Death... and me

Well, Rean wasn't too worried. After all, Roan was able to destroy the crimson sphere without much issues, let alone someone at the peak of the Transition Realm like Duran. With a single attack, Duran smashed the crimson sphere into pieces, but not before he took a good look, muttering, "What a weird thing. As soon as I destroyed the sphere, the demon beasts outside the city began to roar non-stop."

After that, he looked at his green pendant, soon noticing that the green light coming from it disappeared before looking at Rean. "How is it? Is your soul still being attacked?"

Rean shook his head as he replied, "No. Whatever the power may be, it's not here anymore. Let's go take a look at the demon beasts outside the city. Something's happening to them."

Duran did the same thing as Roan and grabbed a shard of the sphere before leaving. However, he took one final look at the room with the sphere as he narrowed his eyes. 'Was it me, or was I being watched?' He had no proof. It was simply his instincts telling him that.

Little did he know, but his actions were also seen by the same being that watched Roan. 'That power! It's him! No, that can't be right! He died! I made sure of that!' Naturally, the guy was thinking of the pendant's power. 'Could that Zasfin be a descendant of that man? Or maybe the pieces of shit from the higher realm sent reinforcements here? But why now? It has already been so long since then! I shouldn't have let that man tell them of my existence...'

Outside the city, Duran and Rean saw the demon beasts disappear one after another. Sure enough, they were attached to the crimson sphere and lost the thing that kept their soul in this place. "So the demon beasts who died on the planet turned out like this, huh?" Even Duran has reached this conclusion by now.

"It seems to be the case." Rean nodded. Of course, he already knew of it since Roan told him through their connection. He was just pretending to be unaware of the situation. "Perhaps there are more of these spheres in this Dimensional Realm."

Duran understood the implication of Rean's words, saying soon after, "That means my companions might be in danger at the moment. However, how would I find them or the other spheres?"

Suddenly, Duran noticed some movement in the distance. In fact, there were a few shadows approaching his location. "That form... isn't that the silver dog?" Sure enough, the whole event gave Roan time to arrive in the area. Not only that, but he also met up with Kentucky, who could feel his presence along the way.

Frin then stopped in front of Duran and could see him holding Rean with his Spiritual Energy. However, he snorted right after, saying, "What is it? The strongest Zasfin of the Soul Rulers now has to hold a human hostage?"

Duran didn't care about Frin's words at all. "Hmph! As if this old man needs a hostage." Soon after, he threw Rean over to Frin as if throwing a piece of trash. "You can have him if you want."

Now, that really took everyone by surprise. Wasn't Duran going to keep Rean as some sort of guarantee? How come he gave him up that easily?

Noticing the puzzled expression of Rean's group, Duran simply said, "Don't get me wrong. We need this boy to help us open the portal to the Realm of Gods. That being said, I didn't have any intention to harm him from the very start. As for whatever happened in the Soul Rulers headquarters, that was something from the time I was hiding, so I don't care too much."

Frin then reverted to his human form. Although the demon beasts and Zasfins didn't get along well, this wasn't the right time to fight.

As for Duran, he was curious about something else. "By the way, how did you find where I was? This twin's brother was also with you, so don't tell me it's just mere coincidence."

Rean smiled in response as he explained, "My brother and I were born with a connection of sorts. Because of that, we can feel each other's presence."

"So there's no such thing as guiding yourselves through the stars, huh?" Duran said in response.

Rean scratched the back of his head, awkwardly chuckling. "Well...I had to give some excuse, didn't I? I thought you wouldn't let me go if I used some other reason."

Duran nodded and decided to not dwell on that topic. The situation at hand was more critical. "Forget about it. Tell me what you guys know about that crimson sphere. I believe you have more information than the white-haired brat told me."

Frin nodded, knowing that it wasn't time to keep information to himself. "So far, it goes like this..."

"I see..." Duran finally had a good picture of the situation. He then took his green pendant out and showed it to Rean's group. "I have a few theories, so you should hear me out as well. We might be able to do something about this situation if you listen."

Duran then told everyone about the inheritance he found in the past. Of course, he didn't mind telling Ren's group about it because the inheritance was empty now. Duran and Fikin took everything that existed in that place. Besides, he didn't tell them the location.

After they put the pieces of the puzzle together, the group made up of a Zasfin, demon beasts, and some humans finally had a better picture. "So, to sum up everything...crimson spheres that can control souls, a person from the Realm of Gods who probably came here to deal with it and died in the end, and the red claw that took the Stage Nine Demon Beast's soul that Duran killed. With that, we can deduce that something or someone is responsible for all of it."

Roan nodded as he spoke, "Yes, and we have to find the other spheres since it seems to have some effect on the being behind it." Roan told them that he felt someone's presence when he destroyed the spheres, which Duran also confirmed since he thought of it as well. It's just that Roan was certain since he saw the killing intent, while Duran simply felt it with his instincts.