Confronting Shadow
"What the hell, Seth?!" Gideon's voice, a familiar presence, reached me as he sprinted over and forcefully knocked my revolver from my hand.
Garcia joined the scene, her focus solely on Ara. Kneeling beside her, Garcia's voice quivered as she called Ara's name.
"Ara, what happened to you?" she asked while slapping Ara's cheek softly. The owner of that cheek didn't respond at all. Just empty eyes, looking at the ceiling.
Her anxiety was apparent, perhaps intensified by the grim sight of numerous corpses, turning this place into a morbid kind of slaughterhouse.
How did they find me? My gaze shifted to Verple behind them. Ah, that wolf butler from the Merchant Guild had likely shared my status and connected system information to her.
Now she could see my location and even my attributes. That explained her sudden appearance. What terrible timing.
I locked eyes with Verple, "Why are you here and why did you bring my party member?"