With Harding's help, the Shadow Snake's backlash within Dirk was slowly forced back down.
Just as things were progressing smoothly, Harding's brow furrowed.
In that fleeting instant, he had sensed something that made him uncomfortable.
The sensation was subtle... like something crawling across the surface of his skin, incredibly light, incredibly fast.
If he had not been in an extremely sensitive state at the moment, he would never have noticed it.
It was an almost instinctive "discomfort."
Like walking through a dark alley and suddenly feeling someone watching you, yet when you turned around, there was nothing to see.
Harding's hand paused, and his gaze swept over his own body.
But there was nothing there.
Dirk had felt it too.
He opened his eyes, confusion appearing on his deathly pale face. "Old Harding, did you feel that?"
"Mm." Harding did not say much and continued channeling energy. "It may be aftereffects from the Shadow Snake. Don't lose focus."
Dirk did not press the matter, but he knew that was not it.
He had experienced the Shadow Snake's backlash many times. Never once had he felt as though someone were touching him from outside his skin.
It felt more like... something had attached itself to him, then left again.
But he could not say what it was.
Outside the factory building, atop the loading tower, Benjamin withdrew his gaze from Harding and Dirk, his brows drawing together slightly.
"Looks like the Glimmer Eye still needs further improvement."
Their reactions confirmed the issue Benjamin had noticed earlier.
He had discovered something wrong when he previously placed a Glimmer Eye on the Black Broker.
Whenever the Black Broker came to make a delivery, Benjamin checked the Glimmer Eye's condition.
As expected, the Black Broker had never noticed that something had been added to