After a few seconds, the sentinel turned its head away and continued along its route, gradually walking farther into the ruins.
Alex watched until the figure disappeared behind the ruined buildings. Only then did he finally relax.
'That thing is very strong.'
His instincts were warning him not to underestimate the sentinel. In fact, Alex had a distinct feeling that defeating it would be extremely difficult, which made him even more cautious.
Alex remained on the tower, his eyes still following the direction in which the guardian had disappeared.
Aurora, however, had already moved much closer to the sentinel. She floated through the air with her attention completely focused on the sentinel.
The sentinel was more than a hundred meters away from Alex, and because of their soul bond, Aurora couldn't move much farther than that from him. Even so, she was considerably closer to the sentinel than Alex was.
From that distance, Aurora could observe details that were impossible for him to make out from the tower.
She carefully examined the sentinel's body, following every movement while occasionally circling around it.
Her usual playful expression had disappeared. Instead, her golden eyes were filled with genuine curiosity.
She continued following the sentinel until it finally moved beyond the range of her vision. Only then did Aurora turn around and float back toward Alex.
"That was fascinating."
Alex glanced at her.
"You've been staring at it this whole time."
"Of course I have." Aurora gave him a slightly incredulous look, as though his question itself was strange.
"I've never seen a construct like that before," she continued. "I mean, I've seen many kinds of artificial golems, puppets, and magical constructs, but that thing is extremely advanced."
Her expression became more serious.
Alex raised an eyebrow. "What about the material?"
Aurora shook her head.
That answer surprised Alex.
"The material itself is unfamiliar to me. I couldn't determine its composition just by observing it."
Alex fell silent. Even Aurora couldn't identify what the sentinel was made of. That made the ruins seem considerably more mysterious.
'Just what kind of place is this?'
Alex remained on the tower for another moment, his thoughts turning toward the expedition team.
'They must have encountered these sentinels as well.'
Alex couldn't help but worry. He could only hope that they were safe and had managed to find somewhere to hide deeper inside the ruins.
Alex climbed down from the tower and returned to where Sherry was waiting. She immediately looked toward him.
Alex informed her about the sentinels.
The moment he mentioned them, Sherry's expression changed. Her fingers tightened slightly around the strap of her bag as she lowered her gaze.
"My parents..." she murmured.
Alex understood what she was thinking. With the sentinels patrolling the ruins, the expedition must have faced considerable danger after entering this place.
Alex didn't want her to dwell on the worst possibility.
"Don't worry too much."
Sherry looked up at him.
"Your parents weren't ordinary researchers," Alex continued. "They were experienced explorers who had spent years investigating ancient ruins. The rest of the expedition was made up of experienced researchers as well."
He gave her a reassuring smile. "If they managed to get this far, they must have found a way to deal with the dangers here. And we've already found traces they left behind."
Sherry remained silent.
Alex knew his words couldn't guarantee that everything was fine. There was still a possibility that something had happened to the expedition.
But that wasn't something he needed to tell her right now.
"There are still signs that they were here recently," he added. "Until we find something that proves otherwise, there's no reason to assume the worst."
Sherry stared at him for a few seconds before slowly nodding.
"You're right." The tension in her expression gradually eased. "We'll find them." She took a small breath before looking toward the ruins ahead.
"Let's keep searching."
Alex nodded.
They resumed their journey through the abandoned complex, carefully following the trail left behind by the expedition.
Sherry's steps seemed a little lighter than before.
The faint hope that had appeared when they discovered the relatively fresh traces had returned, and Alex was glad to see it.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
They hadn't gone very far when Alex suddenly stopped. His mana sense had picked up a faint human presence.
The presence wasn't close enough for him to identify exactly who or how many people were there, but there was little doubt about its nature. Human mana was distinctly different from that of the artificial sentinels.
Alex briefly considered simply walking toward them, but he quickly changed his mind.
Neither Alex nor the people ahead knew anything about each other. There was no reason to reveal his identity unnecessarily.
Alex reached into his storage space and took out a pair of glasses. These weren't ordinary glasses. They were a magic artifact known as the Anonymity Glasses.
Unlike conventional disguises, they didn't physically alter the wearer's appearance. Instead, they interfered with an observer's ability to properly recognize and retain the wearer's face.
In other words, someone could look directly at Alex and still have difficulty remembering exactly what he looked like afterward.
The artifact was extremely popular among celebrities and other public figures who wanted to move around without constantly being recognized.
Of course, they weren't perfect.
Someone who knew the wearer intimately could potentially recognize them despite the artifact. They could also fail against someone who was specifically searching for that person, while specialized equipment could detect their effects.
Even so, they were more than enough for Alex's current situation.
'There's no reason for everyone to know who I am.'
Sherry knew some of his secrets, but that didn't mean everyone they encountered needed to learn them.
Alex adjusted the glasses slightly before turning toward the direction of the unfamiliar presence.
"Let's go."
Sherry nodded.
The two of them continued forward, this time with Alex taking extra care not to reveal more about himself than necessary.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Deep within the abandoned city, several people were hiding inside the remains of an old house.
The building had suffered considerable damage over the years. Most of the roof had collapsed, leaving only a few sections intact, while cracks covered the walls and debris was scattered across the floor. Despite its ruined state, the house provided enough cover to conceal the group from anything passing through the surrounding streets.
They had made their temporary shelter in one of the rooms that was still relatively intact.
There were six people inside, all keeping their voices low and doing their best to minimize their presence.
Then, without warning, the darkness near the entrance suddenly rippled, and two figures emerged from within it.
The sudden appearance startled everyone inside. They immediately stood up, their expressions becoming tense as they instinctively reached for their weapons.
"Who—?!"
Before anyone could react further, the black veil surrounding the two figures completely disappeared.
Alex had deliberately concealed himself and Sherry while approaching the group. There was no reason to openly approach a group of unknown people, especially when he had no idea whether they were friendly or hostile.
Before revealing themselves, Alex had already asked Sherry if she recognized anyone.
She carefully looked over the people inside the room, her eyes widening slightly as her gaze moved from one face to another.
"They're part of my parent's expedition team."
Alex's expression relaxed slightly. Only after receiving her confirmation did he dispel
He immediately raised his hands slightly to show that he had no intention of attacking.
"We're not enemies."
The group remained tense. They clearly hadn't expected anyone to suddenly appear inside their hiding place, and Alex's presence only made the situation more suspicious.
However, before anyone could question him, one of them suddenly focused on Sherry.
The young girl standing beside Alex had pink eyes and soft pink hair tied into twin pigtails. The moment the middle-aged woman saw her face, her expression froze.
"...Sherry?"
Sherry's body stiffened. She looked toward the woman and spoke in a trembling voice. "Aunt Marie, it's me. Sherry."
The woman's expression immediately changed.
For a moment, she simply stared at Sherry as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then she took a hesitant step forward, still struggling to accept that the person standing before her was truly the girl she remembered.
"Sherry... is that really you?"
Sherry nodded.
"It's me."
The room fell completely silent. The others began looking between Sherry and the woman, confusion spreading across their faces as recognition slowly dawned on them.
They recognized her. Or rather, they recognized the girl she had once been.
The Sherry standing before them looked considerably older than the child they remembered.
Her face had matured, she had grown taller, and her appearance had changed enough that they hadn't immediately recognized her.
Yet the familiar pink hair and twin pigtails, combined with her voice and unmistakable eyes, left little doubt.
"It's really you..." the middle-aged woman whispered.
Sherry's eyes trembled slightly. She had spent nearly three years believing that these people were lost.
She had searched for traces of them and followed every lead she could find, refusing to give up even after everyone else had accepted that the expedition members were probably dead.
And now, after finally entering the ruins, she was standing before people who had been part of that expedition.
These were people who could finally tell her what had happened.
Alex quietly watched from beside her, giving Sherry the time she needed to process the reunion.