Radiant Calendar 1254, September 12th.
Tens of thousands of demon troops crossed the Ims Sea, launching a surprise attack from high in the sky on Hilos, the royal capital of the Nordvian Kingdom.
This sudden assault caused tens of thousands of casualties; the bishop stationed in the city and several high-tier mages all perished in the demon attack.
In the critical moment, an unknown mage activated a large-scale teleportation spell.
Though criticized for its highly random destinations, it was later proven to have successfully saved the lives of tens of thousands of innocent Nordvian subjects, even including His Majesty the King, who had ascended the throne only a few years prior.
As for why the demons successively attacked the Norlan and Nordvian nations, no unified conclusion was reached among the countries.
However, based on clues provided by the Radiant Church, the demons seemed to be rampantly searching for some important target within Hilos City.
From this, some speculated that the demon attack on the Norlan Empire was merely bait, aimed at forcing the church to concentrate its attention southward, thereby neglecting defenses elsewhere on the continent and allowing them to launch the assault on the Nordvian Kingdom.
Whether they ultimately obtained what they wanted remained unknown to the people of that time.
But what could be confirmed was that a astonishing storm, one that would engulf all humans and demons and eventually sweep across the entire continent, had begun to take its initial shape from this moment.
His body… felt so heavy.
In his hazy consciousness, Ed vaguely sensed something heavy pressing down on him.
He reached out to touch it, but only felt a piece of soft fabric.
What is this…
As his awareness gradually cleared, he slowly opened his eyes and looked down.
The first thing entering his pitch-black vision was the silver-haired girl sprawled across his chest, sleeping peacefully.
Her long lashes seemed to tremble slightly, and a faint smile lingered on her somewhat cute face; she appeared to be sleeping quite soundly.
What is this situation?
Ed didn’t get up immediately. He frowned and thought for a good while before sorting out what had happened before.
The demon assault…
The two of them cornered by demons…
The sudden teleportation spell…
Tch, what a mess.
Ed rubbed his head, feeling a bit of a headache.
“Mm…”
Perhaps Ed’s arm-raising motion brushed against her arm; the girl let out a soft “mm,” blinking laboriously several times before opening those crimson eyes.
“…Ed?”
The girl murmured softly.
“Why are you… under me…”
She still seemed a bit dazed, propping herself up on Ed’s chest and slowly sitting up.
But soon, as the post-sleep grogginess faded, her fair face flushed with a sunset-like blush, rapidly spreading to her ear tips and even her neck.
“E-E-E-Ed—”
“It’s Ed.”
Ed smiled.
“Good evening, somewhat stuttering witch miss.”
“Wuu—”
The girl let out a wail, scrambling off Ed in a flurry. She turned her back to him with a red face, pinching the hem of her clothes and not daring to speak.
Ed could finally sit up.
He didn’t know if it was a side effect of the teleportation spell, but even in the pitch-black environment, he vaguely saw white steam rising from the girl’s head.
“S-sorry.” The girl fidgeted for a long time before finally saying softly, “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s nothing.” Ed waved it off, pushing against the ground to stand up.
“We’re lucky to have escaped alive; the position doesn’t matter.”
“Oh…”
“Wait, did we really escape?”
The girl blinked, her crimson eyes particularly striking in the dim environment.
“So what was that light? Some kind of spell too?”
“Mm, it was a spatial teleportation spell, probably the work of some mage. Thanks to him, we should count as having escaped. If I find out who that mage is later, I have to thank him properly.”
After casually explaining, Ed finally had time to observe their current surroundings since waking up.
Black—an endless expanse of black.
When Ed first woke, he thought it was night, which was why everything was pitch-black.
But now, the surrounding light was dim to an absurd degree, giving him the feeling that they were in a completely sealed room.
“I take back what I said; it might not be evening now—it could be morning, noon, or afternoon.”
“Eh?”
Ed didn’t say more.
He cautiously took a few steps; the sound of his shoes on the ground didn’t resemble any floor he knew, but more like the most common rock in nature.
“Ed…”
Bailis also noticed this obviously abnormal environment.
She instinctively moved closer to Ed’s position, but in the dark, it was hard to see clearly.
The girl nearly pressed right against the boy’s back, then flusteredly stepped back two paces before finding a distance she deemed comfortable, her tense body finally relaxing a bit.
“S-so where are we? Why is it so dark… Could that mage have done something to us?”
“I can’t be sure.”
Ed moved a few more steps; this time, his hand touched a hard, cold object, feeling somewhat like a stone wall.
“But it looks like we’re in a cave. Tch, what kind of teleportation spell did that guy use? Why set the coordinates in a place like this…”
He muttered, pressing both hands against the “stone wall,” trying to grope his way along to find a possible exit.
“Follow me; let’s look for the exit together.” He said over his shoulder. “We can’t stay here forever.”
The girl tightened her clothes, inexplicably feeling a bit cold. She nodded and stepped forward to follow Ed.
The two fumbled around blindly for a while, but still no trace of light appeared in the dark vision.
Fortunately, the ground seemed fairly flat, so no need to worry about tripping over some protrusion in the darkness and taking a hard fall on the chin.
“If only there was light.” Ed sighed. “In this pitch-blackness, forget finding the exit—avoiding walking into walls is a big problem.”
“Light?” The girl behind him tilted her head in thought. “Does fire count?”
“Look at my brain.” Ed slapped his forehead. “I forgot you can use fire magic—wait, do you have enough magical power left?”
Bailis closed her eyes to sense it.
“It seems to have recovered a lot. Did we sleep that long?”
“Probably a few hours; my mana has recovered quite a bit too. Then go ahead—try with the weakest flame. We need to figure out this cave’s situation quickly.”
“Okay.”
A cluster of flames suddenly flickered from her fingertip.
Though quite faint, it was enough to illuminate a large area, including above their heads, under their feet, and the surrounding walls.
Looking at the wide passage ahead that could fit seven or eight people shoulder-to-shoulder, Ed finally confirmed his suspicion.
This was indeed a cave.
However, its depth was still unknown, and the exit was nowhere in sight for now.
At the same time, Ed caught a faint, indescribable odor—somewhat like dried animal droppings.
“Bailis, be careful.” Ed spoke cautiously.
“This place might very well be the lair of some wild beast—or even a beast.”