There was a huge hole, so deep that its bottom couldn’t be seen. Since Philipe hadn’t been there last time, Tate and Ferry decided to act the same way they had before. The girl shot an explosive arrow—but, surprisingly, she and the other two were blasted far away by the explosion, sustaining serious injuries.

— WHAT HAPPENED?! — Smallters came running, desperate, upon seeing the three badly hurt.

Philipe had suffered first-degree burns on his face and hands, although his armor had lessened the damage. Tate and Ferry, being closer to the blast, were seriously injured. The green-haired girl writhed in intense pain.

In a hurry, Tate pulled a healing elixir from his bag and made her drink it, despite her struggling, as she seemed to choke on the liquid due to the excruciating pain. The healing took effect, easing the pain and closing the wounds in about six minutes.

— Can someone explain what happened? — Bob asked, worried, once the initial tension passed.

— I—I don’t know... I just aimed at the hole and... — Ferry started to say but stopped when she turned and realized, pale with shock, that there was no hole at all.

— Damn it... — Tate muttered, completely frightened.

— Gentlemen? — Bob looked apprehensive at the terror on their faces. After all, in front of them was no hole, but a long dirt corridor.

— Bob, listen carefully. Take your workers and run as fast as you can out of this forest! — Philipe ordered, gripping the man’s shoulders firmly.

Without wanting any more details, Bob simply nodded in confirmation, grabbed Smallters by the arm, and left, taking all his workers with him—old, young, and novices alike.

— Be prepared for whatever comes — said Philipe, raising his sword. — Ndikhusele umlilo — he intoned, causing his blade to blaze with flames.

— So you’re not just some arrogant fool, huh? — Tate mocked.

— I was an adventurer for many years. I know much more than you naïve youngsters — Philipe replied, walking ahead with his sword lighting the dirt path.

— Okay, grandpa... — Tate jeered, following him.

— Do you think they’ll manage to escape in time? — Ferry asked, bow in hand.

— The illusion was used in here. So, he—and whatever is with him—will be right beyond this corridor — Philipe answered, trying to reassure her.

— We should have called Dereck... — she lamented.

— Even if we wanted to, his perception isn’t strong enough to see the future, much less use the... — he stopped, realizing he was about to say too much.

— I hope we don’t fall into a trap. This kind of monster is stressful to deal with — Philipe said, alert to every corner.

— This village is full of surprises, huh? — mocked Tate.

— What?

— First, the spider incident, with a summoner and monster breeder. Now, an illusionist. Cave spiders are treacherous and lethal, while illusionists are bloodthirsty manipulators, with intelligence above average compared to other monsters.

— This is no time for discussions. We’ll deal with that later — Philipe cut in, staying focused.

They walked for about six to eight minutes down the long corridor, growing exhausted and suspecting it was just another illusion.

— Enough — Philipe stopped abruptly.

— What’s wrong? — Tate asked.

— It’s obvious we’re under an illusion. We need to attack this “expansion” he created again — he said, turning to Ferry.

— Why are you looking at me like that?

— You know why. Shoot another one of your explosive arrows.

— What?! Are you crazy?! I almost slit my own throat to avoid feeling that hellish pain again! — she responded angrily.

— If you don’t do it, we’ll be trapped here forever.

— Then you do it — she said, handing him the bow and explosive arrow.

— Fine... — he replied, adjusting the strength and height of the shot.

Aiming at the corridor ahead, Philipe launched the explosive arrow. However, he didn’t expect what came next. When the monster’s expansion broke, a horde of zombies awaited them on the other side. Aware of the adventurers’ presence, the undead ran toward them.

— Damn it! RUN!!! — shouted Tate, sprinting without looking back.

Zombies, which were usually slow and clumsy, were now agile and alert. They didn’t resemble the monsters they were used to facing in dungeons or forests at night.

— WE HAVE TO FIND THE DAMN ILLUSIONIST!!! — Ferry yelled, desperate.

— I KNEW HE COULD ALTER THE NATURE OF OTHER MONSTERS A LITTLE, BUT THIS MUCH?! — Philipe exclaimed, stunned.

— YOUR VILLAGE IS QUITE WELCOMING, HUH, PHILIPE?! — mocked Tate as he ran frantically.

— FUCK YOU, TATE!!! — Philipe shouted angrily.

They had nowhere to go. The corridor seemed endless. They would run until they couldn’t anymore, dying in agony, hearing their own bones breaking under the zombies’ jaws. Ferry noticed Philipe’s fatigue, worsened by his age and physical condition. If they kept going, he would have a heart attack or be captured.

— BEHIND ME!!! — shouted the archer, turning to face the horde and placing her palm on the ground, raising a wall of earth that completely blocked the passage.

— Damn, Ferry! — Tate scolded her.

— So you’re... an earth element user?! — asked Philipe, panting, collapsing to the ground, breathless.

— Y-yes — she confirmed, trying to keep composure.

— You have remarkable control over this attribute... — he praised, taking a deep breath.

— Spare the words and rest.

— We have only five minutes until the wall falls.

— What? But you reinforced it with several layers! — Philipe questioned.

— Believe her and rest the five minutes you need — Tate replied, also exhausted.

— Tate, I need to talk to you — Ferry signaled, pulling him aside while the muffled groans of zombies echoed beyond the barrier. — You know how it works... I can only use the rune’s power for a maximum of five minutes per day! We have to find the illusionist soon! — she whispered desperately.

— There’s nothing to be done, Ferry!

— Then we’re all going to die in a few minutes! I already used part of my power today!

— Damn... I’ll figure something out — he muttered, anxious, returning to Philipe.

— I hope so... — Ferry said, apprehensive.

‘Damn it! What do I do now?! No chance! If only I could foresee this disaster! But… It’s not our fault! It was Philipe who broke the expansion and got us into this situation! But there are dozens of zombies on the other side. Even if I sacrificed him, it wouldn’t solve anything… Damn, what do I do?!’ Tate thought, distressed.

— You okay, Tate? — Philipe asked, worried.

— Huh? Y-yes! — he replied, coming back to reality.

— What happened?

— Nothing... We just... need to find a way out of here.

— There is a way, boy. One you would never imagine — he whispered.

— What?

— Guys, two minutes! — Ferry warned desperately.

Ferry walked toward the two but froze instinctively upon seeing blood dripping on the ground, with Tate facing the warrior. She approached slowly from the side, wanting to believe it wasn’t real.

Unfortunately, it was. Tate had stabbed Philipe with his dagger just a few centimeters from his neck, causing him to lose a lot of blood. He looked already dead. The young man, with his long jet-black hair, turned to his mission partner.

— W-what the hell is this? WHAT DID YOU DO, TATE!? — he shouted in panic, trying to pull his bow from his back, only to remember he had dropped it during the run.

— I don’t want you to suffer, Ferry. Let me save you from this... from this suffering — he said, crying, holding a throwing knife in his hand.

— No, no, no, no! — she repeated desperately. — STOP WALKING, DAMMIT!!! — she shouted, seeing herself cornered by the earthen wall behind her.

— Forgive me... — he whispered, preparing to attack her.

— BEHIND YOU!!! — Philipe yelled with all the strength he had left.

Reflexively, Tate threw the knife at the wall, reciting the same warrior’s incantation. But besides the fire enchantment, he added an explosion one. The illusionist finally revealed himself — struck in the eye, engulfed by flames that consumed his insides. Then his skull exploded. He died in a fraction of a second, thrashing on the ground.

— DRINK THIS, QUICK!!! — Tate ran to Philipe, who was pale and unconscious from blood loss, forcing him to swallow a healing and blood-restoring elixir.

— WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED HERE!? — Ferry screamed, furious, grabbing Tate by the collar and cornering him against the wall. — ARE YOU CRAZY!?

— C-calm down, Ferry! It was all part of the plan!

— PLAN MY ASS! YOU WERE GOING TO KILL PHILIPE AND THEN ME, WERE YOU NOT!? — she pulled a dagger from the dimensional ring, pointing it at her neck.

— CALM DOWN, FERRY! — Philipe stood up quickly. — IT WAS MY IDEA! I ORDERED HIM TO DO IT!

— WHY!?

— BECAUSE THE ILLUSIONIST REVEALS HIMSELF WHEN HE SEES SOMEONE LOSING IT AND KILLING THE OTHERS!

Ferry looked into Philipe’s eyes for a few seconds. Silently, she put the dagger back in the ring, noticing that several seconds had passed since her earthen wall had dissolved. No more monsters were present — a clear sign that with the illusionist’s death, everything he had summoned had vanished and things had returned to normal.

— Let’s go — she said, without looking at them.

— She almost killed you! — Philipe exclaimed, still shaken.

— And why are you surprised? I would’ve done the same, or worse, if it were me — Tate replied, running his hand over his neck, checking for cuts. — Come on, let’s get out of here.

With the illusionary expansion ended, the adventurers lit strategic points inside the cave before leaving. After the confrontation, they found no more monsters.

Within the illusionist’s distortion, time passed more slowly. So, although they felt little time had passed, by the time they emerged, the sun was already setting.

Ferry shifted from anger to despair. She ran as fast as she could toward the village, with Tate right behind her. Philipe followed, still catching his breath, confused by their urgency.

Arriving at the church, they saw Dereck with his belongings ready, just waiting for the two. The adventurers also began packing to leave.

— What? You’re leaving already? Weren’t you supposed to leave the day after tomorrow? — Philipe asked, confused.

— I got a message from the queen. We have to find her as soon as possible — Dereck replied calmly, lighting a cigarette.

— What?

— Wait, Beta is already awake? — Tate asked, noticing only the outline of the boy’s body on the bed.

— Ah, yes. The girls came by and invited him to play hide-and-seek in the forest. Actually, I suggested it. He needed some fun — Dereck said with a satisfied smile, exhaling smoke. Ferry and Tate looked at him with total disapproval.

— You bastard! — Tate shouted, running out of the church, calling for the boy.

— What’s going on? — Philipe asked, confused.

— I don’t know... — Dereck answered, standing up. — But I’m on my way. You know where to find me when you leave the village, if you want to leave — he said with a mocking smile, then left toward the village exit, now engulfed in night’s darkness.

— BETA!!! — Tate shouted toward the edges of the forest. — CHILDREN!!

— Tate, we have to get out of here! They must have been caught already! — Ferry yelled, trying to pull him away.

— I-I’m not leaving that boy here!

— What do you see in him that’s so special!?

— Tate, what’s going on? What’s all this commotion? — Bob asked, approaching with the workers.

— Bob...? — Tate muttered.

— What are those things? Are you leaving? Philipe said you’d stay at least one more night.

— That’s what I thought too, but... something unexpected happened — Philipe explained, approaching.

— In that case, I want to thank you for your help today. You’re a good man. May God protect you on your journey — Bob said, extending his hand.

As Tate shook Bob’s hand, a strong tremor shook the ground. It felt like an earthquake. Night had fully fallen, and the village lights were hurriedly lit. Everyone looked around fearfully, not understanding what was happening. Tate just closed his eyes... and began to pray.

A great massacre was about to begin in that humble village, isolated from any other civilization.

‡