The Crimson Shade.

A phenomenon that spread across the Mirror Dimension, leaving no clear information about its origin, only that it scorched everything it laid its touch upon.

Looking around me, the world had turned completely red.

Tzzz~

Steam started to rise out of my body as I channeled my mana.

But that wasn't my main concern. Looking down, and staring at the roots that were entangling my feet, I felt suffocated.

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.03%

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.01%

Notifications continued to flash across my vision.

I felt the sound of my own heartbeat drum in my mind.

A certain dread took hold of me, and a weird tingling sensation traced over my face.

'Just what is...'

By the time it took me to blink, the roots, alongside the sensation were gone.

"Haaa.. Haaa..."

So was the fear.

With heavy breaths, I leaned against the bookshelf and recomposed myself.

Yet again, I saw the roots.

This time, they were longer than before, reaching all the way up to my knees.

An idea crossed my mind.

'Is this perhaps a time limit...?'

Would the tree sprout once the roots completely took over my mind?

"H-Ha."

My chest trembled.

'I really need to stop dragging my feet.'

If possible, I wanted to have the Guilds directly investigate the situation. I didn't want to drag things to where they were now. But how was I supposed to convince them to help me?

It wasn't as if I could tell them I envisioned the entire city getting enshrouded by a tree.

I had no evidence to back up my statement.

'Right, if only I had evidence.'

No, it's fine.

I now had someone who could help.

Aoife.

'Right, with her inf"

"Hiaaaaakk!"

A shrill scream that sent shivers down my spine shook me out of my thoughts. Hastily turning my head to face the windows of the library, I saw a middle-aged woman on the other end holding onto her head.

Staring at the sky, she screamed her heart out.

"Hieeaaak!"

The scream seemed to come from deep within the depths of her soul.

She became the center of my attention, and before I knew it, I had moved towards the window.

I felt strangely tense coming out of the building.

To the point where I flinched at the sound of Leon's footsteps behind me

I looked at the sky. It had turned completely red, the crimson shade hanging oppressively overhead, turning all that was beneath a blood-red color.

The buildings and infrastructures, though varied in shades, all carried a similar tone. The once jovial mood had long vanished, replaced by a sense of panic. The cobblestone streets were now largely deserted, with only a few remainingmostly the weaker citizens who were unable to flee.

The only things left behind were the open stalls, half-filled jugs of alcohol, and shredded paper, littered across the empty streets.

It was an eerie scene.

"Hieeaaak!"

Deathly screams continued to echo throughout, each more distant than the other.

"Where is everyone...?"

Aoife was the first one to speak as she looked around grimly. Similarly looking, my gaze eventually fell on Leon who was checking over the woman.

She had stopped screaming already.

"Is something wrong?"

Because his body was covering her, I couldn't see her properly. Only when I stepped to the side to get a better look was I able to understand why she had stopped screaming.

My expression turned grim.

".....She's dead."

It was hard to describe what remained of her. As if all the water had been sucked out of her, she looked like a mummified version of herself.

She wasn't the only one.

Looking around, the citizens from before were now in a similar state to hers.

In the blink of an eye, they had all turned into mummies.

My heart grew tense.

"....."

Leon stood up in silence and looked back at me. I felt Aoife's gaze on me as well.

"What do we do?"

"Uh?"

I blinked.

"....Why are you asking me?"

How in the world was I supposed to know?

"You're right."

Leon frowned while mumbling to himself.

"I don't even know why I asked you. I just did."

The hell?

"How about figuring out where everyone else went?"

At Aoife's suggestion, I looked around. I could more or less tell where everyone went.

"They probably ran to the Guild stations or some sort of safe place."

While most of the people present were superhumans just like us, the Crimson Shade spared no one. Unless one had enough mana reserve, they'd eventually fall under its influence.

In fact, we didn't have much time either.

"We should get out of here."

With each second that passed, our mana was dwindling. We needed to hurry to the Guilds in order to find a solution to this problem.

'Perhaps, they have rooms that stop the shade from affecting us.'

I wasn't sure, but it was our only hope.

Red continued to cover every inch of the city. Empty buildings could be seen, as well as mummified remains resting by the sides. A stifling silence enveloped the surroundings. What had once been a crowded sight was now desolate.

The Decaycore Sector had fallen.

Tak, tak, tak

The only sound that echoed was the sound of our rushed footsteps as we headed for the Guild offices.

Entering a narrow alley, the heat around us intensified and my mana dwindled further.

It was dark, and I could hardly see.

"Faster."

I picked up the pace.

Coming out of the alley, the light returned, or the red returned... We had crossed to the Sorrowvale Sector. Unlike the Dacaycore Sector, the buildings were slightly different. In terms of style, they were a lot more extravagant.

It made sense since they belonged to the guilds.

However, they were all currently empty.

All that was left behind was the red from the shade.

"Let's go deeper."

We ran further into the Sorrowvale Sector. There were two districts within the Sector. The inner district, and the outer district which was located at the very center of the station. That was our goal.

"This way should be faster."

Aoife suddenly suggested, pointing in a certain direction. I nodded and rushed in that direction.

Each second mattered and we couldn't afford to waste it.

Holding onto my stamina, I ran and ran and ran. I didn't know for how long I had run, but soon enough I was able to hear voices in the distance.

"Ah!"

Leon and Aoife too as they picked up the pace.

I followed behind them, turning over one of the buildings before finally coming to a stop in what appeared to be a large plaza.

"Haaa... Haa..."

Immediately, we were able to see a huge crowd ahead of us.

They all seemed to be crowding a certain area.

"Let me in!"

"....Move! You're in the way!"

"Where are you pushing?!"

Panic could be seen on their faces as a faint white glow covered their bodies.

'As expected, they've all run towards here.'

Unlike us, most people had been trained to rush here.

I was a little worried for the other cadets, but the situation wasn't bad to the point where they would have trouble finding this place.

In fact, most were probably okay.

It had to be said that Aoife, Leon, and I had sneaked out...

'Crap.'

Realizing this, my face twitched.

I didn't have a good feeling about what was to come.

"Everyone, please calm down! Please calm down! We will allow you all in the bunker shortly. Please calm down! There's no need to rush!"

A voice bellowed from within the crowd.

I couldn't see who it belonged to, but the moment it spoke, the crowd calmed down. Raising my toes to get a better look, the only thing that I managed to get a glimpse of was a large dome-like structure.

"We are in the process of opening the bunker. There's no need to panic. Once you get in, please find a spot and rest until the Crimson Shade has passed."

The panic that had settled over the crowd started to finally calm down.

"Haa..."

Breathing in relief, I looked to my sides where Leon and Aoife were. Both their faces were red, but in general, they looked okay.

".....The Academy should seriously reconsider sending us anywhere."

Aoife was the first to speak.

Looking at her, she looked back at me with a tired look.

"It's not just me right? For some reason, every time we go somewhere, something happens. I'm done. I just want to stay at the Academy."

"Ha."

I laughed slightly.

It was subtle, but it was enough to make both Leon and Aoife flick their heads my way.

Aoife spoke,

"What?"

"....No"

I brushed my sweat.

"It's just that it doesn't matter if we're at the Academy or not. Something will happen regardless."

"WhHuh..."

Aoife pinched her chin while lowering her head. Scratching the side of her head, she soon tilted it to the side before looking back at me.

"I guess you're right. What's the reason?"

"I'm not sure."

I looked at Leon who looked back at me with a weird expression. He almost seemed to be wincing in disgust.

It was as if he was saying, 'It's because of you.'

Ah?

'What's this guy on about?'

Well, sure. I did participate in a lot, if not all of those annoying scenarios. However, in my defense, I was just doing events that were supposed to belong to him.

If anything, he was the culprit.

As if noticing my thoughts, Leon's face changed again.

This time, it seemed to say, '....You're delusional.'

This guy...

"What are you guys doing?"

Alternating her gaze between the two of us, Aoife looked at us strangely.

".....Did you guys lose it because of the heat?"

"No."

I looked at Aoife strangely.

So did Leon who looked at her briefly before looking at me with an expression that seemed to say, 'She's being weird, isn't she?'

I nodded slightly, 'Yeah.'

Not only a stalker but a weirdo too.

Aoife blinked several times as she looked at us speechlessly.

"What are you"

Rumble! Rumble!

Her words were cut short by a distant rumbling and my body tensed.

Looking ahead, the bunker had started to tremble. Though I couldn't see, I could more or less deduce that the gates were opening.

The rumbling continued for the next few minutes before finally stopping.

Immediately, the crowd started to get restless.

"We want order!"

Once again, the voice echoed.

"Entering the bunker, we would like for everyone to remain calm and not make any trouble. If we see that you're causing trouble, we will have no problem throwing you out!"

Following his words, the crowd yet again calmed down.

"Good! Let's begin!"

And from that point on, everyone calmly proceeded to enter the bunker. I followed the crowd in silence.

On occasion, I'd use the sleeve of my shirt to wipe the sweat that accumulated.

While the mana inside of my body was cooling me, it was far from enough for me to not feel the heat.

"Hooo."

Even breathing was a little difficult.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to enter the bunker. By the time ten minutes had passed, it was our turn to cross the small metallic door that led towards the insides.

A small corridor greeted us the moment we entered. One that led towards a small white room.

Two people in white stood by the sides.

"Please step into the chamber."

It took about twenty people to completely fill the room, and once it was filled, one of the people in white closed the metallic door.

Claka, claka

Turning the wheel at the center of the door, the person in white made sure to properly secure it before raising their thumb in signal.

"Commence temperature assimilation."

Swoosh

The room temperature dropped rapidly, only stopping at what seemed to be normal temperature. There was no thermometer so I didn't know how much.

"You can stop channeling your mana."

Doing as instructed, I stopped channeling my mana and was able to finally take a deep breath.

So did the others who leaned against the sides of the wall, their heads dripping with sweat.

Claka, claka

By the time it took for us to adjust back to normal, the doors opened yet again.

However, unlike last time, what appeared on the other side of the doors was a massive hall filled with hundreds of people.

"Please make yourselves comfortable."

The one in white spoke,

".....Welcome to the Last Hold."