to stop his sister from doing something reckless.
There was no reply. Liam heard only his own breathing and the sound of a kettle downstairs.
"Answer me! Why are you silent?" he asked again, placing his right hand on the doorknob.
He sighed and shook his head, not knowing what was going through his sister's mind. Liam turned around, walked out, went downstairs, and approached Ren.
"So, have you found an answer?" Ren asked, watching Liam descend the stairs.
"I don't know what she's thinking right now," Liam replied casually, continuing forward.
"...."
Ren walked toward the stairs, telling Liam to get ready while he went to his room to retrieve something he thought might be useful for the search.
Nodding, Liam headed to his room, grabbed his jacket, and did not forget to take the silver revolver, hiding it between his trousers and shirt.
The two of them waited in the living room, while Liam tightened the strap of his wristwatch, staring closely at the hands.
"Fifteen minutes are up," Liam said, closing the watch and slipping it into his trouser pocket.
Ren nodded. "Let's go to the town square. Now."
They left the house, while Isabelle peeked at them from behind the upstairs wall, clenching her fists and praying that her mother would be found and return home safely.
"You are the God Auneron, bearer of fortune. Please help them find my mother," Isabelle whispered, then turned and returned to her room.
The sun sank beyond the horizon, replaced by the soft glow of the blue moon that illuminated the world. Stars shimmered in the sky, slowly dissolving the tension of the night and replacing it with a gentle calm.
Half an hour had passed since they left the house, and now the two of them walked slowly toward the town square, observing their surroundings and calming their minds after overcoming several obstacles along the way.
This afternoon, or rather, this night, they found no horse-drawn carriages passing along the road to the town square. Yes, it was true that the Xirc operation ran from morning until five in the evening, and they were well aware of that.
Like it or not, they had no choice but to walk hundreds of meters from their home in the Chapena District.
Their journey was disrupted by an unexpected event. They saw a box moving on its own as if someone were carrying it, and they saw it twice. Only Ren could see the mischievous spirit playing tricks on him, and of course Zavi could not see it, only seeing the boxes move by themselves.
They both knew about such things, especially since several other residents of Moran City often experienced similar supernatural incidents and other strange phenomena.
On top of that, the mysterious deaths that increased with each passing day made Liam's heart feel as if it were being sliced hundreds of times by sharp knives as he imagined what his mother might be going through.
He shook his head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts. Hearing the word "mother," Liam suddenly remembered his family back on Earth. But at that moment, he was in a foreign world with his new family.
He completely rejected the idea, yet deep in his heart, Liam did not want to lose the people he loved again. He would do whatever it took to find his mother and bring her home.
Ten minutes later, about a hundred meters ahead, Liam and Ren were startled by a crowd of people, accompanied by shouting and anger.
"Did something happen over there?" Ren said quietly, then turned to Liam.
He saw his younger brother's face suddenly turn pale. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, sliding slowly down his cheek, and his eyes widened as if he were seeing something unspeakable.
"So that's it?" Ren thought.
"Damn it, don't talk. Let's go!"
For reasons he did not fully understand, Ren's vision blurred slightly, but he vaguely saw what Liam had seen earlier. He chose to follow Liam as he ran toward the crowd.
When they arrived, they were shocked by the unpleasant sight. Fruits were scattered everywhere, and droplets of blood surrounded the fountain in the town square. The road ahead led to the Hava District, different from the others with its tall trees and uneven terrain. The road to the right led to the Tezny District, and the road to the left led to the Forgenate District, a district three times the size of Chapena.
... The fountain had turned red with blood. It was unknown whose blood it was, but several residents there confirmed that a riot had taken place earlier.
The situation grew tense, with whispered voices spreading everywhere.
Liam, already feeling unwell, realized that what he had feared had come true. He immediately collapsed onto the stone pavement, covering his face with his hands.
He did not know what to do, thinking that his arrival in this body had brought calamity, especially to those he knew. Meanwhile, Ren merely glanced at him with a cold expression.
Without saying a word, he approached three men standing in front of him, seeking information about what had happened there.
One of the men noticed Ren's presence. He turned his head, raised a lantern, and illuminated Ren's face with its light. The other two stared sharply as well.
"Excuse me, were there any casualties? And did you see the perpetrator?" Ren paused. The three exchanged looks before one of them—a man wearing a bowler hat with neatly tied long black hair—stepped forward.
"I didn't see him," he said. "But there was an old woman who witnessed the incident." He pointed behind him.
In front of a blue tent were three people: an old woman, an injured man, and a resident trying to stop the bleeding from a stab wound in the victim's abdomen.
The old woman had indeed seen the perpetrator. She said that a man dressed in a black robe with cloth covering part of his face suddenly stabbed the victim.
She also witnessed several merchants being taken away somewhere, one of them being her child.
One hour earlier...
The old woman's piercing scream shattered the calm afternoon. She hoped someone would hear her and save the hostages before it was too late.
Realizing their actions had been exposed and with the sun nearly setting, the robed group quickly left the town square, taking several hostages with them, including Mei Actitus.
–––
Elsewhere, not far from the square, two men were about to open the door to their house after returning from a bar. Half drunk, they were shocked to see a group of robed men walking calmly past their home.
The two men froze, their eyes widening. They saw drops of blood on the road to their right, dripping slowly but steadily, and realized that the blood came from the hands of the hostages, most severely from the woman walking beside Mei Actitus.
They imagined what the group had done to the hostages who were tied one by one. Without thinking, one of the men immediately pulled a pistol from his coat pocket and aimed it at the head of a nearby robed man.
However, the target seemed to know his intention. He turned swiftly, staring at the shooter with a cynical smile before leaping toward him.
Silent—
In a single motion, the man suddenly felt a cold stab on the left side of his neck. His body stiffened, his mind went blank, and fresh blood flowed down from his collar, dripping onto the stones and forming a small pool on the ground.
One of the robed men was startled.
Shock and pain made him lose control, his finger reflexively pulling the trigger.
Bang!
The robed man dodged instinctively, stepping back two paces, followed by the sound of shattering glass. The streetlamp behind him exploded, sparks flying everywhere and piercing his back.
"Aarrgh!" the man screamed before the pistol slipped from his grip.
His companion was stunned. He grabbed the fallen gun, intending to retaliate. But before he could fire, a shout from behind ordered him to stop immediately.
The man turned around, and the robed group fled at once upon seeing several people approaching. He obeyed the residents' command to stop, choosing instead to save his friend lying beneath him.
–––
Ren glanced at the blue tent. "An old woman, huh? All right, thank you for the information, sir." With that, he turned and walked back toward Zavi.
He looked at his younger brother, still kneeling with both hands covering his face, guilt weighing heavily on his mind.
"How long are you going to stay like this?" Ren asked. "Let's go. I've found that old witness," he said coldly.
Zavi looked up, and their eyes met. Two seconds later, he finally stood. Ren nodded, signaling him to follow.
The two of them walked toward the blue tent to meet the old woman who had seen or knew about the riot in the town square.
Beside the blue tent were smashed fruits and two damaged carts. Ren glanced at them before pushing the tent aside and stepping in, with Zavi following behind.
An old woman sat on a simple wooden chair. On the bed beside her lay a man drenched in cold sweat, grimacing in pain.
Another person turned, stood up to greet them, and asked why they had come.
"Are you relatives of this victim?" he asked, pointing at the weak man lying there.
Ren shook his head and continued toward the old woman on the left.
"Sorry to bother you," he said quietly. "Did you see who caused this damage?" he asked hopefully, staring intently.
The old woman stared back at Ren before replying softly, "Yes, I saw them... Many people, not just one. About six of them, each wearing black robes with parts of their faces covered."
"Ugh, them again," he thought. "Thank you for the information," Ren whispered. He gestured for his brother to follow him immediately.
The two left the tent. Meanwhile, the man who had spoken to Ren earlier looked confused and approached the old woman.
"Are they your relatives, ma'am?" he asked in surprise.
The old woman said nothing, and the atmosphere inside the tent suddenly grew tense, but it quickly eased when three residents entered. The tent curtain closed, then opened again a few seconds later as two more people entered with anxious expressions.
"This is serious. Leave now! Take the injured man to a safe place, along with this old woman," one of them said in a panicked tone.
"What happened, Yatsh?" one of the three local residents asked.
"Don't ask questions. Hurry and get them out!" he snapped sharply.
They rushed out of the tent without being told what had actually happened. The old woman stood there in confusion, and in the end, one of the villagers escorted her away from the square as quickly as possible.
The crowd of townspeople returned to their homes, urging their families to flee and seek shelter.
Earlier, while Ren and Zavi were still inside the tent, a male officer guarding the square had informed them that a massive explosion was about to occur there.
The residents trusted him immediately, as the officer was known to be friendly and reliable, having served for over eight years.
Those living near the town square hurried out of their homes, carrying useful and important belongings, lanterns lighting the streets.
Meanwhile, the two of them were already running dozens of meters away from the square, heading toward the Forgenate District in search of the robed group.