Chapter 167

"Let's go in."

Constantine didn't hesitate and began to walk along the dirt road towards the entrance of the small town ahead.

Dio walked behind him to be ready for any trouble because he knew Constantine wouldn't try a more stealthy approach first.

The town looked like a good dream, with small wooden fences keeping cow-like animals of various colors eating the grass on the ground.

In fact, the town wasn't very advanced. It didn't even have a proper road or gate.

It was an open area surrounded by tall trees.

Dio thought they would have never found such a place without the compass. He really had to thank the Witch even more for that.

They passed through the fences, which lined the sides of the dirt road near the town, as they entered through them.

Then Dio got a better view of the houses.

They looked very old and were made of stone with clay tile roofs.

They were stacked on top of each other while leaving a big spot in the middle with what looked like a small square and a small fountain running through it.

"It seems like the residents are a bit shy."

Constantine remarked.

"Yes, they are, but that's good. We want to avoid trouble."

Dio could hear their hearts beating behind closed doors.

They were all standing near closed windows while listening and looking through the small openings to see what they were doing.

They must have just interrupted these people's dinner based on the smell and smoke coming from the chimneys.

Like the Witch, they are likely living beings who chose to be here.

They may also be the children of humans who chose to live here, which means they were born in this realm and are now a part of it.

"Where are we going?"

Dio glanced at the compass before responding.

"Straight ahead, out of the town."

It would be a little harder to talk to the Witch's friend if he were in one of those houses. He would probably make everyone nervous.

...

"Oh, we've definitely reached our destination."

Dio looked at the compass, and it was pointing towards the house on the hilltop now visible to them.

"How can you be so sure? Maybe as soon as we approach it, we'll end up in the ocean surrounded by sharks or something."

"Just a hunch,"

Constantine replied and lit his tenth cigarette.

They approached slowly while paying close attention to their surroundings, which were absolutely nothing but green.

Then, they finally passed through the open iron gates and faced the house.

It was remarkable.

The presence of the house was so strong that it ignored the slight, gloomy cemetery next to it, and its design was also far from simple.

The building was two stories tall and made of old wood that had been painted white and had holes.

Its design resembled a mix of old English styles, with blue tiles and windows sticking out.

There is a tower about ten meters high above the second floor.

A small balcony with a wooden floor in front of it leads to a red front door.

The house wasn't in good condition.

There were holes in the roof, and the wood throughout was dirty, worn, and falling apart.

"Wait, the compass has changed direction."

Dio said this to Constantine, who was already taking a step forward.

Indeed, the house had stolen so much of his attention that he didn't notice the red pointer was now pointing to his left.

There was another structure—a small, ordinary wooden house, very similar to those in the town he had seen earlier.

Dio pointed to the small house, and he could see Constantine's disappointed expression.

He can't blame him; the large house is certainly more interesting and inviting.

They made their way to the small house, and the compass in his hand disappeared.

Dio ignored it and walked up to the door.

"KNOCK!"

"KNOCK!"

"KNOCK!"

Dio tapped lightly on the poorly made wooden door, and the response caught him off guard.

"VISITORS!"

Then someone inside shouted.

It wasn't a scream of fear or anger. It was an excited and almost hysterical shout.

"Oh no, I hate hysterics and lunatics."

Constantine remarked beside him in a low voice.

"BAANG!"

The door opened with such violence and force that its knob came loose and broke, then fell to the side.

The one responsible for this just stood there while looking at them with a rather crazy smile.

He was a short man, maybe about five feet three, wearing an old checkered beige and black suit with a bow tie.

He wasn't very old, but his brown hair was slicked back, resembling horns, and his mustache was spread out under his chin.

Dio couldn't see through his small glasses because his eyes were red, and his smile was weird because it didn't show any teeth.

He seemed knowledgeable but also out of place, besides the feeling of danger and a certain familiarity he was giving him.

They stood there silently, watching him as he watched them while waiting to see who would make the first move in this conversation.

Then, the man's smile faded as he was about to speak and was replaced by a pensive look.

"Wait, could you two be illusions?"

He asked them while raising his hand and bringing it towards their faces to touch them to find out if they were real or not.

"I'm real."

Dio said it as calmly as he could.

The man's hand stopped a few inches from his face, and then he quickly lowered it.

"VISITORS!"

He shouted again, with the same smile on his face.

"The Witch sent us here; he said you could help us find the Lord's Castle in this realm."

Dio continued calmly, not wanting to scare the man who could be the key to their way home.

"Of course, I'll help. Please come in!"

The man quickly said while turning his body to the left and bowing to invite them inside.

Dio looked at Constantine, and he nodded slightly.

The man blocked the door again before taking the first step.

"No, this is not a worthy place to receive guests; I just killed my brother a few hours ago, and everything is a mess!"

He said it as if it were nothing serious.

"Wait here; I'll set up a table in the garden."

After that, he passed by them, who were still standing at the door.

Dio quickly turned around and watched him run into the large house.

"What do you think?"

Dio asked Constantine.

"Clearly a madman, probably a murderer. Anyway, he might be able to help us."

Constantine said this and pulled out another cigarette.

"I don't feel comfortable asking for help from a likely murderer."

"Don't be so moralistic. You must have made deals or gambled with some demon at some point in the bar; this isn't much different from that."

"True, but none of them held the key to my freedom."

The man emerged from the house carrying a round wooden table on his head without showing any signs of effort.

He placed it in front of the house on the grass while turning to them with a strange smile, and then hurried back inside.

"Let's just go with the flow for now. If things get out of hand, we'll use the Constantine plan to handle things."

"The Constantine plan is trash."

Dio couldn't help but curse out loud.

"True, but it usually works."

There's a possibility that he's crazy and has imagined killing his brother.

This is a possibility because he didn't smell blood on him or in the house when he opened the door.

Constantine is right.

The best thing to do now is to go with the flow and see where this leads them.

The man emerged from the large house again while running and holding three wooden chairs.

He placed one at each corner of the table.

After another smile from him, he returned to the house to fetch who knows what else.

Now, they're here once again while sitting at a tea table with full cups facing a stranger in a strange realm, with a high possibility of him being the murderer of his own brother and perhaps trying to kill them at some point.

"More sugar?"

The man asked with a strange smile while lifting a small pot full of white sugar cubes.

"No, thank you."

"Bring it on!"

Constantine requested, almost snatching the pot from the man's hand and pouring four cubes into his coffee.

"This coffee is amazing!"

Constantine exclaimed after taking a sip.

"Thank you. I got it in a barista's dream, whatever that means."

The man said that and took another sip.

They need to be careful with this one.

...

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