Chapter 94 : No Trace of Evil

After what felt like an eternity of inching forward in the dusk-lit crowd, the group's turn finally came.

Seirou stepped forward first, looking thoroughly unimpressed with the whole process. He lazily rolled his shoulders as the guard brought the glowing orb-tipped staff close to him. The orb shimmered with a soft, steady light.

"Cleared," the guard said with a nod.

No hesitation. The gate creaked open, and Seirou was waved through. It shut behind him with a heavy clang.

Two more travelers were checked before Kaen stepped forward, hands behind his back and expression calm confidence. The moment the staff neared him, the orb glowed faintly and remained still. Another clear pass. before he stepped through the gate, he turned his head and subtly glanced back at Ryoma, and made a subtle motion two fingers brushing his shoulder, then tapping twice in the air.

Ryoma caught the signal instantly. He bent slightly and called, "Xue, come here."

Xue, who had been standing quietly beside Astra, looked up and nodded, hurrying over. Astra blinked, frowning at the sudden exchange.

Ryoma crouched and lifted Xue in his arms, whispering something into the boy's ear. Xue furrowed his brows thoughtfully, then gave a short, firm nod.

Then it was their turn.

The guard approached, raising the staff with practiced motion. As it passed in front of Ryoma, and Xue, the orb unexpectedly flared with a sharp brightness. The guard's eyes narrowed. He adjusted his grip and moved the staff again this time, the glow steadied into a faint shimmer.

He hesitated, exchanging a quick glance at them But just then, Xue's eyes flickered with a sudden glow brief but unmistakable.

The first guard froze. His grip slackened slightly.

The second guard, noticing the lapse, stepped forward and gave his partner a sharp nudge. The guard jolted and blinked, as if snapping out of a trance.

"What…?" he muttered, confused.

Ryoma, with perfect composure, stepped forward. "Is there a problem?" he asked, coolly. "The staff gave us clearance, didn't it?"

As the gates creaked open again, Astra shot a glance at Ryoma, But the moment their eyes met, she quickly looked away, clutching her satchel tighter.

Seiya and Shion followed next. The orb shimmered steadily as the staff swept over them both were cleared without a hitch. Shion, glanced at Astra before passing through and offered a crooked smirk, as if amused by something only he understood.

Then it was Astra's turn.

She exhaled, stepping forward. "Finally."

The imperial guard raised his staff and brought it close but this time, nothing happened.

No glow. No flicker. Not even the faintest shimmer of light.

His brows furrowed. He blinked, then nudged the other guard beside him without a word. The second guard stepped forward and scanned her again, same result. Their gazes lifted to her in perfect sync stiff, alert, suspicious.

Astra laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck, now half-wrapped in the cloth. "Uh… that's weird."

One of the guards stepped back and whispered something quickly to a nearby superior a taller, older guard with a sharper uniform and a serious expression. The commanding guard approached and brought the staff closer to her himself.

Still nothing.

"It's never happened like this before," he muttered, brows drawn tightly. "Even the smallest presence shows something. This… this is void."

"Maybe it's broken?" Astra offered with an awkward smile, taking a cautious step back. "So, can I go in now? My family already went through…"

The guards exchanged silent glances. Hesitation passed between them like static.

Then the lead guard raised his hand, and another soldier jogged forward, carrying a small velvet-lined box. He opened it to reveal a smooth, translucent disc etched with silver symbols.

The lead guard held it up, placing it just above Astra. A thin shimmer of pale blue light passed over her body, like a veil. A soft chime echoed faintly.

"…No trace of evil," the guard confirmed finally, though he still looked unsettled. "Clear."

Astra gave a relieved sigh. The gates opened again, and she walked forward quickly before they could change their minds shoulders stiff, heart pounding.

Behind her, the guards exchanged one last quiet glance.

"She had no aura," one of them muttered under his breath. "Like a blank space in daylight…"

The lead guard didn't answer. But his eyes followed Astra's back until the gate sealed shut once more.

As Astra stepped through the gate, the line behind her continued moving. An elderly woman shuffled up next, cradling a small child in her arms. The guards held their staff over them, and everything passed smoothly. No anomalies. The faint glow of the staff indicated no danger, and the child giggled, completely oblivious to the ritual around them.

But as the next group passed and the gates were about to close, one of the female guards standing at the far end of the inspection line muttered softly under her breath, her eyes narrowing as she stared past the crowd.

"I remember seeing a man after that young woman… or was it my mistake?"

She squinted, her grip tightening on the staff. There was a brief moment of doubt in her mind, the faces of the people she had just checked blurring together in her memory. She couldn't shake the feeling that something had slipped past her notice.

The guard quickly shook her head and glanced at the others, but none of them seemed to have noticed anything unusual. The line moved on without pause, and the whispers of the crowd faded as they were processed one by one.