The man, along with the others dressed in identical white uniforms adorned with golden embroidery, stood tall, around 180 centimeters. He had short brown hair, and his thick brows gave him a naturally fierce expression.
I didn’t know who he was, but I recognized his uniform instantly.
"They’re from the Evening Sun Guild."
Joanna muttered next to me, instantly recognizing them from their uniform. I looked at her and then nodded my head.
"Yes, it seems like it."
I knew of them. They were a Guild with a fairly good reputation.
"...Are you not going to answer?"
The man once again spoke, his voice deeper than before as his gaze alternated between us and then the flare.
"No."
I shook my head.
"We weren’t the ones to release the flare. In fact, we were coming here to rescue the ones who had used the flare."
"....."
The man narrowed his eyes, as if trying to determine whether I was lying or not. Eventually, he nodded and stepped forward, crouching to touch the flare as it continued to sizzle, though far weaker than before.
"It hasn’t been more than a couple of minutes since the flare was released."
He began to speak again, his eyes dragging themselves off the flare and locking onto mine.
Up close, the red light pooled in his pupils, turning them completely red. It was impossible to tell where the reflection ended, and his iris began. For a moment, they didn’t look like eyes at all, just two glassy red dots.
His lips parted.
"In that short amount of time, the ones that have released the flare have disappeared. Given the background of this place, they must’ve experienced what the citizens have experienced here, alongside the squads that we’re supposed to rescue."
"...Mhm."
I nodded slowly, looking away from him and onto the flare.
At the same time, I activated the ability of the knife in my pocket. Given what had happened a few moments ago, I needed to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things. That the people in front of me were not merely an illusion.
’All good.’
Thankfully, they weren’t, and I was able to relax my guard a little. But just a little bit as I continued to remain tense.
Looking at the guy ahead of me, and then around, I spoke.
"Although the probability of them still being around is low, I still suggest we start looking around to make sure."
"Let’s do that."
The man stood up, patting his hands as he motioned to his team behind him.
"Go and check the perimeter. If you see anything, let me know immediately."
"Yes!"
"...Understood!"
His team was efficient. They didn’t question his orders and immediately got to work, disappearing into the mist. I glanced back at my own team, and they followed suit, leaving just the two of us standing there.
Just as he was analyzing me, I was also analyzing him.
’Since he’s from the Evening Sun Guild, he must be quite skilled. Although I don’t know him, I’m sure he’s very famous. He should be rather skilled. Makes sense considering that the Evening Sun Guild belongs to the Oak Circle.’
"Honestly, I’m surprised."
He was the first one to break the silence as his gaze fell on me.
"I didn’t expect you to meet so fast. You’re all everyone talks about, and when I looked at you, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that you’re really at the Second Order. Are you perhaps hiding your skills? Or is this really your Order?"
"I’m not hiding anything."
Surprisingly, the words flowed out of my mouth smoothly.
Thinking about Team Leader Soran, I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
"...A person’s Order isn’t everything."
"But it sure helps."
"Maybe so, but it isn’t the end of it all in this industry. You can say that I’m the perfect example of this."
"Perhaps."
The man nodded, turning his attention away from me.
"I know who you are, but do you know who I am?"
"....."
A small smirk played on his lips the moment I didn’t answer.
"Patrick Manz from the Evening Sun Guild."
He introduced himself, briefly catching me off-guard as I answered a half-beat too late.
".....It’s nice to meet you."
"Not much of a reaction, huh? I guess I don’t seem to catch your interest. I’m also a Paragon."
"..."
I scratched the side of my face, not sure how to reply, but he merely laughed as he turned back. Several silhouettes appeared right after, the members of his team returning quickly, scanning the surroundings.
"Nothing?"
They all shook their heads.
’Hm?’
My team also returned, spotting Joanna and the others. Looking at their faces, I understood immediately.
’Looks like they also didn’t find anything.’
"Looks like we were all too late."
Patrick said, looking at all of us.
"Seems like it."
’And I thought we were fast. If they don’t even give us time to rescue them, how are we supposed to save them? What a ridiculous trial. I should leave before whatever thing took them comes for us.’
Just as I planned on leaving, Patrick’s voice echoed once more.
"What do you think about joining us?"
I paused, turning my attention towards him as I raised my brow. I could also notice the confusion on his team members’ faces as some muttered, ’Wait, Squad Leader... They are...’
He merely extended his hand and stopped them from speaking.
"I know who they are." He looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. "This place is dangerous. As you’ve seen from what happened to that team, it’s safer to stick together. We’ve found a decent shelter, an old abandoned building. I can tell you’re all exhausted. Why not join us and work together? When the time comes, we can split the points evenly."
Honestly, this wasn’t a bad offer. Looking back at my team and seeing their tired looks, I felt tempted.
But there was only one issue.
’Can I trust him?’
He was still a stranger to me. Although I was certain that he was a real person, alongside his team, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t backstab me. I needed to think carefully about this. After all, I had to take care of my team as well.
But as if reading my thoughts, Patrick laughed.
"If you’re worried about us backstabbing you, then give the thought up."
He pointed at the camera strapped to his chest.
"We’ve got a reputation to uphold. You may not have heard about me, but I’m sure you know about our Guild."
My expression turned complex as I looked at the half-sun insignia strapped on the right side of his chest. Indeed, their Guild image was rather good. They were known to be rather trustworthy.
Sigh.
In the end, I sighed.
Looking back at my team, and then their team, I eventually nodded.
"Let’s do that."
The more the merrier.
"Great."
Patrick smiled, turning around and pointing the beam of his torch in a different direction.
"Let’s get going then."
*
They didn’t have a compass as I did, but they all seemed to know how to navigate through the fog. Although I was curious, I didn’t ask and just followed them in silence.
Eventually, we reached a stretch of path with far fewer branches. The ground was softer, though the strangely shaped trees still jutted into the trail, forcing us to push them aside as we moved forward.
’...Looking at the path we’re walking, I can tell we’re finally reaching somewhere.’
We continued to follow the path for thirty minutes, the silence around us only growing. At the end of the road, we finally spotted a sign.
Slowly, I raised my flashlight.
The beam cut through the fog and landed on the metal sign mounted crookedly beside the treeline.
The sign was almost completely devoured by rust. Orange corrosion bloomed across its surface like rot spreading through flesh. The edges had curled inward while the bolts holding it in place were swollen and dark. Whatever paint or lettering had once been there was long gone
’Just how long did this sign stay here to turn like this?’
"Let’s keep going, we’re almost there."
Patrick turned to look at me, half-smiling as he continued to walk ahead. I didn’t say anything and just followed him silently.
We continued to walk for ten more minutes before the scenery changed.
The dense, suffocating press of the trees thinned out, giving way to a row of broken wooden railings. They stood apart and splintered in the middle of the forest, like a row of rotten teeth.
Beyond the fence sat a massive, sprawling building.
It was an uninspiring concrete structure, its surface was mottled with damp, dark patches that spread irregularly across the walls like advancing necrosis, as though the building itself were rotting from the outside in.
Water stains streaked downward in long, vertical trails, resembling old tear tracks.
There were no windows.
Or rather, there had been.
Squared outlines marked where glass should have been, but every opening was filled with pure darkness.
Even when I raised the beam of my flashlight and stepped closer to the building, I could hardly see anything.
As we crossed the perimeter of the broken railings, Patrick led us to the main entrance as he eventually stopped, his hand resting on a heavy steel door that was rusted shut, yet slightly ajar.
He didn’t look back this time.
He just stared at the darkness pooling in the gap of the door.
"We’re here."
He whispered, pulling the door apart.
CRRRRRAAAAK—
The sound ricocheted through the concrete shell and burst outward into the forest behind us. My skin prickled instantly, the hairs at the back of my neck rising with the sound.
But it didn’t seem like Patrick had exerted enough effort to open the door as he eventually grunted, his muscles bulging as he pulled harder.
The doors jerked apart another few inches, metal scraping against metal with a drawn-out shriek that clawed at my ears. Rust flakes rained down at his feet. One hinge twisted slightly out of alignment, and the sound grew even more intrusive.
But eventually—
Clank!
The door fully opened, revealing the dark interior of the building as Patrick stepped in.
"Here we are."
He spoke, slightly out of breath.
"Our hideout."