Later, Shokei and her party arrived at their destination. Everyone looked up to see the pce where the book was located. There stood a tower that stands up to fifty feet long. The tower is old and ancient as it stands strong. There are no cracks on the walls as the structure of the tower is very strong. Shokei looks to see the entrance. She turned to Mariko and the young witch seriously nodded as she meant business.

  "We made it this far into our search." Shokei said to her party. "Let's retrieve that book."

  "Not so fast!"

  Before anyone could make a move, the party hears someone calling out to them. The party looks to see a figure making its appearance and stops in front of them. The person turned out to be a mysterious woman in a goth lolita attire with purple shading. Her dark purple hair stood out with ponytails and her eyes are purple. The figure seemed to be carrying a big book with her.

  "Hey! That looks like the book that I've been searching for!" Mariko said and pointed out to the book.

  "Actually, what you seek is not yours." The woman said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

  "Oh..." Mariko said with disappointment.

  "Might I ask who you are?" Shokei asked.

  "I am Raicho." The woman introduced herself. "A schor who dwells in nature and the forests are my calling."

  "Interesting..." Naoko said and then whispered to herself. "Kinda weird to me..."

  "Do all of you dare to enter this tower?" Raicho asked them.

  "We are." Shokei tells her. "We seek an important item within that tower."

  "And here I was thinking this tower is her private property." Naoko whispered with a giggle.

  "I don't think that's funny." Saeko said to her.

  "Heading inside that tower is dangerous." Raicho warned them. "This tower is home to the Harpies."

  "Really?" Shokei asked.

  "With a group like us, we can take them on." Rei said.

  "No. None of you don't understand." Raicho shakes her head.

  "What do you mean?" Mariko asked.

  "Inside that tower, someone is controlling those Harpies." Raicho expined. "The Harpies are behaving more violently and are more of a threat than before. Far as I know, an evil wizard is controlling them. He is a very strange and is dangerous when I had encountered him."

  "It seems that you are being honest about all this." Shokei said. "As I said, my party are in numbers, and we'll take care of this situation."

  "But wait!" Raicho said, preventing the party to go further. "You have no idea what kind of Harpies you are dealing with."

  "If these aren't normal Harpies, then what are we dealing with?" Saeko asked.

  "I remember one day that those Harpies have struck at travelers that dare come up to this mountain." Raicho recalled. "These Harpies looked energized as they tore up those victims limb to limb. For a regur Harpy, usually they remain indoors. These Harpies, however, are willing to come out and terrorize anyone that comes near. Even if you try to run, the Harpies can still hunt you down without stopping."

  Shokei and her party look among themselves. Then they look back at the schor.

  "We don't have a choice." Shokei said. "We been through tough situations before. Despite what we're going for, we need to get that book in that tower."

  "Yes! That's the spirit!" Mariko cheered. "We'll just bust in there, fight whatever we have to fight, and then I can get my hands on that book."

  "Hey now." Rei tells her. "Let's not get too excited about this. This woman here is being real with us."

  "I cannot stop you if you dare enter this tower." Raicho said. "If that is the case, I should come along with you just in case."

  "What you got to defend yourself?" Rei asked.

  "This." Raicho holds the big book in her hand.

  "A book?" Saeko asked. "How do you fight with a book?"

  "That's weird." Naoko said. "I can't imagine someone fighting monsters with a book."

  "Trust me. There's more to this book then judging it by its cover." Raicho said. "This book is well made for combat. I am capable of magic as well."

  "Fair enough." Shokei said with a nod. "Join us."

  Raicho hears this and smiled for approval of being accepted.

  "For the record, I am not an enemy of any kind. I too am an adventurer and..." Raicho takes a breath and said, "I'm also lonely..."

  "Then you won't have to worry about a thing." Shokei said. "You're with us now."

  "Thanks." Raicho said.

  "With that out of the way, let's move on." Rei said.

  Raicho officially joined Shokei's party and then everyone makes their way to the tower. As they make their way to the tower, someone is watching the party from above as they are heading for the entrance. The figure did not make its move and waits for the party to come to the tower.

  The party made their way to the tower without incident or any sign of Harpies. All of them are at the entrance to the tower and the door for the tower seemed to be locked. However, the door has a special lock that is protected by eight digits.

  "Hmm..." Shokei looks at the door. "It looks like we'll have to find a way to break through this door."

  Rei inspects the lock with numbers. Then she looks back on the sheet of paper with numbers on it. She looks carefully to see if there was anything else that is written on the paper. Looking at the back of the paper shows a sign of the exact numbers to be used in the exact order. The numbers were id out in a pair of two digits.

  "Shokei. You might want to use this as reference for this lock." Rei said.

  Shokei looks at the paper that Rei holds and takes it.

  "I think the numbers listed here may be the key to opening the lock." Rei said.

  "Let's see here..."

  Shokei used the numbers that are traced and circled in the correct order. By using the numbers with the two digits, she was able to get all eight numbers in position by spinning the dial. Shokei turned the handle and then a sound was heard, indicating that the combination has been unlocked.

  "Success!" Shokei said happily.

  "Right! We're going in!" Mariko said with a smile.

  Shokei opens the door, and her party makes their way inside the tower. Once they went inside, the party gets a look around the tower. Checking the interior design, the tower looked old and has the support of slight lighting from the windows. The tiles on the ground floor looked cracked and exposed with dirt. A spiral staircase is right in from of them as it leads upwards to the top of the tower.

  "We're here." Shokei said.

  "The atmosphere of this pce is quiet." Mizuki said. "You can barely hear the wind."

  "The book has got to be on the top floor. Mariko said. "Then again, those stairs lead the way."

  The party proceeds to walk up the stairs as they proceed with caution.

  "Be careful everyone...those Harpies could be up there." Raicho tells the party.

  Shokei and her party walk up the spiral stairs. The stairs are a big climb to the top as they continue going upward.

  "Geez, these stairs look long enough to walk on." Naoko said.

  "You can say that again." Beatrice said. "Good enough for exercise I'll say."

  "It's a good thing Marie is not with us." Saeko said. "I can imagine her compining about these stairs."

  "Heheh, and I would flip if she were to drive me crazy." Rei ughed a bit.

  "Wait!" Raicho tells the party. "I hear something."

  "What is it?" Shokei asked.

  "Shh! Listen!"

  The party came to a halt. They pause as they immediately have their weapons armed and ready for anything to come from above. They wait for a few minutes as there was no sign of a threat.

  "I can barely hear anything coming above." Mariko said, looking up.

  "You won't know that...but I do." Raicho said. "My ears are sensitive for sounds that I hear coming from a far distance."

  The party remained silent for a bit. Raicho listened carefully until she hears noises of monsters swooping down. The noise builds up as war cries of the flying monsters are swooping downward, fpping their wings. Everyone looks up to see the swarm of Harpies coming down on them.

  "Uh uo!!" Raicho shouted. "Duck!"

  "There's no time for that!" Tamiko said out loud.

  "Here they come!" Shokei unsheathes her sword.

  Tamiko gripped her crossbow and fires bolts at one of the Harpies. The projectile went straight towards the heart at one of the Harpies, killing that Harpy instantly. Shokei and her party fought and defend themselves as the Harpies attacked them. They continue fighting their enemies as they continue to go upstairs and get to a surface. Tamiko takes precision with her crossbow as she strikes her bolts at the Harpies one by one.

  The party continues to fight the Harpies as more of the ferocious flying creatures are coming at them. Everyone continues their way as they get to another flight of stairs.

  "Geez! There's too many of them!" Saeko shouted as she continues to fight against the Harpies.

  Raicho used her heavy made book as her weapon. The book is the size of a dictionary, and it fits her hand. She fought the Harpies with a swing of her book. Then she decided to take matters in her hand to sort the situation.

  "Petrified Bolt!"

  Raicho cast out a magic spell against the Harpies. A spsh of strong lighting was used against the Harpies as it struck them into stone. The stoned Harpies fell quickly as the party moves out of the way to let the figures shatter to the ground.

  "Yes, it worked!" Raicho said with success.

  "Keep doing that! It'll decrease the wave of these Harpies quickly." Sadako said to her.

  "I'm on it." Raicho said.

  Raicho's spell was used against the Harpies as the fight against these wild creatures are becoming easier to take care of. Once the Harpies have been defeated, the party continues going up the stairs to get to the next floor.

  Arriving on the fourth floor, the party looks around to see if there was any sign of Harpies. However, there was no sign of them.

  "Hmm? It seems that the Harpies stopped coming." Shokei said.

  "Maybe that's the st of them..." Raicho said. "And I feel like I've exhausted out my magic."

  "Shokei, over there."

  Mariko points out to a treasure box that is at the center of the floor. The box looks sealed as it is locked with a dial-turned combination feature, like a safe. Each dial consists of numbers that range from zero to fifty.

  "This...this is it." Mariko said, feeling determined. "This is where that book is. Its right in there."

  "I hope so." Mizuki said. "We came far into finding this book."

  "And yet were stuck with cracking the code to open this box." Mariko said.

  "How are we supposed to get this open if we don't know the combination?" Tamiko asked.

  "Perhaps the paper that Rei found would lead to answers." Shokei said, taking the paper out.

  Shokei checks the paper and examines it carefully to see if there was anything that would be a hidden clue. Seeing that there are three turn dials on the box, she takes note of three numbers that are visible to her eyes as they are nearly faded out.

  "Anything?" Saeko asked.

  "Hmm, I'm having a hard time reading three numbers that I can't make out." Shokei said.

  "Here, let me take a look at it." Kichiro said.

  Shokei hands the paper to Kichiro. Kichiro can see the numbers through his vision. He can easily spot the numbers very well and then he went over to the box.

  "Allow me." Kichiro said.

  Mariko stepped aside as she let Kichiro crack the treasure box. He looks at the numbers that are visible to him on the paper. Then he goes for opening the combination by turning the dials.

  "Hmm..." Kichiro looks back at the paper and then turns the dials with the correct numbers. Once the three numeric numbers were in pce, Kichiro opens the box. The force of the safe opened but without Kichiro lifting the box.

  "Huh? Its opening!" Kichiro said, stepping back.

  "Ummm...yay?" Mariko nearly cheered and noticed that there was something wrong with the picture.

  "Something is emerging out of the box!" Saeko pointed out.

  "Get back everyone!" Shokei tells the party.

  The party looks to see that a white, shadowy fog-like substance is pouring out of the box. The fog swirls into a cloud and then the formation of that cloud rises.

  "What in the world could it be?" Raicho asked, looking up to see the cloud going up.

  Everyone looks up to see that the clouds are swirling in pce. Then the clouds subsided and there, the party can see a armored monster that is headless. It was a Silver Knight that holds a two-handed sword that is dark and has a jagged edge. Mariko eyes widened as she saw the monster with a sword.

  "Woah!" Rei said, looking at the monster. "The hell is this thing? Its tall!"

  "A headless knight..." Beatrice said, getting her weapon out.

  "We need to defeat this thing before looking inside that box!" Raicho said to everyone.

  Shokei and her party are geared up and fought against the headless Silver Knight.

  The fight begins as the Silver Knight swings its sword down at the party. Everyone clears the way as they evade from the monster's weapon. Beatrice makes her move as she swings her bde at the enemy. The. Silver Knight sees her coming and with dexterity, it immediately swings its sword against her with a counterclockwise tactic. Beatrice guards herself quickly as the sword swings at her and she was being sent backwards by the enemy's attack.

  Saeko leaps into the air as she aimed for the chest. The Silver Knight quickly used its free hand and grabs her. Saeko cried out as she got grabbed by the leg. The monster threw her down as she felt damaged into the back. Saeko felt pinned to the ground as the Silver Knight was ready to use its sword to kill her. Naoko takes advantage and saves Saeko in time just before the jagged two-handed sword could touch her.

  "T-Thanks Naoko." Saeko tells her. "I owe you one."

  "No problem." Naoko said to her.

  Shokei and her party steps back further as the Silver Knight is making things dangerous with its giant sword. The weapon the monster carries is doing the work against the party.

  "This monster's a beast!" Rei said.

  "We need to do something to take care of this enemy." Shokei said.

  "There has to be a way to bring the Knight to its disadvantage." Sadako said, thinking of a strategy. "Despite how tall it is, we need to do something else to even the matter."

  The Silver Knight approaches the party as it gripped its two-handed sword with just one hand. Sadako looks on the floor and has an idea.

  "Chilling Icicle!"

  Using her magic, the spell made the spacious floor into solid ice. The slippery surface was right near the enemy. The Silver Knight feels the slippery surface as it loses its footing to keep itself steady. Suddenly, the monster slipped on the ice and falls down to its back. The impact of the monster falling down made the surface shake. Seeing the monster falling back on the ground made Mizuki takes immediate action.

  "Forces of nature, empower me...Earth Fissure!!"

  The Silver Knight did not recover as it felt the ground around him erupted into a sharp, steep, piercing blow. The geo effect struck parts of the monster's armor as the spikes penetrated through its defenses. This caused the enemy's armor to be trapped by the rocky element.

  Everyone can see that the Silver Knight is down. Shokei felt a sensation as her Mithrodin sword is gaining a wave of strength. She looks at the bde as it glows, and she knows what to do.

  "Everyone...stand back." Shokei tells her party.

  Shokei feels the energy from the sword as she gets in position. She can see that the Silver Knight is trying to get back on its feet. The monster's condition was still damaged as it tried to regain its bance. The sword shines brightly as Shokei dashes and charged right at the enemy.

  "Style Execution!!"

  Shokei brandished her sword as she strikes through the monster. The Silver Knight felt the impact of the ssh as it felt torn apart. The Silver Knight ended in defeat as its corpse has been destroyed by the sudden impact from Shokei's power. The remains of the headless monster vanish like dust as it became extinct.

  "Wow! Such incredible strength!" Mariko said, amazed at Shokei's performance.

  "Yes! We did it!" Rei cheered.

  After the Silver Knight has been taken care of, Shokei and her party goes back to the treasure box. Mariko makes her move and checked to see if the book was inside. Mariko's eyes became wide as she reached inside to retrieve an item in her hand. She smiled as soon as she finally found what she was looking for the whole time.

  "This is it!" Mariko said with gdness. "The moment that I was waiting for! The Tome of Thaumaturgy!"

  "So that's what we were trying to find the whole time." Rei said, looking at the book in Mariko's hand.

  "And I assume this is the 'relic' that you mentioned to us." Shokei said to her.

  "Yes!" Mariko said, feeling proud. "This book contains miracles that can make wonderworking a reality. I have a feeling that this book will be useful. And thanks to all of you, I can't believe the trouble we went through to search for this book."

  "Does the book grant you magical powers?" Beatrice asked.

  "You should look through the book to see if its real or not." Saeko said.

  Mariko flips through the book for a quick examination. By going through the book, she sees that there are personal notes that are scattered throughout the book.

  "Looks like there are writings within this book." Mariko said. "Ancient, but definitely worth reading."

  "I see." Shokei said.

  "A book like this, although ancient, would help me improve to be a better illusionist in the future." Mariko said.

  "I don't know about that...but ok..." Mizuki said, looking the other way.

  "For a witch like you, you definitely got ways to go." Rei said.

  "Of course." Mariko said. "Anyways, I must thank all of you for helping me find this book. I know it was stressful for all of you, but I can give this book to that fortune-telling person. She'll be proud of me for my search."

  "Really?" Mizuki said and asked. "You mean this book isn't for you personally?"

  "Not yet." Mariko said to her. "I have to go through training with that fortune-telling dy. She also knows magic too."

  "I see..." Saeko said.

  "...huh?"

  Just then, Shokei notices something ahead. She spots a figure looking at her and brought to her attention. The figure quickly moves away and escaped as its footsteps head up to the roof of the tower. Shokei chases after the unknown figure.

  "Shokei! Where are you going?!" Rei called out to her.

  Shokei runs up the stairs as fast as she can to pursuit the figure. Her party followed behind as they ran to the stairs. From running up a long flight of stairs, which is spiral, Shokei made it to the rooftop of the tower. Shokei looks around to see where the figure has ran off to. Unfortunately, the figure was nowhere to be seen.

  "No way!" Shokei said with a pissed look.

  "S-Shokei! Over here!!"

  A familiar voice was head as Shokei listened. Hearing the voice, she turned and see who it was. Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar face standing there, looking directly at her.

  "An-Antoinette!"

  Shokei called out to her, and she sees the princess. She did not get too close as she kept her distance. She remained cautious, knowing that this may be a trap.

  "P-Princess Antoinette...is that you?" Shokei asked.

  "It's me Shokei." Antoinette tells her. "It really is."

  "But you were taken by those Necromutants..." Shokei said. "What are you doing here?"

  "Shokei...you should have not come here...don't come any closer...it's a trap." Antoinette warned.

  "Huh? What do you mean?" Shokei asked.

  "Just leave while you can! The enemy put me here in pce and..."

  Antoinette was interrupted as she was cut off by a mysterious figure that appeared in front of Shokei.

  "What the?!" Shokei blinked.

  Shokei can see a man with gray hair in front of her. Fozoworu made a sneaky surprise attack by striking at her with a bolt of lightning right at her. Shokei was caught off guard as she felt her body get struck by the lighting, making her paralyzed. Shokei cried out as she fell to the floor in jolting pain.

  "SHOKEI!!"

  Shokei grunts in pain as her body felt weak by the lighting. She heard Antoinette shouted at her from a distance. Shokei felt her body going numb as she was on her knees. She looks up to see that Fozoworu stands there as he was the one that delivered the attack.

  "Y...yo...you..." Shokei grunts in pain as she angrily looked at the lead Necromutant.

  "Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm..." Fozoworu grinned and said, "I'm amused that you fell right for the trap as pnned."

  Shokei tried to get up, but her body felt too stunned by the lighting effect.

  "Now, Emissary..." Fozoworu said. "If you wish for the princess to live, I suggest that you hand over the gems that you own in your possession."

  "N...no..." Shokei said back at the enemy. "If...if you want the gems, you'll have to fight me first."

  "I love to fight against you. But you're in a state of shock." Fozoworu said, ughing at her.

  Shokei growled and tried to fight through the paralysis. She couldn't.

  "But seeing you numb as it is, I believe this would make things easier to kill you." Fozoworu continued as he takes out a long sword. "l'll be sure to give you a slow and painful death. Execution style."

  Shokei grunts as she feels the paralysis affecting her.

  "I'm going to turn you own to be..."

  Antoinette spectates as Fozoworu is close to Shokei.

  "...a dying little Emissary!!" Fozoworu said with a ugh.

  "NO!!" Antoinette shouted out loud, shaking her head.

  Fozoworu grips his sword as he's armed to go in for the kill. He raised his sword high while Shokei is unable to fight the paralysis.

  "These...are her st moments."

  The Necromutant went for the kill. However, he looked up to see a wave of flying kunai-knives aiming at him. Fozoworu reacted quickly as he backed away from his target and defended himself from the knives as he magically used a shield to protect himself from the projectiles. Shokei turns to see that her party has caught up with her. Rei immediately goes to Shokei.

  "Shokei!" Rei said and asked. "Are you ok?"

  "I'm g-gd you guys came in time." Shokei said.

  "C'mon! Get up you!"

  Rei helps Shokei gets on her feet. The effect of the paralysis is starting to wear off. Fozoworu looks to see that Shokei's party arrived on time before he executed the leader. Shokei finally gets back on her feet to confront the Necromutant.

  "We made it in time before you tried to kill my friend you bastard." Rei called out to Fozoworu.

  "Hmmph! You should be fortunate that I spared her." Fozoworu said, feeling disappointed.

  "You just never give up on your games against us, do you?" Rei asked him.

  "I would never give up the fight against the Emissary and her circle of friends..." Fozoworu said.

  "As long as she has friends like us, we'll fight alongside with her." Rei said. "I'll make sure that I'll be here for her no matter what trouble she is in."

  Shokei recovers from the stun attack that Fozoworu done to her. She sees that the Necromutant is in the way as Antoinette stands there, feeling worried. She has no clue on what was going to happen. Suddenly, she jerked up as she felt the appearance of Hauntmystic behind her.

  "Huh?!" Matokai looks ahead and said, "It's that strange demonic woman again!"

  "...Hauntmystic..." Naoko said.

  "It seems that you found your way out of my book Emissary." Hauntmystic said to her. "I thought you would be trapped in there forever...but you were able to survive..."

  "You mean this?" Matokai takes the book out to reveal it.

  "Exactly..." Hauntmystic said. "Not that it matters because I'm unhappy to see you have escaped from my trap."

  "You can say that...but I was not the only one inside that book." Shokei tells her. "I have met someone along the way while I was trapped inside your book."

  "Ohhhh! Your little witch friend over there." Hauntmystic said, looking directly at her.

  "You wretched witch! You're going to pay for putting me through hell inside that book!" Mariko shouted at her.

  "If you and the Emissary worked together to find your way out, then I would face you off against me with that magic of yours." Hauntmystic tells her. "Prove to me how your magic was useful that led you and the Emissary your freedom out from my book."

  "Wait, what?!" Shokei widened.

  "You want to fight me?! Fine, I'll show you!" Mariko tells her.

  "Don't do it Mariko!" Shokei warned her.

  "Huh...why?" Mariko asked her.

  "You have no idea what power this Necromutant is capable of." Shokei advised. "Her magic is too strong. You can get killed if you're not careful."

  "I..." Mariko paused as she wanted to say something.

  "Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm..." Hauntmystic giggled and asked. "What's the matter young witch? Chicken?"

  Mariko gasped. Then she got mad and stared at the kimono-loli Necromutant.

  "You wouldn't dare call me chicken!" Mariko barked back.

  Mariko grips her wand as she goes right up to face Hauntmystic.

  "MARIKO NO!! DON'T DO THIS!!"

  It was too te for Shokei to stop Mariko as the young witch stands face to face with the Necromutant.

  "You must have guts to face on my powerful henchmen human..." Fozoworu said to Mariko. "If you think that your magic can spar against mines, you have another thing coming."

  Hauntmystic generates her powers with two hands. Mariko watch the Necromutant has fully charged up her magic and fused them together.

  "Would be better to be safe than sorry...catch!"

  Combining her magic, Hauntmystic sends out an energetic crystal ball towards Mariko. The young witch gets ready as she saw the upcoming attack homing towards her.

  "Time Control!!"

  Casting her magic in action, Mariko slows down the process of the Necromutant's attack. With her time spell in effect, the enemy's crystal ball is not slowing down. However, the process of the crystal ball is growing in size.

  "W-What the?!"

  Mariko's eyes widened as her spell did not slow down the enemy's attack. She tried to make a run for it as the crystal ball grew more until it was close enough to touch its target. The ball emerged into an explosion as Mariko's spell ended immediately. Mariko screamed as she was sent flying in the air and takes the hit to the ground.

  "MARIKO!!"

  Shokei and Saeko runs over to Mariko's aid. As they check on her, Hauntmystic grinned as she witnessed the young witch's defeat.

  "Hahahahaha..." Hauntmystic ughed as she speaks out to her victim with malice. "A worthless human with pathetic magic is not capable to withstand the truest form of a Necromutant."

  Luckily, Mariko regained consciousness as she was being helped up by Shokei. She only suffered minor injuries.

  "Uhhhhh..." Mariko shakes her head a little as she felt dazed by the enemy's magic.

  "Are you ok?" Shokei asked her.

  "She might pass out." Saeko said. "That nasty spell the wretched bastard did..."

  "S-Shokei!!"

  Shokei hears Antoinette's voice calling out to her. She looks up to see that Hauntmystic has her in one arm as she is being taken away. The Necromutant floats in the air as Fozoworu is right beside her.

  "Antoinette!!" Shokei called out to her.

  "It's no use Emissary." Hauntmystic tells her. "We spared you and your witch friend, but you have not seen the st of us!"

  "Until we meet again, you will surrender those gems one way or another." Fozoworu said.

  The Necromutants vanished as they take Antoinette with them. Shokei looks up as she sees the enemy are exiting the scene. Silence occurred as soon as the Necromutants were gone.

  Shokei no longer feels the numbness that has been done to her body anymore. She felt mad that she was not able to save Antoinette from her enemies. Shokei looks up to the sky and can only recalled the st time she saw the princess's face.

  Don't worry princess...I will save you...

  Shokei looks back on Mariko. The young witch recovers from the explosion that sent her flying. While she was fortunate to survive the bst, Mariko felt a slight scratch on her face.

  "Mariko..." Shokei called out to her.

  "I'm..." Mariko wanted to say something. She sighed and then said, "I was unable to prove myself on being a full-fledged magic user...a foolish move on my part."

  "You would have been killed by her." Shokei tells her. "It's dangerous for you to go up against the enemy like that. You should have never gone up against that Necromutant."

  "You were right..." Mariko nodded. "I regret doing a senseless act, even if it would cost my life."

  "True..." Shokei said, looking down.

  The party had a moment of silence. The silence sted for a minute.

  "Anyways...let's leave here." Shokei tells her party.

  Everyone heads downstairs as they are leaving the tower. Despite what happened, Mariko was successful in retrieving the book that she was looking for.

  "Say, what do you pn to do with that book again?" Shokei asked.

  "I have to give this book to the fortune teller in Indum." Mariko tells her.

  "How far is Indum from here?" Rei asked.

  "It would take over an hour for us to get to where my hometown is." Mariko said.

  "Oh! You're a resident of Indum I take." Naoko said.

  "Of course, I am." Mariko nodded. "Where else would I reside in?"

  "I thought you live in a witch's house in a forest." Naoko guessed.

  "No, silly! I live in a regur house." Mariko said to her. "But either way, we should be able to reach Indum before nightfall. I'll show you all the way to the town."

  "Great! Let us go then." Shokei said.

  The party walks back down the path to leave the mountain area and returned back to the forest. There, Mariko leads the party the way to Indum.