Peryss Street, Harport High.
With the crimson sun shining through the windows and reflecting off the classroom glass, a teacher with a mature face and tied-up hair was teaching her students.
After spending some time explaining the topic, she turned around and began writing on the board.
But the moment she did, she felt a powerful wave of spiritual fluctuations. Immediately, her body began to tremble.
Her hand remained pressed against the board.
This pressure...? What's happening in Betyl? It feels like there are countless evil entities... Focusing deeper, she analyzed the spiritual fluctuations and quickly realized what they were.
They are curses. Not one, not two, but more than in a million, all in Betyl. And around twenty is already in the school.
At that moment, a scream echoed from outside the classroom.
What made the situation even more terrifying was that curses were born from the thoughts of their Creator. Fear and belief only made them stronger.
Trying not to alarm her students, she forced a smile and said, "Children, be good. Something came up. I'll be back soon."
With that, she quickly walked outside and closed the door behind her.
The moment she did, her expression turned serious.
She looked around and saw figures with distorted faces wandering aimlessly through the corridors. Some were feeding on the heads of teachers.
As soon as they noticed her, they slowly raised their heads and began advancing.
But before they could get close, two small daggers appeared from nowhere and landed in the teacher's hands.
Without hesitation, she charged forward. It turned out that the teacher was a sorcerer.
...
Everise Street, the King's Mansion.
The princess, who had been waving to the crowd, turned only to see her father stabbed in the back.
In that instant, her expression changed from happiness to horror. Blood immediately gushed from the King as he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, the crowd erupted into panic and confusion.
But unfortunately, luck was not on their side.
Creatures with distorted faces suddenly appeared on nearby rooftops and leapt down into the crowd, attacking people in the next instant.
The once lively celebration quickly descended into chaos.
Under the crimson sun and within the bright surroundings, everything seemed to contrast sharply with the crimson blood spreading across the ground.
People scrambled in every direction, screaming as panic consumed the area.
Catherine, still overwhelmed with confusion, quickly bent down beside her father to check on him.
Gloria and the guards wanted to pull the princess away and get her to safety.
But in the next instant, their heads seemed to be sliced off.
Blood immediately splashed across Catherine, who was still kneeling beside her father.
...
Catherine's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the scene before her.
Slowly, she looked up.
Standing there was a man with slicked-back yellow hair and an aged face marked by wrinkles.
Catherine immediately recognized him. It was Ashel Farley, the Earl Marshal of Betyl.
Farley looked down at her with his cold green eyes, clearly intending to finish her off, but suddenly the wall beside him seemed to explode with a loud boom.
Amid the crashing sounds, smoke and debris flew everywhere as Farley instinctively covered his eyes.
A figure stepped out from the smoke.
With each step forward, his appearance gradually became clearer.
When the smoke finally settled, a young man with long yellow hair and a playful expression was revealed.
He wore a blue military uniform and carried a long, slender sword on his back.
It was Catherine's brother, Earl Jones.
With a smug smile, he glanced around and said in a low voice.
"Daddy's home."
...
F**k. I planned this for years, and now that I've finally gotten everything... Earl Jones just happens to return from the Land of Gallon. No, I should have expected this. It's the anniversary. F**k. I miscalculated... Farley thought inwardly as he stared at Earl Jones.
Meanwhile, Earl Jones first looked around.
His gaze swept over his father lying motionless in a pool of blood, his sister covered in blood, the fallen guards, Gloria, and the other maids.
The playful expression on his face gradually disappeared, and his mood significantly dropped.
Looking up, he pointed his blade at Farley and said coldly, "You guys should take the princess to safety."
Immediately, several people emerged through the broken wall and quickly moved toward the grief-stricken Catherine.
Meanwhile, Earl Jones tightened his grip on his sword and prepared for battle.
...
Lamenti.
"Ahhhh!"
The deafening shriek of a creature echoed through the now silent streets of Lamenti and even beyond, while people hid quietly inside their homes.
The crimson sun seemed perfectly suited to the atmosphere, making the entire city feel like a horror movie.
From the top of a tall building, Lumian suddenly leapt down.
This time, he wasn't wearing his coat, only a torn black shirt.
Behind him, a giant creature followed in pursuit.
Its body was pale white, with veins bulging and twitching rapidly beneath its skin, while its bloodshot eyes remained locked onto him.
It crawled down the side of the building at an astonishing speed.
Reaching the ground, Lumian glanced at the now-empty streets before turning into a narrow alley.
Hmph... Hmph...
Looking back, he saw the creature still chasing him.
Using the agility of a Magician, he leaped onto the roof of a nearby building. The moment he landed, a yellow beam of light descended from the sky and struck the creature.
The monster thrashed violently under the light before suddenly dissolving into dust.
Seeing this, Lumian collapsed onto the rooftop, breathing heavily. This was already the fifth creature he and Berlie had taken down.
Huff... puff... His chest rose and fell with each labored breath, the sound echoing in the silent streets.
After a while, he finally stood up.
The afternoon was drawing to a close, and evening was gradually settling over Betyl.
Lumian jumped down from the rooftop with a loud thud.
As soon as he landed, he spotted Berlie waiting nearby.
He was about to leave immediately, the curses were extremely sensitive to sound, but a movement caught his attention.
Through a window, he saw a mother clutching her child tightly. Both stared at him from the darkness of their home, fear written all over their faces.
Realizing they had likely heard the noise he made, Lumian paused.
"Stay calm," he said. "We'll be back."
The mother and child said nothing. They simply looked at him in silence.
With that, Lumian turned away and continued walking alongside Berlie.
Ever since Lumian had informed them about the curse outbreak, Hargreaves and the others had deployed personnel across different parts of the city.
Lumian had been assigned to remain in Lamenti.
According to their maps, Lamenti had a relatively low concentration of curses. Areas such as Peryss, Everise, and Blackhead were far worse.
And now, they were heading toward Peryss.
...
Peryss.
After some time spent moving stealthily through the streets, Lumian and Berlie finally arrived in Peryss.
By now, the crimson sun had completely set, and the pale moon hung high in the sky. A cold wind occasionally swept through the silent streets.
The street lamps lining the roads were still shining, as though nothing unusual was happening.
Yet the moment Lumian stepped into the area, he felt that something was wrong. A strange sense of unease crept into his heart.
Still walking, he raised a hand and adjusted the collar of his torn black shirt.
At the same time, he activated Sleight of Hand.
Immediately, the Joker card appeared between his fingers.
As it did, a scene began forming within his mind.
...
Within the scene, Lumian saw himself and Berlie walking side by side.
But suddenly, a giant figure appeared behind them.
Its mouth was filled with sharp razor-like teeth as it lunged straight toward Lumian.
The moment he saw it, the Joker card in his hand withered away.
Another card instantly appeared between his fingers.
Without even thinking, Lumian turned and threw it.
"Ahhh!"
A shriek immediately rang out from behind them.
Berlie spun around as well.
What the f**k... She said Inwardly as she quickly drew her pistol and aimed at the creature.
Bang!
A white intricately engraved bullet shot forward and struck the curse in the forehead.
Flames still burned across its face where Lumian's card had hit moments earlier.
Out of the corner of her eye, Berlie suddenly lost sight of Lumian.
It turned out he had used Misdirection.
In an instant, he appeared behind the creature.
Without the slightest hesitation, he activated Sleight of Hand, causing a dagger to materialize in his hand.
Then, using the agility of a Magician, he dashed forward and cleanly sliced off the creature's head.
Whoosh!
The creature's head fell to the ground.
With the aid of the street lamps, Lumian and Berlie got a clearer look at it.
Even while burning, the severed head was unsettling to behold. Veins bulged across its face and scalp, twitching as though the flames were having little effect.
As they continued watching, the creature's headless body began to convulse violently.
It looked as though it was trying to recover.
Lumian frowned, momentarily unsure of what to do.
Looking up, he noticed Berlie standing a short distance away, her face faintly illuminated by the burning flames as she quietly recited a spell.
Immediately understanding her intentions, Lumian retreated.
In the next moment, a beam of light descended from above and struck the abomination.
The creature let out a final shriek before being engulfed by the radiant pillar.
When the smoke finally cleared, nothing remained.
Berlie breathed a sigh of relief as she straightened. Turning toward Lumian, she expected to see him there, instead, he was already walking forward calmly.
Where's he going in such a rush... She thought inwardly before hurrying forward to catch up with him.
Meanwhile, Lumian remained completely focused.
He wanted to finish surveying the area and helping as many people as possible.
Only then could he finally check on his siblings.
Ever since the disaster began, he had no idea where they were.
And that thought had been weighing on his mind the entire time.
...
Harport High.
Beneath the pale moon, the school remained eerily silent.
In one of the corridors, the teacher slowly limped forward, a dagger still clutched in her hand.
Every step sent pain through her body.
Amid the silence, the sound of distant footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Using the last of her remaining strength, she forced herself to move faster.
Soon, she reached the classroom door. Grabbing the handle, she pushed it open and stepped inside.
The moment she entered, the students looked at her in shock.
Most of them were around sixteen or seventeen years old.
Ever since their teacher had left, they had been uneasy and knew something was wrong.
Some had looked through the windows and noticed strange creatures attacking people outside.
Realizing the danger, they had tried their best to remain calm.
As the situation worsened, they could do nothing but wait patiently and pray for their teacher's return.
"Teacher Margaret!" The students cried out and rushed toward her.
The moment they reached her, Margaret collapsed onto the floor.
Meanwhile, a black-haired boy remained where he was. Tears ran down his face as he forced out a smile and looked toward the window. "Teacher Margaret... everything is silent outside. We can still leave, right? I'm sure the creatures aren't around anymore."
Margaret was so exhausted that she couldn't even respond. She had already fought every curse in the corridor.
But there were still more lurking throughout the school.
As a mere Phase 8 of the Ninja Order, the battle had pushed her to her limits.
The students gathered around her lowered their heads, as fear was beginning to take hold.
Thoughts of their brothers, sisters, and parents filled their minds. Others wondered on how they could get out of this situation.
Some even wished that it was all just a mere nightmare, and they would wake up any moment from now.
They were still children and had no idea what to do in a situation like this. They also understood that thier teacher had been trying to protect them, and now she had fallen into a very critical state.
A single question gradually rose in their hearts.
What do we do now?
Amid the suffocating silence and growing fear, the students slowly raised their heads.
Their gazes drifted toward the curtained window, where they saw a figure gradually approaching.
The figure outside had a distorted form, moving slowly toward the classroom door.
The moment the students saw it, their bodies began to tremble.
The figure seemed to sense something. It paused briefly, then continued forward with more focus.
The teacher looked at her students, tears slowly forming in her eyes.
Amid the silence, she whispered a single word.
"Why…?"
But suddenly, a loud boom echoed through the once quiet building.
The students turned toward the closed window leading outside and saw a pillar of bright yellow light descending from the sky.
Then, they snapped their attention back to the curtained window.
The distorted figure that had been approaching the door was suddenly struck by a flying playing card.
Flames erupted instantly, engulfing it as it let out a sharp, unnatural shriek before collapsing.
Silence returned for a brief minute, then the classroom door slowly opened.
Creak!
Immediately, a figure stepped into view.
He wore a torn black shirt, and his loosely falling black hair moved slightly in the wind.
Lumian glanced at the classroom, at the school he once attended when he was younger.
In a calm voice, he said.
"Young teacher, let's go."
...
Lamenti, Moonlight Watchers Faculty.
Inside the Moonlight Watchers Faculty, everything was silent.
A figure walked through the empty halls, dressed in colored clothing and with neatly combed yellow hair.
Judging by his youthful face and appearance, it was clearly James Carrick.
Instead of fighting the curses outside, he was here inside the faculty.
He descended the stairs and stopped in front of a wall.
Using his understanding of the mechanism, he bypassed it with ease and entered.
Walking to the shelf, he reached out and picked up the St. Mary Text.
A faint smile curved on his lips.