Chapter 94: The Intruder

"Ahem..."

Darian cleared his throat, attempting to break the silence hanging heavily over the room.

"So... perhaps Miss Celestine should try first?" He glanced at Celestine before briefly looking toward Raphael. "Why don’t we see how far telepathy can reach?"

Celestine nodded and walked past Raphael, heading toward the door to test the distance between herself and him.

However, just as her hand raised trying to reach for the doorknob, a figure suddenly swooshed in front of her, blocking her path.

Celestine froze.

Raphael stood before her, his usual playful expression nowhere to be seen. He glanced toward the entrance before turning to face the others.

"They’re here!" he announced sharply. "You said no one was following you!"

Leon immediately stood up, his expression turning serious. Darian’s smile vanished, while Reeta narrowed her eyes at Raphael’s sudden change in demeanor.

"Impossible," Leon replied. "I made sure no one followed us."

"Then tell me why I can sense people approaching my residence!" Raphael shot back, his gaze flickering toward the windows. "Unless you want to tell me someone here has suddenly developed the ability to attract trouble?"

"Raphael," Celestine called quietly, noticing the tension in his shoulders. "Who’s coming?"

He glanced at her, his expression darkening. "Guides... a whole bunch of Guides."

Leon closed his eyes, concentrating on the approaching presences. When he opened them again, his expression had grown grim.

"Darian, ask Terry to send reinforcements." He swallowed before continuing, "It seems they don’t intend to follow their original plan anymore. They’re moving ahead of schedule."

Darian nodded immediately and took out his communicator.

Meanwhile, Lumi looked between them, struggling to understand what was happening. Guides? Reinforcements? An original plan?

She turned toward Reeta, hoping for an explanation, but the older Guide’s attention remained fixed on Raphael and Leon. A familiar uneasiness crept into Lumi’s chest. After everything Celestine had told her about their parents and the organization, she couldn’t help wondering whether the trouble had finally caught up with them.

"Reeta, the three of you should go to my room." Raphael’s expression turned serious as he pointed toward the upstairs hallway. "Stay there until I tell you it’s safe to come out."

"Raphael, what’s going on?" Celestine asked, frowning.

"I’ll explain later, sweetheart." Before she could argue, he turned toward Leon. "Leon, what did your father say about the Hell Dungeon report?"

Leon hesitated before answering, his gaze briefly shifting toward Lumi.

"The investigation has uncovered evidence that the Hell Dungeon’s security system was deliberately tampered with. They’re still tracing the source, but my father believes the incident was planned rather than accidental."

Raphael clicked his tongue. "And here I thought the Empire’s investigators might actually be competent for once."

"Would you like to take over the investigation yourself?" Leon asked dryly.

"Absolutely not. I have better things to do."

Leon’s expression darkened. "The report mentioned an unidentified energy fluctuation during the battle. They haven’t determined its source, but if the investigation continues, they’ll eventually start questioning everyone who was present."

His gaze shifted briefly toward Lumi.

"Do you think they’ve already connected it to her?" Reeta asked quietly.

"I don’t know," Leon admitted. "But considering the timing, I don’t want to take any chances."

Raphael’s jaw tightened. "And now a group of Guides has decided to show up at my residence before the investigation has even been concluded. What a lovely coincidence."

"Perhaps they’re not here because of the report," Darian suggested, lowering his communicator after sending Terry a message. "If they wanted information, they could have approached the investigators. Coming here in such numbers suggests they have another objective."

"The twins are in danger, then..." Raphael muttered, staring at the door with a grim expression. "Celestine told her parents that she was the one with the healing ability, but Lumi is the one who actually possesses it."

His gaze shifted toward Reeta, "Best Guide of the Year, have you ever heard of a late awakening?"

Reeta’s frown deepened. "Do you think..."

Raphael nodded before she could finish. "Celestine told me yesterday, when she asked me to help get Lumi out of the Pei residence, that Lumi’s Guiding energy might not be as simple as everyone believes. She suspected there was something unusual about her sister’s ability, but even she didn’t know the full extent of it."

He paused, his expression turning colder.

"And then there’s that organization her parents are involved with. According to Celestine, they’re searching for a particular Guide whose ability could help them achieve their goal of taking control of the Empire. And because of some ridiculous prediction made by this organization’s older members about a pair of twins, both Celestine and Lumi have become their targets."

Reeta’s eyes widened in shock. "You mean the prediction about the Healing Guide being born from twins?"

"You heard about it?" Raphael nodded grimly. "Apparently, the organization believes that one of them possesses the ability they’re looking for. The problem is, they’ve spent years assuming Celestine is the one, while Lumi has been dismissed as a useless Guide."

He let out a humorless laugh.

Reeta’s expression changed. "But if Felix is already suspicious of Lumi’s healing ability, then..."

"Then we can’t assume they’re still convinced Celestine is the one," Raphael finished, his jaw tightening. "Celestine has been trying to draw their attention toward herself, but after what happened in the Hell Dungeon, Felix has reasons to question her claims."

He glanced toward the entrance, where the approaching Guides were drawing closer.

"That’s why this is dangerous. They might not know for certain that Lumi is the Healing Guide, but they have enough reasons to suspect it. And if they’ve come here before we could figure out what they know, we need to prepare for the worst."

Reeta’s face paled. "Do you think they found out where Lumi is hiding?"

"Either that, or they’re here to take Celestine back." Raphael’s expression hardened. "We can’t rule out either possibility."

Leon folded his arms, his gaze fixed on the entrance. "Then we shouldn’t let them near the twins until we know what they’re after."