CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 46: PARADISE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST (20)

The masked man looked at Oliver with an extremely sharp stare.

"Now, tell me what you know about this man."

Oliver stood up from the ground and brushed the dust off his hands, then faced the masked man directly.

"Before anything, I want a guarantee that you will keep your part of the agreement after I finish mine."

The masked man lifted his chin slightly.

"And what guarantee do you want, child?"

Oliver immediately turned toward Aria.

"We form a soul pact, and Aria will be the guarantor."

The masked man turned toward her instantly, giving her a long, examining look.

Aria tried to blend in with the others, but everyone stepped away from her the moment she approached them.

They left her alone in the center.

The masked man’s brows tightened before he looked back at Oliver.

"Fine. Let that hybrid handle it."

Oliver turned to Aria.

"Can you do it, Aria?"

She nodded, then stepped forward and stood beside Oliver.

A strained smile appeared on her face as she faced the masked man, but he paid her no attention.

"Do it now. I don’t have much time."

Aria cleared her throat and looked at Oliver.

"In return for telling this man everything he knows about that king, he will offer you a service later. Do you agree?"

"I agree."

Oliver extended his hand to the masked man, who extended his own. They shook hands.

At that moment a faint orange light appeared around their hands.

It vanished quickly, and then a small mark appeared on each of their hands.

The others watched the scene in complete shock. None of them understood what was happening, but they stayed quiet regardless.

The deal was sealed, and Oliver began explaining everything Orion had told him to the masked man.

Orion himself was lying beside them, his eyes fixed on the ceiling with an empty expression.

When Oliver finished, the masked man turned directly toward Orion.

He looked at him for a moment, then looked at Oliver.

"That king didn’t tell you the whole truth."

Oliver froze.

"What? What do you mean?"

The masked man took out a small glass vial containing a thick green liquid.

He opened it and poured it onto his decaying hand. Light smoke rose from his skin.

"To create a place like this, a massive sacrifice is required. The entire place needs memories in order to form."

He glanced at Orion again, his eyes full of contempt.

"And like I told you before. Making a pact with a mythical creature of this type is not something an innocent man does. The king sacrificed at least half of what was left of his people to build this place."

For the first time, Orion’s expression changed. He stood up instantly.

He appeared in front of the masked man as if he had teleported rather than moved.

"Repeat what you said."

The masked man didn’t answer. He immediately raised his hand, and a strong light erupted from it, making Orion vanish into mist.

But Orion’s body reformed instantly.

The masked man raised his gun and aimed it at Orion’s face.

His finger rested on the trigger, but Orion didn’t move a single step.

"You know this is pointless."

His voice was extremely low, empty of life.

"All I want is for you to explain what you meant. I did not sacrifice anyone. At least... that’s what I remember."

He lifted his hands and grabbed his head tightly, feeling a sharp pain drilling into his skull.

"Tell me what you meant by that."

The masked man stepped back, his gun still fixed in place.

"It seems you have a serious issue with your memory."

His voice sharpened.

"Let me make one thing clear. You’re nothing but a filthy bastard who sacrificed his people for power."

Orion pressed his hands against his head so hard that marks appeared on his skin.

His fingers trembled. His veins throbbed. Black mist spread around him.

It started from his chest, then his arms, until parts of his body turned into vapor.

The walls around them warped. The stones of the tower rippled like reflections on moving water.

The ground shook beneath their feet. But suddenly, everything stopped in an instant. Orion slowly lowered his hands, turned around, and ran.

He didn’t say a word. He just ran, the mist trailing behind him.

Everyone remained frozen in place, unable to process what they had seen.

The masked man was the first to move. He sat down and unrolled a strip of white bandages, wrapping his hand.

His fingers moved steadily despite the peeling skin and the strange fluid seeping beneath the bandages.

No one spoke until one of the men broke the silence.

"What do we do now?"

His companion replied while staring at the masked man.

"I don’t know. We wait. I’m not ready to die because of a stupid mistake."

On the other side, Oliver stood beside Lemur, his eyes shifting between the door Orion disappeared through and the masked man.

He turned to Lemur.

"Why didn’t you help your cellmate? Didn’t you say he was the most important person to you or something like that?"

Lemur sighed.

"I said that before he gained the commander’s hostility. Once that happens, the cellmate becomes a traitor. And a traitor deserves death."

"Don’t you think you’re exaggerating?"

"I’m not. This is normal. It’s what any Gray would do."

Oliver shook his head.

"You Grays are the strangest group I’ve ever met."

"Oliver, honestly, you’re the strange one here."

"What do you mean?"

Lemur pointed toward the door.

"Orion was my companion for a long while, yet you were the only one who stood between him and the commander. You don’t know him like I do. And all the others were waiting for him to die. Everyone wants to get out of here. Do you really value a stranger over your own people?"

"You talk like you’ve known him for years when it’s barely been a day. Anyway, I only thought we could leave here without killing him."

"I think he doesn’t even want to live."

"Even if that’s true, that doesn’t give me the right to choose for him. If he wants the end, he should say it himself."

At that moment, the masked man stood after tightening the last of the bandages.

Then he grabbed another green vial and drank it in one go. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and picked up his gun again.

He walked toward the tower door and pushed it open.

What lay outside wasn’t the village. Everything was gone. There was no trace of the fields or the small houses.

Instead, a huge city appeared. Its streets stretched toward the horizon, its buildings towering, and its roads overflowing with people.