Once Red landed, he looked around in a hurry. The place was pitch black, but with his special vision, he could still see the entire room. Though calling it a room was perhaps not the correct term.

The circular chamber resembled more a cave than anything else. It was only four meters wide, and there seemed to be an attempt to cover the exposed rock walls with bricks. Whoever was doing it, though, seemed to stop halfway through.

Before Red could examine the place much further, there was a thud by his side as Pierre landed a few seconds after him. He didn’t have the same dark vision as Red, though, so he lit up a lamp that he was carrying in his right hand.

As the chamber brightened up, though, Pierre’s expression darkened.

“What is this place?”

His attention was drawn to the same things as Red, though eventually both of their gazes came to a stop on the ground beneath their feet. The lines and symbols were all too familiar to them.

“Another formation.” Red said.

Pierre frowned, as the weight of the discovery dawned on him.

“Was this what you were looking for?”

Red nodded. “It’s what I expected.”

The formation was much smaller than the one above it. The symbols seemed to be quite different as well, but Red, who had been prepared for such a sight, did his research beforehand, expecting what he would find.

“Gathering and sealing symbols.” He pointed at the edges of the formation. “The formation above produced a specific type of energy, and this one attracted it down here into this circle. The summoning ritual was just to fool anyone not too familiar with these scriptures. It’s also why there were no signs of Spiritual Energy in the cellar.”

Pierre’s heavy expression continued to worsen. “How could this formation attract the energy above when there were so many layers of earth between them?”

“In normal situations, it wouldn’t be possible, or at the very least, it would only draw a miniscule amount of that energy.” Red said. “However, experienced formation masters can attune their formations to transmit energy between them without a need for physical connection.”

At least, this was how Aurelia explained the matter to him.

He pointed at the center of the formation, an empty spot. “There was likely an item here with such capabilities. It was attuned with the energy above and absorbed it through all the layers of dirt. This formation surrounding it was probably only meant to avoid leaks and keep the energy contained while this object absorbed it.”

Pierre absorbed his words in silence for a while. Then he looked up at Red.

“Why go through the trouble of connecting those two formations?” he asked. “If they had access to this hole, couldn’t they have just done the ritual here?”

“There are a couple of factors that could have led them to that decision. Up there, they would have a better concentration of Spiritual Energy for their formation and also an easier time acquiring the materials they needed. Not to mention it’s unlikely they dug this tunnel from their cellar, as it would attract a lot of attention.” Red looked around. “They probably dug this chamber from another underground tunnel, somewhere out of the way, where they would have a hard time bringing too many materials through.”

“… The sewers.” Pierre said.

At this, both of them looked around the chamber. The place didn’t have any entrances other than the one they forcefully made on the ceiling.

Pierre, however, didn’t seem deterred by this. He approached a wall and put his left palm against it. The same yellowish energy from earlier gathered in his hand, but this time, it didn’t concentrate to dig through the dirt.

Instead, it spread like a wave through the wall, leaving a bright yellow sheen behind as it covered the entire surface of the chamber. The next second, though, the wave of light receded until it returned to Pierre’s hand, where it completely dissipated.

The guard retracted his hand and immediately looked at a spot on the wall on the other side of the small chamber. He walked over to it and punched it with no hesitation.

His fist seemed to disappear into the rock, as if it met something ethereal. Then, the surrounding surface of that wall shimmered, before disappearing into thin air and revealing a small tunnel behind it.

‘An illusion.’

Red, who watched the entire process, was surprised by Pierre’s resourcefulness.

The guard, however, only frowned as he looked at the tunnel.

“It’s too narrow.” he said. “Not something an adult could crawl through.”

“A child, then.” Red said. “Or perhaps… a snake?”

“Hm.” Pierre nodded. “A demon under their control, or perhaps one of their special abilities.”

“Do you want to dig through it?”

“That wouldn’t work. I would need to dig sideways, and my ability is not gentle, so it’s bound to make the earth collapse on top of me if I’m not careful. Not to mention, the tunnel seems to be collapsed halfway through.”

“You can sense that?” Red could only see the tunnel curve beyond his view.

“With my ability from earlier, yes. Even if I tried to dig through, I would lose the route at some point. They covered all their trails, but if they were using the sewers to escape, we’re bound to discover where they exited.”

With nothing else to find in the tunnel, Pierre turned his attention back to the formation.

“Do you think they succeeded in gathering that energy?” he asked.

“Impossible to say.” Red shook his head. “The formations were built to keep energy from leaking, so we can’t use the surrounding concentration to discern their success. If we are to judge by the half-finished state of the room, though, they were probably planning on staying here for far longer.”

“And the energy? Can you tell what it was?”

“Unless I replicate the process, I won’t be able to give you an answer.”

Different types of Spiritual Energy reacted with each other in both predictable and unpredictable ways. Some of these reactions were recorded in scholarly books, so a master could use that knowledge to discern the output of a certain formation. When For a demonic formation, though, there was no such recorded information.

Red could still use his infernal rune knowledge to make an educated guess about some processes and their results, but the final product would be much more complex. The resulting energy from the formation would be something unique and impossible to predict with just the information he had.

“That would be impossible.” Pierre shook his head in resignation. “Is there anything else that you need to investigate here?”

Red shook his head. “Unless there is another illusion, it’s unlikely there is anything else.”

He also did not detect beings other than pests and small lifeforms in his surroundings, which meant whoever had been in this chamber didn’t stick around the premises.

“Good, then let’s leave this place quickly.”

Pierre’s expression had become somewhat strained, which served as a sudden reminder to Red.

‘That’s right, the corruption…’

Though the energy itself was sealed, the corruption of the surroundings was almost impossible to keep completely contained. Although it wasn’t strong, there was still an invasive and oppressive feeling in the air. Red could barely feel it, but it was clear his companion was under great discomfort.

They both jumped out of the hole, standing once again in the dirt covered cellar.

Pierre looked over at him and nodded. “Your job is done. I will inform Leon about what you told me.”

Red frowned beneath his mask. “Shouldn’t I be the one to report this?”

“That was never agreed upon. Still, if Leon finds it necessary to speak with you in person, I will inform you of it.”

Red thought to protest this, but he kept quiet instead. His plans had changed, and he now wanted to take an active role in investigating these cults, but he couldn’t show such a change in attitude so soon. It would only arouse suspicion.

“I won’t be able to accompany you back, but the carriage is still waiting up there.” Pierre said. “It will bring you to your manor. You must depart swiftly before my superiors arrive.”

With a nod, Red turned around and walked up the stairs. There was now only a single guard in front of the ruined building, looking unsettled. He walked past the man and stood in front of the coach, who was shivering in his seat as well.

“You’re supposed to bring me home.” Red said.

“O-Oh yes! Hop in, master.”

Without further ado, Red entered the carriage, and they were soon on their way.

Now completely alone in the vehicle, he was left with time to reflect on his worries. Or rather, his primary worry.

It wasn’t the unknown purpose of this formation. It also wasn’t the fact the cultists apparently had a very skilled formation master on their ranks, either. These were all concerning things, but they didn’t trump the one feeling that still ate at his mind.

‘I didn’t find out where I recognized that energy from.’

There was no sudden revelation, no clue that he found to point him in the right direction. It remained an unanswered question to Red, and it still bothered him to a great degree. It felt as if he was missing a very vital piece of the puzzle, and this wasn’t a good thing for someone who wanted to survive in a city filled with conspiracies.

“You’re worried about something.” A feminine voice echoed in his ears.

Red didn’t respond.

“I know you are. You might think of yourself as hard to read, but everyone has their tells.” She said. “Let me guess, you’re still bothered about that feeling from earlier?”

He grunted in affirmation.

Aurelia laughed. “This is indeed cause for concern. If someone with such a rotten fate as you are worried about something, then it must be very serious.”

“This concerns you as well.” Red said.

“Well… You’re not wrong. Which is why you better seek assistance.”

“From whom?”

“That girl, the diviner. She can probably help.”

Red frowned. “How?”

“Some diviners specialize in digging up hidden memories and interpreting dreams. If someone can help you deal with your problem, it’s probably her.”

“Would that involve revealing what is bothering me?”

“Of course it does! They can’t divine from nothing!”

Red immediately fell silent again.

Aurelia scoffed. “Bah, I know your concerns, but isn’t this better than dying?!”

“We don’t know if it’s that serious.” he said.

“Yeah, and we won’t know it either until the knife is stabbed in your back!”

Aurelia didn’t speak any further, leaving Red even more worried than before.

He knew the woman was right. On the game he was playing, knowing something might be the difference between life or death. Knowledge was power, and every stone left unturned would probably come back to haunt him sooner or later, when things got truly dire.

Yet, the solution to this problem asked a lot of Red. In fact, it asked him to do what he considered to be harder than any physical ordeal.

To trust someone else.