The green light rose in intensity, then burst into a flash that blinded both of them.

The next thing they knew, they were standing in a grass field. The air smelled clean, like rain that never touched rust.

It was a weird place.

The ceiling was the sky, yet the surroundings were made of a stone wall filled with murals.

The walls went up so high they vanished past the clouds.

The murals showed people in long coats, strange cages, and beasts locked in circles of light.

Karr raised his sword at once, ready for an ambush.

Alice also pulled out her knife. “This is an illusion. Be careful, Karr.”

She had seen this before. Back when Alex experimented, he used formations like this on her until she could recognize the feeling in her skin.

‘A rune formation fueled by life force.’

Karr’s eyes darted around. “Who are you? Come out. Are you a vampire?”

A calm voice answered right beside them.

“To guess me as a vampire… have you met one of us before?”

The tone turned cold.

“Or have those invaders already found a way to steal our skills, and now it is used everywhere?”

Alice’s skin prickled. The voice sounded close enough to breathe on her ear, yet there was no one.

Karr slashed on instinct.

SLASH!

His blade cut nothing but air.

Alice didn’t waste time swinging. She looked at the ground, the walls, the sky itself.

‘I need to destroy the formation. That’s the only way out.’

“Karr, don’t chase the voice. Protect me. I’m going for the wall.”

Alice ran.

The wall grew closer, and the murals became clearer. Faces carved into stone. Eyes that looked like they moved.

Then the wall shimmered.

For a moment, lines of light appeared between cracks in the stone, forming familiar symbols.

Runes.

Alice’s eyes narrowed. She spotted several points where the light was stronger.

She turned her head. “Karr, left side.”

Karr moved at once, stepping between her and the field. He held his sword in both hands, prepared to act at any time.

The voice spoke again, colder now. “Have fairies already become their slaves now?”

Alice didn’t answer. She closed the distance and drove her knife toward the brightest rune.

CLANG!

The moment her blade touched the wall, a shockwave burst out.

BOOM!

It hit her like a hammer. Her body flew back, and she rolled through the grass.

Karr jumped to catch her, but he stopped short, like an invisible line blocked him.

He cursed. “I can’t reach you!”

Alice forced herself up. Her arms tingled like they were numb.

The voice sounded amused. “You think it will be easy?”

Alice wiped blood from her lip. “Let us out.”

“Funny,” the voice said. “Aren’t you the ones who came here disturbing me?”

Karr lifted his sword and slashed at the air again, furious.

SLASH!

“We’re being hunted down, so we escaped here,” Karr snapped. “Now show yourself.”

Then the grass beneath them rippled, as if something moved under it. Lines of green light flowed across the ground, forming a circle around Alice and Karr.

Alice stepped back, knife up.

The voice returned, sharp. “A fairy and a Khaldrin. What a weird combination.”

Alice’s eyes tightened. It knew too much.

Karr’s jaw clenched. “Stop talking like you’re above us.”

“I am far older than you, child,” the voice said. “If I were serious, both of you would already be dead.”

Alice’s mind raced.

She needed to break the rune, but there was another barrier protecting it. She needed more information.

“Are you a person?” Alice asked. “Or a remnant?”

The voice paused for a moment, then spoke. “I am what remains of a once great civilization. The one that protected hope.”

The green runes flared again, and a figure formed near the wall. It started as a shadow, then turned into a silhouette made of light and dust.

A tall man wearing a long coat, hands behind his back.

But his face was smooth, like a mask with no eyes, only faint lines that moved when he spoke.

Karr took a step forward, then stopped again at the invisible line. “Another illusion?”

The figure tilted its head. “Illusion? Reality? What’s the difference if you experience both?”

Alice stared at the wall behind him. The rune had moved. The symbol she saw earlier was no longer in the same place.

“It can move the rune,” she muttered.

The figure turned toward her. “You know about runes. Where did you see them?”

Alice didn’t deny it. “I’ve seen them used.”

“By whom?” the figure asked. “Name them.”

Alice hesitated for half a breath, then smiled. “Someone far higher ranked than you.”

The figure’s voice turned colder again. “A traitor? Higher ranked than me?”

Karr spat to the side. “We’re not the same faction as those humans. We’re being hunted like dogs out there.”

The figure walked closer. “Hunted. By whom?”

“Marauders,” Alice said. “This place is a prison planet now. Everyone here is a prisoner.”

The figure went still. “Humans… so that’s why they created that large-scale formation. I thought it was to make sure I never leave.”

Alice watched carefully. This vampire seemed open to conversation.

“Name him,” the figure said. “The one you claim is higher ranked than me. Was he imprisoned here too?”

“No,” Alice said. “But you can say they’re the ones sending me here.”

“They?” the figure repeated. “There’s more than one?”

Alice studied the vampire’s expression, but it barely showed anything.

Even so, she was sure she had his attention now.

‘Seems the human saying is true. In the middle of every crisis lies a great opportunity.’

She always doubted that saying, but now she felt it was true.

If not for the marauders ambushing her, she would never have reached this place.

If not for the old prisoner surrounding them at the beginning, she would never have come to this area.

Each crisis kept piling up until it led here.

“I have a way to talk to them,” Alice said. “Even with all these formations. Do you want to?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep