The Author's POV

"I don't see anything. The mist is far too thick."

Ryan muttered as he extended his hand, where a small device gently floated back into the palm of his hand. The device was compact, roughly the size of a rubric's cube, and it featured complex circuitry all around its body.

"I've tried using the heat sensor in the drone, but that also doesn't seem to work. The fog seems to be hiding everything that is inside."

"What about sounds?"

An older voice echoed. It belonged to Leopold, who was standing beside him with a pack of gum in his hands.

Bringing his hand toward his mouth, he started chewing on the gums.

"Hav..mhm.. the drones look for any sounds that are coming from beneath…munch… that would probably do the trick."

"I've tried."

Ryan shook his head.

"It blocks everything. From sunlight to all electromagnetic waves and sounds. We're on our own."

"Well… that sucks."

Leopold muttered, leaning back against one of the rocks behind him. He wasn't in a very good mood at the moment. Suddenly transported in such a world, he was lucky to have found Ryan close to him, but the same thing couldn't be said for his daughter, for whom he had no idea where she was.

'…I hope she's okay.'

Such thoughts crossed his mind as he gazed ahead, where he saw a young girl standing, waving her hand at him.

She looked exactly like his daughter but was merely an illusion.

"Dad, what are you doing over there? Hurry up."

She sounded just like her, too.

'I'm glad Ryan's with me.'

He could only shudder at the thought of what would've happened had Ryan not been here with him.

It was thanks to him that he was able to realize that it was all an illusion, and if not for him, he would've probably fallen into whatever trap was being laid out.

Right now, he could only hope that she was fine, even if he knew that the situation they were in was rather dire.

"So… what do we do now?"

Leopold asked, raising his head slightly to look at Ryan, who seemed to be in deep thought. And indeed, he was, as he looked through his devices and eventually settled for a small flag.

"What's that?"

"Wait."

Moving around the flag, Ryan touched the pole, and it suddenly started to flutter. Almost immediately after that, the mist that had been surrounding them began to recede, even if only very slightly.

"I guess that works."

A smile finally appeared on Ryan's face as he picked up the flag. Moving toward Leopold, he waved it at him.

"Come closer to me. So long as you're close to the flag, you won't have to worry about the fog around us. This should make our lives a lot easier."

"You're right."

and moved toward where Ryan was. As soon as he came within range of the flag, the image of his daughter vanished, and he let out a sigh of

starting to get

looks like

"Of course I am."

Ryan rolled his eyes.

do you think I

"Cocky, aren't we?"

"And rightfully so."

"Fair enough―"

smile disappeared from his face. The two of them sharply looked around them, and it wasn't long before they heard faint

Rustle―! Rustle―!

black figures appeared around them and surrounded them. Both Ryan and Leopold's faces fell in response to what they saw, and Leopold spit out the gums that he had

Pu!

"Well… fuck."

***

hear was the rhythmical sound of her footsteps crunching against the soul beneath her

"What's going on?"

looking around her and spotting

that blanketed everything around her, and she could only see a couple of meters in front

appeared here, and despite the time she spent, she still hadn't figured out what

am I

continuing forward, she slashed with her short sword, leaving a faint mark

"I'm back…"

finally came to a stop. The most convincing piece

she stomped her

it! What is this

Just as she was about to finish it, her

Swoosh—!

and in one swift movement, Emma juggled her short swords in her hand and crossed them

"I got you."

crept up on her face as

long, she managed to trick the

was following her around

to play along and lure them to her. It was a risky move, but one

my questions, I won't kill

the

"Good."

the demon's neck. A faint pulse indicated that the core was right next

Pillar of Greed?

"Get out?"

all of a sudden froze

want to

"Isn't that obvious?"

of her short swords even closer to the demon's neck, and a faint black line appeared on the

"Ku…"

demon's body began to tremble and it broke

to get

"What's so funny."

her short swords even more deeply into the demon's neck, but it did not

to kill the demon,

escaping from the Pillar of Greed. From the moment you stepped in, you've become

Spurt—!

head rolled under Emma's feet, and the body soon disappeared into thin air. Having dealt

a waste of