The morning light spilled across Bell's sleeping face inside the stronghold.
Still half-asleep, he slowly opened his eyes, lingering traces of drowsiness keeping his mind from fully waking.
He turned over and glanced at the ceiling outside the window, where the crystal lights gleamed brightly, helping him gauge the time.
'So it's morning already.'
Sitting up, he let the morning light stir his senses into wakefulness.
Out of habit, he extended his perception to scan the state of the entire 50th floor. That alone cleared the last remnants of sleep from his mind.
'Everyone's already awake this early?'
He had come back a little later than usual last night—there had been a lot of groundwork to handle on the 59th floor, and it naturally took time.
Because of that, his internal clock had shifted slightly.
He stretched out his slightly stiff limbs and picked up the clothes he had discarded the previous night, quickly putting them on.
Then he turned his attention to the expedition team.
The expedition members who had been in low spirits had now fully recovered.
The adventurers once shaken by the dragon's roar had regained their composure.
Ever since they reclaimed their courage that day, no one had been the same. Maybe the Black Dragon still felt like an insurmountable wall, but none of them would freeze in fear anymore.
Even Finn and the others, who had fallen into despair after learning about the Spirit, had returned to their usual focused selves.
The two days they took to regroup had been well worth it for the entire expedition.
But now that they'd rested, it was time to face the problems ahead.
The most critical issue for the expedition was intelligence.
And the only source of reliable information about the Spirit was Cassandra.
So, after waking up, Finn had asked Riveria to go find Cassandra. Since it wouldn't be appropriate for any of the men to enter the women's tents, the task naturally fell to Riveria.
Fifteen minutes earlier, she had arrived at Cassandra's tent on Finn's request—only to find the girl still asleep.
"Mm..."
Riveria frowned as she looked down at Cassandra, who was drenched in sweat. Her pallid face and restless appearance nearly made Riveria reach out to wake her. If she hadn't remembered Cassandra's skill, she might have interrupted something crucial.
Was it always this intense when Cassandra had a prophetic dream?
Sweat clung to her forehead, and the blanket over her was completely soaked from the heat radiating off her body.
To a man, this might have been a tempting sight.
But to a woman, Riveria saw only worry in the scene before her.
What kind of nightmare could cause this much distress?
...
A dark space, burning with purple-red flames.
Meteor showers symbolizing destruction fell from the sky, while golden lightning streaked through the air.
And even amid that chaos—the battle raged on.
A brave Pallum charged to the front, only to have his arm impaled by a spike rising from the earth. To avoid being struck again, the Pallum abandoned his arm.
Bright red blood sprayed across the ground.
But none of that could stop the battle from raging on.
But none of that could stop the battle from raging on.
The frenzied Pallum charged ahead, throwing himself into the fight, using his body to block every spike jutting up from the ground, creating a path forward for his teammates.
The second to rush in was a young Werewolf.
Seizing the opportunity created by the Pallum, he didn't hesitate—he activated his only magic. Flames engulfed his entire body, shielding him from incoming magical attacks as he barreled forward, the fire around him burning even fiercer.
But what greeted him was a barrage of ferocious lightning.
Just as the Pallum had shielded his comrades, the young Werewolf endured every strike of lightning, and at the very end, launched a blazing kick.
Unfortunately, the moment after that kick, his leg twisted unnaturally, and his body crashed hard into the ground.
Yet the blow, carrying all of the young Werewolf's resolve, never reached the Spirit. Vines surged up around the Spirit, intercepting the attack completely.
The vines didn't just protect the Spirit—they wrapped tightly around it, forming a thick wall that kept anyone from getting close.
At that moment, a third person charged in. A Dwarf, gripping a massive axe with both hands, brought it down with the force to split mountains. The vines that had even blocked the Werewolf's flames were cleaved open by the giant axe.
Seeing the opening, the Dwarf immediately released his weapon and used his brute strength to tear the gap wider—just enough for someone to slip through.
But the very next second, a vine as thick as an arm pierced straight through the Dwarf's body and hurled him away.
The hard-won entrance began to close again at alarming speed.
"!?"
Cassandra jolted awake just as the vines sealed shut.
'Was that… real?'
She couldn't help but ask herself.
Silent throughout the dream, she had watched the desperate battle unfold. Even with her meager power, it was clear—everyone was fighting with everything they had.
But what happened in the end?
She longed to know the outcome… but her precognitive dreams weren't under her control. She couldn't choose what to see. Still, compared to last time, she had seen far more.
"Another nightmare?"
"Riveria-sama…"
Hearing the voice, Cassandra finally noticed Riveria sitting by her bedside. She tried to sit up in a rush, but Riveria quickly stopped her.
"Don't get up yet. Just calm yourself first."
Riveria glanced at Cassandra's exposed skin. Even through the blanket, she could tell how exhausted and overheated Cassandra was. Waking up from such a dream, what she needed wasn't formality—it was composure.
Cassandra struggled to steady her breathing, but the gruesome images of blood-soaked battlefields still made her heart pound.
"Judging by your condition, it looks like we won't be passing this trial easily."
"Riveria-sama, this trial… will be brutal."
Riveria understood immediately—what Cassandra had seen must have been a future soaked in blood.
"The enemy is a Spirit. And a Spirit capable of wielding various kinds of magic."
"Magic? So even after the reversal, they're still Spirits, not monsters."
"Yes, I believe they're still Spirits."
Monsters couldn't use magic—only Spirits could.
Cassandra knew that Spirit was completely unhinged, but she was certain it still fell under the category of Spirits—not monsters.
"A Spirit bearing hatred toward Orario and the gods…"
Riveria's heart was heavy, though she had long since come to terms with the reality.
"Cassandra, don't worry about whether they're Spirits or not. If they're already standing against us, that's all that matters."
"…Yes, I understand."
Cassandra had witnessed much. She had grown.
Then, she began recounting what she saw in her dream.
The details were vivid—so vivid that Riveria could picture the nightmare clearly from her words alone.
Finn had lost an arm. Gareth had a hole through his abdomen. Bete's leg had been shattered mid-attack. That alone meant nearly half the expedition's main fighting force had been taken out. And that was just during the initial breakthrough—who knew what further losses might follow...
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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