Sometime later…

Eternal Giant and Dark Saint had left Wood Fringe, one of the prides of Voiceless, three days ago. Shadow of Death had the privilege of spending some time with everyone during this period.

Though the two highly respected men, Thor and Hazard, were hardly seen, and Delilah was yet to spare him a glance, he'd gotten a taste of Brave's pride, Omega's open mind and charms, and the friendliness of White.

He hardly saw Leto, but he knew him well enough not to fuss about that. So, he spent most of his time with Boss, now Isaak.

Isaak's apathetic nature made holding a conversation with him feel like training an old dog for a full sprint. But having spent most of his time with him in the past, he knew how to deal with him. Even so, it didn't take long before he departed, and by the little he'd said, he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

However, something lingered, a tiring sensation that made Brave's disgusting nature even worse. Nava had gone out and hadn't returned in an entire day.

The poor soul, Brave, was restless. He snapped at everything and, more often than not, found himself walking into others' rooms to check if Nava was in there somewhere.

This didn't feel like anything anyone should stress over to Halo. After all, Leto went out all the time, and no one cared. But judging by how everyone reacted to his disappearance, it was obvious this was uncommon for him.

"Nava wouldn't go anywhere without Brave knowing. His last Purpose ended not long ago, and if he'd been assigned another, we would've heard about it."

White's noble words helped him understand the weight of the situation even better.

Now, nearly two days after Nava's disappearance, Hazard had summoned all of them into the living room.

The sun was shining at its usual intensity, but the tension in the room made the heat ten times worse. For Halo, it was nearly twenty times more unbearable.

He was the last to arrive, and yet the space he took was taking the life out of him little by little. He was to sit beside Delilah, and the sheer rage burning from her made him feel as though he wasn't worthy of her presence. And yet, she still didn't spare him a glance.

Before long, Hazard and Thor stood before them, and this was the only time any of them acted civilized, including Delilah, though she still wasn't friendly.

Hazard stood before them, his hands folded behind him. He appeared gentle and graceful, and with his black robe and blindfolded white cloth, he looked like an all-powerful sage. Thor, however, whose presence spoke of villainy, wasn't one to reckon with either.

Hazard cleared his throat.

"We shouldn't rush into action. We all have our own rights. Still, Nava's absence isn't normal, and this situation demands urgency."

The impatience in Brave grew more evident. He had his fists clenched and his legs trembling. It was only natural for him to worry since, for all they knew, Nava had been killed or perhaps caught in a dire situation.

"At the moment, I need you all to stay calm while I take measures—

…wait."

Hazard's head turned to the entrance.

"Let's wait for Leto."

The moment he spoke, Leto lazily walked in. He looked utterly exhausted for a moment, but when he realized everyone was present, his cocky and flashy persona returned.

Halo frowned. Leto's cockiness didn't bother him. To worry about that guy would lead to madness.

What held him captive was Hazard. How did he know Leto was coming? This was a common trope, those with blindfolded eyes who could still see often had hidden abilities, and when the blindfold was removed, something significant happened.

But Hazard hadn't removed his blindfold. Did he locate Leto by smell or just intuition? Worse, everyone acted as though this was normal.

Halo exhaled and cleared his thoughts. Hazard was too mysterious for his understanding.

"Waiting for me? How sad. You can't even keep a conversation going without me around."

Leto's words brought out the bad side of everyone, but Hazard only smiled at him.

"Leto, have you seen Nava?"

Leto frowned but still grabbed a seat.

"I thought you guys sent him or something."

Hazard's expression darkened.

"What do you mean?"

Leto sighed in disappointment.

"I ran into him with some people from the Northern Mist earlier. He seemed comfortable with them, so I figured you'd sent him to help ease the tension, given how they feel about us."

Brave abruptly rose to his feet and locked Leto by the collar.

"What are you talking about? Why would Nava be with the Northern Mist? He hated them more than anyone. Stop bullshitting."

Omega immediately separated them.

"Don't you think it'd be best to think this through?"

After some desperate attempts, Brave freed Leto but began leaving the estate.

"I will look for him myself!"

Those were his last words before finally exiting.

All in all, Hazard wore a gentle smile, and Thor, the oldest among them all, didn't bother to share any wisdom.

Still, the room grew attentive before long.

"What's our next move? If Nava was captured or placed under a spell, Brave could be taken too."

White spoke with care in her vibrant tone.

"We wait. Leto's account alone isn't enough to warrant lethal action. What matters now is that Nava is alive. We trust them for the moment and hope Brave brings him back."

Hazard gave his words a beat.

"There's no need to involve Jihriel yet. We're capable of handling this without escalating the situation."

The room responded positively.

"We are done here," Hazard spoke and turned to Halo. "Can I speak with you, Halo?"

Halo was caught off guard for a moment. He hardly understood anything that was happening, and Hazard wanted to speak with him?

While everyone left, he remained seated until Thor turned to him and gestured for him to follow.

Halo gulped. He couldn't sense any malicious intent from Thor, but that still didn't make him any less threatening.

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