Chapter 117

They soon discovered the reason.  

“There’s no sign of anyone.”  

5th Avenue, already desolate, was now completely empty.  

Knock, knock. Shaterian knocked on the door of the seventh house they visited.  

There was no movement inside, no sign of life.  

Orgon and Eched, who had split up to investigate other areas, seemed to have encountered the same situation.  

Orgon approached Shaterian, shaking his head.  

“What on earth is going on?”  

How could all the people disappear overnight?  

Shaterian knocked on the door again, just in case, but there was still no response.  

“It wasn’t like this yesterday, was it?”  

“No. Even though the streets were empty, we could sense people inside their homes.”  

“Could they all have gone to some sort of gathering…?”  

If that wasn’t the case, it made no sense for over twenty houses to suddenly be vacant.  

If they wanted information, they would have to go where people gathered.  

Their group headed to a nearby marketplace.  

Unfortunately, the marketplace was also devoid of people, leaving the atmosphere bleak.  

However, there was one shop still open, so they approached the shopkeeper.  

“Welcome! …Oh, it’s you…”  

The shopkeeper, who initially seemed pleased to see customers, hesitated upon recognizing them.  

“Ah… You’re the knights from the Imperial Palace…”  

Their robes, meant to be inconspicuous, only made them stand out more. It was no wonder they were recognized.  

The shopkeeper frowned slightly, but Shaterian paid it no mind.  

“I have a few questions.”  

“Well… but I’m just a commoner. I don’t know if I can be of any help.”  

The shopkeeper’s sly smile suggested they were ready to deny knowing anything, no matter the question.  

Shaterian had no intention of getting answers for free.  

She pulled out a gold coin from her pocket and placed it in front of the shopkeeper.  

“5th Avenue is entirely empty. Do you know if anything happened today?”  

“5th… 5th Avenue, you say?”  

The shopkeeper quickly pocketed the gold coin and fell into thought.  

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen anyone from 5th Avenue today. Even the old man who always sells vegetables isn’t around…”  

Judging by the response, it didn’t seem like the residents of 5th Avenue had any scheduled group event.  

“Well, maybe they all ran away together?”  

The shopkeeper muttered and let out a mocking laugh.  

“So, you don’t know anything? That makes the gold coin feel like a waste.”  

Shaterian narrowed her eyes, and the shopkeeper hurriedly waved their hands.  

“No…! Now that I think about it, I did see the daughter of a restaurant worker this morning.”  

“The daughter of a restaurant worker?”  

“Yes. If you go out to the street ahead, there’s a corner restaurant. You might want to ask there for more details…”  

The information didn’t seem worth the gold coin, but at least it confirmed that someone from 5th Avenue was still around.  

The group followed the shopkeeper’s directions and headed to the street ahead.  

This led them to 3rd Avenue, bustling with people and full of energy.  

At the corner restaurant mentioned by the shopkeeper, the peak hours had already passed, and the staff were busy cleaning up after the departing customers.  

“Excuse me. Sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but we’re looking for someone who works here and lives on 5th Avenue…”  

“5th Avenue?”  

A staff member stacking plates on a tray looked up.  

“If it’s someone from 5th Avenue, that would be that woman, but… she didn’t come to work today.”  

“Do you know where she might be?”  

“How would I know where someone who skipped work without notice is? I’m already stressed out because we’re short-staffed…”  

The staff member, clearly annoyed, scrubbed a table with excessive force as they spoke.  

“Oh. The woman’s daughter came by this morning, asking if her mother had come to work. I wonder where she went off to without telling even her daughter…”  

“Do you know their address?”  

“5th Avenue, 13-3… or maybe 13-4? Something like that.”  

The staff member disappeared into the kitchen, carrying a tray piled high with dishes.  

If 13-3 was correct, it was right next to Millinen’s house.  

And if it was next to Millinen’s house, then it was the home of the child they had met yesterday.  

The group set off once more to find the child.  

Fortunately, they found the child just as they exited the restaurant.  

“Hey, kid.”  

The child’s eyes were red and puffy, as though they had been crying.  

Apparently, after asking the restaurant staff about her mother, she had wandered the streets looking for her.  

The weather was cold, and the child’s thin clothing only made her look more pitiful.  

“Oh, hello.”  

“What are you doing out here?”  

“I’m waiting for my mom. She always comes to pick me up after work when I stand here.”  

It was heartbreaking. Shaterian gently patted the child’s head.  

“Let’s go home.”  

The child shook her head, insisting that she had to wait here for her mother.  

Even though she had no idea where her mother might be.  

Instead of arguing, Shaterian bought some warm clothes from a nearby shop and dressed the child in them.  

She put gloves on the child’s hands, a hat on her head, and a scarf around her neck.  

“But your mom might have gone back home. How about waiting here just a little longer, and then heading home?”  

The child nodded.  

They waited outside with the child for her mother, but as the sun began to set, they decided to leave.  

As the sunset painted the sky red, shadows grew longer.  

Returning to 5th Avenue, they noticed something unusual near Millinen’s house, next door to the child’s.  

A strange presence could be felt.  

Eched placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, while Orgon, carrying the now-sleeping child, moved closer to Shaterian.  

There was only one presence. 

Was it Millinen?  

No.  

The ominous aura was unmistakably that of dark magic.  

Eched slowly approached Millinen’s house, sword in hand.  

Clatter.  

The thin wooden door rattled.  

Clatter, clatter.  

Then, suddenly, the door burst open.  

“Help…! Please, spare me…!”  

A disheveled man stumbled out, clutching at Eched’s pant leg.  

His face was filthy, and his beard was overgrown, but it was clear from the portrait they had seen in the documents that this was Millinen.  

In other words, the man was indeed Millinen.  

Orgon handed the child to Shaterian and instructed her to stay by his side no matter what.  

“He… he’s trying to k*ll me…!”  

Millinen’s eyes were unfocused and wild. It was clear he wasn’t in his right mind.  

“He’s… he’s trying to k*ll me…”  

“Who is?”  

“Please… spare me…”  

It was no use. Millinen, who had already lost his senses, couldn’t provide any coherent answers.  

Eched shook off Millinen’s grip and approached the house, where the ominous aura was strongest.  

The dark magic emanating from the house was so dense it was almost tangible, as though the source of the magic was right there.  

“Eched.”  

Feeling uneasy, Shaterian called out to him, but Eched didn’t slow his steps.  

Thud!  

Eched pushed open the wooden door, which fell to the floor with a dull thud.  

Inside, dark magic swirled violently.  

The powerful force collided with Eched’s sword aura, but instead of attacking, the magic seemed intent on capturing.  

The dark magic, spreading like a wave, engulfed Eched in an instant.  

“Eched!”  

“Commander!”  

Orgon rushed toward Eched, but the dark magic vanished as quickly as it had appeared, taking Eched with it.  

The world fell silent, as if nothing had happened.  

Millinen, trembling moments ago, collapsed as soon as the dark magic dissipated.  

Orgon let out a sigh and turned Millinen over, only for his expression to harden.  

“He’s dead… and has been for a while.”  

Orgon confirmed Millinen’s condition with a heavy sigh.  

The fact that Millinen’s corpse had been moving was proof of dark sorcery.  

“To go this far just to lure us in…”  

Shaterian laid the child down in her home before stepping back outside.  

What could they want with Eched?  

The only thing they could do with him was k*ll him.  

“Eched was likely targeted because he was the first to approach the dark magic. If I had opened the door, I would have been taken instead. It’s better this way, so don’t worry too much.”  

Although her words might have sounded cold, they were practical.  

Still, she couldn’t just sit idly by.  

They cautiously entered the house to investigate.  

The house was old and filthy, but they soon found a magical artifact that had likely been used as a medium for the dark sorcery.  

“It’s faint, but there are traces left.”  

The artifact, imbued with dark magic, hummed faintly in Orgon’s palm.  

“Could we use this to track Eched’s location?”  

“In theory, yes…”  

Orgon suggested showing the artifact to a mage, as he wasn’t entirely sure.  

Fortunately, there was an Imperial Mage accompanying their group.  

They returned to the hotel and showed the artifact to the mage, who kept their distance, wary of the dark magic.  

“That’s an ancient artifact capable of spatial transportation. It’s a relic from long ago, capable of traveling great distances. Unfortunately, it’s single-use.”  

In other words, they couldn’t use it to follow Eched.