Zone 5
John moved swiftly, his footsteps a blur as he darted toward the 5th zone. He had… threate—requested the other students to divulge Alia's location, and by sheer luck, she was sowhere in the sa 5th zone. But sothing felt off, a gnawing sensation tugging at the edges of his mind.
Students were fleeing the zone, their faces pale with terror. When he questioned them, their responses only heightened his unease: they had felt sothing heavy, oppressive presence that clung to the air near So even ntioned a frightening mana emanating from sowhere deeper in the zone.
John's heart sank. He knew that feeling—sothing wasn't right. Without wasting a second, he dashed toward the source of that ominous mana.
The closer he got, the more clear the mana beca. It was dark, thick, and suffocating, wrapping around the trees like leeches. A chill crept up his spine, but there was also sothing strangely familiar about it. It tugged at a mory he'd buried, one he didn't like to revisit—the ti he had saved Alia. Only then had he encountered such a vile presence.
He had never told Alia the full extent of the danger she had been in during that incident, for her own sake. He had hoped—perhaps foolishly—that it was a one-ti occurrence, that whatever had threatened her before wouldn't resurface. But now, that hope was crumbling.
"Damn it…" John cursed under his breath.
The sight that t him as he broke through the trees was impossible to miss. The entire area had been ravaged, as if a powerful force had torn through the zone. Trees were uprooted, scattered in a circular radius, so shattered entirely. In the center of the devastation, he found her.
Alia was on her knees, gasping for breath, her entire body trembling. Her disheveled reddish-brown hair hung limply over her face, concealing her expression. John's gaze darted past her, toward the mangled figure pinned to a broken tree nearby. Whoever—or whatever—it had been was beyond recognition. The body was twisted, disfigured beyond belief, making it impossible to tell whether it had once been a man or a woman. What was certain, however, was the brutal end they had t. The pain that person must have endured must have boggled belief.
John's focus shifted back to Alia.
Selene lay unconscious beside her, her skin pale but not dangerously so. She had clearly been poisoned, though it wasn't as lethal as the poison Amael was currently facing. Still, the situation was dire. But right now, John's entire world centered on Alia.
He approached her cautiously, as he called out, "Alia."
She flinched at the sound, her body tensing. But when she recognized his voice, her head snapped up. "J–John?"
The mont their eyes t, she broke. Tears stread down her face, cascading in relentless waves, her lips quivering uncontrollably. Her breath hitched, and she whimpered like a frightened child.
Without hesitation, John extended his hand. Alia grasped it tightly, her fingers trembling as she pulled herself into his arms. She clung to him, burying her face in his chest, her sobs muffled against his shoulder.
"I—I'm so scared, John," she whimpered, her voice cracking with fear. "Sothing's happening to … I don't know what's going on…"
Alia's body trembled against his as if the very act of speaking was tearing her apart. John tightened his hold around her, his hand gently cradling the back of her head.
John didn't ask any questions, as he focused on comforting Alia. His hand moved gently through her hair, the repetitive motion slowly easing the tension from her trembling body. Bit by bit, she lted into his embrace, allowing his warmth and presence to dissolve the fear that had taken root inside her. Her breathing began to steady, her muscles unwinding as the weight of exhaustion finally overtook her. In no ti, her eyes fluttered closed, and she drifted into a deep sleep, cradled securely in John's arms.
For a brief mont, John's expression softened as he held Alia close, watching her fragile form relax. But soon, a shadow fell over his face, and his gaze turned icy.
"Behemoth…" He muttered, his jaw clenched. "Those bastards…"
Sothing had been done to Alia—of that he was sure—but what exactly, he had no idea. The ga he had relied on for so much information hadn't ntioned anything like this. There was no record of Alia being abducted or tampered with in this way, which left John at a loss. He regretted killing Nora so quickly, fueled by the blind rage that had overtaken him in that mont. She had known sothing, sothing important, and he'd cut her life short before extracting the truth. If only he'd forced her to talk before ending her life, he might have had more pieces of the puzzle. Now, all he had was a blank slate and a slew of unanswered questions.
But John wasn't about to let that stop him. He needed answers, and there was only one way to get them—by confronting soone higher up in Behemoth. Only they would know what was happening to Alia, and John would make sure they talked. But before that, he had other priorities to handle.
First, Selene. She needed treatnt, and he knew all too well that if he didn't attend to her soon, Victor would be on his case endlessly. Besides, he couldn't leave either of them—Alia or Selene—out in this godforsaken forest.
John cast a quick glance at his Life-Screen, which still displayed the glowing ssage they had received a few hours prior. The 9th zone. He would have to act fast.
Shifting Alia carefully onto his shoulder, he bent down to scoop up Selene, securing her by the waist with his other arm like a sack of potatoes. There was a clear favoritism.
With a single powerful motion, he kicked off the ground, launching them both into the air with ease.
"Do you know where Edward is?" John asked, directing his words to Hecate, though he wasn't entirely sure if she could sense his presence from here.
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