Chapter 176: Intruder

Ishiki passed through almost half of the Inner Ring and reached a long alley. He walked inside and stopped in front of a garden.

This garden was once a house. In the Illusion he saw… or better call it the memories of an innocent lieutenant of the Inner guards who was killed in a fight between beings that he could not comprehend.

It was all a reality. The lord of Illusions had not created the illusions out of nowhere… they were all made from memories of people who died with resentments against the gods in their heart.

Ishiki sighed and headed to the Villa that was just besides the garden… It stood silently under the Crimson Moon’s oppressive glow.

Ishiki approached it slowly, footsteps echoing on golden cobblestones. The street was empty, without any players or movement, just pristine marble facades and manicured gardens that felt more like a mausoleum than a neighborhood.

His villa was modest by Inner Ring standards. Two stories, white marble walls, a small garden with flowering plants that somehow continued blooming despite no one tending them.

He had chosen to stay here three days ago when the dragon decreed that those who swore loyalty could live in the Inner Ring.

He was about to walk in without ceremony when he saw it.

The gate stood open.

Ishiki stopped mid-step, every instinct screaming danger. He had closed that gate when he left… There was no wind strong enough to blow it open or any animal in this place.

Someone had been here.

’Or is still here.’ Ishiki added inwardly.

His right hand moved slowly to his side, palm open and ready. He was ready to summon [Aether Blade] and [Berserker’s Effigy] at a moments notice. Either way, he wasn’t walking in defenseless.

Ishiki pushed the gate wider with his foot, wincing at the faint creak of hinges. The small garden beyond looked undisturbed. Everything was as it was when he left. But the front door…

The front door was also open. Just slightly, just enough that a finger’s width of darkness was visible beyond the threshold.

’Fuck.’

He crossed the garden in three quick strides, pressed his back against the wall beside the door, and listened.

Silence.

There was not a hint of noise as if the person had blended with everything or has already left.

’Why would someone enter this house? I don’t even have any belongings inside.’

He lowered his breath and activated [Ghost Blade]. As the world shifted and the black and white image of everything in a 500 meter radius came into his mind.

To his shock, He detected no one inside.

He was a little relaxed, but still the chances of someone having a skill that can bypass ghost Blade was not out of question so he still moved carefully.

Ishiki pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside.

Darkness engulfed him immediately. The Crimson Moon’s light filtered through windows on either side of the dining hall—the main room that occupied most of the first floor—but it was barely enough to see shapes. There was a Long table and chairs at the center. And cabinets along the walls which cast shadows that could hide anything.

He stood perfectly still, letting his eyes adjust while his other senses reached out. There was no sound of breathing, smell of sweat or blood. Just the faint mustiness of an empty house.

’Maybe they already left and I’m being paranoid.’

But paranoia had kept him alive this long.

Ishiki closed the door behind him with deliberate care, cutting off even that sliver of outside light. Then he moved along the wall toward the corner where there was a lamp.

His hand found the lamp’s cold metal base. Beside it, matches in a small tin box.

He struck one.

The tiny flame flared to life, painting everything in flickering orange that pushed back the crimson shadows. Ishiki lifted the lamp’s glass chimney, touched match to wick, and watched golden light bloom.

As he turned around his eyes widened… there, sitting at the dining table as casually as if he had been invited for dinner, was a hooded figure.

Ishiki’s hand moved instinctively toward summoning position, muscles tensing for combat—

“Wait,” the figure said, raising both hands in a placating gesture. The voice was familiar. It was a male, young and carried an edge of exhaustion and fear. “It’s me. Don’t attack.”

With slow, deliberate movements. The figure reached up and pulled back his hood.

Blonde hair spilled out and fell in front of his face in messy bangs that almost covered his eyes, with longer strands behind reaching past his collar. They adorned a stern face, lean and sharp-featured, marked by recent hardship.

Dark circles bloomed under his eyes that had seen too much. Apart from these the main feature on his face was a wound mark that split both his lips on the left side of his face.

Kenji.

Ishiki let out a breath and instantly straightened. But he didn’t relax completely. His hand remained ready to summon.

It could also be someone impersonating as Kenji who hadn’t been spotted ever since he got inside the Inner ring weeks ago. Even Yuki’s brother confirmed that.

“Kenji?” Ishiki’s voice came out flat, carefully neutral. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” Kenji answered simply.

“In the dark? Without announcing yourself? That’s a good way to get killed.”

“I know.” Kenji’s hands lowered slowly to rest on the table. “But I couldn’t risk being seen coming here and anyone knowing that I was looking for someone.”

That got Ishiki’s attention. He picked up the lamp and a candle from the sideboard, lit the candle from the lamp’s flame, and moved to the table. He set both down and sat across from Kenji, studying his old friend in better light.

“How did you know you would find me here?” Ishiki asked curiously.

“I saw you, yesterday.”

The blonde man looked terrible. Not severely injured… but worn down by something deeper than exhaustion. His clothes were rumpled, stained with dust and what might have been dried blood. His rapier wasn’t visible.

“What are you doing here, Kenji?” Ishiki asked again, softer now. “Last I heard, you were missing without any sign.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep