Silence filled the corridor as I glanced between Tress, who remained calmly smiling, and the other woman. The latter seemed to be holding back a complaint but couldn’t quite find the words to voice it.

“Aren’t you seeing who his company is?” the woman finally hissed through gritted teeth, trying to keep her words private, but I caught every syllable.

Elk’s jaw tightened, and for the first time, I noticed a flicker of anger on his face.

“I thought our intentions were clear when we, out of good faith, provided your friend with a valuable resource,” Elk said calmly, like a librarian explaining overdue fees to a reluctant patron.

The braided woman’s face flushed with shame, her cheeks lightly reddened as her gaze dropped to the floor.

“Please, don’t go. We’re so close to the exit. We can help guide you, and I’m sure your abilities will be invaluable when the final fight comes,” Tress’ voice was soft and welcoming, almost pleading. As she tried to stand, a grimace of pain twisted her face, accompanied by a faint grunt.

Her friend attempted to help her up, but the elf’s armored weight was clearly too much for her. I stepped forward, offering my shoulder for Tress to lean on.

“Do you really know where the exit is?” I asked, meeting Tress’s gaze.

“I have a general idea,” she replied.

“In the same way you knew we needed to stick together?” I asked, my voice laced with irony. The other woman caught the tone immediately. In the past few hours, I had fought goblins and befriended a literal devil. The world I believed in a day ago no longer existed.

Still, when someone claimed to see the future in a way that defied common sense, it was hard not to judge.

“She found the way to the second floor, helped us ambush several monsters along the way, and said you two would appear if I held my ground. She’s not lying,” the braided woman grunted, her thin veneer of patience slipping.

“And yet she was stabbed anyway,” I pointed out, watching as the woman’s face twisted in frustration.

“He’s right, Mary. No one’s obligated to believe in the gift. If the whispering of the Faceless isn’t enough, let reason guide you. Staying together is the smartest choice,” Tress argued, her gaze locking onto mine.

Those yellow eyes of hers made it hard to concentrate, as though she could peer straight into my soul. Logically, four people together had a better chance of survival. There was no argument there. But trust? That was harder to come by.

“Will you be able to walk on your own?”

“In a few minutes. My body recovers faster than a human's, as I tested earlier with Mary.” Damn, that was my best excuse. I glanced at Elk, who only shrugged. Clicking my tongue, I helped Tress lean against the wall, keeping her upright.

“Are you sure we’re close to the boss floor?”

“I am.” Tress smiled again. “I knew you’d understand.”

You’ll need to start giving grander predictions if you really want me to believe this, I thought, smiling back at her before moving toward Elk.

“You okay? I’ll stick with you if you want to bail on them. What she said about you and all—”

“I overcame it a few years after my kind threw me into Hell, Zach. She’s just... ignorant, like most of the people in my homeland.”

“And apparently, in mine as well.” I patted his shoulder, and he smirked.

“Maybe they chose our races because of our very compatible ignorance.”

Footsteps approached, and when I looked, Mary was already beside us. It was the first time I’d gotten a good look at her. She was a small woman, not much taller than five foot five. Standing next to Elk only made her appear smaller. Her hair was neatly braided to her scalp, forming several lines running from her forehead to her neck.

Mary’s glistening green eyes were striking, accentuated by simple yet alluring makeup. The makeup made her narrow eyes appear larger, and her small, round nose complemented her full lips.

She wore a green tank top, cargo pants, and what looked like military boots. The woman had a youthful glow, like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine. I guessed she wasn’t older than twenty-two, but she carried herself as if she were a seasoned and dangerous giant.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” she started, looking between me and Elk. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Well, thinking back, there was no way for what I said not to sound offensive. This situation is... complicated. Can you forgive me?”

She extended a hand toward Elk, who seemed to consider it for a few seconds before grabbing her forearm and shaking it firmly.

She looked startled at first but quickly realized it was just a different type of handshake.

“Very interesting,” he said at last, his smile growing as he formed the words in his mind. “My kind reserves apologies for authorities or family members. Conflicts with strangers are usually settled by duels to the death. This seems far more effective.”

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She swallowed hard at that comment, and if Elk noticed, he hid it well. I stifled a smile behind my palm as they ended their handshake. Clearing my throat, I turned to her.

“How hard was it to get here?” I asked, changing the subject. Her expression shifted from embarrassed to solemn.

“Too hard. My friends and I decided to throw an end-of-the-world party. We all skipped our classes and counted down the timer, just like my dad told us people did in the 1999’s new year.”

I let out a half-sigh, half-whistle. “I can only imagine the shock.” At least I’d expected something bad to happen. “Have you seen any of your friends?”

“Nah. But I guess that’s for the best. I’ve seen some shit... can’t imagine seeing one of them like that.”

“You’re probably right,” I agreed as images of the few people I actually cared about flashed through my mind. I could only hope things weren’t as bad on Earth as they were here. “And how did you meet her?”

“She saved my life. When I encountered my first goblin, I panicked. I couldn’t summon my shield—didn’t even know how to. She put an arrow through the monster’s skull and gave me one of those potions.”

“Resourceful…” I said, glancing over Mary’s shoulder to see Tress still leaning against the wall, mumbling what sounded like a song.

“You have no idea, dude. I’m out here holding that damn shield or shoving goblins out of the way so she can shoot. She’s doing ninety percent of the work.” She smiled, and for the first time, it seemed genuine.

“Holding that shield doesn’t seem easy,” Elk chimed in, as thoughtful as ever.

“It’s actually weightless—unless someone else tries to hold it. Then it becomes ridiculously heavy.”

“You have a giant weapon only you can use,” I said, pointing at her. Then I gestured to Elk. “You’ve got a magical staff that creates illusions and fireballs, and I’ve got... a stick and a dagger.” I joked, only half-bitter. A new magical weapon wouldn’t be so bad.

“You’re the guy with two classes, dude. What are you complaining about? I just grabbed the first token in front of me. I should’ve been a mage,” Mary protested, shoving me with surprising strength. Jesus, what’s her Strength rank?

“I’ve always wanted to wield magic, but hornless are forbidden,” Elk muttered more to himself than to us. Before the mood could turn awkward, Tress called out from across the room.

“I think I’m ready to go.” She stepped away from the wall, standing tall with both feet firmly planted.

“That was fast.” I was actually enjoying the conversation with Mary and Elk, but throughout it all, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was stalking us from one of the nearby corridors.

Standing still in that place was a death sentence—not just because the monsters and other participants seemed to be in constant motion, but because I had a strong suspicion the audience wanted to see action, not people standing idle in the middle of a dimly lit tunnel.

The ones pulling the strings would eventually make our life into hell and I didn’t want to be the idle one that was punished, something told me they would get the worst out of it.

“I told you I’d be fine in a few minutes.” She smiled again. I wanted to be angry at her constant smiling, but it was hard when she looked like a literal angel. “And your injury? Is it bothering you?”

“What injury?” I moved closer to her and walked by her side as she led us toward the boss room. Behind us, I could hear Elk giving an exaggerated account of my duel with the other devilman to Mary, who listened with wide eyes.

“The one on your head.” Tress poked my left temple with her fingernail, as though pointing out the obvious. I had to tilt my head up to speak to her, and the fact that she was poking me like a child didn’t help my ego.

“You mean the claustrophobia?”

“I’ve never heard that name, Zach. Is that what afflicts you?”

“Yeah, I get nervous in tight spaces, but I don’t see it as an illness—just a part of me I don’t like very much. Everyone has fears, right?”

“I used to feel fear.”

“Not anymore?”

“Not anymore,” she said plainly, continuing to walk. I got the sense that if I didn’t speak again, she wouldn’t mind and could comfortably stay silent for hours.

Maybe being comfortable around silent strangers was an elven thing. For my human brain, though, after about a minute, the silence—paired with Mary’s exaggerated reactions to Elk’s retelling of how I summoned a dagger mid-combat to defeat my enemy—began to gnaw at me.

“Did you know Max was going to stab you?” I finally asked after another minute of walking in silence.

She glanced at me without breaking stride, the smile gone from her lips.

“No. The wind stopped whispering when he arrived. I knew I was supposed to meet another human today, but I misinterpreted the wind’s silence when he showed up as a sign I was on the right track.”

“How do you know it wasn’t actually him?”

“There was mention of a partner, someone vital. I thought it referred to the person Max was searching for, but it turned out to be your friend.”

“I see,” I replied as politely as possible. She could’ve been telling the truth, trying to deceive us, or simply crazy enough to believe her own words. Considering my peculiar circumstances, though, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“You still don’t believe me.”

“I’m sorry.” I looked to the side, I wanted to believe, it was just… hard.

“There’s no problem. When I show you the entrance, you’ll realize I speak the truth.”

“Why?” I asked, my voice betraying a faint trace of pleading. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was desperately in need of a sense of direction.

Finding Elk had been a relief; discovering we fought well together gave me hope, and winning that duel made my heart race with the adrenaline of victory. Still, I felt adrift, like a ship without sail in a dark, wicked ocean. Being beside someone who claimed to glimpse the future was at least tempting.

“Because you’ll see,” she began after my thoughts finally settled. “Before the door to our exit from this floor, a number of wargs will be waiting—more than Mary and I could handle alone. And when the time comes, you and your friend will save all our lives for the first time today.”

“For the first time?” I asked without thinking. She only nodded in agreement.

I didn’t mind walking the rest of the way in silence, my mind a maelstrom of possibilities. With every step we took, with every corner we turned, my tension grew.

Max was searching for Mila. He could ambush us at any moment. What did you do to her? The question burned in my mind, but my worries were cut short when the distant howling of wargs reached my ears—or at least that’s what I thought.

Then I realized there was nothing ahead.

A cold grip touched my hand, and I almost jolted. It was Tress, holding my hand with a reassuring expression. No smile, no condescension, just the same look of understanding she’d given me when we first met.

“Calm. It’s just one turn away,” she muttered, her voice low but perfectly clear.

I took a deep breath as we rounded the corner, and what I saw made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.