As night fell, Micah and her group stood up. Eckart and Rolly were on the lookout for any possessed residents in the area. The place around them was eerily silent, and not a soul or being was in sight. All of a sudden, Micah was overcome by a sense of dread. Cold sweat flowed from her forehead to her cheeks. She was disturbed by the unholy energies as the veil weakened. Lyon, observing Micah's behavior, realized that they were in a dangerous situation.

"This is bad..." Lyon told Rolly and Eckart, then turned to Micah. "Micah, get a hold of yourself!"

"I'm sorry... the veil is very weak here. The ward can't protect us," Micah replied as she calmed herself down.

Micah snuffed the flame of the ward and then said, "If you hear voices, ignore them! Don't be deceived by what you see or hear."

"Roger!" Rolly and Eckart replied in unison.

"Even Phantasms will have difficulty spotting us in the darkness. They use sound to lure their prey. From here on, minimize the noise you make!" Micah ordered, signaling for everyone to move out.

The team had difficulty navigating through the neighborhood. With no light to guide them, they could only rely on flashes of lightning to expose the area around them. They tread cautiously, making as little noise as possible.

Suddenly, the group heard the sound of children playing in the area. Micah used the light of a lamp post to guide her eyes in the darkness. She told her team to stop when they heard the strange sound. Eckart loaded a round into the chamber of his rifle, just in case things went bad, while Rolly at the back continued to look out for any pursuers.

The sound of children playing grew louder as it approached them. Micah told everyone to get down on the ground, and they did as she said.

Eckart crawled to Micah's location and asked, "What was that?"

"Phantasmo parasites!" Micah whispered. "They have the ability to fly and usually lure their prey with sound."

Eckart wanted to ask more about these Phantasms, but he stopped. He noticed that the strange noise was getting louder and closer. He didn't want his soul to be devoured and join the ranks of the undead, which is how he described those possessed by Phantasms.

Meanwhile, Mitchell's group was navigating an eerily silent neighborhood in the town. John, the group's guide, told them that the shortcut to the café was a five-minute walk. Mitchell shook his head and replied, "The route is compromised if we continue that way. My device indicates that beyond this point, the veil is too weak. Using wards may attract Phantasms, rendering them useless."

"Are we just going to abandon them?" Armstrong asked Mitchell.

"No, but there should be another way to get to them," Mitchell replied.

"There's another way, but I can't assure you we’ll get there in time," John recommended.

"I can feel the distortion around here. It is warping our perception of space and time. The shortcut may be shorter in distance, but the phantasmal anomaly is too strong. It may influence us, and we could get lost," Mitchell warned John.

"What are you suggesting, boy?" Armstrong asked Mitchell again.

Mitchell sighed and took out his device. Aside from the sharp sound coming from it, the lights were blinking. Everyone was surprised by the device Mitchell held in his left hand. It resembled a portable radio.

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"This is my anomaly detector. It cost ten grand in Mints to have this made," Mitchell said and looked at one of the mercenaries. "You!"

The mercenary, Alistair, replied, "Yes? What is it?"

"You hold this. If it displays something erratic, like the speaker letting out strange noise or the lights suddenly turning on or off, tell me immediately!" Mitchell instructed.

Alistair replied, "Yes, of course!" Then he looked at 2nd Lt Armstrong.

2nd Lieutenant Armstrong, seeing Alistair's expression, asked Mitchell, "I see that you’ve brought devices with you, Mitchie boy. However, time is important, and we cannot stay here forever."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, sir!" Mitchell replied and continued, "You see, aside from Phantasms, there are other dangerous creatures that reside beyond the veil. If we are complacent, they will eat our souls without us noticing, and we'll just turn into empty husks with them residing in our bodies. I have to make sure that everyone here returns alive!"

2nd Lieutenant Armstrong was impressed with Mitchell's concern for his men and replied, "I see that you care for my men, Mitch. However, if we don't take any risks, we can't complete our objective!"

Meanwhile, the lights in the lamp post glowed brightly. Micah noticed that her perception of distance was being distorted. She ordered everyone to stop near a house where the lights were unlit. Rolly, looking at her, asked, "Are you alright? We are almost there!"

"No!" Micah replied. "We've been walking for several minutes. It feels like we've been navigating this neighborhood forever."

Rolly, at the back, felt dizzy and replied, "It's no good walking aimlessly. The stress is taking a toll on my head!"

Eckart, hearing Rolly, approached him and said, "You're no sissy! What do you think you're doing, being a pushover?"

"I... I can't go on..." Rolly suddenly collapsed.

Micah, seeing Rolly collapse, hurried to him and ordered Eckart, "Lay him down on the ground, with his face up! Quickly!"

Eckart positioned Rolly's heavy body and grunted as he did so. Micah checked Rolly's vital signs; his breathing was normal, but his temperature was abnormally cold.

"I have to do this. Please, don't give up on me!" Micah said as she wrapped her hand in a golden light flame.

"Micah, no, it's not a good idea!" Lyon objected, but Micah had already placed her hand, wrapped in flames, on Rolly's forehead.

All of a sudden, a vague tendril, opaque blue in color, was seen going through Rolly's body. The tendril slowly burned from the inside of his body up until the Phantasmo parasite hovering above. It was five feet above Rolly's body, and as the flame consumed the Phantasmo parasite, it screamed in pain with a dreadful voice.

Rolly opened his eyes and grunted as he tried to stand up. He was stopped by Micah and was told by her, "Hush... Don't force yourself!"

Eckart sighed and said, "We cannot afford to be stuck here."

Lyon spoke to Micah and said, "You just used the holy flame on a Phantasmo parasite. Soon, they will swarm us!"

"I couldn't let him die, Lyon. Also, I need every help I can get!" Micah replied.

"Leave me be... I can't let myself be a dead weight," Rolly said to everyone.

"Are you sure about that?" Eckart replied to Rolly.

"Carry him!" Micah ordered Eckart and Lyon.

"What?" Eckart was surprised by what Micah said and continued, "I can't carry this bear alone. Considering his size, I'd be crushed!"

"Lyon, help him out!" Micah shifted her sights to Lyon, who she thought had done nothing earlier.

"Why me?" Lyon protested.

"You haven't done anything in particular since we got here. At least help this guy with his friend!" Micah explained.

"Fine!" Lyon said and assisted Eckart in carrying Rolly.

Micah's group were continuing on their way when they heard commotion ahead of them. The sound of screams, moans and groans from the possessed were getting louder. Micah told everyone to hide to whatever cover they could find. Gunfire and the sound of people shouting and their footsteps became louder also.

"Are those the party that was sent to rescue us?" Eckart asked Micah who was hiding on the same spot as she was.

"I have no idea..." Micah replied to Eckart.

Seven figures suddenly appeared before Micah's group, they were fleeing from a group of crawlers and ghouls. Micah noticed that there was one of them holding a ward, emitting bluish colored light. Noticing this, she signaled Eckart that they would help them.

"Are you sure?" Eckart asked Micah.

"That is just a small horde. It is bad to see that we are abandoning our rescuers." Micah replied.

"Fine!" Eckart grabbed his rifle which he slung from his back.

"Lyon, stay there and protect Rolly!" Micah ordered Lyon who was on the ground with Rolly.

"Right.." Lyon replied.

Micah and Lyon sprung to the scene to rescue their rescuers. Eckart was surprised to see it was Mitchell as he trained his scope to identify their rescuers. The others, including a medic was with him. They were taking turns as they were shooting at the horde that were following them.

"Eckart, now!" Micah said as she ordered him to shoot at the largest ghoul.