"Ngh-- " My head throbbed. What happened?

It hurt. "Help," I called out weakly, looking around. The entire carriage was wrecked.

"Areb, Fulgur," I called for them. "Help."

There was no response from either of them. I crawled forward, feeling something warm and thick. A red liquid was flowing from Areb's lower half, buried and crushed by the rubble.

"Huh-- bo-blood?" I trembled at the sight.

I slowly crawled out through a small opening in the wrecked carriage, shaking. "Help" was all I could mutter repeatedly, hoping someone would hear and come to our—my aid.

As soon as I got out, I saw the aftermath of a big fight. It was night already. Soldiers, knights, and some new people in red robes lay sprawled across the battlefield.

The ground was painted red, tents and trees were burning. In addition, bird-like monsters with lizard features flew around. They looked ghostly and phased through each other, circling around the moon. In the novel and the game, these things were called phantoms. Phantoms could come in any shape—dragon, human, or monster—and behaved differently. The only way to tell if it was a phantom was its ghostly body structure.

Phantoms were neutral creatures that wouldn't attack unless harmed. They usually appeared in places they deemed safe, though powerful phantoms could reside in deadly areas as long as the resident monsters were inferior to them.

Seeing these small phantoms playing around, I hoped there would be no big and powerful monsters now.

The giant monster corpses still concerned me. If this was the world of *Shadow of the Shattered Veil*, then I should be aware of the world's dangers and incoming calamities.

What befell the village of Gunta was the beginning of the first calamity. There were 97 calamities in the story, and one year from now, the dark age would begin—an age of suffering and death.

"TAKE ME BACK, FULGUR!!" I screamed desperately. There was no way in hell I wanted to experience those 97 hells.

"FULGUR!!" I turned around and saw the carriage I got out of, half-buried by a big rock. This was what had crushed Areb. My surviving it was just luck or perhaps plot armor, but with the countless deaths of key and favored characters, I didn't believe such a thing even existed in this novel.

I desperately went back inside the carriage and shook Areb's lower half. "FULGUR, TAKE ME BACK!!" Aren't you powerful enough to send me to a world of a novel? Then maybe resurrecting the dead shouldn't be impossible for you. Or at least give me a sign.

... -ah I want to cry, "FULGUR!!" Please take me back. Tears streamed down my face as fear took over.

I couldn't even imagine my future here.

Twenty minutes later, I was still inside the carriage. At any time, just a little shift and the rock could fall over and crush the entire carriage. Yet, consumed by emotions, I was blinded to see that danger.

*cough *cough "cap-tain..."

I heard coughing. If you're not showing up now, then I might as well ensure my survival.

I quickly got out after wiping my tears. Just give me one knight or soldier. Give me someone who could protect me or something.

I quickly tried to find the survivor, and to my disappointment, it was one of the men in red robes, an angel crest on his hood.

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He was missing both arms, blinded in one eye, and covered in blood.

These guys were part of the Guardian organization—an evil secret organization that would make a name for themselves right at the fifth calamity.

The calamity destroys all life, and these guys used it to their advantage, reigning chaos. Their goal was to eradicate all life and start anew. They called their mission "World Purify," a group of noble elitists who believed that pure blood should be the only life allowed in this world.

"Hey you," he called out as soon as he noticed me. "Quickly help me. Trash like you should treat pure blood like me so that your sinful life would have some use in this world." Suddenly, he coughed blood. "Quickly, I'm dying. I'm from the family of Thordren, first son and heir of the family. Make your life useful and surrender your life to me."

He slowly got to his feet, blood pouring from his wounds. He chanted something: "Spirits of old, hear my plea, Grant me strength, make me free. Take from one, give unto me, Power grows, so mote it be!"

Suddenly, shadowy hands took form, grabbing hold of my body.

I knew this chant, this spell. This was dangerous. The chant to take and give life to oneself—life exchange.

Once you're in the grasp of the shadow hands, it's impossible to escape unless you're a saint or someone with strong holy powers. Or you can counter it with a different spell that could purify things, like restoration or something.

Is this guy serious? Is this how extreme elitists are? I expected him to show me some kindness because I was in the form of a child. But I guess he'd kill even an infant just to survive.

What do I do? I still don't know if I have an affinity for magic or how to use it.

Do you materialize your thoughts to use magic, or chant? Since it's fiction in my world, the book explained chants are the easiest way to use magic. Regardless if you don't do anything, as long as you chant, the expected outcome should come.

But I don't have the leisure to memorize magic chants. What should I do?

"Fulgur," I muttered. I guess I'll die trying then. If I perish here, then...

I closed my eyes. I didn't know how it felt to use magic, so I just imagined in my mind a bolt of lightning striking the man.

A strange sensation came over me. I felt it. I couldn't explain how it felt. It was just a strange feeling.

And when I opened my eyes, there was no lightning bolt. But his face was scared, looking at me as if he had seen a demon king. The shadowy hands were slowly dispersing.

Eh? What scared him?

"Wha-what... Th—" Suddenly, an arrow pierced through his head.

"Eeek!" I squealed as the arrowhead appeared on the other side, blood pouring out.

His body fell to the ground. There was no need to check for life, he was dead for sure with an arrow in his head.

A dart made its way to me, and I groaned at the sharp pain, quickly pulling out the embedded needle. "Oh... come... on..."

I hated this. All that had happened to me today was passing out.

A silhouette made its way down. He was well-equipped with weapons, and before my eyes closed, he pulled out a knife.

That was the last thing I saw. Would he kill me? I wondered if death would make me come back to my world.

But if not, I could just take my own life. But I had a huge fear of death, so even with that thought, I'd be scared shitless to kill myself.

At least give me time to recollect my thoughts...

After that, I woke up, chained by the neck behind bars, in what seemed to be a dungeon.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was met with a bloody sight. The walls were covered in blood, and in the other cells were injured humans and inhuman creatures.

From the other side, there were those long-eared beings called elves—two of them. Weak and pale, they were missing an arm, their wounds poorly tended.

There were familiar sights in the cells: humans with missing body parts and a child who had lost her eyes.

A scary sight it was—a nightmare. That was the only word that could explain it.

Just then, a man in red passed by, dragging a rotting corpse.

The inmates had different reactions. Some were dead inside and didn't say anything, some screamed in fear and cried. It was insanity. Those who were sane were filled with nightmares, but those who had lost it had lost the light in their eyes.

The place was quickly filled with wailing cries, their voices begging to be freed.

"I don't want to die, I can't die."

"I'm afraid to die."

"Please let me out, don't kill me."

"Oh god, please help us"

These were the most common words that could be heard, screamed by those who begged for mercy and life.

One of the men in red robes came, a twisted smile forming on his face as he strolled around, stopping at a cell with a beautiful woman in it.

"NOOOOOOO!!" she screamed as the bars opened.

The girl begged for him to stop. We saw it—a sight done by a scum.

He started by ripping her clothes and paralyzing her body with what looked like magic when she fought back.

We watched the man rape the girl helplessly. Everything was happening too fast.

I had awakened in a different body in the world of "Shadows of the Shattered Veil". It hadn't even been a day, but all my encounters were nothing but nightmares.

One after another.