A burst of white light red up from Aina''s palm, illuminating her surroundings and casting shadows on the walls.


    The soft sound of footsteps echoed across the walls of the tunnels. Aina''s steps were measured, filled with confidence and purpose.


    It had been thirty minutes since she stepped into this tunnel, yet it seemed as if she had walked for ages because the tunnel was unending and seemed to stretch forever.


    Moreover, there were no other branching paths. It was simply straight.


    "I wonder if the other tunnels are also like this," Aina thought to herself, boredom slowly settling in.


    She froze in her steps, then pondered with a thoughtful expression. Just how many more steps will I need to take?


    Just as she stopped walking, though, she noticed a branching tunnel carved into the right side of the wall. The darkness in that one was several times thicker and almost suffocating.


    "What are the chances of me walking for another thirty minutes if I continue on this path?" Aina questioned herself. Just to be sure, she cast the white me forward, letting it drift down the dark tunnel like a guiding star.


    As the white me sped through the portal, it illuminated the rough, uneven walls like a torch thrown into a deep cave. It continued to travel further, revealing nothing but darkness.


    "That''s still some distance, for sure." Aina frowned. She could still see the faint glow of the me as it traveled further, gradually being swallowed by the darkness, which signified that it had yet to reach a dead end. If it did, then the ball of white me would be immediately extinguished.


    Left with no choice, Aina took the branching tunnel to her right.


    Unlike the first tunnel, she hadn''t made any significant progress. As soon as she stepped into the tunnel, she immediately heard a series of voices.


    Just a couple of steps further, the voices grew louder.


    "Hurry up!"


    "Why is it taking so long?"


    "Just a little more... then it will be free."


    "Those are human voices, without a doubt." Aina''s gaze became sharp. "Could it be that an organization is really behind this beast tide?" she wondered as she cautiously approached the source of the voices.


    And it didn''t take too long for her to find it. However, what she saw left her stunned and speechless.


    ---


    Just like Nox, Aina and Eve were navigating separate tunnels.


    But there was a noticeable difference between the two sides.


    Unlike Aina and Nox, who used torches to illuminate their paths, Eve treaded through the darkness. The only light came from her eyes. Those ruby eyes were especially frightening, glowing softly in the dark.


    With her towering height of six feet, the necromancer was like a demon, capable of scaring even the toughest men. What made her a bit more unsettling was her shadow.


    ...Eve''s shadow was strange. In contrast to the shadows of others, hers looked more disjointed, as if it had a life of its own.


    After walking for a while, Eve finally arrived in a much wider space that was lit up with a series of torches. In this space, she found about five cloaked figures.


    "What the hell is that?" One of the cloaked figures eximed in a trembling voice.


    "Is that a beast?" Another of them whispered, feeling their scalp tingle. "Did one of the beasts break free?"


    The group of five froze as a pair of red glowing eyes emerged from the darkness. They were almost reptilian and beautiful at the same time.


    "Quickly, sh the torch that way!"


    With shaky hands, one of them shuffled to the walls to quickly retrieve the torches and shed them at the towering silhouette. The flickering orange light revealed a beautiful yet terrifying woman.


    "Intruder!" Someone shouted. "Sound the rm!"


    A cold sneer appeared on Eve''s face as she said, "As if I''ll let that happen." Then she lunged forward at the one who had insisted on sounding the rm. A dagger shed in the air, and that unfortunate person''s head was decapitated, thudding to the ground, sttering blood everywhere.


    "I didn''t even see her move! This is terrible. We need to call the chi—"


    Shing!


    That person was ughtered as well.


    There were now three people left. Eve easily killed off two, leaving just one alive.


    "If you don''t want to end up like them, start speaking." Eve''s voice gave no room for argument, and the remaining cloaked figure shuddered.


    Despite killing all these people, Eve''s expression remained rtively unreadable.


    At that moment, however, her eyes fell on the symbol of the ming rose, and her eyes shed with surprise.


    ---


    Meanwhile, Nox...


    There was a deep frown on Nox''s face as he stared at the two before him. These people... are they even Awakened? Nox thought. They''re very weak, and I''ve tried to sense it, but nothing seems toe up.


    "With such fragile builds, it would be pathetic if they''re actually Awakened."


    Currently, Nox held the pair down, their faces pressed hard into the cold wall. The pair exchanged terrified nces. The man tried to wriggle free, but Nox pressed him harder against the wall, making him wince in pain.


    The woman struggled as well, but the same thing happened, and she winced in pain. She was much more confident and outspoken than the man. "Whoever you are... if I were you, you''d better let us go... if not, you won''t be able to leave this ce alive!" she warned.


    Nox noticed the confident undertone in her voice. "What is the guarantee that I''d survive if I let you go?" he stated and mmed the woman''s face into the wall.


    BANG!


    Several cracks appeared on the walls.


    "It seems you forgot who is in charge here," Nox said firmly. "Now start speaking."


    "Y-you... how dare you—"


    "You never seem to learn, huh? Then let me make you an example." As Nox said this, he grabbed the woman''s head and smashed it into the wall.


    BANG!


    "You—" She tried to work her jaw but found her head being mmed into the wall again.


    She still seemed to have a lot more to say, so Nox continued to m her head into the wall.


    "P-please," she tried to beg at one point, but Nox was not having any of it. He continued to m her face with a frightening level of calmness that should have been impossible for someone his age to disy.


    Soon, the woman stopped moving. The familiar screen announcing experience points shed across his retina. Ignoring the screen, Nox let go of the woman, grabbed the man, and drove his face into the wall as well.


    BANG!


    "Dang it! I''ll tell you everything! Please, just don''t kill me!" The man, however, was much more cooperative.