CHAPTER NINE

The moment Chen Li Sha left the van, a herd of men in police uniform guarded the vicinity.

"Why are there humans here?" Chen Li Sha frowned.

"Who knows?" Guo Feng said as he slipped beside her. "Ask them yourself."

Chen Li Sha poked his abdomen, glowering at him.

"Probably to close off the building. Even if there's Mist, we cannot just leave the establishment open for the public," Zhu Mu Yang concluded.

"But still, those are humans."

Liu Hui nodded in agreement with her. "Maharlika is so weird—"

"China branch?" A voice came from behind Liu Hui before he could continue.

"Yes, Aadesh, right?" Zhu Mu Yang greeted the man.

"Right. Glad to see you all here. We will be opening the Mist and sending all Hunters at once. Please come on this side. We are still waiting for the Japan branch and will proceed immediately."

Chen Li Sha followed the man as she took in her surroundings. Plazuela de Iloilo was a well-known landmark in the city. Its eclectic style using Greek-style columns all around the facade highly contrasted the polycarbonate canopies on the main rotunda they were standing at.

The shades of yellow painted on the walls appeared saturated under the noon sun but the light breeze kept the heat away. No one would think chaos was looming once you passed through the arcades.

Aadesh led them past the barrier of policemen before leaving them to a cluster of groups waiting out the Mist boundary.

Most people were faces she had seen during the online conference held hours ago. It was safe to say this was the first time she saw them in person. While she studied everyone, a tall man caught her attention. He was not the tallest or the most handsome but easily recognizable — given that one should know all their rivals.

Agnivo of the Egyptian branch was someone she had heard even back home. As the descendant of Amun Ra, the highest god of Egypt that alone was enough to get attention but that was not important for Chen Li Sha.

His reputation as the strongest demigod of their branch clashed with hers and she was not the type to back out in front of a competitor.

Her obvious gawking seemingly lingered for too long until their eyes met. Those gray irises were so bright even from afar. Combined with his exotic features, he stood out among his peers. A grin surfaced on his face while a smirk rose on hers. He waved his hand but before she could respond, someone blocked her view.

"Stop looking at him." Guo Feng's tone held some sourness as he turned her in another direction.

"Huh? What the hell are you doing?"

"Preventing others from your stinky eye."

"Argh, piss off, you dog!" She jumped away from his hold.

"Stop it, you two. Look, Aadesh is back." Zhu Mu Yang pointed at the coming figures.

Behind Aadesh is another group of demigods led by an overly flashy man who could pass off as a celebrity with the way he carried himself.

"Welcome again, Hunters. You are already aware of the dire consequences of this mission. I have nothing to say but wish you all the best," Aadesh said before moving forward.

He stretched his hand and a glowing border forming the size of a door appeared. An obscure haze escaped from the opening along with an astringent stench, making almost everyone cover their nose.

"Shit. I hate that smell!" Liu Hui grumbled.

"Here, take this." Zhu Mu Yang handed him a face mask and gave the other two as well.

'What kind of Desastre is this?' Chen Li Sha thought as she put on the mask.

To have such smell and illusion abilities, nothing comes to mind. Even the fog reeking was not a common trait exuded by Desastres.

When it was their turn, the whole scene changed. Gone with the building, there was nothing but a forest in their view.

"Shit. I despise missions like this. They should have mentioned that the smell is enough to hurl the stomach." Liu Hui's face contorted with repugnance.

"Too late for that, Xiao Hui. This is a fair trade when we want that god's wish," Chen Li Sha said.

"You forgot to mention the greater risk with our lives at stake, stupid." Guo Feng crouched down and touched the grass. He pulled one before scrunching it up. "This is a high-level illusion."

"Wait..." Chen Li Sha glanced around. "Where are the others? We all went to the same entrance, right?"

"Probably separated. If so, that only meant that the Desastre can also control people inside their illusion."

"Are they sure we are even fighting a Desastre? That does not sound like one." Chen Li Sha said, knitting her brows.

"Agon said they are evolving with their rebirth and that may not stop to that. It's likely their intelligence is developing too."

Liu Hui clicked his tongue. "That'll be troublesome."

"Yang-ge has a point but I don't think this is just one Desastre." Guo Feng got up. "Even if their intelligence is advancing, creating an illusion of this range cannot just be the work of a mere monster. Even a Levianis could not make such a perfect illusion of creating a whole new dimension."

"Then are you saying, the gods are really involved?"

Guo Feng shrugged. "I cannot sa—"

"Be careful!"

"Hey!"

"Guo Feng!"

Chen Li Sha did not think twice and grabbed Guo Feng as a black hole swept up and swallowed him. When she blinked her eyes once again, she was welcomed by the sight of the building they were at.

"You're heavy..." If not for the closeness of Guo Feng's voice, she would not notice her body lying on top of his.

She stood up abruptly, causing her to lose her balance, and fell on the ground with her ass first.

"What's with that overreaction? I remember you were so eager to save me just a few seconds ago." A cheeky smile stretched up to the curves of his cheeks.

"Shut up! I'd do it with anyone in the same situation," she said but a tinge of scarlet crept on her ears.

She should not care whatever happened to that dog fart but when he was taken away ignited a memory she did not want to repeat.

"Doesn't this remind you of that time?" He offered his hand but she ignored it.

"What time? All I know is that nothing good happens when there's only the two of us here."

With limited members in the China branch, both of them had been grouped several times despite the majority's decision to separate them as much as they could. Regardless, how could they when it was a silent understanding that the two worked together so well despite their disagreements?

"Don't you remember our past mission? Weren't we whisked away before too?"

"That does happen a lot..." Wrinkles formed on her forehead. "It does happen a lot. Why is it always the two of us? Are you the jinx?"

"What? Why me? Shouldn't it be you? You're always following when I'm in danger just like now."

"No way! Is it my fault that I want to save an enemy from your sadistic hands? Besides, you're always the one grabbing me to your side like I'm your sidekick!"

"Sidekick? Aren't you always acting like my master whom I owed a life to? If not for me, who would even indulge your craziness?"

"Didn't those words come from yourself? Who asked you to indulge me, huh? And me, crazy? Aren't you talking about yourself? Being high and mighty when you're just the son of an animal god!"

"What's wrong with being an animal god? At least, my father is better than the goddess of heavens who only guards the peach forest but was outsmarted by that so-called animal god."

"Do you think your father would even have a chance if my mother didn't attend the banquet? Heh. Parading that pitiful victory when he was imprisoned after claiming to be the strongest. What a joke!"

Both of them were out of breath from their shouting despite how close their distance was. Their face mask had long fallen off their face. Redness tinted their skin but it was not from their ambiguous stance, instead, the fury lacing their exchange.

Guo Feng put his hands up in the air. "You know what, let's not argue about it. Maybe we're just fated—"

"Huh? Fated? Please stop dreaming with your eyes open." 

"That's not the point. Come on now. We don't want to repeat that incident last time."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's not me spewing garbage, anyway."

"You just love to have the last say, don't you?"

"Yes, and?" she bit back.

Guo Feng heaved a sigh, his hands on his waist as he looked up. "Someone give me the patience I need for this walking problem."

She kicked his knee and strode away.

"Hey. Don't stray too far!" He closed off their distance, walking alongside her.

Guo Feng could not understand how they always end up in an argument but he could never stay away from her. Peering at her scowling expression, maybe he was indeed crazy that he found her cute despite all that.

His eyes roamed, trying to sense something. Just a small slip was all he needed.

"Say..."

"What?" she was almost snarling at him when they paused from their tracks.

"Chill, Li Sha. Your wrinkles are getting worse." He slides his finger to her head to smoothen it but they only deepened.

"Don't touch me." So she said but she did not move. He put down his hand and inserted it into his pocket.

Calling her a pig was to tease her but in truth, she resembled a grumpy cat more often than not.

"I'm just curious who do you have in mind?" he said as he nudged her to walk again.

"For what?"

"The god's wish if we ever survive this."

"Someone who can help me, of course."

"Are you still thinking about that incident with Shu Xin? Everyone knows it's not you. You're too ballsy not to do it in front of everyone if you ever decided to kill a demigod."

Her bewildered gaze fell on him. "What are you talking about? Obviously, everyone's eyes are on me. I'm the only suspect."

"Most people are not as stupid as you. It's clear someone was behind the scenes. The Council is just probably there for formalities and to catch the real culprit."

When they took another step, a black hole appeared once more. Their surroundings changed, replaced by an expanse of murky lake.

"What the hell? This is surely not the same forest we entered earlier. Can the Mist have several dimensions inside or is this also an illusion?"

"It can be..." Guo Feng's voice trailed as he realized something. "Damn! I get it. No wonder it had several traits of a Desastre and can have the ability of illusion. I'm guessing this is a Desastre caused by habitat loss. The land where the building is built might have a long history of various species living in the past."

"But that was built a long time ago. How come they are just acting now?"

"Remember Agon's theory of rebirth? This might be it. The previous monsters might actually go back to the place they first originated."

"Wait, but that means it might not also be a rebirth. It's just a recurring environmental problem plaguing the place."

"No. This solidified the theory. We just haven't noticed it because the previous causes of Desastres can recur in the same place but not this one. Desastres from habitat loss can only happen once in the same area. Unlike Desastres of pollution, even if we killed the monster, if the problem persisted, they might live again. Nonetheless, even in the past, if they did recur, the Desastre should still be unique."

"Hold on. Calm down. I don't understand a thing."

Chen Li Sha was trying so hard to keep up with Guo Feng's thoughts. She hated to admit it but he was apparently the smarter one between the two of them.

"In simpler terms, Agon is right. Desastres are having a rebirth."

"Really—"

"Watch out!"

Spikes of water floated from the lake and attacked them. A whirlpool formed in the center, coupled with the strong gust of wind absorbing everything in their surroundings.

"Get your talisman ready. We have to escape."

"What? I can summon wood to counter it," Chen Li Sha refused.

"No need, it is wasteful. That is not the main body. Just listen to me."

"Fine!" She rummaged on her belt bag but did not touch any paper. She looked down, widening the opening but there was nothing inside her bag. "What the hell?"

"What happened?"

"I have no talismans!"

"What?!"

Her mind tried to remember if she had forgotten but she was not an idiot that would go on a mission without any talisman in her bag. She recalled what happened earlier and a scene came to my mind.

"Carlos..."

"What did you say?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

'No way. He can't be that obvious, is he?'

"Here. Take this." Guo Feng passed her a talisman as she collected herself from her discovery.

Copying Guo Feng's motions, the talisman glowed and two of them traversed kilometers away from the lake in an instant.

In the next second, they returned to the building. But unlike the rotunda they arrived at earlier, there was now a fountain in the center.

A woman stood with her back facing them but when she turned around, Chen Li Sha stiffened.

Right in front of her was the woman who had been haunting her conscience ever since. 

U n S c e n e s

Shu Xin: I'm back, beaches *evil laugh*

Note:
Edited the chapter using my phone and I almost gave up. Planning to update by the end of the month but I'm too bored and need to rest from all the sun energy I've been absorbing. I want to go home ahhhhhhh....

See you next next week but here's what plazuela looks like:

Or tom ;)