Felicia found Maurice’s reactionpletely baffling. She shook off his grip and responded tly, “Of course. If I hadn’t needed to save your life first, I would’ve been looking for him already“.
hen, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, she added, “He and are together. If I don’t go find him, should the looking for you instead?”
With that, Felicia turned and walked away without sparing <b>him </b>another nce.
<b>The </b>remaining members of Stephan’s team immediately followed
Maurice stood there for a long time, his expression, unreadable. No one could tell what he was thinking, only that his shifting, unpredictable mood cast a dark, unsettling air
around him
A gust of wind blew through the valley
Maurice’s subordinates exchanged nervous nces. <b>Finally</b>, one of them hesitantly spoke up, “Mt. Glovers, maybe… It’s best not to force things too much. We should head back now, don’t you think?”
Maurice let out a sharp, humorlessugh. He didn’t agree or disagree. He simply turned and started walking, but it was not toward the exit. He went deeper into the valley instead, His subordinates were stunned. They quickly spoke up, “Mr. Gloves, you’re going the wrong way. Where are you heading? We should be leaving, not going deeper in. Mr. Glovers!
Maurice didn’t respond.
His men exchanged another round of confused looks before quickly following after him. They had no idea what he was thinking, but Maurice himself was perfectly clear on his destination. He was heading toward thest known location of the disfigured woman
A woman who had survived on this <b>ind </b>for so long, long enough to <b>assimte </b><b>into </b>the ind’smunity, had to know something.
“Find her ”
Maurice followed the faint traces on the ground. His subordinates, sharp enough to read between the lines, quickly scanned the area for more clues.
Soon, they spotted a distinct trail it had been slightly concealed but was clearly leading sonwwhere.
“After her
After leaving the valley, Felicia <b>used </b>her radio to check in with the rest of the team.
All of Stephan’s men who had been sent out to search for him responded, but the results were the same–nothing
The ind was vast, shrouded in fog, and incredibly difficult to search. Despite their best efforts, there were no clues to be found.
Felicia stopped walking and tilted her head back, looking up at the <b>sky </b>
It was already midday. The sun zed overhead, its golden light uminating an expanse of clear, blue sky. It was pure and unmarred.
If it weren’t for the lurking dangers of this ind, this would have been the perfect weather to simply be down and watch the clouds dritt by
She sighed helplessly just as she was considering where to look <b>next</b>, a sudden burst of bird calls intermapted her thoughts.
She turned her head in the direction of the sound. Perched on a high tree branch was <b>a </b>small ckhawk. That sharp, bird–like <b>call </b>hade from it.
There was something oddly intelligent about the creature. The moment it noticed her gaze, it tilted its head to the side, almost as if it was observing her in return.
Then<b>, </b><b>pping </b>its <b>wings</b>, it soared into the air and circled over her twice. A secondter, it flewolf<b>, </b>heading in a specific direction
Felicia’s instincts red to lite
She didn’t know why or how, but an unshakable certainty filled her. Without hesitation, she took off, following the hawk.
By pure coincidence or not, the direction it flew was <b>south </b>of the valley
“Ma’am, are you sure? We just came <b>from </b>that part of the valley,” one of the <b>subordinates </b>following her asked, clearly puzzled.
Regardless, they still followed closely behind Felicia
She answered casudly, “I’m not <b>sure</b>, but let’s give it a try,“
At the same time, deep within the valley, Maurice had been following the trail for some distance. Finally, he caught sight of the disfigured woman