It's been two weeks since I was brought here...

And in those two weeks, I saw some very disturbing things. My time here has affected my senses and mentality.

And in those two weeks, no harm has yet been done to me. They feed us once a day, a bowl of tasteless soup and a piece of hard bread. A single glass of water, yet the cup and plate used are dirty.

But we had no choice but to put those dirty things in our mouths to survive.

While I was in this horrid place, I spent my time trying to use magic, preparing myself to escape soon. But it was futile as I still can't grasp how to use magic.

This place is one of the hundred hideouts of the Guardian organization. The novel and the game didn't tell where half of the secret bases are, and I'm not taking chances to guess that this could be one of the fifty I know.

The secret bases are used to conduct secret experiments to make bio-engineered living weapons that they can control.

One of these hideouts will give birth to a monster in the future.

"Noo!! Please don't!! Not me!! No no no no!!" A man screamed as he got dragged away by his feet by a big guy. He tried to crawl back, his fingers turning bloody as he repeatedly grated them against the hard floor of the dungeon.

I watched him get pulled to his demise. He screamed loudly on the other side of the room where he was taken, but after a while, it went quiet.

The man in red who dragged the guy was covered in blood, but it wasn't his.

He walked past, infuriated. "Another failure," he said as he left.

A few hours passed, and an old man came. With a simple wave of his finger, the bars of my cage opened, and all my chains became loose. But I felt like something was holding my entire body.

My body was frozen, stuck in an uncanny pose.

"Where are they bringing me?" was all I could think. I was nervous and scared.

As we entered a room, the old man carrying me halted. We were inside an empty room. Or at least that's how I saw it.

A man stood at the far front, wearing a mask without holes, just covering his face.

He gestured to the old man, who suddenly kneeled graciously. "Young master, the sacrifice is here," he announced.

Sacrifice? Who? Me?

I was horrified by what I heard. I may not know this old man, but the man in the mask—I knew him very well. Dancal Bevfred, the second son of the Bevfred family.

One of the early villains of the game, Dancal is a psychopathic person who enjoys seeing others in pain. He also uses other people, mostly commoners or slaves, as sacrifices to grow his tamed beast.

But where is his beast? The one he is so proud of... No matter where I looked, there was nothing. Not a shadow of it or anything.

Suddenly, I crash down. The strange power making me float before was gone, and I slammed hard on the floor with my sudden fall.

"—oof." Slowly, I stood up, and the old man held my head. "Such insolence. Stay put and keep your head down."

He forced me down. I kneeled while scanning my surroundings, trying to look for something that could help me escape this place.

"Let's hasten and finish the sacrifice ceremony. I still have more important things to do," Dancal said, turning around. "Follow me. The others are already waiting."

The old man then moved his fingers again, and I was suspended in the air once again. As I'm led down a long, dark corridor, the walls are lined with flickering torches, casting eerie, dancing shadows. Every step echoes in the silence, amplifying my growing dread. We pass numerous closed doors, each one potentially hiding another horror. The thought of what might lie behind them sends shivers down my spine.

Eventually, we arrive at a large, heavy door adorned with strange symbols. The old man raises his hand, and the door creaks open with a groan. Inside, a dimly lit chamber awaits. The air is thick with the smell of incense and something more sinister—a metallic tang that makes my stomach churn.

The room is filled with robed figures, their faces hidden by hoods. They murmur in an ancient language, their voices blending into a haunting chant. In the center of the room is a stone altar, stained with dark, dried blood. My heart pounds as I'm forced forward, towards the altar.

Dancal stands by the altar, his masked face turned towards me. "Place the sacrifice," he commands. The old man shoves me onto the cold stone, binding my wrists and ankles with leather straps. Panic surges through me, and I struggle against my restraints, but it's futile.

The altar glows, slowly growing stronger. From the altar, bony hands of different species—human, monkey, and other races—begin to grow, reaching for every inch of my body.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted, distracting the robed people as they turned towards the sound. A large part of the wall was destroyed.

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A giant dog-like creature made of mangled flesh was wreaking havoc. As soon as it saw the Guardians' members, it sprinted towards them with a roar, jumping and pouncing on them one by one in haste, not giving them time to chant their spells to fight back.

While this happened, I was trying to remove my binds.

Then, in a flash, the monster froze. Dancal had his hand stretched out, and with a single flick, the frozen beast shattered into a million pieces.

"So where were we... Oh right, we need new people to continue the sacrifice ceremony."

From the shadows, a man suddenly dropped, battered with wounds but holding a blade for the kill.

His blade was directed at Dancal's neck as he fell, slashing desperately while Dancal evaded easily, playing with the man.

"Come on, is that all you've got, you insect?" he mocked, angering the man more.

Dancal kicked the man in the face, which the man blocked. But the force threw him quite far, giving Dancal some good distance to chant a spell.

He pointed his finger like a gun and said, "Bull's eye," as a glowing sphere suddenly shot out from his finger. He knows chantless magic, thats what makes it hard to fight him in the game.

Unexpectedly, the man cut through it with a slash. Dancal, not expecting it, was shocked, but nevertheless, he stood his ground, not faltering.

"Where did you get that weapon?" Dancal asked.

Before the man could talk, Dancal appeared right beside him. "Never mind, I'll just take it from you."

His palm landed on the man's face, and within seconds, he broke the man's neck, his fingers squishing through his skull. "Disgusting," was all he said.

He turned back to me. "Now let's get back to it," he said, walking slowly towards me. "Wait here, okay~"

He childishly ran towards the hole created by the monster. While there was no one around, I was still untying my binds. By the time they came, I hadn't made any progress—I was still tied and helpless on the altar.

When the other members came to finish the job, I was reaching my breaking point.

I want to get out, I don't want to die yet.

I felt like I was about to go insane.

"Falgar, please help me."

Then I screamed, super loudly, unknowingly creating something marvelous as the flames burst forth within my surroundings. The altar burned, and so did my binds.

I didn't know what was happening. All I knew was that my entire body was lit on fire, and yet I didn't feel any burning sensation or pain.

Rather, I felt powerful.

"Wha—what is this?" one of the Guardians spoke in shock, his voice trembling with disbelief.

The heat was getting to them, forcing them to cover their entire bodies with mana to resist it. The flames danced wildly around me, an inferno of power that seemed to grow stronger with every passing second. The intensity of the fire illuminated the room in a fierce, golden light, casting sharp shadows on the walls and making the robed figures look like specters of dread.

Dancal was no exception. Though I couldn't see his face behind the mask, I could sense his amusement. The way he stood, the slight tilt of his head—it all suggested a sadistic glee. He was probably smiling right now, reveling in the chaos and the unexpected turn of events.

"Hey, get a new sacrifice. This girl is now mine," Dancal commanded, his voice echoing with authority and a touch of manic excitement.

The Guardians hesitated, looking at each other with uncertainty. The old man who had brought me here stepped forward, his face twisted in confusion and fear. "But, young master, the ritual—"

"Forget the ritual," Dancal snapped, cutting him off. "This girl has something far more interesting. I want her power for myself"

He approached me, his eyes gleaming with a predatory intensity. The heat from the flames seemed to part for him as he moved closer, as if recognizing his dominance. The other robed figures backed away, their fear palpable.

The fire within me surging in response to my growing panic. I didn't know how I was doing this, how I was controlling the flames, but I had to find a way to use this power to escape.

Dancal reached out, his hand hovering just above my head. "Such raw power," he mused, almost to himself. "Unrefined, but potent. You have no idea what you've stumbled into, do you?"

I glared at him, my fear mingling with defiance. "Stay away from me," I spat, trying to sound braver than I felt.

He chuckled, a dark, chilling sound. "Feisty. I like that." He raised his hand, preparing to channel some kind of spell, when suddenly there was a loud crash from the corridor behind him.

Everyone turned to see the source of the noise. Through the broken wall emerged a figure clad in dark, weathered armor. His face was obscured by a hood, and in his hand, he wielded a massive, glowing wand. The air around him seemed to crackle with raw energy.

"Who dares—" Dancal began, but the words died in his throat as the figure stepped forward, revealing a symbol etched into the chest plate of his armor. It was a mark of a sage, only the great 8 sages have this mark.

"A sage" one of the robed figures whispered in horror. "They're here."

The sage didn't waste any time. He moved with lethal precision, he chanted, using the power of wind to make wind blades cutting through the air with a deadly hum. The first Guardian to approach him fell with a single, swift strike, his body crumpling to the ground in a heap.

Panic erupted in the chamber. The robed figures scattered, some attempting to flee while others tried to summon spells to defend themselves. Dancal, however, stood his ground, his eyes narrowing behind the mask.

"So, you've come to die with the rest of them," he sneered, raising his hands to conjure a dark, swirling vortex of energy.

The sage met his gaze without flinching. "I felt a strong wave of magic, i'm glad i came here after my expedition" he said, his voice steady and filled with conviction. He charged forward, hus wand glowing and crackles with lightning as chains of lightning hits dancal.

The clash of their powers sent shockwaves through the room. I could feel the vibrations in the air, the sheer force of their confrontation making the flames around me waver and dance even more wildly. As they fought, I continued to struggle against my restraints, the fire within me burning hotter and hotter.

I stumbled off the altar, my body still enveloped in flames. I looked around, searching for an escape route amidst the chaos.

"Hey!" the sage called out, his voice cutting through the noise. "Over here!"

I saw him motioning to a side passage, a narrow corridor that seemed to lead away from the chamber. Without a second thought, I ran towards him, the flames parting before me like a living shield. He covered my escape, his magic flashing as he held off Dancal and the remaining Guardians.

As I reached the corridor, I turned back to see him locked in fierce combat with Dancal. Their powers clashed violently, the air thick with the scent of burning magic and iron. I wanted to help, to do something, but the intensity of their fight makes me brush off that idea.

A sage clad in armor, unlike the others who wore a robe, the 6th rank Raveese, was a fighter sage that can emgage in close and long range combat.

"Go!" he shouted, his voice filled with urgency. As soon as he said that, a glowing trail appeared, tracing in a certain direction.

"Just follow them!!" He shouted.

I nodded, as i fled down the corridor . The sounds of battle faded behind me, replaced by the steady rhythm of my pounding heart and the crackling of the flames that still surrounded me. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had to keep moving, to survive.

I am definitely leaving this place.