Chapter 1389: Chapter 1389

The man who opened the door was the older brother of the deceased, Perot Spenser. Since their parents had passed away long ago and Perot Spenser had no children, his brother was his closest living relative.

Mr. Spenser lived with his wife and children, but tonight his wife had taken their two kids to visit her mother on the other side of the city, leaving him home alone. He gingerly placed the body on the sofa, then knelt beside it, tears streaming down his face.

“Thank you for bringing him home. How... how did he die?”

Mr. Spenser didn't ask who they were or how they knew his address.

“We’re trying to find out how he died, too. That’s why we came to you. I’m very sorry for your loss... You should see to his burial as soon as you can. But before we go, can you tell us if your brother had any particular friends, or anyone who shared his interests?”

Mr. Spenser was clearly unaware of the supernatural world, but he did know that his brother had always been secretive and was acquainted with some of his friends. Controlling his grief, the middle-aged man spoke in a pained voice: Google seaʀᴄh novel fire.net

“If you’re asking about his best friend, I suppose there was only one. The two of them were always sneaking around together, getting up to who knows what. If Perot hadn't sworn to me otherwise, I might have even thought those two young men were... Oh, Perot, I told you time and again to find a respectable living. If only you had listened to me, you wouldn’t have ended up .”

After giving them the friend’s address, he began to press Jenkins and Magic Miss for the location where they had found the body, apparently intending to hire a private investigator. To prevent an ordinary person from getting entangled in the incident, Jenkins used a bit of subtle influence to convince him that they were merely two kind-hearted people who had brought the body back. He also made the man believe the strange runes on the corpse were a trick of the light and that he needed to wash the body and arrange for the burial immediately.

Perot Spenser’s friend lived nearby, but when they arrived, they found the house empty. A neighbor told them that the resident had hastily packed his bags and moved to the countryside several weeks ago, asking them to keep an eye on the place before he left.

After a considerable detour, they finally found the man. He was living in a village close to the city, conveniently just outside the range of the Doomsday Illusion. He looked confused when Jenkins and Magic Miss knocked on his door, but the moment Jenkins uttered the words “Doomsday Illusion,” the man spun around and tried to flee back inside. Jenkins’s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist in an iron grip.

“We aren’t here to hurt you. Why such a strong reaction?” Jenkins asked, puzzled under the moonlight. He then glanced back, motioning for Magic Miss to follow him inside, and didn't forget to pull the door shut behind them.

The small country house was sparsely decorated. It seemed he had no plans for a long-term stay, as the rooms lacked even the most basic furniture, containing only a simple bed and table.

The man, still in Jenkins’s grasp, cried out in pain while surreptitiously sizing up the two intruders. His free hand slowly crept toward his pocket.

“I’d advise you to behave. Don’t try anything foolish. I’ll repeat myself: we aren’t bad people. We just want to ask you a few questions.”

With that, Jenkins twisted the man’s wrist and forced him into a chair. Magic Miss stood a short distance away, near the door, surveying the room.

“You break into my house this late at night and tell me you’re not bad people?” the man complained, rubbing his wrist. “Fine. What do you want? If it’s a robbery, take anything you can find. I won’t stop you.”

“Stop pretending,” Jenkins said flatly. “You’re an Enchanter, and so are we. We’re here about the Mysterious Realm. I think you know what I mean.”

“Are you from one of the Orthodox Churches? No, never mind, you definitely don’t look like you are... So, what do you want to know? Since you found your way here, you must be well aware of Nolan’s impending doom. Honestly, you’d be better off spending your time telling your friends and family to get out of the city instead of bothering me.”

He muttered and tried to stand, but Jenkins immediately pushed him back down.

“We do know a lot,” Jenkins asserted. “But what we don’t know is what, exactly, you people did to trigger this crisis.”

At Jenkins’s question, the man in the chair immediately lowered his head. His fingers subconsciously picked at a wooden knot on the armrest. It was a long moment before he spoke.

“It... it wasn’t really our fault...”

Jenkins glanced at Magic Miss. Her fingers twitched slightly, a subtle sign she was using an ability.

“There were five of us, all entering a Mysterious Realm for the first time. We thought there’d be safety in numbers, but we ran into something incredibly complex. That realm was both a vision of the apocalypse and a treasure trove. There were ancient creatures everywhere and blasphemous texts carved into the walls—things we’d never seen before. After we came out of the clock tower, we explored many places. Even after we met the requirements to leave, we didn't want to go back right away. Later...”

His voice choked up, and he began to tremble with fear:

“Later... the moon fell, and the entire world was plunged into darkness. I don’t know what happened after that, or what became of my friends. I just remember a suffocating, oppressive terror... I wanted nothing more than to die, just to escape it. In the darkness, I heard someone speaking to me. I think I promised that voice something, and the next thing I knew, I was back in the real world. I realized that if I stayed in Nolan, I’d be dragged back into that world again and again, so I came here to hide.”

After speaking, he bent over, burying his face in his knees, sobbing and shaking.

“What did you promise it?”

Jenkins pressed, sensing this was the key to everything.

“I don’t remember! I don’t dare to remember anything that happened in that darkness. Sir, if you have any mercy, please, just let me hide here alone. I really don’t know anything else.”

The man stammered, his voice growing weak as he trembled.

Jenkins looked at Magic Miss again. She gave a slight nod, and the spiritual aura emanating from her fingers intensified.