It was a scream that raised the hair on my hand.

Immediately, my head flicked in the direction of where the sound came from, and I was able to spot a figure holding onto their heads while screaming their hearts out.

Judging from the clothes she was wearing, she seemed to be a cadet.

Not far from her, I could also see Kiera standing still with a petrified expression. It was a rare expression from her.

"Hiiaaaaak"

The scream seemed heartwrenching, and in that instant, all eyes turned in the direction of where it came from.

By the time someone has reacted,

Thump!

The one responsible had already fallen face-first on the ground.

"Quick!"

"Someone! We need help immediately!"

"What's going on...!?"

Chaos immediately erupted within the confines of the bunker. Thankfully, a major part of the people within the bunker were people who had been trained and thus the chaos didn't last for very long before order returned.

Several figures with intimidating auras walked toward where the cadet was.

"What's going on?"

"Everyone, move out of the way!"

Behind them were several other figures carrying a stretcher, and first aid kits. Crowding the cadet in question, they cast spells over her body before feeding her some things.

She seemed to calm down from there.

But because they had crowded the area around her, I wasn't able to see what was going on.

However, I didn't need to.

"She's alive. I can still feel her pulse."

"Her eyes are white. They are out of focus."

"She's out of danger, but I don't sense any cognitive response from her."

"Hey, hey! Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

The situation didn't look promising.

While it was true that she was alive, judging from the way the doctors were speaking, she was unresponsive.

Most likely, she was in a coma.

'Just what happened...?'

It all happened so suddenly and abruptly that I had a hard time figuring out what had happened. Taking a look outside, where the windows were, I felt the situation become extremely eerie.

"Quick!"

My thoughts were broken by a shout.

"Apply new medication! Someone hold her down for me! She's convulsing!"

The doctor's voice allowed me to understand everything that was going on and my expression turned grim.

'This is messed up.'

From the very moment that I stepped into this place, all I felt was dread.

Was this the true reality of the Mirror Dimension?

"Johanna Pearlson."

Aoife's voice reached my ears.

Unknowingly, Leon was standing beside me. So were Evelyn, and Aoife.

Staring towards where the doctors were, Aoife went on to speak,

"Ranked 192. She's a mage with the [Elemental] attribute of water. I've talked to her a few times before."

Hearing her words, I turned to look at her surprised.

'She knows quite a lot.'

I wasn't the only one that was looking at her like that. Leon and Evelyn were also looking at her with similar expressions.

For a brief moment, my gaze met with Leon's.

'She's a stalker.'

'Right?'

"Stop."

Pinching the middle of her brows, Aoife glared at the two of us.

"I don't know what you two are saying, but for some reason, I'm getting annoyed."

'Crazy.'

'....Totally lost it.'

It was weird, but Leon and I were oddly in sync today.

"What is this...?"

Alternating her gaze between the two of us, Evelyn's head cocked. It was almost as if I could see question marks on top of her head.

Then, turning her head, she looked at Aoife.

"I don't get it."

"You don't need to get it."

Aoife massaged her head again.

".....The two are being weird. It doesn't even make sense, but it looks like they can talk with each other by just looking."

"What?"

Evelyn's eyes widened and she looked at Leon who gave her the side-eye.

"No."

That no seemed more like a yes to Evelyn who glanced at me.

I ignored her look and proceeded to look back toward Aoife.

"How do you know so much about her?"

"I've made an effort to memorize the rankings and general talent level of every single cadet after Ellnor.

Aoife answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"We only have three years at the Academy. It's good to memorize the names of everyone that's in the same year as you."

"I see."

Her words certainly had some merits to them.

In fact, I probably needed to do the same thing as her. While it was going to be extra effort, it was certainly going to be useful in the future.

'Who knows, if in the future I gain the rights to create my own Guild, then it wouldn't hurt to hire some people from the Academy.'

But that was all a distant idea of mine.

Still, it was one that I had to do. Simply put, it became awfully clear to me that I couldn't deal with the faceless man by myself.

....He was coming for me.

That much I understood.

Thinking about the numerous organizations that were under his name, he didn't need to show up to destroy me. He could just have the organizations do that for him.

It was for that reason that, besides making a Guild, I also had to infiltrate the Inverted Sky and make it mine.

Only that way would I be able to have a fighting chance.

"Stop!

In the background, the voices of the doctors continued to echo.

"That's enough. Her vitals are stable."

"She's safe for now. However, we won't know if the situation will get worse. It's best if we put under watch."

"Carry her out of this place."

"Understood."

In the blink of an eye, Johanna was carried away in a stretcher. Carefully following her were the medics and the high-ranking members of the Guilds who were closely examining her body.

A few of the cadets were questioned shortly after that, but there wasn't much to ask.

Everyone had been there when it had happened.

It was an abrupt episode that nobody could've expected.

"Everyone, please calm down. We are still unsure of what happened, but we suspect that it's due to the Crimson Shade."

A slightly overweight man with receding hair addressed the people in the bunker. Looking at him, he appeared to be a secretary for one of the Post Leaders.

I wanted to go at this very moment to speak to them with regard to the tree, but I wasn't the only one.

Many others had the same thoughts.

"The victim in question is a cadet that comes from Haven, and therefore, their strength may not necessarily be strong enough to counteract the effects of the shade fully. Please do not worry."

Such was the explanation offered by the members of the Guilds.

It made sense in a way. However, it wasn't as though she was the weakest person within the bunker. There were several civilians present.

Perhaps a more fitting explanation was, 'She didn't have enough training regarding the Crimson Shade like the others.'

It would make sense if that was the case.

In any case, my eyes focused on a certain person in the distance. Blankly staring at the spot where Johanna had been taken away, Kiera appeared to be frowning.

Unknowingly, I made my way towards her.

There was something about the situation that felt unsettling.

I wanted to get a clearer picture of what had happened.

Just as I neared her alongside the others, I was able to overhear her mutterings.

"....I was singing, and shit. My singing is not that bad. Not to the point where one would act like that. Yeah, it wasn't me."

Unconsciously, I found myself looking towards Aoife.

"What?"

She looked offended.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No, nothing."

I scratched my ear.

Right, I guess it was hard to be a good singer in this world.

Not only Kiera, but Aoife too.

"Kiera."

I called out for the platinum-haired girl.

"Uh...?"

Hearing my voice, she turned her head and our gazes met. Kiera blinked her eyes for a moment before clarity returned to her gaze.

Then, just as she was about to speak, her gaze paused on Aoife and her expression crumbled slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

Feeling the evident displeasure in Kiera's gaze, Aoife frowned. Suddenly, tensions rose, but before they could further escalate, I cut in.

"Do you have any idea of what happened?"

The tension did decrease when I spoke.

Though Kiera was still giving Aoife the stink eye, things only stopped there. Staring at me, her displeasure alleviated somewhat.

"It's nothing."

Kiera scratched the side of her neck.

"I was just minding my own business and singing to myself when that happened. That's all I know. I did see her eyes go white though."

Holding onto her arms, Kiera muttered,

"Fucking chills."

"Is that really it?"

Aoife asked.

"Uh, yeah."

Kiera's response was much colder when she addressed her.

It didn't seem like Aoife minded as she looked around,

"Could it really be because of the Crimson Shade? It's true that we only learned of it today, but it's not like someone like Johanna would have trouble understanding the simple concept of using her own mana to shield herself from the Shade. It doesn't add up."

"It's highly likely they're doing this because they want panic to spread."

Evelyn interjected from the side.

To that, I agreed.

This was clearly the real reason why such an excuse was used to justify the sudden situation.

"It could also be that she's sick."

Aoife said, casting a glance around.

".....Though I doubt that's the case too."

I also doubted it.

Swoosh

Just as I was about to say something else, I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand on end as my head flicked back.

As if noticing my behaviors, the others also looked back.

"Uh? What's..."

In the distance, a face I couldn't recognize appeared.

He was standing alone.

With white eyes, he stared in my direction. I felt my entire body shudder under his gaze as I felt goosebumps.

For the next few seconds, he proceeded to stare at me.

His behavior was so out of order that several others noticed him. Before long, everyone was looking at him.

And then,

"Hiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!"

He too screamed.

Just like last time, the noise pierced through the insides of the bunker.

It was loud and scraped at my ears.

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.02%

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.07%

Notifications flashed across my vision, and my stomach churned.

I felt the very air get squeezed out of my lungs. Especially, when his white eyes were so focused on me.

I just stood still to stare at him.

"Hiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!"

Veins started to protrude from the side of his neck as he screamed.

Gradually, his face turned red, and then,

Thump!

By the time he did, the entire bunker was quiet.

Not a single noise was heard.

That was because, at that moment, all eyes were on me.

Not a single one was looking at the cadet who had fallen.

No, they were all looking at me.

My throat squeezed shut at the sight.

"Ah, this..."