CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 9.5 : THE UNSEEN WARNING (2)

"Tch... Don’t think we don’t know! You just want to monopolize that powerful energy!"

"Huff..." Al sighed. "Who would even want to touch that disgusting, evil energy?"

Some of them were clearly offended. Two figures lunged forward—one with a blazing fist,

Fire Fist,

and the other flying in with a kick infused with Vita energy.

Heavy Kick.

"You talk too much, kid!"

Al didn’t move. As they closed in, he simply raised his hand—effortlessly stopping both attacks at once, then lightly countered with a simple punch to each of them. That was all it took. Both attackers were sent flying and knocked unconscious in a single motion.

It happened so fast. The others, who had initially underestimated him, began to see Al as someone dangerous. And some of them... got excited to challenge him.

A few smiled, eager to step forward. Their adrenaline spiked, wondering who among them could take down the formidable figure before them. Others hesitated, choosing to wait and observe.

"If you’re going to attack... do it all at once. I don’t have time to waste," said Al.

Those words made them feel insulted. Emotions boiled. Four, five people jumped in simultaneously from all directions—attacking from above, below, and through Al’s blind spots. But Al simply closed his eyes for a brief moment.

A wave of energy erupted from his body. A black-red aura boiled like lava, ready to explode.

No time to waste.

Skill: Crimson Burst.

One small stomp—

Boommm!

An explosive wave of energy blasted in all directions. The air trembled. Trees were uprooted, the ground cracked, and both attackers and bystanders were violently thrown backward, slamming into the reinforced barrier set by Sebastian and his team—before collapsing unconscious.

Silence.

Not a single person remained moving. Not a single voice was left to speak.

Only one figure still stood—

Al, calm and cold-eyed.

Everyone else was unconscious—scattered across the area, some crashed into trees, others half-buried in the cracked earth or rubble destroyed by the blast.

Fortunately... no one had died.

Al looked around. Fallen trees, fractured earth, and lingering heat from the explosion still hung in the air. He exhaled slowly.

"I told you not to interfere. Good thing no one died..." he muttered, shaking his head.

The barrier had helped him execute that large-scale attack. Without it, the forest might have burned down for miles, and nearby civilians could have been affected. He didn’t want to kill people who were just foolishly curious. His power wasn’t meant to be used lightly... but sometimes, there was no other choice.

Al turned his attention to a small building that was still standing—barely. Cracks crept along its structure. He raised his hand, gathering energy around a key point in the powerful magical barrier concealing the place.

A flick of his finger—

BOOM.

The barrier shattered. Part of the building exploded instantly. Flames burst through the collapsing roof, dust filled the air. But Al remained calm, walking into the rubble as if nothing had happened.

He blamed himself for not dealing with this sooner. His laziness and tendency to overcalculate sometimes led to unwanted consequences.

In the cracked center of the floor, he found the entrance.

Al forced it open. With a hard pull, the floor creaked and gave way—revealing a narrow underground tunnel.

He descended without hesitation, without casting any protective spells. This time, the danger below was too serious to ignore. Risk was no obstacle—it was part of his job.

The tunnel was dark. Cold. The scent of metal, blood, and burnt charcoal lingered faintly.

After several minutes, Al arrived at a wide underground chamber. Ritual symbols were carved into the walls. An altar sat at the center, candles long extinguished. Residual traces of dark energy still vibrated in the air.

Three corpses lay at the center of the room. Their bodies were shriveled, as if their essence had been forcibly drained. Empty eyes stared up at the stone ceiling.

"Damn it..." Al muttered. He was too late.

The ritual was complete. Whatever was meant to be done here had already succeeded. And the perpetrators... were gone.

He stepped closer. Near the ritual circle were shards of a bluish-black stone. A teleportation stone—still faintly glowing. But there were no coordinates. No traces to follow. With dimensional stones like this, there was no way to track the destination.

"They even had a teleport stone," he observed. "Where are they getting all this stuff? Dimensional stones, teleportation stones... Are these things easy to find in this region?"

Al clenched his fists. What mattered now was finding out where they went.

"Agh. Damn it."

He touched his forehead, deep in thought.

"Rudi, Jogo, and that shaman... What were they planning with all this?"

"Master." Sebastian’s voice entered his mind through telepathy. "We’re detecting multiple auras approaching. Likely reinforcements from the group you previously engaged."

"Understood. Drop the barrier. Come here. We’re leaving."

"Yes, Master."

Above ground, the triangular seal slowly collapsed.

Soon after, dozens of people gathered at the site. They found their comrades unconscious, trees destroyed, and the small building reduced to a burning wreck.

Arguments broke out. Some panicked. Some grew suspicious. No one really knew what had happened. But one thing was certain—something big had just occurred. And they missed it.

Among the crowd stood Rina. She had just returned from recovery. Her face was serious, but no one could tell what she was thinking.

From afar, unseen by anyone—Al stood beyond the mist, watching them from the shadows.

Behind him, Sebastian, Kian, and Bata each carried one human corpse on their backs. Without a word, they retreated from the area.

Al looked at Rina for a moment... then turned and walked away.

---

Several kilometers away.

On the other side of the forest, a large river flowed gently, reflecting the moonlight that had begun to peek through the clouds.

Al and his team arrived.

"Check the bodies. Full analysis. Then... bury them properly."

"Yes, Master," Sebastian replied curtly.

The three men got to work, leaving Al alone.

He sat on a large rock by the river. The night wind began to bite, but it couldn’t disturb his calm. The scent of damp earth and foliage blended with the gentle sound of flowing water.

But peace was far from his heart.

The ritual had been completed. Someone had used three human bodies for something... and he didn’t yet know what. And now they were gone—who knew where.

Al looked up. Gazing at the sky—not to seek stars.

But to plan his next move.

Because tonight... was only the beginning.

Something far greater... was rising.

---

Some time earlier.

Between the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon—when the sky had yet to turn completely dark but daylight had faded—a forbidden ritual was taking place in a secluded underground chamber.

In the center of a rough-carved ancient circle on the stone floor, Daraka, the dark shaman, stood tall despite the sweat dripping down his face. His tired eyes were wide open, hands actively channeling energy from two stones containing pure Helos—rare materials from the djinn realm, glowing with a deep violet-black hue.

The stones buzzed softly, channeling untouchable, unholy energy along the ritual path—passing through three human corpses, then into two living bodies: Jogo and Rudi. Both were sitting cross-legged inside the circle, faces tense with unimaginable pain.

"Stay focused," Daraka said quickly, his voice raspy but firm. "We must finish before the energy here draws attention."

The energy hissed. The ground subtly shook. Jogo and Rudi’s hair began to rise. Their half-open eyes trembled—not out of fear, but because their bodies were in conflict with the energy entering them.

The corpses served to neutralize the energy, absorbing the backlash from the Helos and filtering it into something barely tolerable for a human body. Though the side effects remained, at least it didn’t immediately kill them.

The corpses began to blacken and shrivel, their flesh slowly blistering—not from heat, but from their very humanity being drained. Energy from the two core stones had to pass through dead matter first—no living person could survive direct transfer from Helos stones.

And dusk—the cusp of night and day—was the only bridge between life and death. Only during this liminal moment could such a ritual have any real chance of success. When the energies of sun and moon merged, combining opposites into one.

Rudi gritted his teeth. His face turned pale, sweat pouring down his body as he trembled violently. Jogo was already bleeding from his nose and ears. Yet both of them endured.

"Focus and channel it carefully," Daraka whispered. "The barrier above will protect us... as long as—"

CRACK.

Daraka went still.

A sound like shattering glass echoed from above. The kind of sound that could only mean one thing—someone... or something... had breached their defense.

"What...?" he whispered. "Impossible... Someone found us?"

He rushed to the wall, pressing his hand into the air. He sent out a detection pulse—

And—

BOOM!!

The barrier collapsed—destroyed by someone.

"Damn it... We have to speed it up," Daraka barked.

"They’re not stable yet," said his assistant.

"Just do it! No time! Or it all goes to waste!"

Daraka gritted his teeth and forced the last surge of energy from the Helos stones. The two cores flared brilliantly—then began to crack.

Jogo and Rudi convulsed violently. Their eyes bulged, veins protruding across their faces and necks. Smoke rose from their bodies, like they’d been drenched in boiling water.

But—

It was done. Half-conscious, their bodies now held the energy of djinn—not perfectly, but stable enough to survive.

Daraka didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a teleportation stone from a small altar behind him—a special stone synced with coordinates to escape the area.

"We’re leaving. Now."

He injected energy into the stone—and in an instant, their bodies were consumed by dimensional light.

Just moments before Al arrived.

And then—they were gone.

All that remained was a filthy chamber. Three desiccated corpses. Scattered ritual tools. And the thick scent of scorched energy and death.

Silence.

Until a few minutes later, when Al stepped into the chamber.

But by then... they were long gone.

---