"...oh no, I didn't expect it to be this bad..." I muttered to myself in horror as I took in the grisly scene before me, noting the vast amount of corpses and blood scattered everywhere. "The fact that this is just outside of the secret hideout makes it even worse. Were these people trying to run away but failed to do so...?"

"...I'm afraid that's definitely the case here," Idalia remarked solemnly, who was clearly trying her best to not break down and cry. "I recognize some of these people. Just like me, they're people who couldn't bring themselves to do the drastic things that our higher-ups wanted us to do so they eventually defected. In the end, however..."

She didn't continue any further as Rufus tries his best to comfort her. I glanced at her with a frown and then quickly looked away upon seeing how depressed the lady was, feeling guilty at having her come back over here to guide us around the base. ...but sadly, we don't have much of a choice here since we're short on time. I thought to myself with a sigh, troubled. It's a lot faster than having to look around in a place that you're unfamiliar with alone. Though, we might have to protect her if there are still enemies alive in the building. Idalia was covered in blood while we were in the Royal Army's headquarters so there's a chance she fought the others, which means she can fend for herself to an extent. ...however, it's too risky though so we should consider that as a last resort.

Leaving the orange-haired soldier to take care of her, I immediately turned my gaze to the two soldiers standing in front of the yellow tape, who happened to be one red-haired girl with brown eyes wielding a massive chainsaw and one golden-eyed brunet with dual swords. I refrained from nervously laughing upon seeing the female's choice of weaponry and instead tried to see if there was anything on them that'll help me discern their identity or affiliation. Thankfully, I soon noticed the golden lion insignia on their uniform. Recalling how that same animal was on the banners I saw earlier ago, I assumed they were part of the Royal Army, perhaps in the same branch as Rufus at that. Since he was here with me, that meant that they'll probably let me through, especially if the boy vouches that I'm trustworthy.

With a reassuring nod to myself, I tried to start a conversation with the two as I walked toward them. "Hey, if you two don't mind, can we investigate that base you lot are guarding?" I asked, causing the soldiers to look at me in surprise. "There are more people coming later but for now, it's just me, Rufus, and Idalia. A silver-eyed blonde named Leo and a blue-haired boy with purple eyes called Vin will probably arrive soon too."

They glanced at Rufus, who gives the guards a nod and mouthed something in response. "Ah, I see! You're part of the group that the princess was looking for then!" The redhead remarked as she pushed away some of her long hair with a grin. "Sure, go ahead! Though, before you go, what affinity do you have? I heard there were Artifact wielders in your group so I'm quite curious if you're one of them!"

I blinked my eyes, taken aback at her eagerness. "Er...sorry but it's Void. As far as I know, there's no Artifact that's tied to that element," I responded, earning a frown from her. "Though, I do admit that's slightly weird since every other type has one."

"Well, yeah but I think it makes sense, especially when regarding what our religion says," the other guard replied as he puts a hand on his hip. "That element is essentially nothingness. So, therefore, as a master of nothingness, the Void God has no need for a weapon unlike the others."

"Sadly, it really doesn't tell us how he fought though," Rufus said as he stopped right beside me with Idalia hiding behind him, eyeing the guards warily. "...and Idalia, please stop being so cautious towards my comrades. I assure you, they're good people. ...well, maybe except Gloria here. Her love for combat is a little too..."

The brown-eyed girl crosses her arms over her chest, pouting. "Ehh, what's wrong with that? Besides, chainsawing things to death is fun~!" Gloria exclaimed. "Though, I admit, it does get fucking annoying when blood splatters over my face and covers my eyes. I'll have no idea what the fuck I'm doing when that happens so I have to drop what I'm doing to wipe away that shit."

...remind me not to get on her bad side. I thought to myself as I silently noted the intense bloodlust and anger in her eyes. Getting the feeling she would be the type to go on a wild rampage and laugh crazily while in battle. I faced that type in battle before in the Academy and it was...unnerving, to be honest. Thankfully I won but...that made just them more excited, worryingly.

With a shake of my head, I pulled myself away from those thoughts and silently cast a spell to block the horrible stench that might appear upon getting closer to the carnage. Emotionally preparing myself, I went over the tape with ease as the others talked about what happened. I'll let those two gather information while I go inside and check if it's safe. If they've been keeping guard for a while, they're probably not completely sure about the situation inside. As I walked, I made sure to go over or around any of the corpses that were in the way, noting that their wounds seem to wildly vary in placement. Whoever did this sure is inefficient. It's like they only cared about hurting someone as much as they can, instead of quickly killing an enemy. ...like someone who lost their reasoning and fell into deep hatred.

Frowning, I stopped in front of the open entrance, the broken doors carelessly blown outside. Just like how it was outside, the inside was full of dead bodies and blood but on top of that, there were also numerous burn marks everywhere. However, for some reason, some of the corpses seemed to radiate abnormally murky magical energy, its nearly black color making it seem sinister and malicious. ...that's weird. What the hell is that? I thought, my heart starting to pick up in pace. To be safe, I'll have to keep my distance from them. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that in the Academy so I'm sure it's dangerous.

All of a sudden, I heard a male's voice out of nowhere, causing me to quickly strengthen my body with magic and get into battle position. "Goddamn, there's way too much deceased here," the newcomer complained. "Using telekinesis spells to safely drag out bodies to incinerate is gonna be a pain in the ass. It doesn't help that I don't know which one is safe to interact with either. Wish that guy bothered to explain the situation to me more..."

The instant he got out of the corridor opposite of me, upon noticing the greatsword that he had across the shoulder was covered in white flames, I dropped my guard, recognizing him as Raghnall, the Fire Artifact Wielder. The one holding it was a boy with spiky white hair and light blue eyes, wearing asymmetrical navy blue pants with the left side short and right side long, white boots, a white sleeveless shirt, and a black metallic gauntlet on his right hand. There were quite a few belts on his pants, especially the long part, and some scars on his exposed arms.

"I didn't know you of all people were here, Raghnall," I remarked, causing the white-haired male to look at me in surprise. "Did you put a stop to the battle in this base or...?"

He let out a hearty laugh and nodded his head. "You got that right! I also cremated the ones that I struck down, courtesy to the culture of Ignifera!" Raghnall answered with a huge grin as he put his free left hand on his hip. "And judging from your appearance, it looks like you're part of the group Rex told me to keep an eye on and make sure they survive what's to come! Stella, right? Nice to finally meet you!"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Rex told you to do that?" I questioned, caught off-guard by that sudden revelation. "Is he too busy doing something at the moment to look out for us?"

"Oh, Rex? That guy is currently in the Providence of Fire. You know, that fiery place full of lava, volcanoes, magma crystals, and all that," the male explained while he walked towards me. "He said he had to protect something there at all costs and refused to elaborate any further. As to what, the only thing I could think of is those sealed ancient ruins."

So that means there's something important inside them. Though, I suppose that's a given since it's sealed. I thought to myself with a frown as I crossed my arms over my chest, frowning. ...but I wonder what it could be? Whatever it is, Rex definitely seems to know and considers it the highest priority to protect. Before I could think any further about it though, I heard footsteps getting closer and turned to look to see who it was.

Rufus and Idalia were approaching the two of us albeit slowly. The girl looked visibly sick but was forcing herself to go onwards, all the while muttering something to herself. The orange-haired, on the other hand, was carrying a file with him while helping her walk, something that the guards probably gave him. That must be a report regarding what happened here, I assume. It'll be helpful for me, Vin, and Leo to read so we can get situated. Though, the more pressing factor right now is...

I glanced back at the corpses and suddenly felt someone nudge me on the side. "Hey, do you know which one is dangerous to touch?" Raghnall asked as I looked at the boy, an apologetic smile on his face. "Rex didn't bother explaining it to me and said I'll get my answer eventually if I wait enough. Unless the corpses were to suddenly get up and become alive to answer my question, that means you might have some sort of clue right?"

"I can see strange murky mana coming out of certain corpses so I assume it might be them?" I answered and he raised an eyebrow at that, clearly confused.

"Really? But I've looked at a fuckton of corpses by now and none of them had anything like that," he commented, frowning. "If anything, the only things they gave off was their stench and maybe their souls trapped in their dead bodies if you're a follower of the Ignifera religion."

Blinking my eyes in surprise, I double-checked the bodies around us and just like before, I saw that same sinister aura that some of them were emitting. So, just like how these eyes let me travel between realms, it's letting me see things others normally wouldn't see? I thought to myself, frowning. If that's the case, then that makes me more curious about Rex. ...other than possibly being a childhood friend of mine, what else is he...? I'll be honest, at this rate, I could jokingly say that he's probably a god of some sorts or something similar.

All of a sudden, I heard Idalia loudly exclaiming numerous apologies out of nowhere, causing me to jump in surprise due to how close she was. I turned to look at her and saw her repeatedly bow to Raghnall, who appeared to be slightly annoyed and uncomfortable by that.

"It's fine, it's fine! You don't need to apologize so much!" the male remarked as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Besides, even if I was the reincarnation of the Fire God, Ignis, you're supposed to prove your sincerity with your actions, not words! Less asking for forgiveness and more doing!"

"R-right, s-sorry. Ah, I mean...!" she mumbled out and then shook her head, probably trying her best to calm herself down.

Raghnall remained quiet for a bit and eventually looked away. "Anyways, we'll go ahead and investigate this base if you guys don't mind. Time is of the essence, right?" he remarked. "Admittedly, I did check out this place before deciding to perform the funerary rites for the fallen here but found nothing. However, maybe with Stella and an ex-member of the Fire God's Phoenix, we'll find something I couldn't."

I checked on Idalia and upon seeing her hurriedly nod her head, I quietly did the same albeit more slowly. With that, the four of us went off to explore the building. The brunette took the lead to show us where the important rooms were while I surveyed our surroundings to see if there was anything hidden along the way. Unfortunately, almost all of the rooms that she showed us contained nothing of importance.

Of course it wouldn't be this easy to get information. I thought to myself with a groan as we walked to the last room in the hidden basement. It would make the masterminds behind this seem incompetent otherwise. With a sigh, I was about to turn on the dormant communication spell between me, Vin, and Leo but stopped when I saw the entrance to the only room left that we haven't gone in.

"W-wait! Don't get any closer to the door!" I exclaimed frantically, causing everyone else to stop and look at me in surprise. "I see the same murky energy that some of the corpses had leaking out of that room through the door!"

"Guess that means we hit the jackpot. Though, we can't do fuck all," Raghnall commented. "If that entire room is filled with it, we'll probably die pretty fast if we have nothing to counter it. Rex even said the Devourers from the Academy can't really do anything about it."

That wording of the last sentence piques my curiosity and I open my mouth to ask him a question. "'Devourers from the Academy...?'" I repeated, frowning. "Is he insinuating that there's mages with the Void aspect that are not in that organization?"

"Yeah, he told me that there is a small group like that, endlessly wandering about," he explained. "No one knows of their whereabouts though and they typically attack anyone who becomes aware of their existence unless if they're Devourers too. If the Devourer is a runaway and they prove themselves strong enough, Rex said they'll teach the mage things that Academy won't. He refused to tell me why though since he was sworn to secrecy regarding that."

I blinked my eyes at that, shocked that there's actually Devourers free from the influence of the Academy out in the world. From how Rex worded it, it sounds like they're probably capable of so much more than the ones in that mage organization. I was about to ask him if he knew anything else about them but suddenly heard a faint melody out of nowhere. Surprised, I turned to see where the noise was coming from and my eyes landed on Rufus.

Upon noting the grim look on his face, I felt my heart start beating frantically as the orange-haired soldier taps the device on his ear to activate it. As we silently watched him, I couldn't help but notice that his expression became increasingly solemn over time as he continued listening, not saying a single word. I started fidgeting with my hands as I stood there, dreading the news we'll hear from him when he was done. Eventually, he turns off the communication device and turns his attention back to us.

"...I...just got some bad news and a warning from Princess Lucia," Rufus said, his voice hoarse. "She says we should be prepared for the worst. As to why, all the mages in the Academy were dead when she came to visit the organization."