Isla did not answer. He simply handed the crystal to Mel.
Mel took it and lowered his head to examine it.
The crystal was hot, but it did not burn. The light within flowed slowly and steadily, like a sleeping heart.
"Th-This... what is this?"
Isla turned around and looked at the curled-up figures deep within the cave.
"Maybe it's a way out."
He paused.
"Or maybe it's a dead end."
Mel tightened his grip around the crystal without saying a word.
Outside the cave, the desert wind howled mournfully.
In the distance, the demon hunters' monitoring equipment was still operating, capturing every trace of energy fluctuation.
But it could not detect this crystal.
Because its frequency belonged neither to angels nor demons.
It was something else.
Seven days later, Sahara Desert, ruins of an underground ancient city, three in the morning.
The jeep of Patrol Team Three jolted forward between the dunes. Its headlights sliced through the heavy darkness, illuminating the ever-shifting sand ahead. The sound of tires crushing the sand was scattered by the wind, leaving only the engine's low rumble.
Captain Benjamin sat in the front passenger seat, an energy detector in his hand.
The detector's screen emitted a faint green glow in the darkness, displaying energy fluctuations within a five-kilometer radius. Most were scattered, faint signals from the remaining angels hiding deep in the desert.
But tonight was different.
"Stop," Benjamin suddenly said.
The driver hit the brakes, and the two jeeps behind them stopped as well. Six demon hunters jumped out of the vehicles, guns raised as they warily scanned their surroundings.
"What is it, Captain?" Vice Captain Carter walked over, lowering his voice.
Benjamin stared at the detector screen, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Look."
Carter leaned in for a glance and froze.
The screen