Death... and me

Rean's mouth twitched after that. "No wonder the city seemed too empty compared to several hours ago. Everyone left before it appeared. Then again, how come I can't hear anything?"

The guard shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "This isn't a loud phenomenon, not to mention that the city's formation is keeping the white powder outside. If you didn't pay attention, you definitely wouldn't notice it."

Rean sighed after that and looked in a certain direction. That's where he could see Kentucky's presence, who was flying in his direction. 'Seems like Kentucky and Falangia noticed it as well.'

Rean then looked back at the guard before asking, "How do I leave the city now? Is there no way?"

"Of course, there is!" the demon beast answered. "You just need to wait for the Salt Sweep to pass. Once the phenomenon is over, the white powder will disappear in a few days. After that, you can simply leave the city."

Rean narrowed his eyes, saying in response, "That's good and all. However, if it was so easy, the city wouldn't be this empty as people and demon beasts would just wait for it to be over. Say, how long will it take for the phenomenon to finish?"

"Hehe, so you noticed." The guard couldn't help but look at Rean with a smile. "You better be ready to spend your next two years here. Well, that's considering you won't die until then."

Rean obviously didn't like to hear that, let alone Roan. 'Two years?! Holy shit! That's way too long!'

Roan had a dark expression after that. 'There is a way to head out, though. We can use the Dimensional Realm's Circuitry Teleport Formation to teleport randomly in the surface's direction. That way, we can avoid this Salt Sweep.'

Rean shook his head, though. 'But what about Luan, Falangia, and Rafatia? We can't put them in the Dimensional Realm.'

However, it was then that Rean noticed one thing as he looked at the aquatic demon beast, asking, "Wait, did you say something about dying?"

The aquatic demon beast nodded, explaining, "That's exactly what I said. Why do you think we told all members of the humanoid races to get out? This Salt Sweep affects people like you much easier than it affects aquatic demon beasts."

"How come?" Rean asked. 

The guard then explained, "Haven't you noticed yet? Oh well, it has just started, so the white powder hasn't accumulated that much. Pay very close attention to the water around it."

Rean did what the demon beast said. At first, it was just the same saltwater as always. Even his Divine Sense told him the same thing. However, it didn't take long for Rean to notice very tiny specs of white powder within the water. There were almost none of them, but they were definitely falling from the formation's ceiling. "This... the formation can't stop it?"

"Exactly," answered the guard. "However, the amount of white powder that passes through the formation is very, very small. Because of that, it has little effect on us demon beasts. The same won't happen to you, though. Although it'll be slow, this white powder will eventually transform anyone who isn't an aquatic demon beast into a salt statue. My condolences."

As soon as the guard finished saying it, Kentucky appeared in the distance, moving as fast as he could in Rean's direction. Even before he arrived, he had already used his Divine Sense to communicate with Rean. 'Rean, there's something strange with Rafatia. You need to help her!'

Rean then left the guard behind and shot in Kentucky's direction. As soon as he met with Kentucky, he jumped on his back and took a look at the little girl. "This..."

Falangia, obviously, had a desperate expression. "Rean, you need to do something! What's happening to her?!"

"Mommy..."

Rafatia's body was slowly turning into the white powder or salt statue that the demon beast had mentioned. At the moment, only a few parts of her skin were affected. The weird thing was that the white power seemed to affect Rafatia's behavior, who looked to be absent-minded even with what was happening to her body.

Rean then looked at the Minokawa and said, "Kentucky, bring us back to the inn where Roan is."

"Right away!" Kentucky immediately flapped his wings, using them like oars to swim in the water.

In just a few minutes, Kentucky landed on the outside. Rean tried to send Kentucky into the Dimensional Realm after that, but he also found that the Dimensional Realm was blocked. 'Sister Orb, what's happening?'

[What else could it be? The system considers this situation to be dangerous to you and Roan. Naturally, you won't be able to access anything in here until the system deems the situation to be safe.] Sister Orb explained.

Rean then ignored it. 'Kentucky, try to protect your body against the white powder in the air. The entrance to the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm is blocked.'

Kentucky, obviously, knew what it meant for the Dimensional Realm to be closed. 'Shit! Just head to the room. I know what to do.'

Kentucky then moved to the center of the street, where there wasn't anyone. Following that, his body burst into white and black flames, creating a protective layer around it. It basically separated the water on the surroundings from his body. No water, no white powder, as it seemed like the white powder needed water to move.

Rean nodded, satisfied. Kentucky did really have a good idea. Following that, Rean used his Divine Soul Power to create a bubble that separated the water from him, Falangia, and Rafatia. Only then did he enter the inn.

  The employee at the counter looked as Rean passed by him and shrugged his shoulder, the meaning on his face obvious. 'That's why I asked if you were sure you wanted to stay. Now, look at you...'

Rean ignored the guy and arrived in the room quickly. Sure enough, Roan did the same thing as Rean and Kentucky, creating a barrier that shielded him and Luan from the water. 

With that, Rean finally had the time to look at Rafatia.