Both Devion and Khal suddenly lifted their gaze and looked in the same direction. They frowned slightly.

"It’s strange," Devion voiced out. He could not sense anything, but somehow he thought someone was observing him.

"You sensed it too?" Khal looked at him, and he nodded. "I’ll check."

Khal went in that direction, just as Ayen and the two guides approached Devion.

Of course, only Ayen truly gets closer to the esper. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"What’s going on?" His eyes then watched Khal’s back.

"Oh, he’s checking something," Devion told him about the odd thing that happened.

It was not for long, and Khal returned. His expression was solemn.

"I didn’t see anyone."

"No one?"

Khal nodded.

"But there’s an unusual trace of mana. Just to be sure, we have to leave here as soon as possible."

Even if there was really nothing, Khal would not risk it.

Ayen glanced in the direction from which he came and slowly shifted his gaze back to the two espers and nodded, agreeing.

After eating their lunch, they set off again. This time, their pace became faster. Khal had a bad feeling about what happened. At this speed, anyone tailing them would not be able to keep up.

And he was right.

"Well, we already reported it."

Their figures slowly appeared.

The two sat helplessly on the ground.

"I thought I was going to die."

"He’s... truly a monster."

The two sighed in relief. And looked at the item in their hands, one of the essentials for scouts like them. The lingering fear had not faded yet in their system.

It intensified as they watched the item turn to ashes.

If Khal stayed a few seconds more in their vicinity, he would be able to discover them. The item was unable to withstand the SS-class esper’s mana probe.

They were truly lucky.

The two decided to recover first; after they had done so, they started walking where the espers and their guides had stayed earlier.

They did not dare move earlier and so had not witnessed the lunch. If not, they would not think the two espers had three guides.

"Let’s look if they missed something."

It might be wishful thinking, but there was no harm in trying to investigate.

The two leisurely went to the camp. But they paused, looking at each other. "Weird. It’s a bit... cold?"

"Well, Khal has ice abilities."

"Makes sense."

Although the man sensed something was amiss, his comrades’ words made sense. If only... his senses were more enhanced. They soon stepped into the area and became closer to where they put on the fire to cook.

The other man’s face paled, the chill quickly entering his bones, the hair on his arms standing up.

"Uh, maybe we can leave?"

"Why?" His comrade looked up and saw the pale face. Just as he was about to get up, his eyes widened, and he sensed something.

"No! Let’s go!" The man did not wait for him and was about to leave the area, but it was as though they had triggered something, and it was already too late to leave.

The temperature quickly dropped as something exploded; the two men’s expressions sank as terror crept into their beings. Before they could react, their bodies instantly became frozen, and the small area seemed to become a land of ice.

Slowly, cracks appeared on the ice statue and then tore to pieces, landing on the ground. The two men’s terrified expressions were still so vivid inside the ice before that too cracked as they fell.

The moment that the two scouts triggered the trap that Khal had left behind, he quickly sensed it. His eyes flickered in menacing light.

"Something happened?" Ayen asked, noticing Khal’s expression.

At his question, Devion, who was on his other side, also shifted his gaze to Khal.

Khal did not hide it either and told them what he had done.

Devion smirked. He sort of expected it. Khal was very meticulous in matters he was suspicious of.

"Someone’s tailing us?"

Ayen also sat in Liz’s head with the two espers, while the other two guides were at the back.

Devion shook his head.

"I don’t think so. They probably get lucky."

Khal agreed with him.

Ayen also thought about it and had to agree. With Liz’s speed, only a few could keep up with her. And the two espers would immediately know of them.

But...

"How are they able to hide from you?"

This was something Khal and Devion found surprising, too. However, they had an answer.

"Those madmen again, probably." Devion’s tone was filled with displeasure. "This must be one of their inventions."

Ayen’s lips twitched.

Khal sighed slightly. Every detail they uncovered about them was always something surprising, and even they could not help but praise.

Only that... they were enemies, very troublesome enemies.

They kept at their pace and only stopped by occasionally to wash up or once nature kicked in. There were no incidents along the way, and they soon arrived in the city.

The last time Ayen arrived here was to save Keeran; now, it’s a different matter.

His eyes went to Lucian, and unsurprisingly, he was already awake, and worry filled his expression. It was not just him; even Nolan was silent beside him.

As for him? He was also worried.

To what those madmen would be up to again.

And as he was worrying about that, a yellow zone not far from them suddenly entered a state of emergency. The flame of war had also spread in this place.

Thorne Clan.

Another elite clan was supervising this place.

Unlike the other warzones, the situation in this city was dire. The civilian casualties had reached thousands and, in no time, might reach a million.

Both the government and the clan were taken aback.

"Those clan bastards!" The one in charge cursed the clan. "They are demons! Demons!"

The soldiers and espers fell into despair. Although most were indifferent to deaths by now, this was the first time they experienced such a terrifying number of deaths.

Everyone knew that what happened would continue to haunt them in their dreams for many years to come.

On the clan side, a direct clan member was also surprised.

"Can someone tell me... How the fuck did this happen?"

The members were taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

It only took two hours for all of this to escalate, something they never planned.

At the corner, one member’s lips hooked up before he dropped it.

His eyes gleamed in the darkness; no one noticed it.