Angel had originally felt that "just waiting" might be too passive, but to his surprise, early the next morning, people from Black Castle came calling.
Angel had only just stepped out of the meditation chamber when he heard an unbroken stream of bizarre laughter.
Following the sound, Angel's gaze met a pair of eyes brimming with viciousness.
She was a little girl who looked only twelve or thirteen, dressed in a black puffed skirt, a black half-veil, and long, straight black hair, with pale skin and delicate cheeks.
There was not a trace of extraordinary aura about her, yet she floated in midair at low altitude. Utterly mismatched with her pretty face were her eyes: ice-cold and bloodthirsty to the extreme, carrying a cruel savagery that made one feel as if they had been cast into a slaughterhouse.
The moment Angel saw her, his previously calm expression darkened by several degrees.
He was no stranger to this little girl. She was the very person who had nearly driven him to his death in Silent Hill, Black Castle's current ruler—the "Dusk Empress," Isabella!
It was not only Isabella in the hall. Kimberly and Sanders were there as well.
Angel walked unhurriedly toward the center. Throughout the process, Isabella's eyes remained fixed on him. Though Isabella did not speak, that shrill, eerie laughter continued to echo through the hall.
Expressionless, Angel walked to Sanders' side.
"Sit," Sanders indicated.
Angel had originally intended to stand behind him, but since Sanders told him to sit, and neither Kimberly nor Isabella objected, Angel took a seat directly.
"We meet again." The bewitching voice came from Isabella's lips. Even as she spoke, the bizarre laughter did not stop, as though two voices existed at once.
Angel said nothing, merely nodding expressionlessly.
Angel's frosty response made a