(I changed the formatting again.)And just like that, Drakel’s briefing came to an abrupt end.
Felix still had countless questions, but before he could voice a single one, the two newcomers were ushered out of the catacombs at a hurried pace.
Everything happened too fast.
Hectic.Disorienting.
Kirgo’s torch lit the way ahead.
The dark cellar they had cautiously navigated earlier now rushed past Felix, as though the darkness itself had lost all weight. In the flickering light, his perception fractured into fleeting impressions.
A stone wall.Then, suddenly, stairs.Lena’s confused expression.
“…Sector 4!”“…mana density isn’t—”“…get the survivors to the hospital…”
Amid the chaos, the two scouts exchanged hurried words, but Felix couldn’t make sense of any of it.
The clockwork in his mind had ground to a halt.His body moved on instinct alone.
Click. Clack.
Before he realized it, all four of them were standing outside the church.
Drakel locked the door behind them and turned to the two assistants. The sun had not yet fully dipped below the horizon, and the sky’s remaining light shimmered weakly in its final moments.
“You two. Go straight home for today,”Drakel said, already turning away to leave.
But just before he took off running, he glanced back one last time.
“And don’t even think about following us. That’s an order.”
“W-wait! What even happened?!”Lena called out, her face pale, before the head scout could sprint off.
“We don’t have time, we need to help the victims imme—”Kirgo began breathlessly, but Drakel raised a hand, cutting him off.
“That’s enough. We’re wasting time. Move, move, move!”he barked, and the two scouts disappeared down the street.
“…”
Felix and Lena stood there in stunned silence.
A cold gust of wind slipped through their clothes, drawing a shiver from both of them. It swept through the alley the scouts had vanished into moments ago, stirring old leaves along the ground.
From somewhere in the distance, voices were shouting.
“What… was that?”Felix finally asked.
The gears in his head began to turn again, and only now did the situation start to settle in.
“Apparently… something happened in Sector 4…”Lena replied, her voice unsteady, eyes still fixed on the alley.
She wrapped her arms around herself against the chill and continued.
“I think… the mana density there isn’t… sufficient.”
“Mana density? You mean the mana released into the air? How do you know?”Felix asked, startled.
“Weren’t you listening while we ran through the catacombs?”She stared at him in disbelief.
“Hm,” he murmured, trying to recall the last few minutes.“…I was just focused on not tripping in the dark. With all that stress, my brain kind of shut down. What did they say?”
Everything had been so fast, so chaotic. Even though it had just happened, it already felt like a fragmented fever dream.
Lena, however, seemed to have kept her composure.
“Like I said… Drakel and Kirgo mentioned that the mana density in Sector 4 was too low. They needed mana reserves from the cellar…”
“But why the mana bottles? Are they planning to leave the city?”Felix asked.
The most essential piece of scout equipment.
Too little mana in the air…Did that mean there wasn’t enough to keep the creatures outside the walls at bay?
The thought unsettled him.
Did they need the bottles for the vaporization system?
“I don’t know… the vaporization facility is in the opposite direction,”Lena said quietly. She didn’t seem to understand it either.
“Sector 4… that’s the outer ring, right up against the city wall.”
Felix recalled the city’s layout. Sector 4 lay directly behind the wall, closest to the outside.
“It almost sounds like… a Viscus-infected creature slipped inside. I hope nobody—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
He didn’t know why.
But hadn’t he heard something earlier?Just minutes ago?
Something disturbing.
“We need to help the victims imme—”
The words still echoed in his mind.
Kirgo had shouted them.Almost panicked.
And Drakel had cut him off.
That wasn’t meant for us, Felix realized.
Was it too disturbing for a pair of assistant scouts?Too frightening?
Why hide it from them?
“We need to help the victims…”Felix murmured.
“Yeah… it sounded like someone was seriously injured… maybe even more than one person…”Lena added, biting her lip.
Worry filled her expression.
“…”
Less than half an hour ago, Felix had been standing atop the tower, lost in thought. Daydreaming. At peace.
For as long as he could remember, he had imagined a world filled with wonder and beauty, a world he would one day explore.
That dream had followed him his entire life.
Three weeks ago, he had finally taken his first step toward it, accepting a position as an assistant for the next expedition beyond the city walls.
His brief training had taught him that reality was far less colorful than he’d imagined.
Right now, it felt anything but bright.
“You hear that scouts sometimes get injured when they’re attacked by mutated creatures… but only when they venture far out. Nothing like this has ever happened inside the city.”
The people of Dorinth knew danger lurked beyond the walls, but daily life on the island had always felt safe.
The island provided everything they needed. The ancient defense system that enveloped the city in a protective atmosphere kept all threats at bay.
Mana… protected them.It always had.
Those thoughts drifted through Felix’s mind.
“They’re hiding something,”Lena said quietly, her eyes narrowing.
“I suspected it before, but ever since I signed up as an assistant… something isn’t right.”
FWUUSH
Another cold gust swept through the alley, as if urging them to move on.
“ACHOO!”
Lena shivered, the chill biting at her bare legs and arms.
“Ah… it’s getting late. We should really head home.”
She rubbed her arms as she prepared to leave.
“The evenings have gotten really cold. Hey, Lena, don’t catch a cold. We need to be fit for the expedition.”
Despite his words, Felix suddenly slipped off his blue cloak.
“W-wait—hey!”
He draped it over Lena’s shoulders.
“There. That should do for the walk home. You can give it back to me the day after tomorrow.”
Like an older brother, he adjusted the cloak until it rested properly.
“Hey! What are you doing?! I can dress myself! I’m not a kid! Geez… and besides… hmph.”
She protested briefly, but didn’t refuse.
Her flushed face stood out vividly against the blue fabric. Felix smiled.
“Haha.”
“What?!”
“Nothing. It suits you.”
“If you say so… haaah.”
With a deep sigh, some of her tension seemed to melt away.
The sight eased Felix as well. Her presence lifted his mood.
He couldn’t stand the oppressive atmosphere.
“So… let’s go,”he said, hesitating.
Where did she live, anyway?
She was always the first to arrive at training and the last to leave. Even after three weeks, he barely knew her.
But weren’t they the only two assistants?Didn’t that make them something of a team?
What did he actually know about Lena?
She was disciplined and ambitious. Completely focused, as if nothing else mattered.
But also distant. Guarded. As though she trusted no one fully.
Still, she clearly respected the scouts.
Her rabbit ears, a trait of the Dimipex people, weren’t unusual. A handful lived in Dorinth.(There were said to be many more in the past.)
That was it.
So he asked.
“Hey, uh… where do you live? I’m in Sector 7, near Carsten’s.”
“Huh? …uh…”She looked surprised.
“Sector 8,”she answered.
“Oh, great. Same direction, then.”
Felix felt like he’d grown a little closer to her that evening.
Despite everything, he looked forward to the upcoming expedition and hoped to get to know her even better.
At last, night draped the sky in darkness, and Felix’s blue cloak fluttered from Lena’s shoulders as the two of them made their way home through a quiet alley.