Welp, the cult sure got her good this time.

Hey, how did they change the destination of the transport point anyway? Didn’t they say it was fixed?

Who knows. We know little about the Central Node, or as the devil called it, the Dimensional Crack. Our understanding of this mysterious phenomenon came entirely from trial and error. Perhaps the Antediluvians knew something we don’t. Perhaps like how the devil somehow knew how to close the crack, this mysterious ‘Leader’ was clued into the crack’s secret and was able to manipulate it—at least enough to set the ultimate trap for his greatest threat.

Hmm… makes sense. And if Eleanor hadn’t gotten sick and the Klaine boy didn’t rush her out, many more students would have been trapped in the zone with her. Now, it’s just Eleanor, Donna, and the poor boy who probably got eaten by now.

Life’s shit ain’t it? One moment you’re a star pupil, the next, you’re bird shit. By the way, what’s happening outside the dungeon while all this is happening?

I can help shed light on this part.

Professor Dan Declan stands up and begins explaining.

After the news of the three students’ disappearance reached the staff, we ordered all students to be taken out of the dungeon and set up a search party to look for the missing children. Of course, as we didn’t know that the transport point in the rolling hills zone was the culprit, we used it like the bunch of dumbasses we were. Luckily for us, but unluckily for my master, the influence which was corrupting the small crack was gone by the time we got there so none of us knew where the three students went. As for Prince Xander, who started the entire situation, he was back in the wooden lodge among his classmates before stepping out of the dungeon like nothing happened.

When Duchess Gilda learned about her daughter’s second disappearance, she quickly sent letters to the duke and the royal palace, requesting help, before rushing to enter the Amber Dungeon herself. Ceases to say, things were chaotic for many months after. The school was shut down and the knights from the capital occupied the town’s streets, questioning anyone who acted remotely suspicious.

Yet Xander Xenos slipped right under our noses.

Indeed, Duke Ambrose. None of us suspected the boy who pretended to be a fool—to dire consequences.

The two girls return to the cave and Eleanor drops to the ground from exhaustion. Donna hurriedly puts her beside the bonfire and wipes her face with a handkerchief.

Eleanor looks at the dancing blaze and then glances up at the redhead. Donna’s face is pale and her eyes betray her fear, yet she works diligently without a word.

The world around them is dark and alien. Monsters can be lurking in every shadow. Eleanor takes out her gun and hands it to Donna.

“Miss Eleanor, this is…”

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“Take it. Use it if you see danger approaching.”

“Alright.” Donna grabs the gun by the nostril. “If a wolf comes, I’ll be sure to use this hammer to fend it off! But… isn’t this thing kind of small and clunky?”

“Oh for the love of… Do you know what a crossbow is?”

“Of course.”

“And do you know how to use it?”

“Grab the grip and squeeze the trigger?”

“And what do you see in your hand?”

“Emm… A metallic… grip and trigger?”

“And how do you supposed to hold it?”

“Like this?”

“Don’t point it at me, moron! No, don’t point it at yourself either! Keep your finger away from the trigger unless you plan on using it, woman!”

It takes a considerable amount of time for Donna to understand the concept of aim and shoot. By the time she’s done, Eleanor’s head is pounding from a headache and she can barely keep her eyes open.

“Miss Eleanor, let us pray. The Lord will surely guide us out of here.”

“Heretic—remember?”

“Ceram forgives all who repent and ask for his help… even a fallen angel such as yourself.”

“Ha! Ain’t that sweet of him. But what if I don’t want to be saved? Hmm? What if I’m perfectly happy being evil?”

“I… don’t think you’re a bad person, Miss Eleanor. All the talking of you saving people can’t be all false… can it?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Eleanor closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.

In the morning, Eleanor spread out her inventory to see what she has to survive in the badlands.

“Fifty-nine bullets, thirty grenades, four landmines, two knives, a rope, a handkerchief, a black suit, a black dress, and… one water canteen. Shit, I knew I shouldn’t have gotten rid of my camping gear.”

“Emm, Miss Eleanor… Why do you have all these items on your person? W-where were you storing them?”

“Trust me, freckles, you don’t wanna know. You think you do, but you really don’t wanna know.”

Donna looks at the gun in her hand and wipes her palms with a disgusted look on her face.

The morning sun in the dungeon is already scorching hot, so Eleanor rips her spare dress apart and makes a head scarf for herself and Donna. She also uses a thread to fix up her shirt which had a hole in the side from yesterday’s encounter with the two-headed vulture.

“Wow, you’re surprisingly very good at sewing, Miss. And I thought you were a spoiled noble’s daughter.”

“Yeah. Lived in a snowy village for a good few years. There was always something needing patching up.”

“Oh? This was before your adoption? Which village were you from, Miss Eleanor?”

Eleanor turns silent and drags Donna to the red river. She stabs her magic into the murky water and pulls out a large fish with a hard bug-like exoskeleton covering its body instead of scales. Donna looks at the ugly fish which is twisting and flapping in midair and gulps.

“W-what is this creature?”

“Breakfast.”