A wave of pulsating black and white pulsating appeared in a dark cave for a moment before two people appeared from it.
The first was a rather dashing man dressed in a suit, while the other was a red-haired lady, wearing a red dress.
Alex narrowed his eyes upon surveying the area briefly. "People were here not too long ago."
Anastasia didn't immediately respond as she bent down and placed her palm on the ground before muttering something incomprehensible.
Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet with a heavy sigh. "He was indeed here not too long ago but he's gone now… and I can't trace his future with the little marks left behind."
"Quite unfortunate." Alex could only mutter regretfully.
Ana however didn't intend to give up as she spoke up. "Maybe if we split up and look for clues, we can find something."
Alex met her gaze and understanding her situation, replied softly. "It's clear that the walls and air current of these tunnels have been distorted. If I'm not wrong, Basar must have known we were coming and so, he placed an intricate Miracle to trap us here."
"This…" Ana trailed off as her slit irises narrowed even further.
A moment later, she nodded. "You are right. My vision is indeed distorted here."
Seeing her downcast expression, Alex consoled her. "Don't overthink it. This is just the beginning and it's fun to have cunning opponents to face. It makes it more fun when you catch them."
"You are right." Ana quickly regained herself as she turned to Alex. "So what now?"
"... I feel like you are relying on me a bit too much."
"Eh…" Ana awkwardly scratched her head. "I got carried away."
"I see."
Ana took a step for Alex and closed her eyes.
Sensing something leave her body, Alex stayed silent and watched her work.
Not too long after, Ana opened her eyes. "I can't break the distortion. Whatever he did down here, he must have had the time to add the authority of the Eye of Truth to ensure no one breaks the barrier."
"It's a matter of compatibility," Alex remarked from beside her. "Time might be a powerful concept but it is indeed hopeless against certain powers, for example, this one."
"So we leave it be?"
Alex nodded. "For now. We can't afford to get lost in the distortion and forcefully breaking it would weaken us before we have a chance to get to him. Facing off against an unknown opponent in a weakened state is a situation I would rather we avoid."
"But, we can't let him go like this."
"I know. Don't worry, Basar can't possibly remain here forever. He has something planned with the western district."
"You think he plans to start a coup in the city, using the commoners?"
"A plausible plan but I don't see him getting any benefits from that and even if it happens, the likelihood of the western district being destroyed before they get a chance to cause trouble is high."
"... I must say, this is quite exciting." Ana suddenly said, causing Alex to raise a brow.
"You sound like you've never done an investigation before."
"Well, most times I just get there when the problem is already irreversible then I use brute force and end it. Hardly have I been plunged into such niche detectiveing." Ana replied.
"... I see."
Taking a moment to study the area, Alex placed another marker as he prepared to leave.
"Can I ask something?" Ana inquired.
"What is it?"
"You have no reason to help BoneHaven, so why go after Basar like this?"
Alex remained silent for a moment as pulsating black and white erupted about them before he casually replied.
"Because I can."
With that, they disappeared, leaving the tunnel as dark and silent as it was before they arrived.
***
Nighttime in BoneHaven.
Tension was high in the city as a few Royal Blues had already been stationed close to the western district, armed to the teeth with a simple order.
'Shoot down anyone that reveals the slightest trace of hostility.'
The western district was placed on curfew with people were not allowed to move around as much as they did before.
With how things were going, it only looked like a matter of time before the western district was turned into a land of blood as hate boiled in the hearts of the commoners.
***
Deep in the Evergarden forest, Natasha sat in a lotus position in the area she had found Alex in.
Taking the time to meditate, she regulated her breathing and slowly expanded her spirituality, taking in everything about her.
From the insects in the grass to the birds in the trees, nothing escaped her senses.
Currently grasping at straws concerning The Hunter, she was forced to return to where it all began.
So far, however, there was nothing new to consider.
Sighing helplessly, she retracted her spirituality. "Not a single trace. Is it possible for an evil god to be born just like that?"
Thinking back to the power shown by Hunter, Natasha wondered if they were mistaken.
If Hunter was related to the evil god born in the Evergarden forest, then it didn't make sense for him to be so powerful.
Most evil gods would normally start as phantoms before slowly building their divinity until they reached the level of Demon God but the Hunter skipped the steps, already revealing an authority at the level of a Demon God.
"Maybe it's another evil god…" Natasha pondered but quickly tossed away the thought as it led to a horrifying situation.
That BoneHaven was home to not 1 or 2, but 3 evil gods.
As a mere Apprentice, Natasha didn't dare to fathom what would happen to the innocents of BoneHaven if that turned out to be true.
Whoosh
The wind blew past her, rustling her hair as she got to her feet.
However, hardly had she taken a step forward when she pulled out a device and flicked a switch, causing a blade made of Quillion to emerge.
Then in one swift motion, she turned and unleashed an attack without warning.
A few trees in that direction dropped to the ground as they were chopped cleanly by her slash.
Despite not seeing anything, Natasha narrowed her eyes as she remained battle ready.
"There was no need for that." A soft voice came from behind her.
Natasha turned again and unleashed the attack but before it hit its target, the latter disappeared in a flash of black and white and appeared again in the same area, unharmed.
Natasha frowned. "I don't like when people sneak up on me… especially when they are bad people."