Divine & Wicked: The Wounded Souls (Book3)

《 Chapter XV: "Under the Radar" (Part1) 》

The following evening, they boarded a flight to New Delhi. They landed at exactly 10:23 PM. Two taxis waited outside the terminal. Ark, Per, Zach, and Clair took one; Filbur and his companions the other.

Their hotel was a modest one this time, not like their other stays. Ark and his group checked in first, securing a room on the fourth floor. Minutes later, Filbur arrived and booked another room down the same hallway.

Ark pushed open the door to their room and switched on the lights. The dim glow revealed plain furniture and a faint hum from the air conditioner. Without a word, he dropped his bag, made his way to the narrow couch, and sank into it with a quiet groan, exhaustion catching up with him.

That night, they finally got some rest, though sleep came uneasily. The memories of what they'd escaped clung to them - unresolved.

By the next day, they had regrouped in an abandoned junkyard, cloaked in rust and silence, half a kilometer into the woods. Tucked away in a weathered stilt house at the edge of the lot, they gathered around a dusty wooden table as Filbur spread out a map, his fingers tracing faded roads while outlining their next course of action.

While the others listened, Ark sat back, thumbing through his phone. News of the Leema Hotel incident dominated the headlines. He paused at an article listing the victims. Faces stared up at him, some barely out of their teens.

Then one name stopped him.

Mohan Brennaugh.

A video played beneath the article, drawing their attention with shaky footage and blaring sirens in the background.

"What've you got there?" Eifrit asked, leaning closer.

"Fatalities," Ark murmured, eyes fixed on the screen. "Thirteen. Six inside the hotel, two of them were police officers. The rest were random victims... caught outside during the chaos."

A heavy silence followed.

Filbur let out a heavy breath. "What happened that night was tragic," he said. "We're all grieving the lives lost. But we can't stop here."

He gestured at the map spread across the table. "I'm not proud to say this, but events like that... they're part of this. Part of what we're fighting against, and sometimes, what we end up caught in. There's more waiting ahead, more than any of us can fully prepare for."

His voice remained calm, but there was weight behind it. "So no matter how much it hurts... we move forward. We finish what we started."

The room fell silent once more, but it was a silence that seemed to acknowledge their reality.

Ark glanced at Per. She stood by the window, the glass smudged with dirt, her gaze fixed on the distance as if lost in thought.

"Yeah, that's right. This is already depressing enough... No point in reading more news," Ark said firmly, though a hint of hesitation lingered in his voice. "Let's just focus on what we need to do... finish it, then get out."

They stayed in that city for four nights, moving cautiously and keeping a low profile. Afterward, they traveled to two more cities within the country, strictly following their plans and tying up loose ends. Each stop brought new challenges, forcing them to remain alert and adaptive.

Once their tasks there were complete, they flew out of the country and headed to Thailand, then to the Philippines, and next to Indonesia. Each destination brought a new layer to their mission, and the weight of what they carried grew heavier with every step. It took them two months of shifting between hotels, blending into crowds, resting when necessary, and constantly watching their backs. By the end, they were exhausted, but everything went smoothly.