CHAPTER 102: TWILIGHT SANCTUM

As Shaan walked following the guards escorting him back to the detention room, he didn’t utter a single word. Honestly, even though the trial was postponed, he couldn’t feel any relief. For some reason, Sir Kael’s words kept echoing in his mind from earlier in the courtroom.

’H-how could they not find the mutated Doppleshade’s corpse even once?’ Shaan scratched his head. ’That’s strange. The creature was big—it couldn’t just disappear like that. Could someone be hiding something?’

"We’ve arrived," the guard said, opening the door ahead of them. "Now, come inside quickly."

"All right."

As Shaan followed the officer escorting him back to the detention room, he didn’t say a single word. Honestly, even though the trial had been postponed, he couldn’t enjoy himself at all. For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Sir Kael had said earlier in the courtroom.

"How could that mutated doppleshade corpse be the same? No way. It can’t be found." Shaan scratched his head. "Strange. It’s clearly a large creature and couldn’t just disappear like that. Could it be that someone—?"

"We’re here," said the officer, opening the door in front of him. "Now, hurry up and go inside."

"Alright."

"Until the trial results come through, your Daemon will stay in the quarantine room, and you will remain in the detention cell," the guard explained. "You’re forbidden from leaving the Twilight Sanctum. If you break this rule, you will become a prisoner and get thrown into jail."

Shaan nodded. "Alright, I understand," the guard said, closing the door and walking away from Shaan.

’Damn it! How am I supposed to find the evidence if I can’t even leave this place?’

When Shaan was trying to think of an idea to get out of here, he suddenly heard a knock from outside his room. At first, Shaan thought it might be the officer who had come earlier, so he went to open the door. However, when he opened the door, he was shocked to see a familiar face.

"Dr. Marshall?" Shaan furrowed his brow. "What are you doing here?"

"Shaan, listen to me. I’ve spoken with the other council members, and they all agreed to let you leave this place for 2 days."

"Wow, that’s great." Shaan sighed in relief. "At least that way, it’ll be easier for me to find the evidence."

"However..." Dr. Shaan immediately pulled out an electronic bracelet from his pocket. "You have to wear this."

"What is this? It looks like the ankle monitor I used to wear."

"Tether."

"Tether? I’ve never heard of it before."

"A tether, or what’s commonly called an ankle bracelet, is a device used to monitor a prisoner’s movements," Dr. Shaan explained. "This device is equipped with a GPS-like system that can track the prisoner’s real-time location. It’s waterproof and impact-resistant."

"Oh... OK. But how does it work?"

"The tether will attach to your ankle and display a color-coded level indicator. Green means you’re still within the safe zone, while red means you’ve entered an unsafe zone," Dr. Marshall explained. "If the prisoner crosses the set boundary, the device changes color and immediately sends a signal to the guards to apprehend the offender for violating the agreement."

’Wow, I had no idea such a device existed in this world.’

"Alright, now attach this tether to your ankle and follow me. As long as you’re under my supervision, you should be fine."

"Uhm... But I need to find my friends first," said Shaan. "I can’t leave them here."

"Relax, they’re both safe and with me."

"Huh?"

"The shy purple-haired girl named Chelsie and the other one, the cold-hearted girl named Nalisa." Right?"

’Oh, it seems Dr. Shaan thinks the same as me.’ Shaan nodded. ’Nalira is indeed very cold toward strangers.’

"Her name is Nalira, not Nalisa."

"Oh, right, right, that’s her," Dr. Marshall laughed. "Sorry, sorry, I guess it’s just an age thing. Haha."

"But how do you know them?"

Dr. Marshall’s expression suddenly turned serious.

"All of this came from one of my team members in the Red Moon Faction—the one who was with you," he said, glancing around. "Now hurry. Time is running out, and you don’t want people to keep seeing you as the one responsible for all this chaos, do you?"

"R-right, I understand."

Shaan quickly strapped the device onto his ankle. The tether’s indicator light turned green.

Without saying another word, he stepped out of his detention room and quietly followed Dr. Marshall as they moved closer toward the exit door.

"Shaan, wait a moment."

"Huh? What is it?"

Dr. Marshall reached out and offered him a black fedora hat. "Wear this. You need to cover your face when we’re out there. I doubt everyone will be happy seeing a detainee walking freely in the Twilight Sanctum."

"No, thank you. That’s completely unnecessary." Shaan immediately pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. "I think like this, people won’t recognize me."

"Hmm... there’s still something missing; people will still easily recognize you," Dr. Marshaal stroked his chin, looking at Shaan. "Wait, I think I know what you need." He reached into his pocket. "This should be here—ah, here it is. Use this mask," he said, handing the mask to Shaan. "Come on."

"Alright, if you insist."

"Well, perfect. This is the perfect disguise," said Dr. Marshall with a laugh. "I’m sure no one will recognize you now. Alright, it’s time for us to head to my house and meet your friends."

When Dr. Marshall opened the door in front of them, Shaan’s expression immediately tensed. He never expected that the Twilight Sanctum would be much larger than he had imagined.

"Wow, this place is much bigger than I thought."

"Shaan?" Dr. Marshall raised his eyebrows, looking at Shaan, who was standing motionless in front of the door. "Come on, there’s no time to linger."

"Yes, Dr. Marshall."

As he followed Dr. Marshal, Shaan didn’t blink once, taking in his surroundings. Honestly, when he was here, for some reason, he felt the atmosphere was unique and strange. Starting with the road surface, which wasn’t asphalt at all, but paved with bricks. The buildings were arranged symmetrically with each other. There was also a large building resembling a cathedral in the center of the city.

Strangely enough, almost all of the buildings had brick walls and curved roofs. Frankly, when he saw this, Shaan was immediately reminded of the architecture in one of his favorite fantasy comics.

"Hey, Shaan. We’re here." Dr. Shaan stopped in front of a door. "Welcome to my home."

Shaan fell silent upon seeing Dr. Shaan’s house. At first glance, it looked almost identical to the buildings next to it. However, the exterior of this building looked quite different from the others. This was because only Dr. Shaan’s house had walls covered with vines. Not only that, right at the entrance, there was a strange symbol resembling the sun and moon, giving the house a rather mystical vibe.

"Hey, Shaan," Dr. Shaan said, opening the door. "Why are you standing there at the door? Come on, it’s time to meet your friends."