More importantly, ever since the Vanguard unveiling event, journalists and reporters had occasionally lingered near the manor, hoping to catch a word with Mr. Stark.

Eduardo was working on getting rid of them, but until then, it was better to keep this fight elsewhere.

There was, however, one variable they couldn’t control: how long it would take for the demons to come after Ishtar again.

According to Ethan’s reasoning, if these bounty hunters were serious about capturing her, they would be frustrated, maybe even panicked, by the fact that their target had moved so far from the last known location.

They would also fear that Ishtar’s tracking signal could disappear again, just like it had when Ethan placed the Vol Stassis spell over her Carrion Seal.

That fear, Ethan believed, would push them to act quickly, the same fear that had likely driven them to attack the moment Ishtar’s seal became active again.

But none of that was certain.

And because of that uncertainty, Ethan and the others had agreed to stay in this apartment for three days. That would give the demons enough time to reach Grayfort if they weren’t already in the city.

If they didn’t show up by then... well, they’d pack up, head back to the manor, and figure out a different approach.

—

At the earliest hours of the next day, while it was still dark outside...

The road ahead was lonely, and the hum of the engine was the only sound coming from vintage car that moved forward, with its headlights directing its path.

Xylo was behind the wheel, and beside him, Zurin leaned back in the passenger seat, cleaning something off her axe.

Then, through the darkness ahead, a sign appeared.

It was large, painted in bold letters that glowed under the headlights: Welcome to Grayfort City.

Zurin’s eyes flicked toward it as they passed, and a grin spread across her face.

—-

The next morning...

Ethan stood by the windows of the apartment, crossing his arms while staring down at the street below. From his vantage point, he could see the wide intersection, the empty parking spaces and the quiet sidewalks.

He exhaled and turned to the quiet apartment.

Rayleigh and Isabella had left about an hour ago to grab supplies from a nearby market a few blocks over. That left only him and Ishtar in the loft.

He glanced at Ishtar was lying by the side of the bed, scrolling through the screen of the arcphone.

Ethan turned back to the window, his eyes narrowing as he watched the street.

Suddenly, the same eyes widened to the sight of figures who began appearing and entering the open space courtyard of their building.

"What the hell...?" he whispered.

More people poured into the intersection, carrying crates, folding tables, colorful banners, and all manner of goods. They moved purposefully, setting up stalls, laying out merchandise, calling out to one another.

Within minutes, the empty space had transformed into a bustling marketplace.

Ethan’s heart sank.

"No. No, no, no..."

He stared at them in disbelief.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This place was supposed to be empty and free of people. That was the entire point of choosing this isolated location in the first place.

But now there were civilians everywhere.

Ethan sighed. Unfortunately, what had happened was that enforcers had moved the trade fair from another part of the area, and the merchants had relocated here instead, knowing it was unoccupied.

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

Ethan wasn’t exactly sure what to do at this point. Part of him felt it might not matter, since the demons would likely find their way in here anyway, but most of him was already considering leaving before they arrived.

Because, who knew, things could get loud.

Then Joe, watching from his vantage point, saw it.

A car.

A rusty vintage car rolled slowly into view from the left side of the intersection. It came to a stop near the curb, and two figures stepped out.

Due to Ethan paying more attention to his own vision of the market place, he hadn’t seen them immediately until Joe alerted him mentally, "they are here"

His eyes widened again, and this time he saw through Joe’s own vision.

Blonde hair lady, holding an axe and the man in the dark coat, with a cigarette between his lips. Based on Rayleigh’s descriptions, this was them.

"Well, atleast they made the decision for me" Ethan said, now resigning to staying back since they were here already.

Ethan then turned to Ishtar and said calmly, "get ready, they’re here"

And that made her sit up quickly.

-

Both Xylo and Zurin stood beside the car for a moment, scanning the crowd. Then, slowly, they began to walk forward, weaving between the vendors and the growing throng of people.

While watching them slow down amid the pressing bodies of the crowd, Ethan had already pulled out his arcphone and connected a call to the others.

"Ethan?" Bella’s voice came through.

"They’re here," Ethan said simply. "They just pulled up and are walking toward the building right now."

There was a brief pause on the other end, then Isabella’s voice returned. "We’re already on our way back. Less than two minutes out."

But Ethan had said nothing in reply as he kept his eyes on the approaching demons.

Then, suddenly, they stopped.

Zurin’s head lifted upward, as though she were staring directly at Ethan, who watched her from behind the window. And if the glass hadn’t been one-way, with no view allowed from the outside in, that might have actually been the case.

Ethan, for his part, wasn’t too bothered as he kept staring back. When they had arrived the previous day, he had already taken note of the window’s design, so he knew she couldn’t actually see him.

But Zurin’s expression shifted from focused to wary, and she said something to Xylo. "You can feel it too, right?"

Xylo nodded slowly. "Yes," he said quietly. "There’s another demon there, and it’s a high-ranking one."