Death... and me

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom

Red and Gulan didn't expect to hear those words so soon. However, they controlled their emotions as they knew they were hiding here. Instead, Red simply used a small voice to answer Kentucky's question, saying, "Kentucky, is that you? Come to the thirteenth rock near the bottom left side. You will enter the range of my concealment skill if you do so."

Kentucky was happy to hear that and immediately did as Red told him. Of course, he was also prepared to escape at any moment, in case it was actually a trap.

In any case, Kentucky got close enough where he could finally see and sense Red. As one must remember, Red's concealment skill was unlike Rean's. Nevertheless, it was very good for this situation as well. Kentucky then spread out his Spiritual Energy around Red, blocking any sound from going out as he exclaimed in surprise, "Red! It's really you! Oh! Gulan is here as well!"

Red nodded together with Gulan. "So there really are more demon beasts alive in this place other than just us! Kentucky, it's good to see you again!" Red then looked at Celis on Kentucky's back, saying, "Of course, you as well, Senior Celis."

Celis nodded back at those two, saying in response, "Indeed. We thought everyone was gone by now."

Hearing that, Kentucky couldn't help but ask, "But...how did you avoid the crimson spheres?"

"Crimson spheres?" Red and Gulan did not know what to say to that. After all, they only felt the power of the sphere. They didn't see it before they left the areas with those spheres straight away.

"Oh. So, you don't know, huh?" Kentucky then explained what he was talking about.

"I see...so that power that tried to take control of our minds was this crimson sphere you talked about."

After that, Red, Gulan, Kentucky, and Celis spent some time exchanging information. Of course, Kentucky and Celis knew a lot more about what was happening. As for Red, he told them about the ability of his golden lightning that even he didn't know about. However, the thing that made Kentucky and Celis let out a lot of cold sweat were his last words. "The opening in the center of this island is not a place you should enter. If you do, you will only die. That's what I can tell with the awakened memories I got."

Kentucky and Celis wanted to tell Rean's group about it, thinking that the World Beast Formation was there. Obviously, it seemed like they were wrong. Even if they could get to the World Beast Formation there, Red's memories of a core on the island's north side made a lot more sense. The opening in the center of the island looked a lot more like a death trap now.

Celis nodded in the end, saying, "No wonder why we thought there was way too little defense here. At first, we thought it was because the enemy didn't have another choice. Right now, it might just be a death wish."

Kentucky then shook his head after that, saying in response, "Alright, that's enough for now. Although this island has a very small number of demon beasts, I would prefer to stay in midair near the border of the illusion formation covering the Blood Lake."

Red and Gulan, obviously, knew of the illusion formation as well. "Sure, let's get out of here."

Gulan carried Red while Kentucky did the same for Celis. With that, the group exited the island without any trouble. In the air, Red couldn't help but ask, "How will Rean and Roan find us?"

"Don't worry," Kentucky answered. "When we're close enough, I can feel their presence. At the moment, they're destroying the crimson spheres. Once they get enough of them down, they'll eventually come here. Our objective was to investigate the area while they attract the enemy's attention."

Of course, Kentucky didn't mention the World Beast Formation since this was something they found because of the Soul Gem System. Nevertheless, that was enough for Kentucky to at least not send Rean's group into their deaths when they arrive in this place.

Time passed in a flash and many days went by, soon turning into a week. Sure enough, a dimensional realm of this size and the choosing of spheres at random made the job take a lot longer. It wasn't before eleven days had passed that Rean's group finally reached the number they wanted.

"Alright, I can only feel 16 more spheres remaining," Roan said as he counted in his mind. "Two of them have Darian or Xaon protecting it. As for the others, they have a lot of Stage Nine Demon Beasts from the past. It seems like the enemy sent demon beasts that wouldn't disappear with the spheres' destruction."

Roan continued, "But that's for the better. We were already expecting it since it would give us a better chance against the enemy itself. I would prefer to take the number of spheres down to ten or less, but that would be too risky now."

Duran nodded in response as he also saw the lines of defense around the crimson spheres, saying, "Indeed, we should be happy we got this far. Our best option would be to go after him."

Frin and Rean agreed with the plan. "That's good. Kentucky is getting freaked out because of how long we're taking. At least I hope he found something while we were doing our job."

With that said, everyone jumped on Frin's back, who immediately shot into the distance. This time, he was following the direction of the highest concentration of Underworld Energy in this realm. Of course, Roan still kept saying it was energy related to his Dark Element since he couldn't tell Duran and Frin of his past as a Death Spirit.

Kentucky's group had been flying around the north side of the Blood Lake after they left the island in the center. However, they couldn't see anything out of the ordinary there. Their only clue was Red's memory, saying that the core was around this place.

In any case, they took several days to find a very well hidden entrance before they retreated once more to wait for Rean's group. Indeed, they wouldn't risk entering that place without Duran and Frin's help.

Suddenly, Kentucky felt something as he looked in a certain direction, muttering, "They're finally here."