Chapter 113: Finding Khal (3)

Everyone present was not yet aware of their bleak future. Despite the alarm that the suddenly appearing A-class dungeons caused, everyone was still laughing and joking around with each other.

They had yet to grasp the intensity of what was happening. They still trusted the government and sent further reinforcements.

During the time when Khal and Devion were hailed as the first and only SS-class espers, humanity indeed entered unprecedented peace. The whole world could feel the peace they brought.

Ayen discovered that the current time was six years ago. And by this time, the two had already retreated from the limelight and were rarely seen.

Of course, their presence did not diminish even with their absence. Instead, they became the symbol of survival.

“The government abandoned this place,” Ayen slowly muttered.

Perhaps “abandoning” was not the right word. It was more accurate to say that they neglected this town, and the consequences were everyone’s lives.

For a moment, the two fell into a heavy silence. This was the past, and neither of them thought of changing what would happen.

“Come,” Devion finally whispered and held Ayen’s hand. “Let’s find Khal.”

Ayen merely nodded, not saying a word.

Suddenly, a thought emerged from within him. He wondered how many zones ended like this town because of the government’s neglect?

Just how many lives were lost because of someone’s incompetence? If Ayen already disdained the government before, now he began to despise them even more.

Devion squeezed Ayen’s hand a little tighter as though he noticed the upheaval within Ayen.

When Ayen glanced at him, Devion gave an assuring smile.

Ayen let out a breath and dropped his heavy thoughts. He quickly focused on the matter at hand, which was to find Khal.

He had long mastered the ability to quickly shift his emotions. Ayen squeezed Devion’s hand back, letting him know that he was fine.

Their appearance quickly caught the attention of most of the espers and staff. Devion’s current body, Friz, was an A-class esper, after all.

“Are we entering the dungeon again?” Someone asked once they closed the distance.

Some glanced at Ayen, with few recognizing him.

Devion did not answer the esper. Instead, he swept his eyes around as he began asking questions. “Everyone’s here?”

They exchanged glances, unsure why Devion was asking. Devion arched a brow, staring at the man who had asked a question earlier.

“Well, yes, everyone’s here. Why?”

Devion narrowed his eyes. Khal was not here. He turned to Ayen, who also shook his head. The others watched them with confusion in their faces.

Devion’s tongue poked the inside of his cheek. He was beginning to get frustrated. His eyes were getting darker. Was Khal playing hide and seek or what?

Before he became lost in such frustrated thoughts, Devion felt Ayen’s hand on his shoulder.

He could not help but flinch and snap his head to Ayen’s side.

“I, uh…” Devion bit his lips and also did not think about why his emotions suddenly went out of control.

Ayen patted his shoulder and leaned against him.

Inwardly, he was already getting worried. They needed to find Khal and get out of here as soon as possible.

“He’s not here. Let’s go find him somewhere else.” Ayen glanced at the others who were watching with perplexed expressions.

Some staff had already stepped back from Devion, their faces pale and their backs drenched in sweat. Devion’s thoughts also let out some mana fluctuations, which ordinary people could not handle.

Devion sighed and nodded, letting Ayen pull him towards their car. They did not even say goodbye; none of them pestered the two either.

They only watched them, confused as to what happened.

“Can you drive?”

Devion wiped his sweat and nodded weakly.

“I’m sorry.” Devion chewed his lips, lowering his gaze.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Devion glanced at Ayen. “Right.” He let out a deep breath and composed himself. “Let’s go then.”

Ayen observed him, and seeing he seemed to have calmed down, he hummed and entered the car.

This time, they would have to find Khal in the normal populace instead. They also had tacitly agreed to the fact that Khal might have been in some predicament.

Otherwise, he would be the one finding them, not the other way around. Khal’s image within their relationship was truly such a formidable pillar.

They began to feel the urgency. Other than Devion’s curse, they were already getting worried about Khal.

As they were returning to the town to find Khal, something happened in a morgue located inside the institute.

“I’ll get some coffee first.”

“Give me some too.”

His colleague nodded and waved before leaving the room. Soon enough, the man was alone inside the morgue. His eyes landed on his right, where new dead bodies arrived.

The dungeons that emerged in town made the surrounding monsters also undergo some changes. They rampaged even more fiercely, leading to higher casualties than usual.

As someone who worked in this place for over three years, the man was more or less accustomed to the sight of dead bodies. He leaned on the table, waiting for his colleague to return.

One of the corpses that arrived was quite special. It was the corpse of a B-class esper. While B-class espers were common in the world as a whole, in this town, they were typically the highest-ranked espers dispatched in the area.

He stared at the esper. Slowly, his lips hooked up maliciously.

“Espers aren’t that powerful,” he muttered, mocking the dead esper. He was an ordinary person, though he had once dreamed of awakening as an esper.

Unfortunately, he was not lucky. This made him extremely jealous of espers and hateful of them for it.

In front of an esper, he was not brave enough to criticize them, but the esper was dead and would not retaliate.

His inferiority complex surged. If not for the strict regulations, he might have already vented his twisted anger on the body. After all, dead espers could not fight back.

He smirked. His emotions were surging since he was alone. He thought, why not? His colleague had yet to return, and he was bored.

The man stood at the side of the metal table, looking down at the once mighty B-class esper. His lips twisted, and before he could control himself, he had already slapped the corpse in the face.

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