Without a clear path to escape the dungeon, Eleanor and Donna follow the river south. They track across the red wasteland, occasionally hiding from the two-headed vultures flying overhead. The moisture from the river keeps them from succumbing to the unrelenting heat, and Eleanor manages to use a water spell to purify the red stream, so they have no issues with food and water.

The biggest problem they face is Eleanor’s limited mana pool. Eleanor was born mana less, and her powers came from siphoning powers from her victims and admirers. In a barren, alien land, the only source of mana she has access to is Donna Day.

Eleanor convinces Miss Day to share her power, but the priestess from the north can only produce so much mana in a day, and the true extent of the dangers in the dungeon is still unknown to them. One wrong move, one careless moment, and it’ll be all over, just like what happened to the poor fourth-year student president, Kaiden Kline.

After several days and nights of journeying, they come across a structure that makes them pause.

“Was this... a village?” Donna asks, her fingers touching a broken wooden door. All around them are the ruins of a village made of bricks and sandstones - a clear sign that there was once a civilization there. “Why is there a village in a dungeon? And... what happened to all the people?”

Eleanor casts her eyes around. She studies the ruins, walking in and out of several broken-down buildings until she and Donna enter what appears to be a place of worship. Light beams through a hole in the ceiling, shining on a strange symbol at the center of the hall. Unknown runic symbols are etched on the walls, along with faded pictures. Eleanor looks closer and sees a picture depicting odd orange-skinned humanoid beings bowing down at a fiery snake in the sky.

“I don’t recognize any of this,” Eleanor mutters. Her eyebrows twist together. “It’s not from this realm... or any realms I’ve... “

Eleanor shakes her head and continues exploring the village. When night falls, she and Donna take shelter in one of the houses.

“Miss Eleanor...” Donna starts, “...could it be that this village was built by people who were trapped in this zone like us?”

“No, this place doesn’t look like a shelter. It’s... local.”

“Local? You mean it belonged to people or some kind of intelligent creatures who were born in the dungeon?”

“I’m not so sure this is just a dungeon, freckles.” Eleanor looks out the window. Her ruby eyes look far away into the distance. “I’m not so sure about anything anymore... about this place... about this realm...”

The two girls continue to walk along the winding river. Their clothes are dirtied with sweat and dust, and their shoes are threatening to fall apart. After two weeks of wandering with no end in sight, they spot something in the distance that fills them with more questions.

“Is that a village?” Donna asks again. But this time, they’re not looking at an abandoned ruin, but a living settlement with smoke snaking up to the sky. “Miss Eleanor, look, there are people! We’re saved!” Donna cries out happily.

“No.” Eleanor squints as she observes several black dots moving out of the distant village and heading toward them. She hands the gun to Donna and takes out several of her explosives.

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“T-this is...”

“If we can see them, then it means they can see us. And I doubt the natives are too happy to see two foreigners wandering in from the desert.” Eleanor says.

Donna turns to look at the people approaching them at high speed on their horses. As the men get closer, she can see now that they have otherworldly orange skin with red stripes decorating their bodies.

“Get ready, freckles,” Eleanor says. “We’re about to make first contact. Will this go the way of Columbus or Captain Kirk in anyone’s guess.” She smirks.

“Who and who?”

Donna’s body is shaking as the men draw closer. The men are large and imposing with their otherworldly orange skin wrapped in clothes made from bones and scales, and the horses they’re riding are covered in scales instead of hair. They stop at a distance away and shout in an unknown language. Eleanor grips her bombs tight, ready for a fight.

Then one of them comes forward and speaks in a broken common language.

“You. From stars?” he points at the sky.

“Yes, we are,” Eleanor says.

“Come. Elder. Speak.”

He gestures for the girls to follow them.

“Miss Eleanor, what should we do?”

“Play along for now, but keep your gun at the ready. No, don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you’re going to shoot, you moron!”

The girls follow the natives into their village. There are women and children who share the orange skin and red stripes as the men. They all look at the two strangers with curious gazes. Eleanor and Donna are led to a large hut near the center of the village. They enter and find themselves face to face with a white-bearded man who also stands out from the local. He has a bad back and is coughing black spit when they enter.

“So the Towers sent in another sacrifice,” the old man says. “And two young girls as well, those damn fools! Those goddamn maniacs! Cough! Cough!”

The old man curses and spits, and when he finally calms down, he introduces himself as a researcher from the Umber Towers.

“So this zone is the abyss?! The uncharted area of the dungeon?” Donna’s eyes widen with fear.

Eleanor had a feeling this must be the case, but hearing that the old researcher has been trapped inside the dungeon since he was a young man gives her pause.

“Were there others like us?” Eleanor asks.

“Plenty.” The old man looks down with sad eyes. “Far too many fools like us. Mages, knights, fearless explorers—they all died like dogs in this hell.”

“I see.” Eleanor pauses, then she suddenly grabs the old man by the shoulders and looks into his eyes with her red iris. Donna screams, but she ignores it. “You know a way out,” she declares. “A dangerous path that has taken the lives of many brave souls. Tell me about it.”

“You’re a fool, like the rest of them! You may think you’re hot shit out there—some powerful genius mage. But I’m telling you, lass, in here… in here you’re nothing but a stupid little girl!”

“Oh, you misunderstand, old fateful one. We’re not mages. I and my associate here are priestesses.” Eleanor gives him a warm and radiant smile.

“Wha—?”

“And as long as the light of the lord shines upon us, we shall never falter in the face of danger. So have faith, ye lost lamb. Caram never abandoned you.”

Eleanor gives him a warm smile before stretching her wings and sending healing magic into his body. The man widens his eyes in awe, as the poison that has accumulated in him over the years is burned away by the holy light.

“The lord… the lord has never…”

“Yes, old fateful one, it was by his love that kept you safe for all these years, and it is by his grace that sends us to you now. So be not afraid and embrace his undying light.”

Eleanor’s kind smile and bell-like voice make the old man shed a tear. His cracked skin becomes smoother, and his haggard face turns ten years younger. His brittle bones toughen, and the pain in his joints fades away.

“It’s a miracle…” the old man whispers.

The devil smiles when she sees her bullshit working its charm. She uses the opportunity to siphon the old researcher’s man. Donna, who is connected to Eleanor, immediately understands what she is doing. The girl is speechless—not knowing how to even react.

After Eleanor’s done healing him, the old man spills out his life story and all the attempts people had tried to escape the dungeon throughout the decades. She pays attention when he mentions how several people enter ‘the death valley’ and never returned.

“You hear that, freckles? There’s a way out, after all.”

Donna looks at Eleanor with the eyes of a dead fish, before releasing her hand, allowing the devil to fall face-first to the ground.