When Callista opened her eyes again, she noticed that it was now too quiet. She was in another place, so different from the one she was in earlier.

The scent of the ocean filled her nostrils while the strong wind hit her face, the sound of the waves hitting the ground could be heard. She stared down at the ocean from the cliff she was standing on with the waters just below her. When Callista was finally able to remember where this was, she quickly turned behind her.

"Die!"

Those were the last words she heard before she felt that she was pushed by a woman with a face she couldn't see but she knew better, that same feeling when this happened a few years ago came back like rain falling from the sky.

It was suffocating, a feeling she would never want to experience again. She stared up at the water as her body slowly sinked, her body unmoving.

She immediately felt the panic and fear enveloped her whole being, her body froze in dead, she felt like dying.

Why was the world cruel and unfair? Callista didn't know how she was able to get to shore but by the time her hand hit the ground she took deep breathes and gasps. She sat there catching her breathe, face down, and quiet.

Anastasia was clenching her fists "Please stop this already!" she exclaimed and turned to Hoshi who just blinked at her.

"Isn't this punishment too much just because we trespassed your territory? And why is it her out of all of us?" Hoshi tilted his head.

"That's unexpected. I thought you would like to see a villain being weak for once, according to the things she has done to you, she is selfish and arrogant. She doesn't think of anyone but herself, even the love she says she feels might be an obsession." his eyes looked at them as if they were being mocked.

"You don't think that she's really sincere, don't you?" he added.

When Callista was able to get her breathing back, she was now in a black space. She was in no specific place, just black.

Figures of people suddenly began creeping in behind her with sinister smiles on their faces, leaning in to whisper horrible words.

"Pathetic. Is this the Great Callista they were talking about?" the figure laughed "I see nothing but a pathetic bitch, loved less than her sister."

Another figure appeared on Callista's other side and seemed angry as it began shouting at her.

"I hate you! Why can't you just die! Die, die! I wish you weren't born! Why... Just why!"

Other figures began appearing behind her, shouting and saying malicious words and Callista seemed stone-cold, a face like she has given up.

"No one wants you here, you traitor! We don't need you! Leave!"

Those words echoed in that black space one by one as the figures suddenly began pushing Callista harshly from left to right as she stumbled.

"Monster!"

This time, she was not only just pushed but spears stabbed her from all kinds of directions, piercing her through the arm, leg, and the final one was pierced in her stomach from behind. She was now basically kneeling with blood dripping from her battle wounds.

Her head was low.

Anastasia couldn't just sit there and watch after witnessing Callista getting hurt without even crying out.

"Enough!" she shouted and glared at Hoshi "Everything you said is just what you see! That's why Callista told me to run, right? Because you were going through her memories when you had eye contact" she exclaimed

"Even if someone is evil and a villain, they do not deserve to be treated this way." they all stared at her with her bold words.

"So let her go! At once!" she commanded and stared directly at his eyes "It's nice to see youth trusting friends but how do you even know if she thinks of the same thing?" he sighed "Hey, man, why the hell are you so bitter?" Ivan commented with eyebrows furrowed.

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"You may be right that Callista was never kind and would even say mean words that get out of the line but she also didn't do anything to harm us. So labeling her as a villain may be too exaggerated." Denovan also stated with a smile.

"And you made a mistake. We wouldn't care even if she thinks the opposite, but she was always the one to say her true thoughts without thinking twice. You say that as if you expect her not to know how to escape." Ignis added and Hoshi was taken aback by these sudden words.

Are they saying that they never even doubted her? That's impossible. Even friends get suspicious of each other.

"You don't believe us?" he looked back at Ignis who had a blank look on his face "You better come out of there.." he trailed and turned to the woman inside "Callista!" he shouted her name.

Although it was faint, his words were clear and loud to her ears. The spears stabbing her arms and legs disappeared like sparks popping as she held the spear stabbing her in the stomach and pulled it out of her body.

"That's impossible..!"

Hoshi's expressionless face earlier showed a look of surprise as he stared at Callista's grinning face "Ha—How did she..?" he was stuttering in shock.

"You underestimated her too much..." Ivan said as they all stared at Callista looking around as if searching for something when she suddenly looked straight at them. Hoshi was still stunned as no one had ever gotten out of his illusion.

'How is this possible!?' Hoshi thought.

Imagine his shock when Callista suddenly started walking in their direction with the spear in her hand.

"I must say, it's almost impossible for me to escape this with magic but you just gave me the right tools to do so" she said with a villainous smirk on her face before she raised the spear and threw it directly at them. It went through the barrier like glass shattering as Hoshi took a step back.

"Gotcha" Callista grinned and gave one final blow on the barrier for it to fully shatter into pieces, the fog disappearing at the same time. "I've got to admit, I didn't enjoy anything you showed me earlier..." she said and tilted her head at Hoshi with a smile

"You... What are you?" Hoshi asked with his eyes filled with astonishment "What do you mean? I'm a mage" she said and flinched by Anastasia's sudden hug from her side "Wha— What's gotten into you? Let go" Callista said as she tried putting some distance between them.

"Don't do something like that again!" Callista wasn't able to move by Anastasia's glare at her "Okay. I understand now move." Anastasia loosened her grip as she was softly pushed by her "Callista, about what we saw inside..." Ivan started but closed his mouth when Callista turned to him with squinted eyes.

"I would rather not answer that" hearing her answer, all of them looked at each other.

"I would rather know why you forced us here. You can simply talk to us and get us out of your territory, but you chose to push us to this valley. Let me remind you that I do not appreciate you making us realize that we should know that not everybody is nice. Not everybody sees you as a friend, it was a coincidence that I was chosen as a villain." she stated and looked straight at Hoshi.

Seeing her determined eyes he can't help but sigh "You're right. You have already realized that I'm the ninth hero who defeated the tyrant God" he said as his face gloomed.

"After we defeated him and were given the power of immortality, the others lost their sanity one by one. People started saying that God had cursed us. One was my friend, he started acting differently as if someone had possessed him. He ruled the Southern Kingdom before. I didn't know why he did that or what was he thinking but he took my lover and made her one of the women in his Palace of Pleasure" he said reminiscing every moment.

"Palace of Pleasure? You mean that Palace that was worse than a pleasure house?" Denovan asked in shock as Hoshi nodded.

"That Palace was known for its sex slaves and my lover was one of them. I was blinded by anger and tried persuading her to leave but that man already had his hand around her neck. He was blackmailing her that he would kill me. As you know, I'm one of the weakest in all ten heroes, I can't even wield a sword even if it costs my life." he let out a bitter laugh.

"I casted an illusion inside the entire Palace that killed every last one of them there, including that man. By the time I searched for her inside, the Palace filled with corpses, she was already dead by a stab wound. I had the conclusion that she was fighting with the man who I once called a friend and stabbed her when he had gone berserk. It seems that the bad luck from killing the tyrant god was true." he said.

"So you lived here by yourself since then and made the trespassers see that not everyone who you thought was your friend was an ally?" Hoshi nodded at Callista's words.

"You still didn't answer my question" Hoshi smiled at her words "A man came here saying that five people will wander and would trespass. He said we both might find something interesting." he said remembering that man who was in mid-air.

"What did he look like?" Anastasia asked "He was wearing a cloak and he had messy hair, he had green eyes and a big body. He was flying in mid-air when I saw him." all of them looked at each other.

"May I ask if he sounded cocky?" Anastasia asked, one person coming into mind "Yes, he did" all of them couldn't help but facepalm "Just what is Professor Dan thinking?" Ivan muttered while shaking his head.

They all turned to Callista when she suddenly made a gagging sound. Hoshi also made a defense position in alarm "A large group is coming near. They also do not look like allies" he informed.

"It must be the Xayahs. I could recognize that stinking smell from anywhere." she waved her hand in the air to get rid of the smell "What?! Sir Hoshi, can you make that fog again?" Anastasia asked in a hurry.

"About that... I can't"

"What!?"