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Hector wondered what Garovel might know of Exoltha, but now wasn’t really the time to ask, he supposed. He hoped he would remember to bring it up again later.

As they neared the kitchen, a familiar smell caught Hector’s attention. Too familiar.

Blood. A lot of it.

He quickened his pace and reached the kitchen’s wide entryway just as Ibai’s four bodyguards did. And he was not prepared for what he saw.

Ibai was standing there with one foot stuck through the chest of someone on the ground. A corpse. It had been eviscerated.

When Ibai saw them, his eyes widened. “Aha! Um. This isn’t what it looks like?”


Chapter One Hundred Fifteen: ‘A devil’s paradox...’
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For a long moment, no one seemed to know what to do. They all just stared at Ibai, too shocked to say anything.

And then Hector watched Horatio take a slow step forward.

“...Tell us what happened here,” the man said very calmly. The second Blackburn bodyguard was right behind him.

Hector became keenly aware of the sudden division in the room. Those other two bodyguards belonged to the Delagunas. He recognized both their faces, but he only knew one of their names. Lorenzo. Lord Salvador’s son. And right about now, they were both looking rather twitchy.

“Well, uh, I just--um...” Ibai was still trying to get his foot unstuck. “I’m not sure, actually. When I teleported, he was already--but I didn’t--this wasn’t supposed to--aha... ah... I’m so confused!”

“It’s okay,” said Horatio. “Calm yourself and think. And first, why don’t you teleport yourself out of there?”

“I tried,” said Ibai. “The body just teleports with me.” He motioned behind. “We were originally over there.”

And Hector noticed the blood stains on the other side of the kitchen. When he looked to the Delagunas again, he saw that their reapers were missing. Gone to tell someone, no doubt.

The situation would soon get extremely complicated, Hector felt. He decided to keep his eyes on the Blackburns.

Horatio was trying to help Ibai free himself. “You know I have to ask,” Horatio said. “Did you kill this man?”

“No, I--” Ibai scratched his head. “No. He was already here. I just. I teleported and he was--I didn’t. I wouldn’t--” His foot came free, covered in a bloody brown shadow.