The notification ca right on ti.
Honestly, I had already had enough of this place. More importantly, I needed more ti to figure out the new anomaly that I had acquired. Because of Seraphine’s sudden appearance, I didn’t get the chance to figure it out.
I was certain that there were a lot of secrets that the anomaly was hiding.
’Ah, but first I should look for the others.’
Coming out of the house, I saw a group of people looking around in confusion.
Lifting the mirror up and tucking it better under my armpit, I waved at them.
"Over here."
My eyes landed on Drake and Esteban. The two blinked at the sight of before taking out their devices and showing them to . I nodded.
"I know. The ti is almost up."
There were technically several more hours.
However, everyone was notified in advance to gather.
"What is that...?"
Right as I walked past them, I saw them look at what I was holding.
"Oh, this?"
I brought the mirror up once more.
"A souvenir?"
Well, technically? There no longer existed an anomaly inside of it, but I knew that there was more to the mirror than just the anomaly.
’Ah, I really want to look.’
The curiosity was eating away.
"Leader..."
"Squad Leader, are you alright?"
Turning around, I saw the squad mbers of Seraphine’s teams head in her direction as she maintained her gaze fixed on . After which, she looked at the mirror that I was holding. I just smiled and turned my head away.
’...Looks like the curiosity is eating at her as well.’
Too bad.
She could remain curious.
"Let’s go."
Without waiting for the others, I took the compass from my pocket and tried to make my way towards the checkpoint. Located at the center of Point Z, it wasn’t hard to find. Along the way, we didn’t encounter any trouble.
The mist was thick, and the sense of tension never left as we walked, but with the mirror taken care of, nothing else troubled us.
"It should be here."
I stopped before a large plaza, the others following from behind.
"We’re the first?"
I looked around in surprise. I had assud there would be other teams here, but the place was completely empty.
Whatever the case was, I set the mirror down beside as I moved toward one of the broken benches scattered around the plaza. The wood creaked faintly as I sat, dust shifting beneath my weight.
Leaning back slightly, I let my gaze drift across the surroundings. Abandoned buildings stood in every direction, their windows dark and hollow, their structures worn down. So leaned at odd angles, while others looked as though they could collapse at any mont.
The entire place felt deserted.
Looking around, I beca curious.
’I wonder how we’re supposed to return from here.’
Were they going to send soone?
The thought had only just ford in my mind when I suddenly felt several presences approaching from my right. As if also noticing us, the group first waved at us, trying their best to look nice.
But soon, they froze.
"Ah."
My lips opened, but no words ca out.
Eventually, I smiled as I waved.
"Been a while, hasn’t it?"
Leon’s smile slowly began to fade as he montarily lost his composure. But just as quickly, it returned as he started walking in my direction. At the sa ti, the remaining mbers of his team began whispering among themselves.
Although I couldn’t hear what they were whispering to each other, I could more or less guess.
’How is he alive?’
’...Is he a fake?’
Just the usual nonsense, and when I looked up, Leon was already next to .
"You’re here."
He placed his hand over his chest, looking relieved.
"I’m glad that you’re doing fine. Honestly, I had been rather worried."
Ah, I felt like puking.
Just how fake could soone get?
He sat next to , his attention shifting towards Drake and Esteban.
"You two are also doing fine? I’m glad. Truly. When... we were brought to that place, honestly, I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t really want to abandon you, but as a squad leader, I had to take care of my team. You understand that, right?"
Should I just puke on him?
Touching my stomach, I felt that it’d be a fun sight.
Maybe he’d show his true appearance and start fighting .
Well, it was only a passing thought. A soft rustling pulled back to reality as I saw Esteban grab Drake by the shoulder, barely holding him back as Drake nearly lunged toward Leon.
"Wow!"
Leon raised both hands.
"I get that you’re upset, but please understand my position. I didn’t abandon you because I wanted to. I just had to take care of my team, that’s all."
He then turned to look at .
"You understand this, too, right?"
"No, don’t worry. I get it."
I patted him on the shoulder and leaned back against the bench. Honestly, he was the least of my problems right now. There was no benefit in dealing with him as things stood. Of course, just because I wasn’t going to act now didn’t an I would sit still forever. Not after everything he had done to .
My mind drifted to the words he whispered into my ear back then, and my lips pulled into a smile.
’Yeah, not going to forget this.’
Even more people began to show up as I sat back and crossed my legs, my eyes closing as I tried to feel my connection with Arile.
And soon enough—
"They’re here."
Opening my eyes, my attention shifted toward the distance as a large group began to erge. They didn’t just catch my attention, but they caught the attention of all the other teams that had gathered over here as their figures soon beca clearer.
Catching sight of them, I was just about to wave at them when I stopped.
Standing at the front of the group, I spotted Ariel perched atop the shoulders of a large, muscular man, her arms crossed as she looked ahead.
Beside her walked Joanna, Min, Nora, and the others, moving in formation like a group of bodyguards. Each of them wore sunglasses, their expressions hidden as they kept pace at her sides.
Following closely behind were several groups, their faces blank, while another group I was familiar with followed them from behind, making sure they kept up.
"...Is that your team?"
Hearing Seraphine’s voice, I raised my head, eting her gaze as she gave an odd look.
I coughed.
"Why are they wearing sunglasses?"
I coughed again.
"It’s cringe."
I coughed twice.
Then—
"Squad Leader!"
"Squad Leader...! You’re here!"
Several voices called out to as Joanna and the others took off their sunglasses while moving towards .
"Where the hell did you go? We looked for you everywhere."
"Yeah, where were you?"
"Things were tough without you. We missed you a lot. We even started wearing sunglasses in homage to you... because we missed you that much."
Seraphine’s gaze felt even more piercing.
Not just hers, but pretty much that of everyone around.
I just smiled and leaned back against the bench.
’Mysterious. Mysterius. Mysterious.’
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