Hazel’s POV:

"The young master gave me a job before we got here: to retrieve a briefcase. He thought he might be under a curse and that any hostile contact wouldn’t end well for him. He was confident there’d be nothing hostile, but he wasn’t being naive. So while he led the others on, I went and got an important case for him."

"It’s strange how he seems to know everything. He had never been here before, yet he still knew there was a briefcase lying around somewhere. Still, it doesn’t matter... I just have to retrieve it and make the young master happy."

"While I’m here, the young master is likely trying to secure some time alone with Emerald, as he doesn’t want to deal with that witch before Charlotte. Failure isn’t an option."

Hazel moved from room to room toward a massive hall filled with spiders. Her movements were quiet and subtle, almost as though she didn’t exist. Before long, she stumbled onto something that made her heart skip a beat.

"But I thought...?"

She muttered in awe at the hall before her. Countless spiders. Every one of them towering at least seven feet high.

No hostile creatures. That was what they’d been told. And yet these monsters might wipe out the entire cadet squad without breaking a sweat. But she didn’t waver.

This was her mission to fulfill, and she wasn’t stopping. Besides, all the spiders were facing the other side of the hall and looked almost dormant.

Her eyes surveyed the place and found a human among it all. Dark hair with a noble appearance, clutching tightly to their thighs, shivering as though staring deep into the abyss.

This was familiar. This was what happened to those who wanted to level up before their time.

’This must be the person the young master mentioned. Where’s the case?’

It only took a few glances. There it was, right beside the trembling man. Hazel didn’t waste a moment weaving through the crowd, maneuvering around the spiders, closing the distance.

Grabbing the case without alerting him was going to be the problem. He was a black mage, Brainless level, which meant one wrong move, one startled cry, and she’d be dealing with all of these spiders at once. That wasn’t a fight she wanted.

A breath. She steadied herself and tapped into her illusion magic, crafting a replica of the case so convincing it filled every one of the man’s senses. To him, it was still there. It had never moved.

The instant she grabbed it, the spiders stirred. Her chest tightened, and she turned, bracing, but they weren’t moving toward her. They were moving toward the other entrance.

"Shit!" a voice snapped, and barely a breath later the whole building lurched, shaking with the weight of something collapsing.

That voice. Hazel clenched her teeth, irritation flaring... she knew exactly who it belonged to.

"Young master!"

Gripping the case firmly, she turned and ran. The spiders were already moving in a different direction, back the way she’d come.

’The spiders saw the young master, so they’ve all likely turned hostile. Did one of them attack him? Was it that witch’s doing... Emerald?’

At the entrance, a massive hole had been punched into the ground. She caught Charlotte mid-leap into it, with Emerald standing at the edge. Rage coursed through her immediately, and she groaned, teeth grinding with irritation.

"I’ll kill you. You fucking bitch."

Emerald turned to her with a knowing smile.

"Oh, well look who it is. The murderer’s brainwashed lackey."

Emerald’s smile widened, becoming more daunting.

"Don’t worry... your master is probably dead by now. I won’t leave you hanging. I intend to kill you as well."

Instinct moved her hand to her revolver before she remembered; she hadn’t brought it. It didn’t matter. She charged toward Emerald anyway, irritation driving her forward, until the spiders spilled out between them.

That little distraction was enough. Emerald slipped away, and from where Hazel stood, it was already too late; too late to give chase and too late to get clear of the spiders.

Weaving through them seemed like the only option, and she managed a spider or two, but the sheer number overwhelmed her. The case was gone before she could hold on.

"No, no... this can’t happen."

The briefcase left her reach, and her expression went with it. Not frustration, not panic, but something colder. Her whole face shifted, and just like that, she looked completely heartless.

"I will kill that bitch."

— 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Leomaris’s POV:

Leomaris hadn’t even settled before Charlotte followed with another strike of the same force, shattering the ground under him and driving him clean through it.

Blood. He coughed it up and let the question settle over him. Where had it all gone wrong? He’d had everything in his hands. And yet here he was, choking on his own blood, as he’d lost from the start.

’I just hope Hazel managed to get the briefcase. That alone would be a relief.’

Charlotte stared down at him, and he stared back with his golden eyes. He remembered when hers had been full of someone who truly cared.

Now there was nothing but loathing in them, and because of what she’d done, he couldn’t move without feeling like his body would tear itself apart.

’This feeling... this sense of helplessness. I know it all too well.’

It was his past life wearing his skin again. Bedridden and broken, a body that threatened to give out at any given moment.

’To think I’d end up in the same situation once again.’

’No. I can’t...’

As if on cue, Emerald appeared from nowhere, Einstein in tow. The black mage looked as helpless as Leomaris felt. She took her place beside Charlotte on the floor above, her eyes finding Leomaris and settling there, like she was looking straight through him.

With a daunting smile, she threw Einstein down before him.

"It’s a pity you’re still alive, but also a joy. This way, you’ll suffer before you die."

She laughed at the top of her lungs.

"This is what I’ve been waiting for. Why I joined the Unholy Priest... even why I became a cadet. Just to watch you die in the most helpless way possible."

Her attention shifted toward Charlotte.

"I’d like to watch you die... but I don’t think my friend here would approve. Unlike you, I actually consider other people’s emotions."

Leomaris sneered and pulled himself away from Einstein. Emerald waved down at him.

Charlotte didn’t say much, already using her ability to lift the rubble and debris, sealing the collapsed path above him shut.

"Shit."

Everything went pitch black, and whatever it triggered in Einstein was immediate. His body shivered, then convulsed, thrumming with something violent.

"Einstein is a black mage, and my presence is driving him into hostility. That means he will absorb the malevolent energy within the Citadel at a faster rate and become a berserker."

Leomaris forced himself up. Einstein was on his feet the same instant, as though the darkness had pulled them both upright.

His movements were slow, and his bones looked almost shattered, but he stood his ground all the same.

"I’m not dying here, you bastard."