CHAPTER 173: CONFUSING TIMELINE (2)

Rise and Kamille went ahead, not paying attention to whether the others followed. Their presence was not too important; only there for convenience.

In any case, those were not the friends they knew. Thalia’s face might have gained goodwill, but not enough for the two to come in their way and help them.

"Wow, so eerie." Rise gasped, looking around. He also could not help but tighten his hold on Kamille.

Not that being scared, but he felt a chill that surrounded him, giving him goosebumps. His eyes swept around, yet only ruins and monster carcasses were around.

It was dark, and the smoke made it even harder to see clearly. Funnily enough, it did not have a foul smell despite all these corpses, as if the area had an ability to isolate the smell.

If so, Rise had long smelled the rotten flesh and something burning.

To think, they were not at the entrance yet. Rise could only see it becoming near. Rise turned around and finally decided to check out the others.

Thalia and the others were not far from them, closely catching up.

Rise’s lips curled. Look at them, nervous but not too troubled.

Did they really not sense a noble, or were they used to it? Well, he would find it out later.

He focused again ahead, but soon had to stop. The reason?

"Guild Leader? Why?" Rise tilted his head and looked up.

Kamille suddenly stopped just in front of the boundary of the entrance. At this close, it appears more hideous and terrifying. Rise could not see the inside; it was pitch black. The smoke lingering added to that effect.

Rise’s brow furrowed, observing his expression.

Kamille also had his brows connected together, a frown on his lips. His gaze darkened further, and pupils shook in a rare tension.

Immediately, Rise became on guard. His gaze then became tinged with a blue hue.

"What’s wrong?" He whispered. His vision magnified but... he did not find any extraordinary yet.

In fact, the entrance was almost hazy in his eyes. The corner of his eyes ached and became moist. He frowned heavily, for some reason unable to look away even if his eyes were already hurting. Even though he wanted to as well.

His body also froze; something inside was attracting all of him.

Soon, his vision went dark. A hand covered his eyes, saving him from that eerie experience.

"Don’t look too close." Kamille’s deep voice sounded beside his ears.

Rise gasped and closed his eyes firmly, and rested. He nodded weakly and leaned toward Kamille. In that span of seconds, he felt like his energy was being absorbed.

Ah, no... more like, his wavelength was stirred for no apparent reason. Not as an esper, but as a guide.

This scared him more. And his body... did not stop at all. As though recognizing that action and let them, whoever it was that connected through his wavelength, offering himself.

As if... his body instinctively recognized it.

"Guild Leader..." Rise swallowed and bit his lips. Kamille’s hand was still over his eyes, and he was not clinging to him anymore, but instead it was Kamille who was holding him.

A familiar arm wrapped securely around his waist. Kamille was standing behind him, almost embracing him from behind.

Wait... when did he stop clinging to Kamille?

Was what happened, not only for a moment? Did it also occupy his mind?

"I know." Kamille’s voice was low, dangerously low even.

Rise could not see his expression, but he felt the arm around him tighten, and his breath brushed against his neck.

"Someone dares..." Rise did not hear the whole sentence; the words muffled after the other buried his face between Rise’s neck and inhaled his scent.

As though calming himself, or maybe also an assurance of Rise’s presence.

Rise blinked his eyes under Kamille’s hands and breathed slowly. He leaned all his weight to the other, giving in. His hands reached out behind his back, trying to touch Kamille’s hair.

They stayed in that position for a few more seconds.

It seemed that what happened earlier provoked Kamille. Usually, he was the one happy because seeing his Guild Leader like this proved that he cared, but he found it hard to feel that way at this moment.

Perhaps what happened also terrified him. He already had sort of trauma to something that without his control. At that moment, he felt his body frozen, reminiscent of the past when he remained like a puppet.

What was scarier was his body not having an unpleasant reaction at all.

For his whole life, only one person could make him react like that.

Only one.

And that person was the one with him right now.

Kamille Han.

It took a while before Kamille calmed down completely. Rise also took that time to gather his thoughts. Finding the situation tricky. Although he did not think it was completely unexpected but this still caught him off guard.

So, that someone lurking in there... was somewhat confirmed. But... a noble? What?

Their position changed, with Riise now facing Kamille, his eyes returned to their original ones, and he focused on Kamille in front of him.

As long as he did not look too much at the entrance, the call and the instinctive urge of his body would not be disrupted. It also helped that the person who was with him was the real one.

His Kamille Han.

Kamille was still holding him tightly, as if afraid he’d run off. Rise did not tease and, in a rare situation, did not take advantage of it.

"Should we continue?" Rise asked, completely depending on the decision of Kamille.

This was also a form of assurance.

Kamille stared heavily at Rise, without answering immediately. He shifted his gaze and looked up ahead. His eyes turned sharp, expression somewhat complicated.

He then nodded.

"It’s the correct path." He sighed, complex emotions lingering within him.

Rise did not know what he was seeing, but his expression was enough to discern that things were not simple, and they might encounter a very difficult individual.

It was, after all, a version of his extreme side. Rise knew full well how they differed.

"We can’t turn back." He continued.

Rise became puzzled. What did he mean?

Now, he finally looks back and sees what Thalia and the others were up to. However, he was taken aback yet again.

"What... just happened?" Rise’s eyes widened and glanced back to Kamille; his eyes were filled with questions.

Kamille also turned back and then back at Rise.

"As you can see, things have stopped."

It was true. Thalia and the others were stopped at the boundary of the entrance, while Rise now realized they had already entered its vicinity, where the influence was far stronger.

They were frozen... as if time stopped itself. Or maybe, it was indeed so.

"This place is the core of this gate. And someone waiting there..." Kamille gritted his teeth, eyes flickering in a murderous glint. "...is the one we need to kill."

Rise swallowed. Oh damn, Kamille was not playing even to himself, huh?