He looked toward the horizon — the last light of dusk fading behind the peaks.
He exhaled slowly.
"I shouldn't get in between their timeline," he murmured again. "But if this Devil Contractor is behind the demon surge… then leaving it alone might not be an option."
He took one last glance toward the path where Elysia had vanished. For a moment, he almost followed — but then turned away.
"But all of a sudden… where did Dakin vanish?"
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
The ridge ahead was narrow and sharp, shaped like the spine of a dead beast.
Black stones jutted out from the ground, slick with dew, and the sky above seemed darker than usual, no moon, no stars.
Kael pressed forward.
Each step echoed faintly, swallowed quickly by the eerie quiet.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "This place… doesn't feel right."
