“Well… how should I put it? Lisa summoned three black Nightmare Beasts, and their speed was unimaginably fast. In less than five minutes, they arrived before a mountain range shrouded in mist.”
“This is it. The entrance to the Forbidden Land is deep within the mist,” Lisa said.
Due to the unique nature of the Forbidden Land’s mist, the Nightmare Beasts couldn’t survive inside, so the three of them had no choice but to enter the mist on foot.
Although the Talisman dispelled some of the surrounding mist, visibility remained very low—they could only see a few meters ahead.
So they held hands to avoid getting separated. Of course, Kiz was in the middle, because she couldn’t stand Elia holding another girl’s hand.
After walking for a while, a huge stone door suddenly appeared ahead, its surface covered in intricate runes.
“This must be the Twin Gates,” Lisa murmured.
Elia approached and carefully examined the runes. “Hmm, these runes show signs of having been activated. Someone must have come here recently.”
Kiz and Lisa exchanged a glance and said in unison, “The Holy Grail Order.”
Then, the three slipped through a crack.
Behind the door was a vast underground chamber, with murals on the surrounding walls depicting the life of the Blood Clan’s Progenitor.
Not long after they continued deeper, three branching paths suddenly appeared ahead.
“Which one?” Kiz asked.
Lisa closed her eyes, sensing the magical fluctuations in the air. “That path on the right… it seems to have a blood scent… Let’s check the right side!”
As they followed the right branch, the passage grew narrower, the air more humid, and strange markings even appeared on the walls.
These… they looked like claw marks, or perhaps traces left by some creature.
Suddenly, Elia stopped. “Wait.”
Then she crouched down, staring at a huge footprint on the ground.
“Something has been moving around here…”
However, as soon as she finished speaking, a low roar came from ahead.
“Roar—Roar—”
In the darkness, three enormous Magical Beasts slowly emerged, their bodies covered in black scales.
“Forbidden Land Guardians. It seems the Holy Grail Order didn’t clear them out,” Lisa said, her expression turning serious.
“Then let’s clear them out!” Kiz dashed forward.
Her scythe traced arc after arc of death in the air.
The first beast was decapitated before it could even react.
The second lunged at her, but she dodged sideways and spun the scythe to sever its hind legs.
The third tried to flee, but Elia pierced its head with a beam of Holy Light.
All three beasts were taken down in less than a minute, not even giving Prince Lisa a chance to act.
“Let’s keep moving,” Kiz said, flicking the blood off her scythe.
After walking for a while, a massive iron door came into view, engraved with a complex Magic Circle… another Magic Circle.
“Hmm. I think this is a sealed door. It requires a specific method to open,” Lisa said as she stepped forward to analyze it.
Hearing that, Elia placed her hand on the Magic Circle and poured a large amount of Holy Light into it, causing the circle to glow.
Then the massive iron door slowly swung open.
“Wait… can your Holy Light break any seal?” Kiz asked.
“Not necessarily, but this seal uses Shadow Magic power, and my Holy Light happens to counter it,” Elia explained. “Anyway, let’s go in first.”
In the center of the hall behind the door stood a man in a black robe, his face covered by a silver mask engraved with the emblem of the Holy Grail Order.
“I have been ordered by Bishop Cardonnel to await you here. Welcome to the territory of our Holy Grail Order—the Origin Point!” the man declared, spreading his arms wide.
“This is our Blood Clan’s Forbidden Land. Since when did it become your damn Order’s territory?” Kiz stepped forward to ask.
Beside her, Elia asked, “Who is Bishop Cardonnel?”
“Bishop Cardonnel is one of the Seven Archbishops of our Holy Grail Order. He is currently conducting a ritual deep within, and I…”
He condensed black magic power into a long sword in his palm.
“I am one of our Order’s Guardians. Ladies, please turn back… otherwise, this sword in my hand will not show mercy.”
Kiz sneered. “Oh? Just you? Ridiculous!”
She charged forward and swung her scythe at the man.
The man sidestepped the attack and thrust his black sword toward Kiz’s back.
Kiz’s body twisted in a bizarre manner, then quickly positioned her scythe horizontally to block the strike.
“Not bad,” the man said softly.
The next moment, the two clashed.
Elia didn’t choose to intervene; she just stood by and observed.
Hmm… that man’s strength was indeed not weak… but he was up against Kiz. Besides, Kiz was being honorable by not using magic.
After thirty exchanges, Kiz seized an opening in his defense, cutting his sword in half, and followed up with a kick to his chest.
The man flew backward, slammed into the wall, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“You lost,” Kiz said softly as she landed.
But the man chuckled softly. “Heh heh heh… Lost? No, no, no… My mission was merely to buy time…”
Then he spread his arms and shouted to the sky, “Great Lord! Hear my vow! I hereby sacrifice this humble life to You! Add another brick to the End Time You so desire!”
As soon as he finished, his body began to radiate a blinding light.
“Not good!” Elia rushed forward, pulled Kiz away, and quickly erected a barrier to protect all three of them inside.
Boom—!
The ensuing violent explosion made the entire hall tremble. When the dust cleared, the man had completely vanished.
“Damn it… another self-destruction…” Kiz said through gritted teeth.
“Still, that guy mentioned a ‘Great Lord’ and the ‘End Time’… What does that mean? Who is that ‘Lord’?” Elia murmured.
“I’d guess it’s the Order’s so-called Holy Grail Master,” Lisa said.
“Regardless, let’s go first. Don’t forget why we’re here.”
With Kiz’s words, the three continued forward.
Behind the explosion-damaged hall, a new passage appeared. After walking through it for a while, they encountered another fork—this time with five branching paths.
“Here we go again,” Kiz frowned.
Lisa closed her eyes to sense again, but then shook her head. “No good. The magic power here is too chaotic. I can’t sense any direction.”
So the environment here was like a maze…
Elia quietly plucked a golden hair from her head, then infused it with a trace of Holy Light. The hair floated up, spun in the air several times, then pointed toward the second path on the left.
Even Lisa, who had seen much, was dumbfounded—let alone Kiz. Was that even possible?! Absurdity knocked on absurdity’s door… it was beyond absurd.
Actually, Elia was just improvising based on her memory, and even she thought it was a bit ridiculous.
“Never mind how it works; just follow it,” Elia said, and then she took the lead, charging into that branching path following the hair.
The other two had no choice but to follow.
However, after a few minutes, they found themselves at a dead end.
“Wrong way?” Kiz asked.
Elia stared intently at the hair… then she saw it point toward another path. “Something is deliberately misleading us,” she said.
In the time that followed, they kept following the hair as it twisted and turned.
Before long, a door finally appeared ahead—and it was open.
In the center of the space beyond the door stood a stone pedestal, upon which rested a crystal ball glowing with an eerie light.
Hmm? What was that?
Inside the crystal ball, a vague image could be seen:
A petite young girl was bound to a giant cross, her body covered in wounds, her head hanging low, motionless.
“Lillian…” Lisa reached out to take the crystal ball.
The next second, Kiz stopped her. “Don’t touch it. It might be a trap.”
However, the moment she spoke, the crystal ball erupted with a blinding light that engulfed the entire space.
When the light faded, the three found themselves standing in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by an endless expanse of darkness.
“Where is this?” Kiz asked, glancing around warily.
“Probably an illusion realm…” Lisa said gravely.
At that moment, an ethereal voice echoed from the darkness.
“Welcome to the Illusion Maze… To get out, you’ll need to find the exit~ If you can’t find it… then all of you guests will stay here forever.”