The Author's POV

"Haa...haaa..."

By the time I reached the top of the cliff, I was already starting to feel exhausted. It wasn't because the climb was hard. No, rather, that was the easiest part. The main problem was the constant attacks coming from the monsters in the sky.

"Kow!"

Jumping back and twisting my body in the air, my foot landed on a small ring, and I placed my hand on the sheath of the sword.

Click—!

What followed the low clicking sound was black blood that spilled toward the ground like heavy rain. Whilst this was happening, I twisted my body in the air.

"Huup!"

Placing my right leg on another ring, I propelled my body to the top of the cliff, and I rolled a couple of times.

"Haaa..."

With my back facing the ground, I took a few moments to collect my breath.

"I'm tired."

Getting up, I walked back and extended my hand toward Angelica who was still climbing up.

"Here."

My gesture seemed to have caught Angelica off-guard as she paused for a moment. After a while, she took my hand and helped herself up.

"...Thank you."

"No problem."

Letting go of Angelica's hand and massaging the back of my neck, I finally got a better view of my surroundings.

It was then that I finally spotted it.

"Looks like we're in the right place."

A large black castle at the very edge of the cliff. Above it was a large beacon that attracted the mana in the air, creating a large vortex; closely resembling a tornado.

'Seems like some part of the future is still intact.'

For the castle to be here, meant that not all of the future had changed. I was secretly relieved by this as it meant that I could still make some changes to it.

That aside.

Placing my hand over my forehead, I got a better look at the castle in the distance.

"It looks the same..."

The castle was almost identical to the castle where I first met Everblood, and it didn't bring me any good memories. Sometimes I wished I had never gone into that dungeon, but I knew that it wasn't something I could've controlled.

Leaning a bit, I looked beneath the cliff.

"Are they still following us?"

"No."

Angelica replied, also looking beneath the cliff.

"Strange…"

My brows creased.

"Was I perhaps wrong?"

Were the people really just some random people who had nothing to do with the matter? It was possible.

But I didn't think things were that simple.

"Angelica stay on high alert, there's a high chance we're going to get ambushed."

Regardless, I wasn't planning on letting my guard down.

"…yes."

"Alright, let's get going."

I turned to face the castle in the distance. Surrounding it, and behind it was a large expanse of dead trees, giving off a desolate and cold feeling. Compared to the bottom of the cliff, the trees were a lot denser, and taller, evoking a creepy and ghostly feeling.

If I had to make an estimate of how far the castle was, I would say it was about five kilometers in the distance.

It wasn't that far. In fact, it was quite close.

Even then.

to be a lot of

there was one thing I understood after looking at the forest, it was that it was the perfect place

They had most likely taken a shortcut up

started channeling the mana

"Let's go."

***

vast canopy of white, leaving behind a sunken trail of

we need

wolf was going, added with the fiercely blowing wind, his hair shot back, making him

into the distance, Ava

"We're close."

she tapped her

"Stop."

a halt and Ava

the distance, her face had a

to a stop, Hein got

"Is this the place?"

"Yes."

Ava replied.

precaution, Hein took out his shield which was still

"Burp, we stopping?"

a loud burp, Leopold also

"Wow."

he stumbled a couple of steps. Stabilizing his footsteps, he stared at the half-filled bottle

a lot stronger than I

quickly put the bottle away. He was already warmed up enough, and it was no longer needed. Any more and he might actually get

eyes, Ava adjusted the beanie in her

we can only

one of the mountains, and so, Ava

flute and

Tootle too~

rang in the air,

was tightly clenching onto the flute, Ava proceeded

we're probably going to

"Finally."

murmured, unveiling his shield which was shining

"Burp…"

Leopold wordlessly took out a gun-like device and

might help me sober

***

"Stop."

my hand, I stopped Angelica from

a little, I squinted

wrong with this

there was something wrong with the place. If I had a choice, I wouldn't have entered the forest, but since it was

that something was wrong with the place,

up the whole time, yet, I was

That was until now.

area in front of me, I extended my

"What are you doing?"

Confused by

answered in

"…just checking something."

finger at a

Pluck—

that I was finally able to catch a glimpse of an invisible string in the air. Not only one string but in

"As I expected…"

my fingers together, I felt a

But.

didn't have time to care about

on the sheath of my sword, I got ready to attack at

it looks like

hand and taking out three cards from my bracelet, I threw them in different directions. Left,

the cards to ignite, and once they did, I

previous string from before, the area

shocking about this was the fact that Angelica and I didn't notice this at all. Upon closer look, I

my body, I pinched my fingers. Feeling a hard sensation on the tip of my fingers, I turned my fingers a bit

"It's these fuckers…"

a nail appeared in-between my fingers. In fact,

they managed to trap us

me to notice them. Our attention was

Rustle—! Rustle—!

the distance, and

"There is someone here."