Mia, Ava, Felix, Kael, Lily, and Caleb joined her without hesitation. Even then, Ivy felt it was not enough.

She brought in Talia.

And Annie, one of the strongest fighters.

Annie, in turn, suggested bringing Martha as a strategist.

Soon, the group stood together at the outskirts of their destination.

An abandoned factory loomed before them.

Ivy narrowed her eyes slightly.

"They’re here," she said quietly.

Suddenly, a few zombies staggered toward them, their growls low and threatening.

But just as they approached, they stopped.

Their bodies stiffened.

Then, as if sensing something far more terrifying, they turned around and slowly retreated.

Kael let out a small sigh. "Why not just activate your aura and keep them away?" he asked, glancing at Ivy.

Ivy shook her head slightly. "I can control it now," she replied. "I can activate or suppress it whenever I want."

She paused briefly. "But if I use it fully... they’ll notice."

Her gaze shifted toward the factory.

"The superior beings will detect it... and they might escape."

Instead, she only activated it briefly when necessary, just enough to repel immediate threats.

Felix stepped forward, holding a small container. "I brought a large supply of antidotes," he said. "Why not use them? It’ll reduce the risk."

Everyone exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

Even with the antidote available, the danger was still very real.

One wrong move, one scratch, and everything could change.

Ava had already experienced it firsthand.

A zombie had nearly scratched her arm earlier, and if Felix hadn’t acted quickly, if he hadn’t administered the antidote immediately...

She might have turned into a zombie on the spot.

Ivy frowned, her voice dropped into a tense whisper.

"We can’t use the antidote; the superior being will definitely notice that his zombies are decreasing. That will attract far too much attention."

Felix clicked his tongue, irritation flashing across his face as he shook his head.

"We can’t do this, and we can’t do that... so what exactly are we supposed to do?" His voice carried a trace of exhaustion.

Ivy ignored him completely, her gaze fixed on the looming silhouette of the abandoned factory ahead.

Lowering her voice even further, she asked, "Do you think those five superior beings might have already returned by now?"

Felix rolled his eyes, his patience thinning.

"You reduced your aura so they wouldn’t detect you, and now you’re questioning whether they’re inside or not?"

Ivy shot him an annoyed glance, her lips tightening.

"Suppressing my aura is just a precaution. Whether they’re inside or not... even I don’t know."

Hearing the uncertainty in her tone, Felix fell silent.

Suddenly, the abandoned factory flickered with a strange blue glow.

The eerie light painted their faces in ghostly hues, and all of them froze, their breaths hitching in unison.

Before anyone could react properly, Mia and Ava staggered forward as if pulled by an invisible force, their bodies giving in as they dropped to the ground.

Lily and Caleb were no better; their knees buckled, and they fell as if gravity itself had intensified around them.

Kael and Felix managed to endure slightly better, standing firm near Ivy, while Martha and Talia, who were close to her, also held their ground with visible strain.

Annie clenched her jaw, her legs trembling violently as she fought against the crushing force.

’I won’t fall... not like this...’ she thought stubbornly, forcing herself to remain upright as if clinging to the last shred of her dignity.

Ivy felt her vision turning a bit blurry.

A voice echoed inside her mind, soft yet commanding, as if it came from somewhere deep and unfathomable. "Come... It’s time to leave."

Her consciousness wavered, her thoughts turning sluggish. Almost mechanically, she straightened and began to walk forward.

Felix frowned, confusion flickering across his face. "What are you doing?"

But the moment he saw her vacant expression and the way she moved toward the factory like a puppet on invisible strings, panic surged through him.

Kael reacted instantly. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her back with force.

When she continued to struggle, trying to move forward, he tightened his grip and began shaking her gently yet urgently.

"Ivy... Ivy, wake up," he called in a low, steady voice.

The sound of his voice cut through the haze.

Ivy’s eyes snapped into focus, and she gasped softly, her body going still.

Though she had not been fully conscious, she understood what had just happened, and her face drained of color.

Kael’s grip softened slightly, but his concern only deepened. "What happened?"

"I... I don’t know," Ivy murmured, her voice trembling faintly. "I just felt this strange impulse to go toward the factory... as if something was calling me."

Kael frowned deeply, his gaze hardening as he looked toward the factory. "We should keep our distance from the main area." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

But Ivy shook her head almost immediately, a strange resistance surfacing within her.

Even as her rational mind hesitated, something deeper pushed her forward.

"No... we should go inside and check. There might be something... something very valuable."

Kael’s expression darkened as he studied her. ’This isn’t normal... something is influencing her,’ he realized.

Without hesitation, he grabbed a bottle of water, uncapped it, and splashed it directly onto her face.

The cold shock made Ivy flinch, her eyes squeezing shut as droplets slid down her cheeks.

When she opened them again, the fog in her mind seemed to lift slightly, clarity returning bit by bit. She blinked in disbelief, staring at Kael.

He shook his head firmly. "No. This is getting dangerous. If you walk in there while being influenced, you’ll bring disaster instead of stopping it."

Ivy clenched her fists, desperation flashing across her features.

"This is one of our best chances. I can finally take down Roma. If we miss this, it’ll be a complete waste!"

Kael’s expression hardened. "You’re not thinking clearly. We should retreat for now."

"No!" Ivy’s voice rose, her tone firm and unyielding. "We have to continue."