CHAPTER 60: CONFIRMING SUSPICION

Kaelyn stared at Deklan in front of her, who seemed to be in a good mood.

’I still can’t trust him,’ She thought inside.

Even though she had been stalking him closely earlier—there was this edge in her guts that suspected him of knowing that he was being watched. It made her feel like she was looking at the pretend side of Deklan, not the real side.

’He has a problem with Zayne, so I can’t let those two get close. And it’s good that he asked to split into two groups like this. At the very least, he wouldn’t know where our temporary settlement would be, though I doubt he wouldn’t be able to find it even if we tried to hide it.’

She knew what went down between Zayne and Deklan.

And in hindsight, the matters had been settled since the two had decided to drop it.

But she would be a fool if she believed it was that easy.

"So, Deklan, how long have you lived in this forest?" Kaelyn asked.

"Oh, you’re already interested in me now?" Deklan cast her a teasing glance—and raised a brow. "Are you checking if I’m a good candidate?"

"Have you always been this blunt?"

"I mean... You’re the leader of your group, and I’m the leader of my people. It’s a match, isn’t it?"

"You sound like a womanizer."

"I am not!"

Deklan threw his face away, annoyed that she was quick to realize that, "Believe it or not, it hadn’t been that long since I lived in this forest. Probably not even a month, I’m not sure. But don’t worry—I know my way around."

"And are you an Exorcist?"

"Of course."

"A registered Exorcist?"

Registered? Is that a thing? I can use that to draw my family’s attention later.

"I’ve only recently awakened my Mana Veins," Deklan shrugged, hiding the fact that it hadn’t even been an hour. "So, no, I’m not a registered Exorcist. What about you? I can tell from your aura—you’re at least a four-star bronze rank Exorcist."

"I’m also not registered, and yes, I’m around that rank." Kaelyn nodded.

A frown crept to her face as the more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

"Wait, if you’ve recently become an Exorcist, how can you be this strong already?" She asked again.

Upon awakening their Mana Veins, an Exorcist automatically stepped into the Apprentice rank. From there, they had to cycle their mana no less than ten thousand times to temper and mature those veins so that they could ascend to the Senior Apprentice rank.

Circulating it from the heart, then to the whole body, then back to the heart counts as one cycle.

Normally, it’ll take five years for normal Exorcists.

Genius talents could mature their Mana Veins in a year or maybe even less.

Regardless—Deklan being this strong should be impossible, as he beat a bronze-rank Ghost with ease when he had only become an Exorcist recently. If by recent he meant a few years, then that made sense, but Kaelyn could tell that he meant a few months at most.

"Come on, Kaelyn," Deklan turned towards her, smiling. "Are you seriously asking that?"

"I thought we were being blunt with each other." Kaelyn taunted.

"But that’s a pretty heavy secret you’re digging for," Deklan chuckled—and then threw her a shameless wink. "If you open up to me a little more, then maybe I’ll think about sharing mine."

Moments later, the two arrived at the entrance of the inner area.

Deklan deliberately brought her to the Shadowed Town side instead of going straight to the other side— partially because he needed to know where he was going to make Kaelyn believe in him, but mostly, he wanted to check how the Ghosts’ reaction to him.

I owned the Shadowed Town. Are those spectres going to attack me still? We’ll see.

"Remember, the Null Zone ahead is called the Shadowed Town," Deklan turned toward her, explaining what he found the first time he went inside. "I don’t know about the Ghosts much, but the one in armor has a Minor Presence that will reduce our perception along with inflicting blindness and panic, so make sure to ready your Spirit Talisman at all times."

Kaelyn raised her left hand, where a necklace was wrapped around her wrist, turning it into a bracelet.

Like basically every Exorcist he has met, she also carried a Spirit Talisman.

But hers were different; the string emanated a faint white aura.

It must be a higher-grade Spirit Talisman.

Deklan nodded his head and went through the barrier first, leading the way.

[Notice: You have entered the Shadowed Town.]

[Since the Shadowed Town is a part of the Ward’s territory, its exposure will be nullified.]

Deklan smiled inwardly.

His sanity has been taking a big hit recently from all the fighting he has been doing, so this was much needed.

As he looked around, he noticed that he came from the west side of the Shadowed Town.

Back then, he came from the southern part, so the layout was a bit different.

But this also meant I’m near the town hall and the opposing Null Zone.

Regardless, what he wanted to find out about right now is the Ghosts’ stance on his presence.

It was clear already that the Shadowed Town is not a part of the Ward’s territory, but the system also said that he needed to claim this place in order to assimilate with Sasaki. Deklan became confused about whether the Ghosts were on his side or not because of that.

None should be seeing me as an enemy. Perhaps, they would even listen to my orders.

Deklan looked to the right and saw a few Shadowlings nearby, a group of them, but they hadn’t noticed his presence yet since there was a good distance between them. Before Kaelyn entered, Deklan quickly waved his hand.

He caught the group’s attention.

And when that group saw him, they didn’t attack—they looked excited instead.

"Seems like they acknowledged me as their new ruler," Deklan nodded, and he waved his hand, telling them not to approach as he was with Kaelyn right now. "Now, the real problem is how to get Kaelyn to be on the side of the Shadowed Town without her getting suspicious."

"How does it look?" Kaelyn’s voice startled Deklan from behind.

She has such light steps that Deklan didn’t even realize she was already right behind him.

It was quite surprising considering his high perception stat.

"Look there," Deklan pointed at the group of Shadowlings. "That’s the normal Ghosts you’d find in this particular Null Zone called Shadowlings. Let’s have a look around. Stick really close to me—and don’t make any sound."

In the next ten minutes or so, Deklan brought Kaelyn around the Shadowed Town.

Along the way, they came across more Shadowlings and even met some of the armored ones.

On top of showing her around, Deklan was also more certain that the Ghosts of the Shadowed Town could be influenced by him. All except for the armored Ghosts—who only cast him a look, and then went back to what they were doing.

He didn’t understand it at first—but the reason hit him a moment later, sharp and undeniable.

Just like a territory that had only been conquered by a new ruler, the Ghosts were split into two sides.

One side immediately fell to the new rule, while the other was still reluctant or even hostile.

In this case, the weaker Ghosts like the Shadowlings submitted to him immediately, recognizing him as their new Alpha without question. The stronger ones, however, weren’t so easily swayed. The only way to win them over was to prove himself by confronting the opposing Null Zone.

So, basically, the stronger ones have the same requirement to tame like Sasaki. Great.

Boom!

"What was that?" Kaelyn exclaimed, snapping her head towards the explosion’s direction.

"Oh—right. I forgot to mention this part," Deklan said, gesturing toward the distant treeline. "There are actually two Null Zones here. The one we’re standing in... and the one over there." His finger pointed to the hazy horizon. "The Ghost that attacked Zayne came from that side. That Null Zone—and this one are at war."

"At war...?" Kaelyn’s brows dropped into a frown. "That’s troublesome."

Upon saying that, Deklan’s eyes lit up with an idea.

"Say, you wanted to make a hidden settlement in the inner area, right?" Deklan leaned forward, putting his face close against hers—causing her to lean back slightly. "Eradicating the entire Ghosts in the inner area is a hassle, so why not choose one and help them win?"

"What? Help them win?"

"Yes, that way, you can co-exist peacefully with them."

"We’re talking about Ghosts. How can we even make a deal with them?"

"The Alpha Ghost in this Null Zone is a silver rank, so she could understand us. I’ve met with her."

"I’m not sure..."

"Come on, it’s going to be good for you and the Alpha Ghost. Besides, nobody would’ve expected a settlement in an active Null Zone, so your new settlement is going to be a good one. Nobody would be finding your settlement here."

Deklan could tell that Kaelyn and his group were running from something.

It was evident from how tired their group looked.

Even Zayne, along with the other Exorcists, was weary, so they must have been running like hell.

Using that information, Deklan could coax Kaelyn to help him battle the opposing Null Zone.

As for why he was this close to her face? It’s to make her unable to think, of course.

Thank you, Abigail.

He learned this trick from a classmate of his, Abigail, a pretty girl in his class who, for some damn reason, always got what she wanted from others. She told him that normal people in general tend to lose their cool when she is up close to them.

Deklan knew that it had something to do with how pretty she was.

And as someone handsome, that trick might work on Kaelyn.

From the looks on her face, it somewhat did, or did it?

"Let me ask you something, Deklan," Kaelyn stepped away, putting a distance between them. Her face turned sharp and focused, "You’re setting me up to something, aren’t you? Do you really think of me as a fool that I would not notice what had been happening?"

"Hmm...? What do you mean?"

"I saw how those Ghosts reacted to you. Some saw us, but none attacked us. How is that?"

Kaelyn drew her katana, slow and deliberate, while her eyes fixated on Deklan with an edge to them.

"And what you’re suggesting now," She continued, her voice rasping menacingly. "It confirmed my suspicion. Help one side to win and co-exist with the other...? No Exorcists would suggest that. This world is supposed to be ours, and you’re suggesting we co-exist with them? That’s a mistake on your part, Deklan..."