“ARGH!”

The sharp sword plunged into the unhealed wound, digging deeply. Its sharp edge sliced through flesh and muscle and emerged from the back.

Ridim swung the sword, slicing through the muscle and flesh-covered life-core pocket.

He reached into the chest cavity and pulled it out.

The giant ogre collapsed, thrashing and screaming to the end as it fell forward.

Stepping back from the ogre, Ridim placed the life core on the ground.

“What is this?”

It didn’t look like the life core of an ordinary monster. Dark, menacing energy swirled around it like smoke.

“Grooah… Gruu…”

A desperate light flickered in the ogre’s eyes. Ridim raised his arm and shouted.

“It’s over!”

The sword struck the life core precisely.

Cracks began to form from the point of impact. As the cracks spread, just as they reached the end, a burst of dark energy exploded around them, surprising everyone and causing them to close their eyes and flinch.

At the same time, the sound of something shattering echoed.

“Ke-aak…”

After a moment of silence, they lowered their arms and opened their eyes. The dark energy had vanished without a trace, and the life core lay shattered.

The ogre’s large hand, which had been desperately reaching for the life core until the very end, lay limp and motionless on the ground.

“Hah, huff… hah…”

The only sound in the cave was our heavy breathing. A sigh of relief escaped.

Ridim dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground. He must have had the hardest time dealing with the enemy.

“You did well, Ridim.”

I tried to approach him to help him up. He swiped over his sweaty hair and seemed somewhat relieved.

“Heh, hah… Yes, our skills are quite…”

“Reedmore!”

I shouted in shock at that moment, calling out his name.

A sinister figure quickly approached from behind Ridim.

Without thinking I tried to run toward him, but a strong hand grabbed me and pulled me back.

Claude gripped my shoulders and waist and growled.

“It’s too late! Not now!”

I struggled no matter what he said.

“Reedmore! Watch out!”

Reedmore seemed unaware of what was happening, his eyes were wide.

Suddenly, liquid sprayed from the insect-like monster’s elongated mouth, hitting him above the back of his head.

“Aaaagh!”

Reedmore yelled as he collapsed. A sickening sound and smell instantly filled the cave.

“No!”

Despite my screams, thin insect legs pierced his fallen chest.

Blood sprayed like a fountain. Each joint of the protruding legs with hook-like spikes and dense fur seemed to register eerily slowly in my vision.

The hairy legs twitched for a moment, then quickly retreated from his chest.

“No, no…”

I repeated, not knowing what I was saying.

The blood stains spread quickly around the torn shirt.

As the liquid poured onto the cave floor, it made a sizzling sound and slightly corroded the surface.

Reedmore’s eyes turned inside out from the immense pain, yet he regained consciousness for a moment and locked eyes with me.

His bloodied lips twitched slightly.

“Y-you, fool, idiot…”

Those were his last words before his lips closed forever. They never opened again.

His eyes were the same. The bright red irises hid behind his eyelids.

“Lies. This can’t be true…”

Felicia choked beside me.

My mind went blank.

It’s a lie.

This can’t be real.

The scene before my eyes is fake. It’s just a nightmare that I can wake up from if I close my eyes and open them again.

I whispered to myself. But the despair I couldn’t ignore grew stronger.

“Sylph!”

Felicia’s urgent voice reached my ears as I could only stare at the ground, unable to look up.

“Kieek!”

The approaching monster seemed to hit something in the wind, the impact making a thud, and its screams faded a bit.

“Snap out of it!”

I felt like collapsing right there. Claude grabbed my trembling shoulders and shook me violently.

“Lift your head.”

He tried to force my chin up. I resisted with all my strength.

If I lift my head now, if I look ahead, at Reedmore’s body, at my only friend’s life…less…body…

“A potion.”

A deep voice pierced my ears.

“Snap out of it. The potion, remember? You said there was a potion the priest prepared.”

Ah.

For a moment, confusion and despair vanished as if I had fallen into a clear lake.

“Yes… there is. The priest, Adrian, prepared one himself!”

Hope returned. I fought back tears of relief and astonishment, clenching my face to hold them back.

Claude gently patted my shoulders. His touch began to bring me back to my senses.

“Right. So we have to get him here first. Okley’s holding that thing back. I’ll bring him while they’re busy.”

“Understood.”

He nodded and spoke.

“He’s not dead. We can save him. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

I swallowed hard and agreed. He grabbed my shoulder again and when he saw me staying by Felicia’s side, comforting her as she cried, he rushed out.

“I need to stay calm. More than ever, I need to stay calm.”

I grit my teeth until it felt they might break. Even though a spark of hope had ignited, I couldn’t relax.

Maybe it’s already too late for me to come to my senses, and Reedmore…

“Don’t think like that.”

I forced myself to focus on the monster, trying to hold my crumbling heart together.

Its appearance was disgustingly grotesque.

A combination of cockroach and centipede, its eyes were tiny compared to its large wings and body.

Dozens of pairs of legs moved in different directions, clattering.

Its abnormally long mouth was constantly whimpering, occasionally spraying an unknown liquid as it moved around.

Even though it was a ghost, if its legs were pierced or acid was sprayed, there was no way out but to dodge and attack.

“This is… a Sidrothia. My father mentioned it in passing.”

Felicia spoke in a shaky voice. She continued hesitantly, recalling memories.

“Well, they… they spit out a strong acid from their mouth to dissolve and eat their prey. Also, their shells are hard to penetrate… But my father never mentioned they were so deadly!”

“Weaknesses? How do we deal with them?”

I urged.

His speed was fast, but not comparable to a wind ghost. Still, Sylph and Undine’s attacks bounced off it. The unpleasantly shiny exterior was so thick we couldn’t land a proper blow.

“Weaknesses, weaknesses… He mentioned it back then…”

Felicia had been muttering desperately and suddenly stopped.

“Felicia?”

I called her anxiously. Somehow, another Sidrothia had entered the fray. I called Undine again.

She turned her pale face to us.

“I don’t know… I can’t remember.”

“Your memory, you can’t remember?”

My heart suddenly sank.

Just then, Claude returned, carefully supporting Ridim as he laid him down without looking in our direction.

He approached me as I stared at Felicia with a distant feeling, and opened his backpack, taking out a potion.

Felicia seemed oblivious to Claude’s actions. Lost in her emotions, she was in a state of complete despair. She covered her head and wandered around in confusion.

“I don’t remember at all. He definitely told us. What are we going to do? I’m such a stupid fool. How could I forget at such a crucial moment? It’s all because of me…because of me, we’re all going to die!”

The emotion in her words was so intense that even Claude, who was urgently turning back while holding the potion, stopped for a moment to look at her.

My own nerves began to go haywire. My mouth felt dry.

The Wind Spirit, sensing Felicia’s shaken mental state, looked at us with worried eyes.

The Sidrothia took advantage and tried to grab Sylph with her legs.

Sylph skillfully dodged and rejoined the fight, but through the linked spirits’ senses, I could tell that Sylph couldn’t focus properly because it was worried about its owner.

I wanted to check if Reedmore was holding the potion properly, but I didn’t have that luxury.

I bit my lips until they bled.

“I was too arrogant.”

My anger was directed at myself.

If I thought I needed strength, if I thought I needed to be stronger to protect the people around me, why didn’t I think this would become an immediate threat?

‘How foolish.’

Did I think that even if I died at nineteen, I could live again in this life until that day?

Did I think that I had guaranteed that time until nineteen, so foolishly?

The thought of losing a few, just a few, of the people who were now with me filled me with a sense of dread and threatened to paralyze my brain.

It felt like the ground was sinking deep, and I couldn’t breathe or live in the sunlight again.

I would rather die twice. I wanted to beg for it.

Summoning intermediate spirits all at once, summoning several low level spirits, that was arrogance. It was a complete misjudgment.

I didn’t know that at the Academy, where there was no threat to my life.

I was contracting with spirits, but now I realized that I had no idea how to use them properly. I felt it keenly now.

The efficient use of ether, the power needed to summon spirits, various tactics for fighting with spirits, ways to maximize the power of my spirits even in places where there is no water nearby – I knew none of these things.

I dealt with situations roughly, without confidence, depending on the circumstances of the moment.

I was a half-baked spirit mage.

‘If things continue like this, I’ll die again. Before I turn nineteen.’

If that happens, I won’t be the only one to die.

Burdened with heavy self-loathing, anger, anxiety, and fear, I buried the feelings as deeply as I could in my heart. I took a deep breath to cool my head before I spoke again.

“…Felicia.”