They moved forward slowly. Ken would have liked to blame Daion and his reckless altruism, but in truth, Aelith was doing an admirable job carrying the wounded boy. From time to time, Daion stopped for a few seconds to readjust the tourniquet as the boy groaned in pain.
Several hours passed without the scenery changing much, aside from mountains that appeared and disappeared in the distance. Brut and Amelie kept a wary eye on the demi-humans marching beside Daion, always alert for any sudden move. Suddenly, Marui raised his hand to get the group's attention.
The canyon stretched out before them: an open wound in the earth, as if torn apart from within, its edges ringed with jagged peaks. They exchanged brief glances before proceeding cautiously. Daion made sure every so often that the demi-humans were still following close behind.
Marui led them to a ledge. Before them yawned a drop of at least two hundred meters, its bottom littered with sharp rocks.
"I don't suppose anyone here can make us fly down, right?" Daion asked with a flicker of hope. The invoked shook their heads.
Marui sighed and waved again to draw their attention, then pointed to the right: in the distance, a narrow rocky path could be seen, likely carved out by villagers before the catastrophe.
Looking that way, they noticed the fortress rising in the distance. A titanic structure, with white spire-like towers that seemed to shine even in the gray, corrupted air. Time had not beaten it; from its windows and gates sprouted small plants, something impossible in such a dead land.
Daion swallowed hard. As they descended, the air grew heavier. The invoked's gems began to glow, adapting their bodies to the new atmosphere—but the soldiers and demi-humans had no such advantage. Sweat started to run down their skin.
It was still bearable, so Ken ignored it as long as no one collapsed. Daion silently agreed: if they sent the others back, they'd be stranded in corrupted territory.
The castle loomed larger and larger, until it swallowed the horizon. Ken stopped abruptly. Amelie and Brut glanced at him in confusion. Before them lay a green meadow, sprouting abruptly where the corrupted land ended—a jarring contrast.
"What's going on?" one of the soldiers asked, drenched in sweat. The heavy air was too much for the natives of this world. Ken silenced him with a glare, then looked at Daion, who seemed just as puzzled.
"There's another atmosphere," Ken said.
Daion raised a brow. Looking closely, he made out a faint shimmering wall in the air, almost invisible except to trained eyes.
"If we step in, we don't know what will happen."
"It can't be worse than this," Aelith countered. Ken sighed and ignored her.
Daion looked at the humans: their breathing grew more strained by the minute. The air wasn't just dense—it was laced with ash and rot, poisoning them slowly.
"We have to go in," Daion declared.
"Wait—we need to make sure it's safe," Brut corrected him. "I once heard of a zone like this that disabled the gloves. The invoked suffocated. The alpha creatures are dangerous."
Daion gritted his teeth. Behind him, people were starting to panic. One of the soldiers clutched at his throat, choking. Even Aelith grabbed Daion by the jacket, her eyes pleading silently.
"At least let them go first…" Daion suggested.
"Of course, use them as guinea pigs. I like your style," Ken said, half mocking, half serious.
"I didn't—" Daion didn't finish. The choking soldier let out a scream and bolted toward the meadow.
Ken stepped aside, letting him through. The man passed the barrier and collapsed, sneezing. A second later, he lifted his head and drew in a deep, clean breath. The others watched anxiously until, little by little, he calmed down.
"It's clean," he announced with a weak smile.
A sigh of relief swept through the soldiers, who hurried to cross into the safe zone. Daion motioned for the demi-humans to follow, and they obeyed. Aelith clung to his clothes but finally gave in and crossed as well.
The invoked exchanged looks. Brut's warning still hung in the air.
"I think the least experienced should go first…" Ken proposed with a crooked smile.
"I think a leader should take the risks for his team," Daion shot back, his voice hard.
Marui shook his head and simply stepped forward. Crossing the boundary, he held his breath for a few seconds. His glove gave a faint glow, then dimmed again. He inhaled calmly, and after a tense moment, gave a thumbs-up.
Ken nodded and followed, with Amelie and Brut close behind. Daion waited a few seconds before stepping through.
The air struck him instantly—it was unbelievably pure. Not even in SteelWall had he breathed anything like it. It reminded him of the lake of the invoked, the one he had first arrived at.
"It's not so bad," Amelie said with a smile, breathing freely.
Daion thought about what it must mean for them, after so many months surviving at the frontier.
"Still, we need to stay alert," Ken warned as he scanned their surroundings, advancing toward the gate. "We can't expect anything from these beings."
They pressed on. The vegetation was an intense green that covered everything: the grass, the flowers growing low to the ground, a few apple trees that seemed oddly out of place, and even the moss climbing up the castle walls, a silent testament to the site's age.
Ken pushed the doors open. The group stepped into a long corridor, lined with multiple doors on both sides.
"Great, now what?" Brut muttered, glancing both ways.
"Should we split up?" Amelie suggested with a smile.
"Yeah, sure… I don't know about you, but I have no desire to die," Ken replied with sarcasm, then turned his gaze toward Daion, who stood with a deep frown. "Marui, find the civilians."
Daion looked up immediately, just as surprised as the rest.
"If, while searching, we find even one guardian, we retreat," Ken continued. "But if the one we killed was the only one… I suppose we'll be paid more for saving everyone."
Marui nodded and stepped into the center of the hall. He closed his eyes and pressed his hands against his forehead. Yellow waves of energy began radiating from his body, rippling across the floor and walls like a sonar. Strange symbols flickered for a moment on the stone before vanishing. Then he extended his arms, and the wave surged outward with full force, spreading through the entire castle.
Everyone shivered as the energy passed through them. A few seconds of silence stretched before Marui opened his eyes and pointed toward one of the doors at the far end. He advanced without hesitation, the group following behind.
Daion glanced back. The mutilated boy still wore a pained grimace, even with the healing sphere inside him. The pain seemed to overwhelm him.
Does he have phantom limb pain? Daion wondered, staring at the blood-soaked tourniquet on his leg. Does he still feel the limb he's lost?
Then he looked at the soldiers. They walked on, fear written across their faces, tension etched into every step. Daion felt a grim sense of clarity as he watched their fear. They're just cowards, he concluded. Yet one stood out: Yair, the only one who had done nothing during the execution. He walked slowly, eyes fixed on the ground, glancing now and then at his hands, still stained with blood.
The first time Daion had seen him, Yair had seemed like one of the few soldiers who still held on to some shred of humanity. Now, he looked even worse than the others.
Daion slowed his pace until he was walking beside him. Yair looked up, startled, and immediately tensed.
"How are you holding up?" Daion asked. Yair frowned, confused. "I mean about the execution."
"Why do you ask? It's none of your business," he replied, trying to pull away. But Daion pressed on.
"You did something terrible—that won't change." His voice was steady, with no trace of mockery. "But you didn't have a choice. If you hadn't done it, you'd have been branded the deserter. You only followed your survival instinct."
"You think I don't know that?" Yair snapped, anger barely contained. "I'm not an idiot, for God's sake. Of course I know there was no other way, but that doesn't mean I can accept it. I killed a man… do you have any idea what it feels like to kill a friend? Just because… just because it was what had to be done."
Daion was silent for a few seconds. Faded memories of his past life drifted through his mind: faces, screams, blood. He wasn't sure if those people had been friends or enemies.
"I don't know…" he finally admitted. "In my past life, I think I was a soldier. I suppose I must have seen and executed deserters, but… I can't be sure."
"Right…" Yair muttered, voice low. Then he looked up at him. "And why did you do it? Saving that woman from the soldier."
"You saw that?" Daion was surprised; he'd thought Yair had been too far from the campfire. Yair shook his head.
"They talked about it afterward… how you stepped in when he was about to…" He stopped, clenched his eyes shut. "…about to do something to her."
"Well… wasn't it the normal thing to do?" Daion answered. "I guess it was instinct."
"An invoked, acting on instinct to save us… No, that wasn't normal," Yair replied bitterly. "Usually you don't care about us in the slightest."
"I suppose neither soldiers nor the invoked live up to the roles we're supposed to play," Daion said, trying to reason.
Yair gave him a curious look.
"To protect civilians. To keep order."
"That's the guards' job—if they even do it," Yair countered. "Soldiers… we're nothing more than that: order-takers, warriors trained to kill."
Daion held his gaze. He knew Yair was right. Soldiers were made to defend nations, not necessarily the people within them.
Yair sighed and withdrew a little, curling into himself.
The group reached the end of the hallway. Marui carefully opened the door. Instantly, an insect Alpha leapt at him, but Ken, swift as a shadow, cut it down mid-air.
Marui gave a silent gesture of thanks and pressed on. The corridor sloped downward: at first immaculate marble, then mud, and finally rough stone.
The demi-humans stirred uneasily; Aelith clenched her teeth, on the verge of transforming. Daion laid a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to wait. She obeyed reluctantly.
At the end they glimpsed an exit that opened into a massive space, the size of a coliseum. Daion lowered his gaze: heaps of gold were piled across the floor, forming small isolated hills throughout the chamber.
"Why so much gold?" Daion asked, confused.
"The Alphas feed on matter. Gold, being a dense metal, makes for a perfect feast," Ken explained as he pocketed a handful of coins.
The group followed his example; even Daion scooped up a little. At least now I won't have to worry about paying for Aelith's bath, he thought cynically.
"And the civilians?" Brut asked.
"Oh, right… the humans," Amelie sighed.
Marui raised his hand and pointed toward a corner. Daion had to suppress his disgust: there were the captives, wrapped in whitish, slimy membranes that gave off a nauseating stench. Their faces were barely visible beneath the translucent layers.
The group approached cautiously. Ken glanced at Marui.
"Do you sense a guardian?" he asked while scanning the room.
Marui shook his head.
"Good. Then the one we killed was the only one."
"Wait… would they really have attacked us if there was only one guardian?" Daion asked.
"Hard to say. The Alphas don't follow any clear logic," Brut replied.
Ken nodded and motioned for the soldiers to keep filling their bags with gold. Meanwhile, the summoned drew their weapons. The celestial blades easily sliced through the membranes, which dissolved on contact.
They carefully pulled the prisoners free; the demi-humans received them and laid them on the ground, trying to wipe away the fluids. There were about twenty people—fewer than Daion expected, though still too many to manage easily.
Several began to stir. Daion drove his sword into the ground and lifted the body of a girl no older than ten. He carried her slowly and handed her to Aelith, who seemed calmer… though that didn't reassure Daion. No insects in sight. Were they really all gone?
Within minutes, the survivors were conscious. Daion searched among them for Aleric's father: he found only a pair of ragged old men, none with a noble bearing. He sighed, resigned to bring back bad news. He also noticed the girl embracing a man who bore a faint resemblance to her. Daion almost thought he was her father, but the distance between them was oddly stiff.
"All right…" Ken scratched his head, weighing the situation. "Before we track down the source of this, we should get these people out of here."
Marui nodded and started ahead. The soldiers, with their pockets bulging with gold, followed him with unusual cheer.
They left the cavern through a different passage. It was easy to trust when Marui's ability handled all the hard work.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Brut said to Daion, who still eyed the summoned with suspicion, though he gave the demi-human a more sympathetic glance.
"Yeah… is he the summoned of the god of radars?"
"God of explorers," Brut corrected. "Not as spectacular as it looks, but he manages well enough—even if his gift is limited to that."
"At least he has something," Daion muttered, staring at his gauntlet. After a moment, he tapped it twice, bringing up his status menu:
[Summoned's Stats]
• Strength: Level 25 (Gorilla)
• Dexterity: Level 19 (Cunning Fox)
• Endurance: Level 17 (Numb)
• Agility: Level 20 (Usain Bolt)
• Intelligence: Level 12 (Shrewd)
[Divine Artifacts]
• Sword of Punishment (Rank E)
• Omega Gauntlet (Rank E)
• Assault Armor (Rank D) – Worn
[Summoned's Evaluation]
• Omega Energy Absorbed: 1200Ω
• Level: 10
• Rank: Aspirant
[Abilities]
None.
Brut glanced over.
"Seriously, nothing? Poor you."
"Yes, I know," Daion replied, closing his menu. He had made significant progress in a short time, yet he was still far weaker than the rest of the summoned.
Brut looked around before turning back to him.
"I wanted to ask… besides being a soldier, do you remember anything else from your past? Something you enjoyed doing?" he asked bluntly. Daion frowned at him, confused.
"It's a good exercise for your mind," Brut explained. "If you figure out what you used to love and try it again, it might trigger some memories."
Daion reflected for a moment. He wondered if Ken had planted the idea, though he was sure he had heard something similar before. He tried to force his memory: vague images surfaced. He recalled a man in a white uniform and mask standing before him—not pleasant, more an obligation than anything else. Other fragments came: nights around campfires. He had enjoyed the feeling, though he knew it had been part of his soldier's duty. Perhaps what he truly valued was the company of comrades.
Another memory appeared: countless night watches spent reading books he scavenged here and there. He wasn't sure if he loved them, but they had definitely kept him entertained.
Then, a fleeting image: holding a notebook and sketching irregular lines, curves, that slowly became depictions of reality. That had brought him peace.
"Drawing…" Daion murmured. Brut's eyes widened at the answer. "I guess I should look for a notebook and pencil in the fort's store and give it a try."
"Not such a bad idea," Brut said with a faint smile.
Daion was beginning to understand him. While he couldn't call Brut a good person, he did seem to make an effort to balance the scales. Daion wasn't sure if that meant redemption… or sheer hypocrisy.
At that moment, Marui stopped them in their tracks. They had exited the cave and now stood on a second floor, before railings overlooking a vast open courtyard. At its center rose a quartz column, surrounded by strange purple-toned plants that opened wide, absorbing particles from the air.
A marble path lined with fountains stretched toward the column. Then Daion understood why everyone had frozen: a terrible chill swept through him, like an instinctive alarm. Something dark loomed behind them.
Aelith clenched her teeth and, driven by pure instinct, transformed completely. Her hair stood on end in wild disarray, and her golden aura thickened the very air. Breathing became difficult for all of them. Even Ken wore an expression of sheer terror; his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Before the column stood a man with spiked black hair, clad in dark clothes that seemed to warp and peel away from his body. His eyes glowed an intense violet. A shadowy aura enveloped him, warping the space around him.
Daion instinctively reached for his sword, but Ken hurried to stop him, eyes wide with panic.
"Don't be an idiot… that thing can't be killed so easily," he whispered.
"What is it? Why do I feel this disgust—and this overwhelming urge to kill it?" Daion asked, struggling to draw his blade.
"Listen… this is beyond us. I don't even know why it's here, but its mere presence breaks several rules. If it notices us… we're dead," Ken explained, his voice trembling.
"Then tell me—what is it…?" Daion pressed.
A voice suddenly rang out, each word crashing over them with a wave of energy.
"Why do I sense the presence of so many Omega creatures?"
For a few seconds, fear paralyzed them. The summoned's gauntlets activated on their own, surrounding them with defensive energy. The being turned toward the second floor. Daion felt its gaze pierce his very existence.
"Such misfortune… envoys of the gods, here?"
"That's…" Ken stammered, trembling. "An Alpha God."
End of Chapter.