"B-But if he really is a member of the resistance, why didn't he attack when he had the chance?"

"I don't know, I have no idea about that." Dr. Marshal shrugged. "I guess that you aren't his target, and he only watched your movements. You're pretty lucky."

"Pretty lucky?" Shaan's silent for a moment. "I don't get it."

"Members of the resistance don't act like ordinary thieves or bandits who attack their targets right away. They observe and study your movement first," Dr. Marshall explained. "After that, they create a plan, and they hardly ever fail."

'T-that's insane. The resistance group is not just any group.'

"I'm sure that if he sees you again, he won't let you walk away," Dr. Marshall said with a serious look. "They'll catch you. I stand by my words."

"...."

"The point is, if you see one of the members of the resistance. Without thinking twice, run as far away from there as possible. Their strength is far, far above yours."

"O-Okay."

"Oh, right, I want to tell you something," Dr. Marshall said while taking another sip of his vitajuice. "Actually, before I left to buy the missing materials, I went somewhere first."

Hearing Dr. Marshall's words, Shaan fell silent once again. "What do you mean by that?"

"My original plan was to meet Miss Daisy to gather information about the destruction spell and learn more about the resistance, then go buy the materials."

Shaan's expression instantly grew more curious. "Oh, so did you manage to meet Miss Daisy? What did she say?"

Dr. Marshall slowly shook his head. "No. I didn't meet her at all. She was in a meeting with her members, and I couldn't possibly disturb her," explained Dr. Marshall. "So, I decided to just buy the necessary materials, and maybe I'll meet her another day."

"Tomorrow? How about tomorrow?"

"Hmmm..." Dr. Marshall gently stroked his chin. "I don't know, Shaan. I can't promise anything. She's been extremely busy lately, and it seems that we have to make an appointment with her first."

"Ah, I see." Shaan slowly lowered his head. "I... I get it."

"I'll let you know if I'm going to meet Miss Daisy," Dr. Marshall said with a smile. "Don't worry."

"R-Really?" Shaan quickly lifted his head. "Thank you, Dr. Marshall."

"It's just that you shouldn't expect Miss Daisy to talk with you for too long. That bookish woman keeps everything to herself, especially when she meets someone new like you."

"I understand."

Dr. Marshall patted Shaan's shoulder. "But don't worry. You've already met her once, so she might talk with you. Maybe."

"Yes, I hope so too, too."

"All right, Shaan. I think we should get some rest." Dr. Marshal stretched his body upward. "Today has been quite exhausting for me, and I'm sure you feel the same way, right?"

'Yes, you're right." Shaan rolled his shoulders back. "Using the ArcGear actually tires me out."

"In that case, I'll check the lab before I rest," Dr. Marshall said as he gently tapped Shaan's shoulder. "Have a good rest, Shaan."

Silence filled the room as Dr. Marshall walked away, leaving Shaan alone in the living room. Realizing how tired he felt after working the whole day, he slowly rested his head on the sofa, and within seconds, he fell into a deep sleep.

***

'Smack!'

"Ow—what…?" Shaan rubbed his eyes several times. "Mr. Courier, what are you doing?"

"Shaan, wake up now. We have to leave immediately."

Shaan shot up and looked around. "Where are Chelsie and Nalira? I don't see them anywhere."

"I told them to go ahead," Mr. Courier said as he stood up from his chair and walked toward the door. "Hurry and get ready. I'll wait for you outside."

"O-okay," said Shaan, immediately running to the bathroom to clean himself up.

Once he finished tidying up, Shaan rushed outside and followed Mr. Courier as they both tried to catch up to Nalira and Chelsie, who walked far ahead of them.

"Mr. Courier." Shaan looked around. "Is it just me, or do I actually see a lot of daemonists around here today?"

"That's right. You have sharp eyes, Shaan." Mr. Courier smiled. "Many daemonists came here today because they want to buy food supplies for an upcoming festival."

"A festival?" Shaan furrowed his brow. "What festival?"

"The Rite of the Crimson Bloom, or Lunaris Revia."

The moment he heard that name, Shaan instantly remembered an article he once read—a piece that mentioned a special festival held in the Dark Realm known as Lunaris Revia. It is a celebration in which a red moon forms perfectly in the dark realm and emits light like the sun. It is believed that the appearance of this light is a sign of good things to come and is eagerly awaited in the dark realm.

"Yes, I did hear about Lunaris Revia before," Shaan said with excitement. "But I still don't really understand what actually happens during the event."

"Lunaris Revia happens when the Red Moon in the Dark Realm and the moon in the human world line up perfectly. That alignment creates an enormous energy frequency that can pierce through both worlds."

'Wow, I didn't know anything about this.'

"That frequency triggers a reaction in the Dark Realm known as photomana. The Red Moon then shines like a crimson sun, while the human world sees the event as an eclipse."

'So, an eclipse in the human world really affects this realm. That's interesting.'

"The appearance of photomana in this world increases magical power, including the special abilities that daemonists gain. Because of that, many daemonists leave the Twilight Sanctum during Lunaris Revia to strengthen their daemon powers."

"Oh, I see." Shaan nodded. "I understand now."

"We can talk more about this later. For now, we need to hurry before Mr. Philip gets angry at us for arriving late."

"Ah, yes. You're right."

Without wasting any more time, they quickened their pace until they arrived at their destination. Fortunately, the workers had just finished their short briefing before returning to their duties.

"Shaan, at least we're not too late," Mr. Courier let out a relieved sigh. "We'll part ways here. See you later." He then walked away and followed his group.

As Mr. Courier moved farther from him, Shaan headed toward the Twilight Sanctum gate. He followed the group of workers assigned to the same task as him and began his work.

***

"Hufft, at least this time I can cut down more than before." Shaan wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It seems I'm starting to get used to using the arc gear—"

'Damn it! This wood dust is making me itchy!'

"Huh, wait a minute… That voice sounds exactly like Theo." Shaan stopped walking and slowly moved toward the source of the sound. "I need to check if my guess is right."

Step by step, Shaan approached the grumbling voice, which grew clearer with every movement he made. He peeked from behind the bushes and instantly widened his eyes in surprise.

'Oh my God... It's Theo.' Shaan shook his head. 'B-but shouldn't he still be in the hospital? Why is he here?'

'Argh, this is annoying. Why am I the one getting punished too?' Theo complained with irritation. 'I didn't cause any trouble, and I've just gotten out of the hospital, but they treat me like this! What a terrible system!'

"I'm actually still curious about what Theo did to those people—

Before Shaan finished his thought, one of his feet slipped. His balance vanished in a split second, and he fell hard onto the ground.

'Thud!'

"Ouch!"

"Hey, who's there?" Theo was startled and immediately looked around. "Get out now, or I'll come find you."

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