As Shaan walked following the guards escorting him back to the detention room, he didn’t utter a single word. Honestly, even though the trial was postponed, he couldn’t feel any relief. For so reason, Sir Kael’s words kept echoing in his mind from earlier in the courtroom.
’H-how could they not find the mutated Doppleshade’s corpse even once?’ Shaan scratched his head. ’That’s strange. The creature was big—it couldn’t just disappear like that. Could soone be hiding sothing?’
"We’ve arrived," the guard said, opening the door ahead of them. "Now, co inside quickly."
"All right."
As Shaan followed the officer escorting him back to the detention room, he didn’t say a single word. Honestly, even though the trial had been postponed, he couldn’t enjoy himself at all. For so reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Sir Kael had said earlier in the courtroom.
"How could that mutated doppleshade corpse be the sa? No way. It can’t be found." Shaan scratched his head. "Strange. It’s clearly a large creature and couldn’t just disappear like that. Could it be that soone—?"
"We’re here," said the officer, opening the door in front of him. "Now, hurry up and go inside."
"Alright."
"Until the trial results co through, your Daemon will stay in the quarantine room, and you will remain in the detention cell," the guard explained. "You’re forbidden from leaving the Twilight Sanctum. If you break this rule, you will beco a prisoner and get thrown into jail."
Shaan nodded. "Alright, I understand," the guard said, closing the door and walking away from Shaan.
’Damn it! How am I supposed to find the evidence if I can’t even leave this place?’
When Shaan was trying to think of an idea to get out of here, he suddenly heard a knock from outside his room. At first, Shaan thought it might be the officer who had co earlier, so he went to open the door. However, when he opened the door, he was shocked to see a familiar face.
"Dr. Marshall?" Shaan furrowed his brow. "What are you doing here?"
"Shaan, listen to . I’ve spoken with the other council mbers, and they all agreed to let you leave this place for 2 days."
"Wow, that’s great." Shaan sighed in relief. "At least that way, it’ll be easier for to find the evidence."
"However..." Dr. Shaan imdiately pulled out an electronic bracelet from his pocket. "You have to wear this."
"What is this? It looks like the ankle monitor I used to wear."
"Tether."
"Tether? I’ve never heard of it before."
"A tether, or what’s commonly called an ankle bracelet, is a device used to monitor a prisoner’s movents," Dr. Shaan explained. "This device is equipped with a GPS-like system that can track the prisoner’s real-ti location. It’s waterproof and impact-resistant."
"Oh... OK. But how does it work?"
"The tether will attach to your ankle and display a color-coded level indicator. Green ans you’re still within the safe zone, while red ans you’ve entered an unsafe zone," Dr. Marshall explained. "If the prisoner crosses the set boundary, the device changes color and imdiately sends a signal to the guards to apprehend the offender for violating the agreent."
’Wow, I had no idea such a device existed in this world.’
"Alright, now attach this tether to your ankle and follow . As long as you’re under my supervision, you should be fine."
"Uhm... But I need to find my friends first," said Shaan. "I can’t leave them here."
"Relax, they’re both safe and with ."
"Huh?"
"The shy purple-haired girl nad Chelsie and the other one, the cold-hearted girl nad Nalisa." Right?"
’Oh, it seems Dr. Shaan thinks the sa as .’ Shaan nodded. ’Nalira is indeed very cold toward strangers.’
"Her na is Nalira, not Nalisa."
"Oh, right, right, that’s her," Dr. Marshall laughed. "Sorry, sorry, I guess it’s just an age thing. Haha."
"But how do you know them?"
Dr. Marshall’s expression suddenly turned serious.
"All of this ca from one of my team mbers in the Red Moon Faction—the one who was with you," he said, glancing around. "Now hurry. Ti is running out, and you don’t want people to keep seeing you as the one responsible for all this chaos, do you?"
"R-right, I understand."
Shaan quickly strapped the device onto his ankle. The tether’s indicator light turned green.
Without saying another word, he stepped out of his detention room and quietly followed Dr. Marshall as they moved closer toward the exit door.
"Shaan, wait a mont."
"Huh? What is it?"
Dr. Marshall reached out and offered him a black fedora hat. "Wear this. You need to cover your face when we’re out there. I doubt everyone will be happy seeing a detainee walking freely in the Twilight Sanctum."
"No, thank you. That’s completely unnecessary." Shaan imdiately pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. "I think like this, people won’t recognize ."
"Hmm... there’s still sothing missing; people will still easily recognize you," Dr. Marshaal stroked his chin, looking at Shaan. "Wait, I think I know what you need." He reached into his pocket. "This should be here—ah, here it is. Use this mask," he said, handing the mask to Shaan. "Co on."
"Alright, if you insist."
"Well, perfect. This is the perfect disguise," said Dr. Marshall with a laugh. "I’m sure no one will recognize you now. Alright, it’s ti for us to head to my house and et your friends."
When Dr. Marshall opened the door in front of them, Shaan’s expression imdiately tensed. He never expected that the Twilight Sanctum would be much larger than he had imagined.
"Wow, this place is much bigger than I thought."
"Shaan?" Dr. Marshall raised his eyebrows, looking at Shaan, who was standing motionless in front of the door. "Co on, there’s no ti to linger."
"Yes, Dr. Marshall."
As he followed Dr. Marshal, Shaan didn’t blink once, taking in his surroundings. Honestly, when he was here, for so reason, he felt the atmosphere was unique and strange. Starting with the road surface, which wasn’t asphalt at all, but paved with bricks. The buildings were arranged symtrically with each other. There was also a large building resembling a cathedral in the center of the city.
Strangely enough, almost all of the buildings had brick walls and curved roofs. Frankly, when he saw this, Shaan was imdiately reminded of the architecture in one of his favorite fantasy comics.
"Hey, Shaan. We’re here." Dr. Shaan stopped in front of a door. "Welco to my ho."
Shaan fell silent upon seeing Dr. Shaan’s house. At first glance, it looked almost identical to the buildings next to it. However, the exterior of this building looked quite different from the others. This was because only Dr. Shaan’s house had walls covered with vines. Not only that, right at the entrance, there was a strange symbol resembling the sun and moon, giving the house a rather mystical vibe.
"Hey, Shaan," Dr. Shaan said, opening the door. "Why are you standing there at the door? Co on, it’s ti to et your friends."
User Comments
0 comments from readers