Certainly, the security guard who had just brought the letter earlier looked at Eric with wide eyes.

His expression showed that he had no recollection at all.

The security guard standing next to him was also surprised by this situation and quickly questioned his colleague.

“What are you talking about? You just brought it now.”

“Me? What?”

Seeing the confused security guard who seemed to have no memory at all, Eric closed his mouth.

‘Hypnosis? Or divine arts? Or perhaps magic?’

Eric’s expression became serious.

‘No, more importantly, I need to find Alicia first.’

[This is the timeline separator]

The abandoned temple located in the north of the capital was originally known as the base and tomb of Sebier, the mage who brought about the Dark Age 500 years ago.

After the founding of the Britannia Empire, they tried to develop the land, but whether due to a curse or not, crops intentionally planted would not grow, and buildings erected would collapse for no reason, earning it the name “Land of Death”.

The last building constructed was a small temple, but it also collapsed about 10 years ago, and since then, it had been left as ruins.

Alicia lay motionless on the innermost altar of that collapsed temple.

When the man in the black robe placed his hand close to the back of Alicia’s hand, an indecipherable black pattern appeared.

It was a shape of intertwined swords and snakes.

“How is it?”

“Just a moment. Quiet.”

The moment the identical pattern that appeared on the back of the man’s hand pulsed black.

Pababababak…!

Golden sparks flew.

“Oh my.”

“That just now-”

“We were a step too late.”

“How on earth-”

“Indeed.”

The man in the black robe lowered his hand in frustration but soon grinned again.

“This much should make it interesting.”

“You seem to have said that every time until now.”

“Did I?”

“What are you going to do? Are you going to withdraw like this?”

“Can’t be helped. Even I can’t handle this with my current body.”

“I… suppose so.”

“Well, it’s just a matter of order, so it doesn’t matter if we do it later. Let’s take care of other things first.”

“As you wish.”

The two men stood up without hesitation.

“Are we leaving her like this? We’ll be in trouble if something happens to this woman.”

“That’s why I called her fiancé.”

“But you released monsters? And in large numbers at that.”

“Ah, right. I did. But it’s fine. Someone is watching over her.”

“?”

The man in the black robe grinned at the puzzled man.

“Didn’t you feel it?”

“No, not at all.”

“Tsk tsk. You still have a long way to go.”

The man in the black robe clicked his tongue and scolded, but the other man’s expression remained unchanged.

Finding it uninteresting, the man in the black robe pouted and turned around.

“Well then, we have no more business here, so let’s get out of here.”

“What’s this about? Aren’t you going to watch how long the one you called will last?”

“Not really. I don’t care whether he survives or dies.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if he dies?”

“That would be boring.”

“Ah, then is it better if he survives?”

“That would be troublesome.”

“……”

Seemingly annoyed, the man finally closed his mouth.

“What are you doing? I said let’s go quickly.”

“Understood.”

The two left the temple, leaving Alicia behind on the altar.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Where am I?”

Alicia was endlessly walking through a dark space.

The air felt heavy all around her body, but surprisingly, it wasn’t bad for breathing.

At first, she thought it was an empty space, but as she gradually became accustomed to the darkness, it seemed like a large temple.

“Eric will be worried, I need to go back quickly.”

“It’s alright, child.”

Suddenly, someone spoke to Alicia.

The voice seemed to be coming from both near and far, feeling as if it was heard directly in her head.

It was a strange feeling, but not frightening, so Alicia calmly asked.

“Who are you?”

“It’s a secret for now. But we’ve met before. Just for a moment.”

“We’ve met before? But I don’t remember a voice that sounds like this.”

“Of course not. We didn’t talk then. In fact, I almost died by your hand.”

“Ah-. But I don’t seem to remember that either.”

The voice Alicia heard seemed to laugh.

“Of course not. I’ve been waiting for 500 years, and it was a very impressive meeting.”

“500 years-”

Alicia tilted her head in confusion.

“But where is this place?”

“It’s inside you.”

“What?”

“Even so, it’s not good for you to be here.”

“?”

“So I hoped we wouldn’t meet here. Well, it would have been too much for your powers yet.”

The tone was mixed with a sigh. But it was kind and seemed genuinely concerned.

So Alicia was curious.

“Really, who are you?”

“Me? You’ll know soon.”

“Soon? When?”

“Even if I tell you now, you won’t remember anyway. That’s the kind of magic it is.”

“Magic?”

Thinking that something extraordinary was indeed happening to her, Alicia became frightened.

“There’s no need to be so scared. More importantly, there’s someone looking for you, isn’t it time for you to go back?”

“What?”

“I hope you’ll endure well.”

As Alicia was about to ask the reason for those words tinged with a sigh, she found herself unable to speak as if something was blocking her.

No matter how hard she tried, her mouth just moved without even a small sound coming out. As Alicia was becoming flustered, that voice was heard again.

“Go back quickly. I can help you that much.”

With those words as the last, Alicia suddenly felt her vision brighten and opened her eyes wide.

[This is the timeline separator]

“What happened, Kib?”

“I’m sorry. I was distracted for a moment.”

The orange-haired man called Kib spoke as if ashamed, and the person sitting in front sighed.

Then Kib added as if making an excuse.

“I thought it would be fine since she was with Count Russell.”

“……”

“Besides, they were so lovey-dovey it was hard to keep watching with both eyes open.”

“Kib.”

Though the tone was gentle as if admonishing, Kib’s body shrank a little at the strong charisma.

“I’m sorry. Count Russell stopped by the security guard post, sent a message to the 2nd Knight Division, and then headed north of the capital. Oh, just in case, I intercepted the message.”

“You intercepted the message and you’re still here doing what?”

“I was about to go. I thought I should report first.”

“Kib. The person you should report to now is not me, but Commander Russell.”

“Acting Commander, right?”

“He’s also the Commander of the 2nd Knight Division. There’s no problem with the title.”

“Ah. But Russell… Commander hasn’t received his assignment yet, has he?”

“Kib. Let’s talk about that later. Quickly follow him. If something happens, we won’t be able to handle the aftermath.”

“Understood.”

As it was an order from the commander who had protected the Zero Knight Division the longest, Kib reluctantly answered and immediately left the place.

Then, along with his colleague, the divine arts user Noah who was waiting outside, he began to rush towards the north of the capital.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Ungh.”

With a terrible headache, Alicia slowly sat up, holding her head.

Her head was still ringing, so she sat blankly for a moment with her eyes closed, pressing her temples hard.

Behind her, a blue butterfly fluttered and flew away, disappearing.

After a while, when the headache seemed to subside a bit, Alicia opened her eyes and slowly looked around.

“Where is this? Why am I here?”

Alicia looked around in confusion.

She got up and walked around the temple, examining it carefully.

Although there were collapsed stone pillars and walls scattered about, grass grew and flowers bloomed where sunlight entered, giving it a mystical feeling.

However, the shapes of the grass and flowers seemed familiar yet slightly altered, making them both familiar and strange.

“Is this a ruin? Or a collapsed temple?”

She walked a bit further into a brighter area.

Though still inside the building, the ceiling had collapsed, allowing light to pour in, making it seem bright.

“What on earth happened?”

She had clearly been standing under the awning of the plaza cafe, waiting for Eric.

Even after he disappeared from sight, the rain continued to fall, and she was blankly staring at the falling rain when Eric approached, saying they should go back quickly.

But.

“Was it Eric?”

The face of the man in Alicia’s memory was clearly Eric’s, but upon reflection, it felt unfamiliar.

Even as her face scrunched up from the throbbing headache, Alicia tried to recall her memories.

“I’m sure I saw a red light.”

The moment she recalled that light, goosebumps spread all over Alicia’s body.

Rubbing her arms, she tried to think rationally.

“Was I kidnapped? But why is there no one here?”

She looked around.

Various odds and ends caught her eye as if people had been there, but they all seemed long abandoned.

There were no signs of animals like birds either.

Feeling desolate as if left alone in this world, Alicia’s movements became more cautious than before.

“Let’s try to get outside first.”

Thinking of Eric who would be worried about her, Alicia became anxious and spotted a thin metal rod lying on the ground, which she picked up.

“This should be enough to use as a weapon.”

Gripping the metal rod tightly, Alicia carefully left the temple.

[This is the timeline separator]

Kueek-

Eric shook off the black blood of the monster staining his sword.

He had lost count of how many he had faced.

He had dealt with monsters in the plaza, at the opera house, and for investigation, but it was the first time he had faced so many monsters alone.

“Damn it.”

He wiped the blood off his face while muttering lowly.

He was starting to get out of breath.

Still, with this many monsters appearing, he couldn’t stop moving even for a moment, worried about Alicia who should be somewhere around here.

‘It might be better if she’s with the kidnapper right now.’

At least the kidnapper would try to protect Alicia until they got what they wanted.

Comforting himself with that thought, he cut down another monster.

‘Allen should have arrived by now, why is there no news?’

Eric took a deep breath and glanced in the direction he had come from.

At that moment, monsters rushed at him simultaneously from the front and both sides.

He swung his sword widely from the right, cutting down the monsters that rushed from the right and front, but couldn’t reach the monster on the left.

As Eric was about to lower his body to dodge, the monster collapsed right in front of him.

“?”

The orange-haired man, Kib, who had cut down the monster, shook off the monster’s blood from his sword and turned his head towards Eric.

As soon as their eyes met, Kib greeted Eric with a friendly smile.

“Oh my, what a coincidence. We meet here of all places, Commander Russell?”