After Liam left the house, he stopped for a moment at the carriage stop and boarded a carriage heading to Tezny District. A few minutes later, he arrived in Tezny, specifically at Ahiston Street Number Twelve, following Leo Zilvera's instructions.
As soon as he got off the carriage, he stopped for a moment to recall the meeting location. Less than a minute later, the direction he was looking for came clearly to mind.
The park roundabout.
He began walking, observing the rows of tall buildings, and remembered that their architectural designs resembled those of the late nineteenth century, with several buildings crowned by domed roofs. Everything looked different from the district where he lived, where the buildings were simpler and some had pointed roofs filled with smoke.
Tezny was located in the city center and served as part of the urban infrastructure, so it was only natural that the architectural and technological development here was more advanced, although not as advanced as in the other cities of Havanuheta.
Even so, Moran was the city farthest from the administrative center of Havanuheta Province. The technology here still lagged far behind that of other cities, which already had steam trains, steam engines, steam power plants, trams, steam-powered safety elevators, telephones, typewriters, and much more.
However, Moran had two main stations located in Forgenate District on the western side of the city, an area twice the size of Chapena, encompassing forests and valleys, vast hills, and stretches of grassland.
This was different from Chapena in the east, Gours in the south, Niki in the north, Krensen in the southeast, and Hava District in the northeast, which was far from the other regions, close to the sea, and rarely received attention from the mayor, Novewilian Alistair.
A few minutes after walking along the roadside, he arrived at a small roundabout separating four different roads. Inside was a fairly large park with neatly arranged plants and flowers, and in the center stood a large, shady tree. Whenever the wind blew, its brown leaves scattered in every direction, drifting onto the surrounding roads.
Autumn, and only a few days before a special day that even he himself was not looking forward to.
From the path below, Liam quickened his pace and waved from a distance. The meeting was supposed to begin at two in the afternoon, but he was about twenty minutes late, making them wait for quite some time.
At the same time, they stepped forward toward Liam, wanting to greet him, or rather, ready to scold him for being late.
Leo immediately patted Liam on the shoulder while shaking his head. He had previously thought his invitation would fail, but he had not expected his friend's personality to change so quickly. He still held onto the hope that someone as intelligent and orderly as Zavi could be late to a meeting?
"Hey, Zavi," Leo whispered, then added, "Forn finally invited Zeta, and she decided to come in the end."
Zeta Audervin was one of their former classmates. Coincidentally, she was extremely obsessed with supernatural phenomena and strange prophecies, including doomsday theories, and she often visited various churches and cathedrals to learn more.
He continued, "Sorry, I couldn't invite her. I didn't know where her house was."
'Who is he talking about?'
Liam wondered curiously.
Leo stepped closer and whispered the locations, including Eaurealis Castle, among the places they planned to visit.
Liam's brows furrowed after learning the truth through fragments of this body's memories upon hearing it.
His eyes suddenly shifted to his wrist.
'That castle? I just remembered. Zavi's death had something to do with that castle, right after he visited it. But was that really the cause? Then why did he invite me there again? Damn it.'
Thinking about it made Liam's heart beat faster than it should have, although his face remained somewhat apathetic.
"So... what do you think?" Leo muttered, asking for confirmation while tilting his head in confusion after noticing the strange expression on Liam's face.
Leo sighed.
"Honestly, I don't really want to go there either."
The place in question was a castle with a gleaming emerald-green dome illuminated by the light. The building held significant influence and had become one of the important landmarks in Moran City, Kingdom of Norn. As an ancient building, the castle exuded a mystical aura, especially when night fell and the building was abandoned by the gods above.
'Eaurealis Castle, huh?'
Liam's thoughts became chaotic after considering it, but to hide it, he smiled at Leo and nodded along with the other three.
Leo turned around with a faint smile and gestured with his chin for them to follow him.
He walked ahead first, followed by Forn.
Meanwhile, Zeta turned toward Liam, who had frozen in place, observing his face for several seconds.
"Is something wrong with this meeting?" Zeta asked as she approached, unable to contain her curiosity.
"No," he answered briefly and firmly.
Liam allowed Zeta to approach, observing her for a moment before calmly moving forward to follow the other two.
Zeta's steps stopped. Her mouth pressed into a tight line, and her brown eyes stared at Liam's back without blinking. She held her breath and forced herself to catch up so she would not be left behind.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the main street of Tezny District, Ahiston Street No. 12. Eaurealis Castle was crowded with visitors that afternoon. Yet amid the crowd, Liam's heart remained restless, like someone who had fallen from a great height and drowned in the deep sea.
He stood frozen in place, staring at the open iron gate, reluctant to step inside. Unexpectedly, Leo touched his shoulder, urging him to move.
"They've already gone inside. Are you just going to stand here?" Leo asked in confusion, observing his friend's strange behavior.
In his mind, perhaps it was simply because they had not seen each other in a long time, and Leo harbored no suspicion toward Liam.
Liam nodded hesitantly. He slipped both hands into his coat pockets and stepped forward. From behind him, a faint smile appeared on Leo's face, and he quickly followed.
The silver-gray marble floor of Eaurealis Castle gleamed beautifully in the corners of their eyes. Every step echoed softly, as if concealing something, and the scrape of their shoes created an elegant silence within the vast hall.
Elsewhere, Zeta and Forn had already ventured deeper inside, enjoying the beauty and elegance of the castle's innermost sections, observing various polished and well-maintained objects, and without realizing it, had left the two of them behind at the tall and magnificent entrance.
"Where did they go? Have they already gone inside?" Leo asked in confusion after looking around, before his gaze shifted to Liam, who was staring at something.
Leo followed his gaze and saw a cracked castle pillar. The sound was clearly audible every second. Several people inside were shouting for the staff, while others hurriedly ran to save themselves.
Several visitors reported it to the security guards on duty. Two other security guards began directing the visitors to evacuate immediately, uncertain whether the ancient building that had stood firmly for so long was about to collapse.
"Tch, this definitely isn't a coincidence."
'So trouble has started again after I transmigrated into this body. Damn it.'
Liam walked straight ahead, wanting to take a closer look at the crack. However, he had difficulty pushing through the crowd surging toward the exit.
The two castle guards at the entrance were overwhelmed as they tried to control the flow of people pushing against one another.
Meanwhile, Liam felt that something was wrong with the castle, which had begun collapsing precisely when he and his friends arrived. He abandoned his intention to go deeper inside and instead gestured for Leo to leave immediately.
"Don't worry about them. I'm sure they're fine," Liam said, his tone remaining calm despite the impending situation being quite urgent.
Leo nodded, and they immediately went outside to find a safer place. Once outside, they saw several people covered in blood. It was unclear how they had been injured, but they assumed the blood had been caused by debris falling from the castle roof.
They also saw two other people with blood smeared across their arms as they exited through the large gate, passing through the panicked crowd afraid of being struck by more debris.
'It seems like the castle could collapse at any moment,' Liam thought with certainty.
Through a small gate on the right side of the castle, Liam caught a glimpse of Zeta and Forn carrying a middle-aged woman.
And through another gate on the left side of the castle, a group of men and women ran out in panic.
Then the sound of cracking echoed again, both from inside and outside the castle, louder than before. The people on the street stopped what they were doing after witnessing and hearing the murmurs coming from those inside the castle gates.
Not long afterward, ten local police officers arrived after receiving reports of suspicious activity. They wore black uniforms with partial gold patterns, leather belts, and silver emblems on their chests. Star-shaped badges were pinned to their shoulders, indicating their ranks.
Someone who appeared to be the most senior stepped forward, with three stars. His gaze was sharp, and his voice was heavy as he spoke.
"We received a report of suspicious activity around this castle," he said while pushing aside the people blocking the way, followed by nine two-star officers behind him.
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent. After realizing that the commotion had subsided, Liam turned around and saw ten uniformed officers with silver badges approaching.
Reflexively, Liam patted Leo on the shoulder before stepping aside and moving about five steps to the left to make way.
An officer with straight black hair, several strands falling over his face, blinked at Liam.
Seeing that, Liam immediately shook his head, the corners of his lips lifting as he considered the officer overly familiar.
The ten officers stood in front of the castle, whose doors remained open. Several exchanged glances. Then the senior officer stepped forward, preparing to enter, search for anyone trapped inside, and investigate the cause of the building's collapse.
"Be careful, Sir," said seven junior officers.
The senior officer nodded before entering the castle, followed by two trusted subordinates, the man who had blinked earlier, and a brown-haired man with a stern face.
A few seconds after entering, he heard something from the staircase on the right.
He gestured toward the stairs with two fingers. The two officers behind him nodded and each drew a gleaming silver pistol.
They climbed the stairs on the right side of the castle, moving silently along the second-floor corridor. One of them, the black-haired man, caught a glimpse of a shadow darting rapidly across the two straight corridors connected ahead.
He suspected that someone had just passed by, perhaps the mastermind behind the destruction of the castle.
Mukaden.
"There he is!" he shouted, raising the silver pistol level with his face and intending to attack without waiting for orders.
He reached the intersection of three corridors. Acting on instinct, he fired at the fleeing figure.
Bang! Bang!
The bullets streaked rapidly through the air, but the man easily avoided them like a skilled circus clown performing card tricks to deceive an audience.
"Huh?! Could that be the fugitive wanted by several Karvalan units?" he muttered, his gaze shifting to the left as he saw his two companions who had just arrived. "Senior. I think I saw that person again."
John was startled. His face tensed for a moment before he decided to speak in a restrained voice, "Order the others to block all exits."
The two nodded and ran downstairs to inform their companions guarding the main entrance of Eaurealis Castle. Meanwhile, John chose to pursue the man without the slightest hesitation.
The two arrived at the entrance with the intention of delivering the message. However, unexpectedly, a cold voice echoed from atop the castle dome.
The castle visitors jolted in shock, including Liam and his three friends. The voice came from one of the mysterious figure's subordinates, the wanted terrorist Mukaden, who was being pursued by the police.
"I will turn this district into a sea of darkness," the man said, pausing for a moment with a faint smile on his face. "Now... destroy yourselves, you backward bastards."
He jumped down from the rooftop dome. A few seconds later, confusion spread among the castle visitors and the people who happened to see him.
A massive explosion occurred from within. Its source was unknown, but it was clearly powerful enough to destroy the castle and claim hundreds of lives.
Boom!