Going back to the time where Anastasia was transported away from the dungeon, she found herself waking up inside a mysterious lodge where anyone could tell that it is being used for research and forbidden studies due to the fact that there are stolen papers from the GEO laying about on top of the shelves. To add to the mystery, she noticed that this certain lodging is a dungeon, although by the looks of it, someone, a human, is currently using it as a habitat.

“This is certainly unexpected. Why is the end point of the teleportation spell tied up in this place…”

It seems like due to Anastasia’s sensitivity in magic, she unconsciously tapped on the residues of Alice’s teleportation spell which also goes to say how potent and adaptive Anastasia is when magic is the subject. After a quick rundown of the hut dungeon, Anastasia decides to go outside, however, she feels a familiar presence nearby. Someone she won’t even mistake by anyone else. She then looks outside the window, and there she saw her beloved Master Zephyr talking to the old lady who seems to be the one managing the hut dungeon.

‘Master Zep! Don’t tell me…this is all part of your preparations.’

Her eyes showed anticipation and excitement as she decided on her own that the following events are all a weave of Zephyr’s master plans, which is of course, non-existent. Her red eyes then widened as she saw her beloved Master take a quick glance at her direction which also made Anastasia think that he knows that she’s there.

‘Master Zep, are you telling me to not interfere for now? Very well, know that your loyal servant Anastasia is the only one who can understand what you’re talking about even with just a glance.’

Unfortunately for her, she’s wrong.

As Zephyr and the old lady finally depart, Anastasia walks out of the hut and carefully scans her surroundings.

‘Fritz Forest…I’m not that far from the others. But, what should I do now? Master Zep, please give me more of your guidance.’

As she thought of those words, one of Zephyr’s artifacts made its way towards Anastasia. It was a winged necklace that has a consciousness of its own, named Cantallone, plundered inside a blood ranked dungeon.

“Cantallone, why are you not on Master Zep’s side? Wait, did he let you out to reconcile with me? I am also feeling the presence of the old lady coming back here.”

Anastasia looks towards the direction where Zephyr and the old lady went, she then turns her gaze back to the necklace with eyes of realization.

“I see. Master Zep wants me to take care of this one issue. That means he probably let himself inside the trap of that old lady.”

As she breathes calmly, Anastasia finally leaks out her overwhelming magical presence.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

–Alice’s perspective–

‘Haah, that’s one less thing to worry about. Now that my pet’s hunger is resolved for today, I should get back to my studies–.’

As if she was startled by something, Alice’s eyes widens as she turns around to see if she is being followed.

“.....”

She looks around, agitated for some reason.

“Is someone there..? Does anyone need something from an old lady like myself..?”

Alice gulps and squints her eyes. She then turns around once again to return to her lodge whilst grasping her chest. It seems like she’s still feeling some kind of panic for an unknown reason.

‘W-what the hell am I feeling? Why does it feel like someone’s been tailing me after I made the young hunter enter the dungeon?’

After a few steps, she felt yet another bad premonition. Though this time, it’s in the form of a strong magical presence near her hut as if it’s inviting itself to be known.

“No…this overwhelming presence…it can only belong to that guild!”

Alice begins to run towards the location of the presence while equipping some unknown artifacts. She knows that one day, she will have to face retribution from the hunters, but it’s still too early for it and the hunter she is about to face is someone she does not expect to be the one to find her.

As she closes in, Alice slows down and pretends to be an innocent old hag whilst hiding her hands behind her back to conceal her ring artifact.

“Oh..? Hello there, beautiful young hunter. What makes you travel to a place like–”

“You can drop your act. Master Zep has already long found out about your identity.”

“..!!”

Alice squints her eyes, though she does not expect for her act to work with a high ranking hunter, she is still surprised by how direct this one is. She’s also curious about the one she is calling her master.

“I see…I don’t know what kind of trail I left to be found out like this, but looks like it’s finally my time to answer for my sins. And to a powerful mage no less…”

Anastasia points at Alice with two fingers, which then turns dark and solid like an obsidian.

“His expectations, I will not disappoint. You will go down here and now, resist if you must.”

In response, Alice grits her teeth and shows her hands, equipped with two rings and porcelain gloves. She also takes out a vial.

“Then I shall resist. I’m not the weak woman I was back then!”

What she said is a fact. In just a few months, her knowledge about magic and alchemy has increased incredibly due to her mad passion and unhinged experiments. Her past potential and sizable magic presence while she’s in her prime is still there. Moreover–

“With this elixir mixed with unaging monster cells, I shall temporarily regain my youth!”

Without further ado, Alice gulped down the whole content of the vial, however, Anastasia did not wait and attacked while she’s in the process of drinking it.

BAM!

Two huge spears of dark ice strikes through Alice’s position, due to its sheer force, a minor explosion occurred, making the surroundings inconspicuous as smoke of dust enveloped the area of effect.

Anastasia waits for the result before proceeding with her next course of action. She then felt a new amount of magical presence.

“What’s the rush? We’ll take our time.”

A voice of a young, professional lady can be heard emerging from the smoke. As Alice reveals herself, she was indeed back to her younger version, where she can fully make use of her mana deposits in order to match Anastasia. To top it off, the whole area is her own personal garden by which she can utilize traps and move freely about.

“We’re now evenly matched!”

“.....”

Anastasia was speechless for a moment as she closed her eyes. After some time, she reopened her eyes, staring at Alice like she’s belittling her.

“Don’t get the wrong idea about me, or us. You’re nowhere near the level of [Grim Fate].”

She then clasps her hands as it turns dark like obsidian up to the shoulder level.

“Nothing will change. My mission shall be carried out without fail. In the name of my Master.”