CHAPTER 90…………………………..

A lavish mansion in the middle of the city.

This was the new mansion Owen had reluctantly purchased, and also a hideout where they kept their companions hidden.

Sierra, disguised as Alec, knocked on the back door of the mansion.

But even after waiting for a long time, it remained silent inside.

Ashur, who had the face of Theo, leaned closer to the door and spoke in a low voice.

“There’s someone here.”

“…Could they be hiding?”

“Seems like it.”

They had no key, and breaking the door open by force wasn’t an option.

Entering through the front door was also tricky since they had come secretly.

“Hmm… what should we do?”

The two scanned their surroundings for a moment.

Passersby didn’t pay any attention to them.

“Ah, I’ve got a good idea.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. They’re probably watching from inside. I guess they won’t open the door because of how we look… But if I say it like this, they won’t be able to refuse, right?”

Seeing her smile mischievously, Ashur nodded as if he understood.

“Ah, why didn’t I think of that sooner.”

Sierra raised her hand again and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock—

“[Kadiya, it’s me. Sierra.]”

At last, sounds of movement came from behind the door.

Hearing it, Sierra let out a slight smile.

Creak—

As expected, the door soon opened.

Ashur glanced around briefly and followed behind Sierra as she moved first.

But when a dagger was pressed to their neck, they could move no further and raised their hands.

“[What’s that noise? Who are you?]”

Kadiya’s eyes, which they hadn’t seen in a while, were trembling fiercely.

She held a weapon, but it was just enough of a threat that a little force would push her back.

Ashur slowly pulled Sierra behind him.

“[Don’t pretend you didn’t hear anything. Long time no see. How did the Watchers of Eshkal end up out here…? And why’s that Teranok guy involved? Explain.]”

Even though his face was different, Ashur’s sharp gaze remained unchanged.

Sierra, stepping back behind him, added:

“[I used magic temporarily to hide from surveillance. Thanks for waiting, everyone.]”

The pressure of the dagger had already loosened.

“[Really… Sierra? And you’re Ashur? Ridiculous. Hah… seriously.]”

In the end, Kadiya lowered her weapon and let out a hollow laugh.

One by one, the other companions also lowered their weapons.

“[Is this the kind of magic that the Dark Mage used last time? You didn’t actually learn dark magic, did you?]”

“[No, of course not. I only imitated it. The magic circle alone wasn’t enough, so I even used a potion.]”

Sierra revealed the magic circle on the back of her neck.

But Ashur immediately pulled her to his side.

“Why, Ashur?”

“Why show your neck?”

“…You do know I look like a man now, right?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Seeing the two bickering, Rohita burst out laughing.

“[Haha, so it’s Ashur and Sierra. I can tell now.]”

“[Annoying.]”

Barrel, who hadn’t seen them, let out a sigh, his eyes darkened.

“[So, after all that disguise, why do you seem so relaxed? Shouldn’t you return to the Sanctuary immediately?]”

“[Hmm, escaping right now is difficult. There are several reasons, but the biggest is this.]”

Sierra lifted her bracelet and gestured toward Ashur’s neck and arm.

“[It’s a magic suppression device. Even if we escape, if they track this, the risk of being captured helplessly is high.]”

“[But we’re here! Do you think we’d let you get caught again?]”

Kadiya shouted in excitement, but Sierra answered calmly.

“[You can’t even use your divine beasts inside the kingdom right now.]”

“[That’s… true, but…]”

“[I have a plan. Will you hear me out?]”

Faced with Sierra’s serious gaze, Kadiya finally nodded.

“[Okay. What should we do?]”

A long meeting took place in a guest room Owen was unaware of.

“[Got it? Then, just wait a little longer.]”

Since there was another place to visit before the magic’s duration ended, Sierra hurried outside.

“[Okay. Be careful.]”

Accompanied by their companions’ farewells, the two turned back with reluctant steps.

A small alley with a view of the Mage Tower, in front of a warehouse.

Sierra looked around.

“From here… you said you saw people participating in the experiment enter.”

“Right.”

Sierra looked up at the Mage Tower towering in the distance.

The warehouse was located on the outskirts of the tower.

“It’s impressive they saw it from so far. Theo must have sharp eyes.”

“At this distance, it’s visible enough.”

“…Yeah, Ashur, your eyes are sharp too.”

Ashur aside, Theo was also a mage.

Surely, staring too much at research material would make one’s eyesight worse, right?

Feeling a bit envious, Sierra thought about developing a potion to improve eyesight.

“There’s a window over there.”

“How do we peek inside without being noticed? It’s pitch black.”

Sierra tried to glance through the small window.

At that moment, Ashur pressed her against the wall.

“Shh.”

Creak—

Someone entered the dark warehouse.

Sierra pressed her startled chest and listened carefully.

She heard the voices of unfamiliar men.

“Ugh, disgusting. Failed again….”

“Yes. We need to report this.”

“Grk… ughhh…”

“Quiet!”

Thud—

Sierra and Ashur exchanged glances.

Inside, the mysterious sounds were more like beasts than humans.

“Let’s go.”

Lowering her voice, Sierra gestured toward the front of the warehouse.

Ashur quickly pulled her back.

“I’ll go first.”

“…Okay.”

Unable to use mana, she was powerless.

Ashur was the same, but at least the suppression device didn’t limit basic strength.

They approached the door slowly.

The rickety warehouse door seemed broken and didn’t close properly.

‘Shoddy.’

Two shadows were inside, busy wrapping something in a sack.

Ashur gestured to Sierra to wait.

She met his gaze briefly and nodded.

Thud—

“Ugh!”

“Argh.”

Without saying a word, the two men fainted.

Luckily, since the men had their backs turned, Ashur subdued them without issue.

“Did they faint that quickly…?”

“Yeah. They won’t get up for a while.”

Sierra’s surprised voice drew an indifferent response from Ashur.

“Ah… I see.”

Relieved, Sierra examined the fallen men.

‘Hmm, even with the suppression device, Ashur is strong… as long as it’s not Derek.’

Thinking of Derek dampened her mood briefly, but the shock of what was inside the sack overshadowed other feelings.

“Ugh. This is… a person.”

But not an ordinary person.

Mottled skin, sharp teeth and claws.

The stench of untreated rotting flesh hit her nose.

“Kyah!”

The mysterious person threatened Sierra.

But their body was so emaciated, bones showing, that they had no strength.

Ashur silently approached and quickly knocked out the person in the sack as well.

They looked like humans who had almost turned into beasts.

The patterns on their bodies reminded Sierra of those cursed in the Sanctuary.

“The curse… mixing dark magic into a magic circle manifests like this, huh? I wondered what kind of experiment they were doing…”

Was this an extension of the experiments done in the Sanctuary?

How they intended to use such a horrific magic circle in war was unimaginable.

“What should we do now?”

“First… if we don’t break this curse quickly, they won’t return to normal. But I can’t use mana right now. What should we do?”

“For now… it’s time to go back.”

Ashur looked at the setting sun outside.

“Oh, right. We can stop by that mansion again on the way back.”

“Hmm, right. Maybe we can break the curse.”

“Exactly. Kadiya can purify it. We should have enough time. And if we ask Alec or Theo… this should be manageable.”

“Right. We can take them back immediately.”

Ashur nodded at her words and slung the sack over his shoulders.

“Let’s hurry.”

The magic’s duration was almost up.