Trigger Warning: Dark and intense content ahead. This chapter includes disturbing scenes of psychological distress, and violence.
After the fight, while Phoebe was feeling relieved after her victory against the beastman, she couldn't help but feel something heavy in her heart. That heavy feeling kept haunting her, and then—without warning—memories flashed before her eyes.
"You insolent beastman, don't act up and just behave like the beast you are!" said an unknown voice 1."Your barbaric race is a disgrace." said unknown voice 2."Why is your race even here in the middle continent? Shouldn't you be in the outer continent where the lesser races belong?" said unknown voice 3."There he is! He's the one who killed the dwarf!" said unknown voice 4."NO! NOOO! IT WASN'T ME! IT WAS A SETUP—SOMEONE FRAMED ME! BELIEVE ME!!" shouted the beastman."Why did he do it? How could he do such a thing?" said unknown voice 5."Well, you know… beastmen act on instinct. Maybe his beastly instincts got the best of him! Hahaha!" said unknown voice 6."This is a crime. He should be banished from the academy." said unknown voice 7.
"By your deeds of violating the law and killing your comrade, Sleve Brunnie of the dwarf race, I—the judge Leomord Sinclair of the dragon race—hereby declare you, Sid Valetriggar of the beastman race, guilty of banishment from the academy and the middle continent, and you shall be immediately deported to the outer continent." said unknown voice 8.
"That serves him right! Hahaha!" said voices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 together.
"No… I was innocent… I was framed…" said the beastman.
"How dumb are you? Hahaha! Falling for our little tricks!" said unknown voice 1 together with voice 4.
"You damn harpy and dryad…" the beastman growled furiously.
"And who do you think will believe an outcast like you?" said the dryad.
"Just you wait. Once I return, I will reveal everything you did—Chantress Heil and Varus Drish!" the beastman said desperately.
"Really? Then here's a farewell gift for you. We'll give you a nice, cool scar on your eyes! Hahahahaha!" laughed the harpy maniacally, holding a knife toward him.
"You got banished not only from the academy but from the middle continent as well? You're a disgrace—not only to our family but to our race. Get out and never come back. I don't need an embarrassment like you here." said unknown voice 9.
"You seem lost. Do you hate the world that wronged you? Do you desire power? Then come… As the leader of the Dusk Lost Society, I shall show you the path of true equality through the forbidden knowledge of the old world." said unknown voice 10.
"You're the rookie, huh? Let me explain our first mission. Our goal is to steal the artifacts called…" said unknown voice 11.
"You damn human girl… How dare you trick me? I was fooled back then in the academy, but I will never let even a lesser race look down on me or deceive me. I'll break you… grrr… I'll make you pay… just wait!!" the beastman thought.
"No… no… it burns… I can't die yet… I need justice… I need to clear my name… No… Noooo…" the beastman cried in agony.
Then everything faded into darkness.
From afar, Phoebe suddenly saw him—or what was left of him.
His flesh was melting off his skull like hot candle wax, dripping onto the ground in thick black-red globs. Every step forward left more of him behind, chunks of burnt skin peeling off and hitting the dirt with wet splats. Blood streamed down his body in long, sticky trails.
Then—instantly—his entire burned face appeared right in front of Phoebe's.
Before she could even breathe, his charred hand shot out and wrapped around her throat. His fingers were rough and burned, the bone almost exposed, scorching her skin as he squeezed—hard. Phoebe's breath vanished. Her vision blurred. Hot blood from his disfigured face dripped onto her lips, her cheeks, her neck.
His half-melted jaw moved, muscles twitching unnaturally.
"Why…"More flesh slid off his chin."…did you kill me…?"
His grip tightened.
Phoebe's heart stopped as he repeated,"Why did you kill me?"
Then—Phoebe snapped back to reality, gasping for air, cold sweat dripping down her face. Her expression was filled with shock as she looked around.
"W-What was that? What happened…?" she muttered.
She quickly looked at the corpse lying on the ground.There it was—burned, lifeless, completely still. After confirming he was truly dead, she whispered:
"He was already dead… so what did I just witness?"
Around her, the forest had fallen into an eerie silence. Only the brushing of grass in the wind could be heard. Phoebe stood firmly, clasped her hands together, and prayed:
"Oh hear me, oh Lords—the three gods who govern the three continents. Let this perished soul find its way back to you. May the fallen receive your mercy and be guided to eternal paradise. This is my prayer for thee"
After praying, Phoebe tried to extinguish all the blue flames scattered around. With just her thoughts, the flames began to fade and die out. Through this, she concluded that the blue flames were connected to her—that what had happened earlier was caused by her own power.
When she remembered the memories she had just witnessed, goosebumps crawled across her skin. She hurriedly decided to head back to the orphanage.
But just as she took a step, she heard a sound from a nearby bush. Already anxious from everything she experienced, Phoebe called out:
"I-Is someone there…?"
The place remained silent—only the grass and wind answered her.
Thinking it was just her imagination, a whisper suddenly came from her left:
"It seems I misjudged you, miss."
Goosebumps ran down her spine. She quickly turned to her left—she saw no one.
Then a voice whispered into her right ear:
"Sid was only at danger level, yet he was defeated by a human girl who just learned to use her mana. That's extremely embarrassing, if you ask me."
She turned right—again, she saw no one.
Phoebe grew more wary; the person kept vanishing again and again.
Then a voice spoke from above her:
"Oh, you might not know… but I'm referring to the weakling you just killed earlier."
She looked up—but no one was there.
Then finally, the voice spoke again—this time from directly in front of her:
"But sadly for you… you need to come with us. We have questions for you."
This time, Phoebe finally saw him. He didn't disappear.
Standing before her was a male elf with cyan hair and purple eyes, appearing around his late twenties. He looked at Phoebe with interested.