Chapter 314 - Inhuman Presences
Theo didn’t stick around to see what happened next.
The moment the group began rushing back up the staircase, his shadow shot in the opposite direction.
It didn’t take long before the first shouts echoed from somewhere behind him.
BOOM!
A loud explosion followed, even sending a shockwave through the corridor.
Right after, several more followed as screams rang out chaotically.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Theo’s shadow continued racing down the steps.
Suddenly, everything fell completely silent behind him.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but glance back.
’That should be it,’ he thought, feeling his heart pound. ’Both groups should’ve vanished because of the fight.’
At first, Theo had simply planned to make them fight each other.
But the vanishing only made things easier and faster.
As for guilt? He didn’t feel any!
None of the hunters here were innocent, and if it came down to choosing between them and his own group, he wouldn’t hesitate for even a second.
’Besides, that second group literally said they were going to kill us,’ he thought, shrugging once.
Without another thought, Theo focused back on the path ahead.
It didn’t take long before the familiar room appeared once more.
Everyone was still waiting exactly where he’d left them.
Theo’s shadow raced across the remaining distance before coming to a stop beside Owen.
A moment later, his body emerged from the ground.
’’What the fuck?!’’ Owen shouted, jumping aside.
Theo glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow.
’’Are you alright?’’ he asked, looking at him strangely.
Owen immediately cleared his throat.
’’Yes,’’ he replied. ’’Your creepy shit just startled me.’’
Theo stared at him for another second before shaking his head.
Only then did the others begin to gather around.
Jim glanced past Theo towards the staircase they’d come from.
’’So...’’ he muttered. ’’What exactly happened back there?’’
Theo didn’t hesitate to tell them the truth.
’’I’ve made sure they won’t catch up,’’ he replied. ’’I’ve also confirmed that the vanishing after breaking something is real.’’
For a moment, nobody responded.
Then Nadia slowly turned towards him.
’’You... confirmed it?’’ she asked in a low tone.
Theo nodded right away.
’’One of them lightly charred the ceiling,’’ he replied simply. ’’She disappeared on the spot.’’
Everyone’s expressions shifted immediately.
Nadia couldn’t help but stare at the ground with wide eyes.
’’So the stories were true...’’ she muttered quietly.
The only person seemingly unaffected by the potential danger was Owen.
He’d long since glanced back at Theo, casual as ever.
’’So I assume you made the others from those groups disappear too?’’
Theo frowned slightly.
’’I didn’t exactly make them disappear,’’ he corrected. ’’I just instigated a fight between the two groups behind us.’’
Owen rolled his eyes.
’’Same thing,’’ he said, waving him off. ’’Whatever.’’
Theo opened his mouth, but Owen had already turned away.
The others watched on speechlessly, having barely digested the vanishing information.
’’You... made the groups fight each other?’’ Isabelle repeated quietly. ’’But if they use their spells here...’’
She didn’t need to finish her sentence.
Everybody knew what it meant.
Isabelle couldn’t help but exchange a glance with Lucienne, who seemed surprised too.
Then she glanced back at Theo, a small frown appearing on her face.
’’Isn’t that wrong?’’ she asked, placing her hands on her hips. ’’They hadn’t even done anything to us yet.’’
Theo stared at her for a moment.
He could understand why it seemed wrong to someone from the Imperial Church.
’’They were planning to,’’ he replied. ’’Thus, they were dealt with preemptively.’’
Isabelle’s frown deepened.
’’How do you kno—’’
’’Alright, enough of that,’’ Owen interrupted, clapping his hands together. ’’Don’t think we have time to debate all this, right?’’
He casually picked up his sledgehammer and pointed it at the three passages.
’’What do you wanna do about these?’’
Theo’s attention immediately shifted towards the passages.
Behind him, Isabelle clearly still had more to say.
But after opening her mouth for a moment, she reluctantly remained silent.
As Theo glanced at the passages, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
All three looked almost identical.
Each had ancient sandstone walls that went further than he could see, covered in the same strange paintings and engravings they’d seen on the way down.
’They are almost... too similar,’ he thought. ’Not to mention, I can’t even sense those presences Feng mentioned.’
That’s when a sudden realization popped into Theo’s mind.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t sense the presences... rather, he couldn’t sense anything at all.
’What the hell?’
A deep frown appeared on Theo’s face.
’Feng, how can you sense anything here when I can’t?’
Almost immediately, Feng’s voice rang through his mind.
’’Mana sense seems to be blocked by a barrier,’’ he replied. ’’But I don’t sense mana. I use the wind to sense my surroundings.’’
Theo blinked once.
’Right, I completely forgot about that.’
Still, Theo made a mental note of the strange barrier blocking his mana sense.
After a moment, he glanced back at the passages.
’Which one should we take then?’ he asked.
For several seconds, Feng remained completely silent.
’’The right passage,’’ he eventually replied. ’’Though I sense more presences there, it opens up into a large chamber.’’
Theo raised an eyebrow.
More strange presences didn’t seem ideal, especially in a place they couldn’t damage.
But at least they wouldn’t be walking into a dead end.
After another moment, Theo turned towards the others.
’’We’re taking the right passage,’’ he said.
Owen immediately rested his sledgehammer against his shoulder.
’’Finally,’’ he muttered. ’’Standing around in the dark was starting to piss me off.’’
Theo ignored him and stepped towards the passage.
’’Stay close,’’ he warned. ’’There are several things waiting ahead.’’
That immediately caught everyone’s attention.
Weapons were raised as the group began following behind him.
Theo took the lead once more, stepping through the right doorway.
That’s when Feng’s voice suddenly rang through his mind again.
’’Contractor.’’
Theo slowed down slightly.
’What’s up?’
A brief silence followed.
’’Those presences inside the chamber...’’ Feng said quietly. ’’They seem to be human, yet inhuman.’’
Theo’s brows furrowed instantly.
’What do you mean?’
Feng remained silent for a moment, seemingly trying to find the right comparison.
’’It is somewhat similar to your friend Owen,’’ he eventually replied. ’’But... different. I cannot tell you exactly how.’’