The m, the team advanced deeper into the abandoned city, looking while searg for clues. The group of ten people decided to divide their members into five to finish the mission as fast as possible.

  All they needed was to find evidence regardi traffig. To make it fair for everyohey used a stick lottery. Those who would pull the stick that had the same length would be partners during the ey of the expedition.

  "This is the shortest, I guess," Efraim looked at the piece of wood on his palm.

  His finger was even lohan it. Then, seds after, Lindsay approached him while holding a stick with the same length as his.

  "Great! We're partners!" She excimed iement.

  The other men from the team looked at Efraim with a hint of jealousy; the thought of being apanied by a beautiful maiden on a mission made their heart skip a beat.

  "Attention, everyohe captain called to all of his members, and upon seeing them looking at him, he began to speak.

  "This mission is only about scouting and gathering evidence. If you enter something or someone dangerous," he paused and looked at everyone's eyes before tinuing. "Please, don't put your lives on the line; fall bad don't hesitate to use the signal fres to call for help. Is that clear?"

  Upon seeing that the eeam nodded, he spoke once again.

  "Remember, do er the arena, no matter what happens. This pce will be athering spot. Return before su," he added.

  Then, without wasting any more time, he ordered. "Move out!"

  The equators went their separate ways. Some iigated the underground tunnel while the others went to the city's uy. Meanwhile, Efraim walked in a casual manner while Lindsay followed him from behind.

  "Ahmnn, where are we going? Why are we heading back? Don't tell me..." Lindsay asked, curious about the man's as.

  "You stay here if you want," Efraim replied without halting on his track.

  "No! I'm going with you!" Lindsay insisted.

  The man just gnced behind to see how desperate she was, and upon seeing her wholehearted expression, his lips curled into a smile.

  After walking almost half a kilometer. The pair reached the arena. Lindsay gulped as he looked at the cracked walls and the darkness looming inside.

  Efraim entered without a si of hesitation, and Lindsay followed his steps without making any noise. She hugged her staff while looking around. The dark surroundings made her a little bit scared, but the sudden brightness ing from the dle lights that lit up oer the other caused her to move closer to the young man.

  "I told you, you need not e here," Efraim uttered, and then he pulled out his bdes.

  Soon after, cheers from the crowd occupied the entire pce, and after a few seds, the g sound of g swords resonated as well.

  "What's happening?" Lindsay cried out.

  "Don't move away from this spot; defend yourself with the stro shield you could deploy," Efraim ordered, and then he ran around the arena.

  The sed, he searched for the hole that he made st night, and upon seeing it still there, he returned his focus to running.

  "Walls as hard as steel, heed thy call, surreo my will! e forth! Petra!" Lindsay did as she was told.

  She cast a summoning spell, and a magic circle materialized beh her, then a massive golem with four heads fag in all dires rose up from the dirt.

  The sed, it k in front of the woman aes giant hand. Lindsay stepped onto it, and the golem stood up, then a brown-colored barrier enveloped her and her summon.

  At the same time, Efraim tinued running as fast as he could.

  "Please, show some rea," he uttered.

  He had no idea how to defeat the apparitions, and if things went wrong, he would just escape like he did yesterday night.

  During that time, he noticed a strange light ing from his earring, and it was the first time he saw aion from it, and he was now hoping that it would react the same way like before.

  But trary to his expectations, it showed no signs nor any kind of light. Given this fact, he looked at Lindsay to check her status.

  The sed, he stumbled on something invisible, which caused him to fall on the ground.

  "Efraim!" Lindsay yelled, about his safety.

  She was about to and the golem to move when Efraim's voice echoed in the dome.

  "Don't move from there!" He said before standing up.

  'Damhings; they attack me, but I 't even touch them. That's not fair,' he pined inside his thoughts as he tinued running around, thinking of his course of a.

  Then several minutes had passed, and the annoying cheers and ughter from the audience seats died down. It was repced by an ear-pierg roar, enough for the dome to vibrate.

  "What is this now?" Efraim asked.

  Several seds ter, the tremor didn't stop, instead, it became louder and closer as if someone big was walking towards him.

  'This is getting insane,' Efraim pondered.

  He stopped for a while, but he was sent flying the sed. His body smmed into the wall, causing debris to fall into him.

  "Efraim!" Lindsay shouted.

  Thera, the four-headed golem, moved and came to his rescue. However, the moment it reached Efraim's location, cracks began to appear on its defensive barrier.

  "I told you, don't move from the spot. They only attack those who are moving," Efraim expined while wiping the bloodstain from the er of his lips.

  Theood up, but the moment he did, he was hit in the abdomen, which sent him flying several meters away. His body drew an ar the air before crashing into the audience seats, and then rge ks of debris fell onto him.

  Afterward, the loud cheers from the invisible crowd returned, and the cracks appearing ora's barrier were increasing in number.

  Scared from the series of events that transpired before her eyes, Lindsay raised her staff and invoked another spell.

  "Oh great spirit of fire, let your strength be scired, the way you desire!" She said.

  Then, a magic circle rge enough to cover the eage of the arena appeared. It had a sun in the middle while embers of fme scattered ihe hexagram. The sed, the lines on it lit up in a red color hue, and burning va rose ihe area.

  However, the attacks ing from all dires didn't halt as if the sea of fire ook effect. Upon seeing this, Lindsay raised her staff once again; she was about to invoke another set of spells when an explosion occurred from the audience's seat.

  As soon as she looked into it, she saw Efraim's silhouette, and a smile blossomed from her lips, but it only sted for a sed after realizing something was amiss.

  "W-What in the world is that?" She stuttered; her voice escaped like a choked whisper.

  Efraim stood up there, his right eye glowing in an emerald-colored heptagram while a veridist vertical line ran through his right forehead all the way to his cheek.

  Meanwhile, the white casket dangling from his right ear turned b color, and the cross on its surface became a shade of green.

  The sed, Efraim extended his hand, pointing it to the arena and traces of green energy began to gather in front of his palm.

  "Burn to oblivion," Efraim said; his voice was hoarse and filled with enough meo send shivers to Lindsay's spine.

  Afterward, everything was set abze, green fme ignited in the ruined pce. The cheers of ughter disappeared as it became cries of despair.

  Then, the apparitions became visible to Lindsay's eyes. There were humans, beastmen, and even fiends fighting ihe arena. Upon seeing them closed, she couldn't help but feel scared; tears began to form in the er of her eyes. However, the se only sted for a sed, as several magic circles appeared on all of the apparitions' limbs. Afterward, the magic circles glowed a veridist hue and exploded at the same time.

  Lindsay was astonished and stu the event that transpired before her eyes.

  The dle lights died down, but the green fmes tio burn, and Efraim was now looking at her. And as soon as he raised his hand, small magic circles materialized between Lindsay's limbs. On her neck, both on her wrists, and even on her feet.

  "E-Efraim, n-no. D-Don't do this! Wake up!" Lindsay stuttered; fear was evident in her eyes, and then tears began to flow on her cheeks.

  "Efraim," she called him for o time.

  However, the equator didn't respond; he just stared at her without an ounotion, and the sed, Lindsay's mi bnk as her world turned upside down. Her head fell o her severed feet before her body colpsed on the solid ground.

  . . . . .