Looking at the system time and seeing that it was just a bit after 1 pm, Evan remembered the time he had seen when in the Regal Void Expanse and thought.
'Aidos' time is different from the Regal Void Expanse's time, huh?'
He had that fleeting thought as he closed the system interface and looked around before saying it out loud.
"I kind of expected you guys to come after me soon enough. I even came all the way out here because of that, but aren't you guys a bit too early? I'm still on a date, you know?"
The spirit trio were momentarily confused by Evan's words, but this confusion did not last much longer.
Converging from all directions, a legion of sleek black uniformed figures appeared, their diverse races showcased in their formidable visages.
Each one of them exuded powerful energy fluctuations, showing that at the very least, they were superior stage master level existences averaged at level 280-290.
They numbered a bit over a hundred in total, and from this hundred, Evan's party could sense that at least half of them were Inferior or Intermediate stage grandmasters.
A quick glance around with his appraisal active, Evan saw their levels ranging from the 320s to the 350s.
Four of them in particular who stood at the centre, had powerful auras that showed they were at the very least, Level 360!
Eliza summoned the Memoria and roused her energies while the spirits got into battle positions while remaining in their spiritual bodies.
The reason for this could not be any more obvious.
These black-clothed figures all had obvious hostility towards Evan's group.
At that moment, the air crackled with tension as the towering presence of the sea of trees around them amplified the intensity of the impending confrontation.
"Now this is quite the welcoming party."
Despite the tension in the air, Evan still had a carefree smile on his face as he looked straight at the four hooded figures who seemed to be the 'leaders'.
At the same time, Eliza noticed something similar about all of the people surrounding them besides their uniforms.
'They all have the same brooches?'
Each one of them had a Golden Brooch on their chest, inscribed with a symbol she found unfamiliar.
The symbol on their brooches was one that depicted a hand holding up a ball in its palm, and on the back of that palm was the number '1'.
But this quickly escaped her mind as she focused on trying to understand why she could not sense the life signs of these people earlier.
'And why I can't sense the life signs of those four wearing hoods even though they're right in front of me.'
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she tried to probe the four of them but Evan placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her before speaking.
"Seems you guys could not stand me anymore, ay?"
While the black-clothed figures remained silent, Eliza threw a glance at Evan as she asked.
"You know who they are?"
"Of course, I do. You know them too.
I mean, look at their brooches: A 'Hand' holding up the 'World', and then think about the fact that quite a few of them are lower-middle ranked demons, their identities could not be more obvious."
Hearing his words, Eliza and the three spirits instantly figured out who the people surrounding them were.
"The Demonic Hand."
As soon as she spoke, a gust of wind blew southward, blowing off the hoods on the heads of the four figures in front and revealing their faces.
Or rather, their 'face'.
The four of them were completely identical, each one had short neck length ash coloured hair, the exact same fair skin tone, red irises and ash cross-shaped pupils.
"Come on, of all possible faces to use, you chose this guy's face?"
Although Evan was not too surprised as he already knew what the faces under the hood looked like, the same could not be said for Eliza.
The battle priestess was quite shocked as she recognized the face that she was looking at from her history books, but Kayla who didn't care much for that was unaware of the person's identity and asked.
The answer Evan gave, was not one she had expected at all.
"Arlan Maddox.
The Previous 'Second' of the 'Seven Heroes' and my 'Predecessor'."
The lightning spirit was dumbfounded as she alternated her gaze between Evan and the four emotionless figures standing in front of her.
A single question went through the minds of Eliza and the three spirits.
'Why are there members of the Demonic Hand who look identical to a Former Hero?!'
"Are they…clones?"
Evan, who knew exactly what they were, took a step forward as he answered Eliza's question.
"It would have been better if they were clones."
The contempt in his voice seemed to grow with each word he spoke, and the scorn in his gaze increased with each step he took.
The Demonic Hand members wanted to attack him already but they kept to themselves because they had not been given orders to do so by their 'Senior'.
"These abominable 'things' you're looking at, whose very appearances are a stain on the Legacy of the 'Great Hero Arlan Maddox', are nothing more than Hollow Imitations created by the Demonic Hand, in an attempt to replace the originals."
To Eliza who had been together with Evan for more than just a while, it was no secret that Evan detested his predecessor for a reason only he and Laurene knew; yet that same Evan was addressing Arlan with the title of 'Great Hero'?
She found it weird, very weird, but she pushed it aside to ask the more important question.
"What 'Originals' are they created to replace?"
The answer Evan gave made the eyes of all those who heard widen in sheer astonishment, their mouths agape as if unable to form coherent words.
Of course, both parties were shocked for differing reasons as the Demonic Hand members were shocked at how much Evan knew, while his companions were bewildered that such a thing was even possible.
"The Originals they are meant to replace, are the 'Seven Heroes'."
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