The shadow door opened again, but this time – not in front of the gate, instead what stood before them was small area of land that looked more like a wasteland than a shelter.
The barricades were mostly destroyed, most houses made of clay-like material were already demolished and covered with iron roofing.
Signs of recent battle still lingered beyond the tattered houses and collapsed buildings.
The corpses of some dead abyss creatures covered in blood still lay on the floor with their soul stones extracted, smell of decaying flesh and dry blood still persisted.
It was a sight that made the sight at the Thal'mora island look like a child's playground.
People were moving in groups, moving the creatures' bodies away without noticing the people that arrived.
Their eyes looked as though it had lost its color, some already showed early signs of corruption; skin turned hard and black, slightly mutated parts of limbs and other body parts.
It was worse than Kael expected.
And this was where serin would have to stay.
At least for a while.
This was the best option they had at the moment – that's what he kept telling himself to stop the unknown ache that was growing in his chest.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Serin spoke, trying to convince Kael with a smile that stretched too far to seem true.
"Come, let me take you to someone who can help her find a shelter to stay at."
They moved through the partially destroyed houses, the area was full of injured fighters or groups of people sharing spoils of the previous waves of abyss creatures' attack.
As they approached a partly demolished fence of a small hut, the stares of the settlement residents had gotten more intense.
Kael paid no mind to this; he simply had no energy to think about them.
"Don't mind the stares, it's because of me."
This single line subtly drew Kael's attention.
"Why? Do you have a bad reputation here?"
"No, but since I'm a high-ranked officer within the walls; my presence here gathers a lot of attention."
'Is that one of the reasons why he didn't want to come here?'
Upon entering into the yard, the old and crumbling hut still stood a few meters from them; but Kael could already feel sense the essence of a very powerful individual inside its walls.
'What's with this powerful wave of essence, surely it's not a transcendent but it's quite a lot for an ascended.'
He paused for a few seconds to access the situation beyond the hut; three ascended, six rather powerful combat-type awakened, a scout watching from the top of a big tree that spread its leaves as a shade over the hut.
'I see, this is the resistance force that protects and keeps things in order around here.
Nothing he found surprising; just the rise of a strength-enforced authority in a degraded and forgotten land.
With Lennar in front, they were allowed in by the two awakened guarding the entrance without any delay.
Inside the small hut stood a round table made of a flat surfaced stone slab with six people sitting on smaller pieces of stones.
At the center of them was a robust figure a piece of black clothing covering the left part of his face confidently seated on the roughly shaped stone chair positioned at the center.
The individual possessed a crushing presence that made lennar seem more like a child even without trying to impose it.
His sun toned frame leaned forward to look at the piece of paper spread across the stone table.
"Eren, what's the matter? Won't you greet your good friend?"
The man who looked in his mid-thirties looked up from the map directly at them.
"What's good about meeting a friend who seems to always bring more trouble than help to me?
Six people died early today; you know – because one of the awakened hid himself well while his corruption had gotten to its threshold."
"That's very bad, I'm glad to see you're still almost in one piece."
Eren rubbed the covered part of his face and devious smile appeared on his face.
"Exactly, almost.
But hey, let's not bore our guests with that for now – there'll be plenty of time for that."
He leaned back in his chair, looking straight at Kael – as if trying to read something written on his face.
"Are they the new residents?"
"Yes, these two are."
Lennar responded, pointing to Nyx and serin.
"Why's this one here though? she looks more of a monster than most people around here do."
Kael knew he was referring to Nyx.
"Her case is rather rare, it seems."
"Rare, you don't say."
"Yes, exactly."
Kael was the one who responded this time.
Eren's attention turned back to him once more.
"I've heard that more times than I can count, what exactly makes this one so unique?"
There was a pause before Kael finally responded.
"Because she's my familiar, before there's no risk of her going rouge."
Eren stood up from his chair and his enormous physique came into full view.
At over two meters, this 'monster among men' possessed a build that would make many abyss creatures look like a joke.
Just witnessing terrifying physical appearance was enough to make most of them subtly shiver, even Nyx gave a subtle glance at the leader of the outskirts – all except Kael.
Rather than shiver in fear, he was more immersed in his thinking; the appearance of someone like this could really give his plans a boost – if he managed to convince him of course.
The only hesitation he felt was regarding the fact that Eren was also corrupted; depending on the level of corruption, it might throw a wrench in his new-found plan.
More than that, the complete corruption of a physical powerhouse like him would spell the end for the small settlement of survivors and rejects.
He gauged the corruption level quickly.
'Good, not enough to be an issue for now.'
But for how long? If he wanted to utilize the golden opportunity, it would be a race against time later—no matter how slow the corruption progressed.
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't realize that the man with a heavyweight build had been standing before him for a minute or so.
It wasn't until Nyx called his attention.
"Kael, he's right in front of you."
Suddenly snapping back to the present situation, he looked up at the giant, and a familiar grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Hmm, standing in front of me without showing any sign of emotion or discomfort; it's been a while.
The man smiled mischievously, stretching his muscles as though preparing for a fight.
"This isn't what I think it is, right?"
"Let's see just how much fire you've got in you, kid."
Lennar had to step in to prevent the situation from escalating.
"Sorry Eren, I need to take this guy with me.
He's rather important."
Eren finally relaxed again.
Now with a slightly surprised expression on his face.
"How is he supposed to pass through the barrier, though?"
A brief period of silence enveloped the room before Novak spoke this time.
"Because he's not corrupted."
Suddenly, the previously calm air was consumed by quickly spreading tension.
Kael felt it; the air suddenly grew thick.
A piercing sensation stung the back of his neck.
It wasn't just some crazy assumption anymore; it was definitely a big issue around these parts, big enough to make Eren's friendly nature turn serious.
"Are you sure of what you're saying?"
Lennar licked his lips, as if thinking carefully about his next words.
"Yes, I know it sounds almost impossible, but we've confirmed it."
The big man breathed a deep sigh and returned to his seat.
The thick air seemingly began to dissipate, and Kael felt his breathing ease once more.
"So what exactly do you want from me now?"
Lennar moved closer.
"Just help us find somewhere for these two to stay."
He looked at Serin and Nyx once more.
"Okay, but if they're staying here, they need to join the hunts."
Without a hint of hesitation, Serin responded.
"Yes, we know, and we're ready."
Her gentle face truly was amazing.
The calm smile returned to Eren's face.
"Good, then you're welcome."
They walked outside the hut, escorted by Eren himself and three awakened ones as they headed for the exit.
The streets were just as disorganized as they were when they arrived.
The air was just as stale as it was previously, with a lingering smell of dirt and blood.
This time, they were escorted to an old and partly demolished hut.
The walls looked as if they were broken and stitched back together by hand, while the roof looked like it was begging for repairs.
At the entrance sat a long, blonde-haired man who looked to be in his late twenties.
His head bowed low but was raised when the sound of footsteps approached his residence.
In the corner of his vision, an enormous figure with long hair appeared with a few other people following him from behind.
The ones who stood out the most were two figures: one was a young man wearing an Eclipse Court uniform.
Meeting those people was never a good sign as far as he was concerned.
The other was a black-haired fellow covered, wearing a long black coat.
"Gloom Pact? Two pieces of bad news at the same time.
Just how bad is the situation?'
While these were eye-catching individuals, the one who really caught his attention was the gentle-looking lady with long ears.
He had heard about figures from other realms that possessed unique features; he had even heard of one of the so-called "Elves" leaving the fortress over two decades back.
There were a lot of descriptions about this said rare species, but every single one of them paled in comparison to what he was looking at.
His mind snapped back, but his eyes failed to listen to its command, as if enchanted by a strange existence.
It wasn't until they were right in front of him that he regained his awareness.
The man who led the people standing before was none other than the leader of the settlement, who was also a friend of his.
"Yes, I know, Darwin. She's quite stunning, but for someone like you to completely forget your surroundings is baffling."
Eren's lips curved into a smile.
Darwin cleared his throat and smiled nervously.
The situation caught him slightly off guard.
"Eren, to what do I owe this visit?"
There was a brief moment of silence.
"It's pretty simple, actually."
"Oh, really? And what are you here for exactly?"
"I want to give these two this hut to live in."