CHAPTER 220: INTERLUDE - REUNION (2)

“What the heck was your child doing to end up in the Demonic District, huh? You said it was a stable rift, right? One you guaranteed was safe?” Deneb chattered nonstop beside Vega.

He snickered and hovered around her.

“A Celestial is supposed to protect their children, and yet you let your child fall into danger? How could you mess up like that, huh? Huh? Huh?”

Vega closed her eyes, letting Deneb’s words pass through one ear and out the other. At least she pretended to do so.

“I must endure. I must endure,” she muttered quietly under her breath. A thick vein bulged on her delicate forehead as she clenched her fist.

“Hehehe!Ah, that felt great!” Deneb stretched his arms wide with a satisfying groan.

Vega glared daggers at him while trying to contain her rising temper. The grand temple door adorned with ornate decorations swung open. A young man and two women entered.

“You’re here?” Deneb turned to look at Allen Oskal and the twin sisters, Xiao Lin and Xiao Lan.

Allen, standing at the front, nodded so slightly that it was barely noticeable. He briefly glanced at Vega, Song Ha-Eun, and Isabella with an icy gaze before turning back to Deneb. “What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“I need to ask you a favor, Allen.”

“A favor?”

“Go to the Demonic District.”

“The Demonic District?” Allen frowned slightly. “Are you asking me to meet with the Elder Megrez or something?”

“No. I want you to rescue the Thunder Wolf.”

“The Thunder Wolf?” Allen repeated.

The twin sisters’ eyes flashed sharply at that name. “The Thunder Wolf?”

When Deneb subtly gestured with his eyes, Vega stepped forward. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Allen bowed politely. “I greet the Celestial of Lyra.”

“Due to my own carelessness, my child is trapped in the Demonic District.”

“Trapped?”

Vega calmly explained what had happened inside the Demonic District. As the explanation continued, Allen and the twin sisters’ expressions grew increasingly stiff.

“If he couldn’t get out in that situation, then he’s probably already—”

“Be quiet,” Xiao Lin quickly silenced Xiao Lan.

“I see.” Allen briefly sighed and turned back to Deneb. His eyes practically said, ‘Are you seriously going through with this?’

Deneb flinched slightly and nodded awkwardly.

After a long sigh, Allen turned back toward Vega. “I understand. I will help find the Thunder Wolf.”

He didn’t have any special relationship or loyalty to Kwon Oh-Jin to risk his life entering the Demonic District.

“Thank you.”

“It’s because I’m doing a favor for Deneb.”

It wasn’t just anyone, but a request from Deneb, who was like a parent to him. He had no reason to refuse.

Deneb’s eyes sparkled as he grabbed Allen’s arm enthusiastically. “Knew I could count on you, Allen!”

“Ah, and... not that it’s a condition or anything, but I do have one request of my own,” Allen said to Vega.

“Go ahead.”

Allen looked down with a faint smile at Deneb, who clung to him like a cicada. “If Deneb ever ends up in a troublesome situation like you, Lady Vega, I’d like you to return the favor and help him.”

“W-What are you saying all of a sudden?! As if I’d ever end up in that kind of situation!” Deneb yelled in protest, but Allen gently patted his head.

Vega watched them with a warm smile. “Of course.”

“Then, we’ll head out immediately.” Allen touched the sword at his waist.

Just as he prepared to turn around, Deneb suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him back with a hardened expression. “Wait, hold on a minute.”

The playful air from just moments ago vanished, replaced by a murderous aura. Deneb directed that killing intent at Isabella, quietly standing behind Vega the entire time.

“Ugh.”

Deneb narrowed his eyes and glared at her. “Who are you?”

Crack, crack!

With a casual wave of his hand, ice pillars burst up from the temple floor and formed a prison that trapped Isabella.

Isabella stared silently with a stiff expression at the ice pillars that now confined her.

Vega blocked Deneb from moving toward Isabella. “Enough. I will personally vouch for this child's identity.”

“Are you serious, Vega? She’s an apostle of the Black Stars.”

“I am well aware.”

“Hmm.”

Deneb nodded slightly and snapped his fingers. The towering ice pillars surrounding Isabella collapsed all at once.

“Well, if you say so, Vega. I’ll trust you.”

Since Vega herself had stepped forward to guarantee her identity, he didn’t need to question it further.

“Thank you.”

As Vega reached out to pat his head, Deneb flinched like he was having a seizure and bolted away.

“Hey! I told you not to treat me like a kid!”

Song Ha-Eun dryly laughed and rubbed her forehead. “I feel like the image I had of Celestials is completely falling apart.”

“We don’t have time to be standing around like this. If we don’t hurry...” Isabella bit her fingernails anxiously.

“I said, don’t worry, didn’t I?” Song Ha-Eun grinned and grabbed Isabella by the shoulder. She gently patted Isabella’s trembling back. “Oh-Jin isn’t someone who would die so easily.”

“I-I know.” Isabella quickly collected herself and tried to hide her blush.

She could feel Song Ha-Eun’s hand slightly trembling on her back.

“You’re scared too,” Isabella mumbled under her breath.

“Hmm?

”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Isabella pulled away from Song Ha-Eun with a brighter expression and a faint smile. Then, she turned to Allen and the Xiao sisters. “Are you all okay with departing immediately?”

“Yes,” Allen answered.

“But how are we getting to the North Pole? There aren’t any Sanctums near there.” Xiao Lan cocked her head.

“I’ve arranged for the Colgrande Family’s private jet. We'll get to the Sanctum in London first and fly from there.”

“Perfect! Let’s hurry over and drag that punk Oh-Jin back!” Song Ha-Eun shouted energetically and turned toward the exit.

As she was about to step outside, Vega approached her. “I’ll leave my child in your hands.”

Song Ha-Eun turned back to Vega with a big smile. “Yup. I’ll make sure to bring him back.”

***

The first rift in the North Pole spanned a diameter of fifty kilometers.

“So this is... the first rift.”

Isabella swallowed hard as she gazed at the giant black tear that spread across the icy expanse. Even though they were still quite far, it was so big that the end couldn’t be seen no matter how far she looked.

Isabella quickened her steps with a sense of urgency.

“Hold on a sec.” Song Ha-Eun grabbed Isabella’s arm and looked around.

Near the rift that connected directly to the Demonic District, high-rank beasts rarely seen on Earth roamed freely as if they owned the place.

“Are you sure this area has the fewest demonic beasts?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Yes.” Allen nodded. “This was the route we took the last time we entered the Demonic District.”

Song Ha-Eun stared at him with wide eyes in surprise. “You’ve been there before?”

Allen silently nodded again and slowly unsheathed his sword. “The important thing is speed. If we slow down even a little, the noise will attract swarms of demonic beasts.”

“They won’t follow us into the Demonic District?”

“No. Once we cross, we’ll be safe for a while.”

“They’re just gatekeepers?”

“You could put it that way.”

Hearing that Allen had experience in the Demonic District, a flicker of relief crossed Song Ha-Eun and Isabella’s faces.

“Well, something would have to go seriously wrong if we can’t even manage to enter the Demonic District,” Song Ha-Eun said.

After all, they had Isabella (the Black Star Society’s third-ranked executor), Allen (a member of the Seven Stars), the Xiao twins (ranked fourth and fifth among Deneb’s twelve Apostles), and Song Ha-Eun herself (a high-rank Draco Awakener on par with the twelve Zodiacs).

If this group couldn’t make it into the Demonic District, then the very existence of the place would remain a mystery to the world.

Allen stepped forward and raised his sword. “I’ll take the lead.”

He sharply scanned the area and watched the demonic beasts wandering around the edges of the black rift before kicking off.

Crack!

His figure blurred and disappeared into thin air. Following the arc of his lightly swung sword, a wide frost spread out across the field and instantly froze the demonic beasts solid without even giving them time to scream.

“Woah,” Song Ha-Eun exclaimed.

“Isn’t our Allen amazing?” Xiao Lan excitedly waved as she looked at Allen’s back.

Xiao Lin frowned and glared at Xiao Lan. “Could you please show some dignity? There are other people here too."

“Oh my, what’s gotten into you? Aren’t you usually the first one to squeal and make a fuss just from seeing Allen’s face?”

“X-Xiao Lan!” Xiao Lin’s face turned red.

“Quiet.” At Allen’s demand, the two girls flinched and quickly fell silent. “We’ll advance slowly.”

“Didn’t you say earlier that speed was important?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“We'll get as close to the rift as possible without getting detected, and then sprint from there.”

They left the frozen demonic beasts behind and continued toward the first rift. Ten kilometers still remained until they reached the rift. Even Awakeners with superhuman physiques couldn’t cover such a distance in one leap.

They continued advancing and quietly took down the demonic beasts.

Allen, who rarely changed his expression, furrowed his brow and glanced around. “What is going on?”

Isabella, following behind, also frowned slightly as if sensing something unusual. “This is...”

Song Ha-Eun looked around. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“The demonic beasts are behaving strangely.” Allen looked back at the beasts he had frozen earlier.

He had swiftly dealt with them before they could even make a sound.

“The demonic beasts are starting to gather around us,” he said.

“What? Why all of a sudden?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“I’m not sure.”

Allen felt the presence of demonic beasts approaching from all directions and tightly gripped his sword. He couldn’t figure out how they had been discovered or why so many beasts now stampeded toward them.

“In any case, we’ll break through head-on!”

They had no other choice after being exposed.

“Hup!”

Thump!

With a rough stomp, Allen launched forward.

An icy energy, far colder than even the North Pole winds, cleaved through the incoming demonic beasts.

“Krrrrk!”

“Kruk? Kurururuk?!”

The demonic beasts swarming them shrieked in terror at Allen’s sudden appearance. Confusion and horror filled their frantic eyes.

Wait, they hadn’t spotted us?

Allen frowned in confusion. If the beasts hadn’t detected them, why did so many suddenly start gathering?

Something else is going on.

Come to think of it, he vaguely recalled something Megrez mentioned during his previous trip to the Demonic District. The demonic beasts roaming near the Demonic District were exiles that couldn’t become a part of the king’s forces. The Serpent had taken control of most of these demonic beasts and ruled as their queen.

Allen’s face stiffened. “No way.”

Beyond the snowy plains, demonic beasts gathered like clouds.

Even if intruders appeared, the demonic beasts guarding the area spanning fifty kilometers had never all converged in one spot like this. Except for when their master, the Serpent, personally set foot on Earth.

“The Serpent... is crossing over right now?”

Allen stared across the vast icy expanse with trembling eyes as countless demonic beasts flooded the area.