Klaus's comment was low and almost inaudible, but it struck like a thunder around the group.
Shane looked at him first, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Klaus turned his head and looked at Petra.
"Petra," he said casually, hands on his pockets, "you've been stationed at Malvury Fortress, right?"
Petra hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Yes," she said softly. "Almost twenty years."
Klaus blinked once, mildly surprised.
"You look young. I didn't think you've been a soldier that long."
Maddy snorted so loudly it echoed against the canyon walls.
"Idiot," she said without mercy. "Petra's just in her twenties. She's been there since she was born. Her parents were stationed at the fortress. She only served as a soldier for six years."
"Oh," Klaus replied lightly. "My bad."
He turned his gaze back to the pile of burnt bodies.
For a moment he said nothing, only watching.
Then he spoke again.
"I was wondering something."
Everyone slowly looked at him.
"You've encountered Kultians before," Klaus continued, glancing toward Petra again. "Is this normal?"
Petra frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
Klaus gestured toward the corpses with a lazy flick of his fingers.
"Aren't Varkeshians disgusted by Kultians?" he said. "They treat them worse than slaves."
He tilted his head.
"So why would they give them a burial?"
The question hung in the air.
Even Ulon's quiet prayer slowed.
Because everyone understood what Klaus meant.
Burning bodies like this wasn't random massacre.
It was burial.
Maddy crossed her arms slowly, eyes narrowing as she stared at the charred pile.
"Are you saying… those aren't Kultians?"
Kiel's head shot up.
The dull weight in his chest suddenly lifted just enough for hope to slip through.
"Really?" he asked quickly.
Klaus shrugged.
"Maybe," he said. "That's why I'm asking Petra."
Petra looked back at the corpses again, studying them carefully. The burned shapes made it impossible to see faces, but the arrangement of the bodies bothered her.
After a moment she spoke.
"When we conduct extermination missions," she said carefully, "we don't bury them."
Her voice was quiet, but steady.
"We leave the bodies where they fall."
Klaus nodded once.
"Thought so."
He turned away from the pile and began walking slowly across the rocky barren land, his boots crunching softly against sand and stones as he searched the ground.
But before he could go far, he looked back and stared at Ulon.
Ulon was still kneeling beside the bodies, hands clasped together as he continued his prayer.
Klaus smirked slightly.
"You look very dignified there, Ulon," he said. "Keep it up—even if those aren't the Kultians."
Ulon didn't stop praying.
But the vein at his temple bulged dangerously.
His jaw tightened.
Klaus walked again without another word, clearly enjoying the reaction.
Shane watched the exchange for a second before stepping forward and raising his voice just enough for everyone to hear.
"We only have an hour," he said calmly. "If we don't find anything by then, we move on."
His tone carried quiet authority, leaving little room for argument.
Maddy immediately clapped her hands together once.
"Alright," she said briskly. "Petra, you're with me. We search the right side."
Petra nodded and adjusted the cloak around her shoulders.
Then Maddy turned toward the others.
Her eyes landed on Shalotte and Kiel.
"You two idiots," she said, pointing toward the opposite side of the clearing, "take the left."
Shalotte nodded quickly.
"O-Okay!"
Kiel stood up as if his strength had come back to his body.
He only nodded quietly and walked beside Shalotte, though his eyes drifted once more toward the burnt bodies before he forced himself to look away.
The group spread out across the barren land.
Above them, Zevy circled slowly in the brightening sky.
Shane moved steadily across the ground, studying footprints and disturbances in the sand. Maddy and Petra searched dangerously near the edge of the canyon wall, occasionally kneeling to inspect tracks. Ulon was just wandering, humming something under his breath while pretending to search.
Shalotte and Kiel worked together on the other side of the clearing.
"Well… this looks like a rock," Kiel muttered, kicking a pebble aside.
Shalotte crouched carefully beside a patch of dirt. "Maybe it's a special rock."
Kiel squinted. "It's definitely not special."
He poked it anyway.
Meanwhile, Klaus wandered alone toward the far edge of the rocky field.
At first glance, the area looked completely ordinary. Just more dry ground and rock formations.
But after a while, something caught his attention.
He stopped walking.
From a distance, the formation ahead looked like a small rocky hill rising slightly from the flat land. Nothing unusual at first glance.
But Klaus frowned as he stared at it.
"…Hmm."
He tilted his head slightly.
The rocks around the barren land all had different colors and shades from weather and age. But the small hill ahead of him… felt slightly off.
Not obvious.
Not something most people would notice.
But Klaus did.
He began walking closer.
The difference became clearer with every step.
Some parts of the rocky hill were darker, rough and cracked by time.
Other parts were lighter.
Too smooth.
Too clean.
As if someone had carefully shaped them and tried to blend them with the natural rock.
Klaus crouched down and examined the surface.
He ran his fingers lightly across the stone.
The darker sections were rough and uneven.
The lighter ones felt almost polished.
His smile slowly appeared.
"Interesting."
He placed his palm gently against the rock and closed his eyes.
'Echolocation.'
A faint pulse spread from his hand like a silent ripple.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the shape of the rock began forming inside his mind.
Solid stone.
Layers.
Then—
Empty spaces.
Klaus's smile widened.
"Found you."
Just as he suspected, the rocky hill was not completely natural.
Inside the formation was a cave system.
Part of it looked natural, but other sections were clearly carved by men. It had tunnels both narrow and wide, connected to each other like veins.
However, Klaus clicked his tongue softly.
"Tch."
He still couldn't see anyone inside.
Echolocation had its limits.
If he used air as the medium, he could sense through open spaces but not through solid stone.
If he used the stone as the medium, he could read the rock but not the hollow areas filled with air.
"Annoying," he muttered as he ruffled his hair.
Still, the hiding place itself was obvious now.
He raised his hand again.
"Trap Master."
A faint glow spread across his palm as a small rune circle slowly formed against the rock surface. The glowing lines etched themselves neatly into the stone like burning ink.
Klaus leaned back slightly and inspected his work.
"Let's knock."
He flicked the rune with his finger.
BOOM.
The explosion echoed across the canyon, shaking dust loose from the rocky hill.
Far across the clearing, the rest of the group immediately reacted.
"What was that?!" Maddy shouted.
"That came from Klaus!" Petra said quickly.
They all began running toward the sound.
Ulon arrived second after Maddy, panting slightly.
"What did you blow up now, slouch?"
Maddy reached Klaus first, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed.
"What was that about?!"
Klaus stood casually in front of the smoking rock wall, brushing dust from his sleeve.
He looked completely relaxed.
In fact, he looked amused.
"Looks like," he said calmly, pointing at the cracked surface of the rocky hill, "our Kultian friends are quite good at hide and seek."