Prologue

Somewhere in this world, there was a place called the Land of Demons... This place was a wetland full of flying insects and thick growths of plants that occasionally devoured humans.

Any who stepped foot inside would be surprised by the number of monsters inhabiting the place. And should they discover the ominous sight of the labyrinth’s deep underground, they would immediately turn on their heel, assuming they had enough time to do so.

It was a wild place with no country emblem, where those of monstrous lineage constantly waged wars of aggression to assert their dominance, but they had been eerily quiet as of late.

The leaders of the surrounding lands had even been gathering to discuss why they had been so peaceful in recent days. But every time the topic came up, they came to the conclusion that the Land of Magic had cowered in response to their reinforced military might.

It was true that humans were greatly inferior in one-on-one combat. However, they were a force to be reckoned with when it came to group combat, such as during war. They were capable of employing a variety of offensive methods, and the use of tactics and strategy made them even greater threats. And since they had formed a multinational alliance, the savage monsters wouldn’t have dared to declare battle against them. The reason the humans didn’t invade the Land of Demons was simply due to the fact that it didn’t offer any attractive resources as an incentive.

However, if anyone who had experienced war with the Land of Demons had been at these discussions, they surely would have questioned whether any of this was true. After all, they would have seen firsthand just how relentless the demons could be. But unfortunately, those witnesses never lived to tell the tale, so they obviously couldn’t give their input at these meetings.

What was the true reason the Land of Demons chose to simply wait and see?

Few could answer that question, but the man who stood up now in the dimly lit room with a faint smile on his face appeared to have all the answers.

He had a tall, slender build, his hair dancing about as purple flashes of electricity occasionally crackled around him. All the color seemed to have been lost from his hair, and one could see as his hair wavered that his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

The crackling noise could be heard from the center of the room. It seemed to be caused by numerous dark magic users, each of whom emitted purple lightning from their outstretched fingers. They gathered electricity into a metallic cylinder, and a masculine voice ordered, “Continue.”

As for the others lined up around them, their gazes darted all around, trying to figure out what was going on. They each seemed to be stalwart fighters. Among them was the only woman in the place, named Kartina.

This was a bizarre sight from her point of view as well. She was surrounded by metallic relics, and something like a glass water tank could be seen beyond the magic casters. She couldn’t see what was inside due to the darkness, but she caught a glimpse of shadows between the flashes of purple lightning. Was that a human figure she saw, or were her eyes playing tricks on her?

“Hey, Kartina. Have you heard anything about this?” She turned to find that it was a nervous, sweaty man who had asked the question. His body was covered in grime from the continuous battles he had been fighting, and Kartina figured she was in a similar state herself.

She thought about it for a moment, then answered.

“No, they haven’t told me a thing. My grandfather told me morions grow all over this place, but that’s about it. Wait a second... Now that I think about it, the captain did mention that this place was the land of salvation.”

The man shot her a look of disbelief. It was as if he meant to say, “I’m not gonna get myself killed believing in some old folktale.” Kartina had to agree with that notion. Still, she didn’t wear that same look of despair on her face, as she had her current mission to focus on. Not to mention, considering the fact that their captain had been giving such accurate orders, as though he saw through everything that was going on, it was unlikely that he would be tricked by baseless tales of old or screw up his plans now.

Getting through the Arilai army and reaching the third layer of the ancient labyrinth would be no simple task. They had begun to learn how to use Magic Stones, and many of their comrades had already fallen victim to their newfound power. Kartina wished to gain brighter prospects for their sake, but it didn’t seem like the tides would change as of yet.

“Looks like they’ve fallen into a deep sleep after a thousand years.” Kartina looked back to the source of the exasperated voice to find the captain still staring at the casters without moving an inch. “Keep at it,” he said, then turned on his heel. Wishing to at least understand what was going on, Kartina stepped forward.

“Captain, I would like to know what the situation is.” His eyes, which were the color of melted honey, turned to her in response, and he let out an affirmative grunt. It was as if he was just noticing she was there, but there was no hint of frustration or panic in his demeanor.

The captain brushed some dust off of a chair, then took a seat. He glanced at the other members of the party.

“Get some rest, everyone. Once that thing wakes up, we will massacre our hated enemy, the Arilai army. We will be quite busy in no time.”

His statement only left the others wondering, “How?” They had no idea what that thing was, but understood the immense power of the Arilai army.

Seeing their reaction, the captain opened his mouth, but refrained from speaking, opting to give another grunt instead. Judging from the look on his face, he seemed to have given up on helping the others understand the situation.

“Oh well. You’ll understand soon enough. All I can say is, you have much to look forward to. Dismissed,” the man said from his chair, a dauntless smile on his face.