A figure wearing a mask without a mouth nodded calmly. A man clad in armor surrounded by blue flames silently shook his arms. When a head that had rolled for some time came to rest at his feet, a giant creature cloaked in a robe snorted.

“―――!”

With a monstrous roar, the creature picked up the fallen head, gripping its protruding horns tightly, and before long, the head was gruesomely torn apart. Still, the creature howled like a beast, as if it was not satisfied with the outpouring blood.

“――――――!”

As the creature wailed, the masked figure and the armored man exchanged glances.

“――――? ―――.”

“Nothing changes. Just…”

“――――――? ――――.”

It seemed like it was asking something, then as if understanding, the mask-wearer shoved his arm into the tear in the dimension. It resembled someone grabbing and twisting something, or rummaging through something. After briefly fiddling with the tear…

“――――.”

Before long, the dimensional tear split into two. As the masked figure pointed to the gaping tear, the creature walked through it, while the armored man, who had momentarily looked back at the plaza, reached towards the tear where the mask hadn’t entered.

—Soon, only the head of the split goat lay in the bloodied plaza.

***

As soon as I got onto dry land, the fairy shook off vigorously, looking like a wet rat from last time, and sulked.

“Kkyu! Kkyu kkyu kkyu!”

I petted the grumpy little thing and spread out my detection to sense the surroundings. The faint presence of remaining monsters… It seemed that the cleanup of Area 1 was almost done.

‘…Looks like things are going well for now.’

Earlier, I had seen Euna while crossing the river. I had memorized strategies for conquering Neverland, so it was pretty clear that her group was the rear guard.

‘Definitely seems to be a small number.’

Considering the combined presence of the rear guard and the main group, it felt like they were around 200. It’s not exactly a small number given that each of them was an outstanding hunter, but for a Neverland expedition, it felt rather shabby.

‘And there doesn’t seem to be a Square either…’

Moreover, it seemed there wasn’t even a plateau… When the leader of the clearing team in Area 1 gave a brief briefing, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled at what I heard.

‘They’re not going to Area 3?’

They clearly stated the goal was to handle up to Area 2. But that only raises more questions.

‘Then what are they getting annihilated for?’

The only possibility would be the boss of Area 2, but even that seemed unlikely. They would surely be aware of the boss in Area 2…

“……!”

Just then, I sensed the presence of ‘someone’ in this vast jungle across the river, and I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes at the looming dark clouds.

‘……How?’

Surely, I hadn’t felt anything while crossing the river from Area 2, but it seemed to have appeared out of nowhere…?

‘Just like me…!’

As if the executioner’s strike had torn the dimensional tear, dropping me into Area 2. For me, it had been totally unexpected, a mere coincidence.

‘But what if it’s him?’

The Silent Mouth. If it was him, it wouldn’t be strange at all for him to deliberately manipulate the coordinates and the direction of the dimensional tear. No, surely, he could do that.

‘Damn it.’

External interference—I hadn’t completely ruled it out. There was a slight hope. But even so, I thought it would appear at the entrance. I never imagined it would drop into Area 2 like me—and above all, Neverland. I didn’t think it would be so easy for someone to break into this worst dungeon—just because I had managed it didn’t guarantee they could too. I realized that far too late.

[Lv.30 Achievement Condition: Prevent the extermination of the Neverland expeditionary force]

—In other words, the extermination of the expeditionary force was not due to Neverland. The wolf immediately leaped into the river, hoping it wasn’t too late.

***

Upon stepping into Area 2 after finally crossing the big river connecting Area 1 and Area 2, Kim Joo-seop, the scout of the group, tilted his head.

“……Strange, isn’t it?”

Just then, Euna, who had disembarked from the raft, nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. It’s disproportionately low.”

I don’t know what’s going on, but the presence of monsters felt unusually low in Area 2, as if someone had swept them away. Not to mention the smell of blood that hung in the air. So strong, it pierced the nose even without using magic.

“…What on earth is happening?”

Kim Joo-seop furrowed his brow. There were monsters in the river, and while he was focused on the underwater dangers, he couldn’t pay attention to Area 2, but now that he had just stepped down, it was clear that something was deeply wrong. It looked as though a massacre had taken place.

“Could it be that the boss is rampaging?”

Euna shook her head at Kim Joo-seop’s guess.

“…I don’t know. But…”

In the last 15 years, this had never happened. The boss in Area 2 doesn’t move unless someone wakes it up unless a frenzy occurs. —So does that mean someone has entered ahead and awakened the boss of Area 2? That doesn’t make sense either. The expeditionary force had been waiting, and as soon as the gate to Neverland opened, they rushed in. There couldn’t have been anyone who got in before them. Above all, this escalating ominous feeling—what could it be…

‘Is this really what the boss in Area 2 is like…?’

Before long, gripped by the unknown unease, Euna bit her lip.

“…Let’s proceed for now. We can’t afford to delay any longer.”

Before long, the main group would finish clearing Area 1 and move to Area 2. Until then, they needed to clear the entrance of Area 2 again and set up a base camp. Given how things turned out, there was no need to worry about clearing monsters in the entrance; they just needed to find an appropriate spot to establish the base camp. So in a way, things had become easier.

“Well, isn’t it better that way? I have no clue why…?”

Kim Joo-seop’s words trailed off awkwardly as he froze stiff. Euna and Kim Joo-seop locked eyes, and the moment their throats swallowed, the ground began to rumble.

“……!”

The unease Euna felt was no mere figment. Her prediction hit home, and soon after, a huge creature clad in blood-soaked robes revealed itself before them.

—And dark ominous clouds began to gather above their heads.

***

“What the hell is this ridiculous situation?”

While taking a short break after finishing the cleanup of Area 1, Kang Tae-ho frowned at the sky.

“Hey, have you ever heard about dark clouds appearing in Area 2?”

“…No. And more importantly, over there.”

Baek Gun-tae, who had spread out a makeshift map, frowned as well. Kang Tae-ho likewise grimaced.

“……It’s in the direction where the rear guard is.”

Clearly, it was near the direction where the rear guard had planned to clean the entrance and set up base camp. —The ominous dark clouds encroaching felt chillingly potent. No, it’s not just that they felt potent…

“The dark clouds themselves are a spell.”

A mage who handles thunder—likely someone related to the Yellow Square in some way. Yet, the question remained: why? No, more importantly, how could they have arrived in Area 2 before them? As the murmurs of the hunters who had noticed the dark clouds grew louder, Gu Jin-ha frowned.

‘Damn it.’

Others might not know, but Gu Jin-ha was certain. The disaster that occurred on Deokjeok Island—she was someone who had fought against numerous corpses and the faceless mask. Having faced the Silent Mouth herself, Gu Jin-ha knew well.

‘…It’s him.’

This immense power, unmistakably a strong magical force. It was hard to believe there were more creatures like this in the traitor mages.

[Yeah. He’s back. I thought I had killed the Silent Mouth. Three times, no less.]

[I’ve only dealt with two of the previous executives. But the Silent Mouth is different. He keeps coming back no matter how many times you put him down.]

—The words of the Dawn’s Team Leader were not false. The Silent Mouth had returned once again. Approaching Kang Tae-ho and Baek Gun-tae, Gu Jin-ha discreetly monitored the reactions of other expedition members, leaving out the parts about the plateau and the traitors.

“…Damn. I’ve heard about that.”

Kang Tae-ho, who had been fully briefed on the matter, scratched the back of his head with a grim expression.

“At the very least, that means the Silent Mouth, one of their executives, is here. So—”

“So, are the ones attacking us from the organization called the ‘Traitors’?”

At Baek Gun-tae’s summarized words, Gu Jin-ha nodded.

“…Hah! Things are really spiraling out of control.”

It was already challenging enough dealing with the containment of Neverland, but hearing that a mysterious organization was stirring the pot caused Baek Gun-tae to exhale deeply. If it had been someone else, he would have doubted the credibility of the information, but the Dawn’s Team Leader wouldn’t spout nonsense. Most importantly, Kang Tae-ho was also nodding in agreement with a serious expression… Soon, Baek Gun-tae shouted loudly.

“From now on, we are changing the objective of the expedition! Our top priority is to regroup with the rear guard, no, to rescue them! Start the crossing now!”

Thus, the expedition immediately launched the raft, and slightly earlier, Euna muttered while rubbing her tangled hair.

“……That can’t be…”

Her eyes trembled, as if unable to believe it. She chanted over and over again that it couldn’t be true.

***

“Vin nori negri―”

As the masked figure began chanting, dark clouds slowly gathered. It looked as if the world was darkening, exciting the creature, who howled in frenzy. Finally, finally, the moment had come, and with uncontrollable desire boiling over, its true nature emerged.

“Woooaahhh―――!”

The one wrapped in blood and flesh, draped in ragged robes, ran as if he could no longer hold back, and each step thudded against the ground.

“Este voia lui Dumnezeu, moartea ta.”

Before long, shrouded in yellow magic, the masked figure continued his incantation, looking down from the cliff. The creature, now revealed before the rear guard, continued its reign of slaughter. As it coldly witnessed the merciless massacre—the force that could not be stopped—the masked figure continued to chant solemnly.

“Judecățile cerului aduc tăcerea―”

As the dark clouds grew thick, lightning began to twinkle ominously. The fifth verse—soon the completed spell would strike down on the rear guard. Starting from him, the formidable magical force began to take shape and expand outward. —Viewing the rear guard currently battling against the creature, the masked figure twisted the corner of his mouth.

After all, it was just pointless struggling. Death was unavoidable. Just completing this spell would ensure that they would all perish.

――Thus, the masked figure failed to notice. The small black embers that had begun to ignite somewhere along the line.