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The last thing Grace remembers before everything turned white is when she noticed that one of the attackers rushed toward her.

After that, she was in a different place.

"...?" And now, faced with this sudden change of scene, Grace felt perplexed.

When she turns her head around her, what she sees is the sight of wooden houses that are surrounding her, fields with crops, racks for drying meat.

Upon careful observation of her surroundings, she noticed a signboard next to her, its writing covered by large dark brown spots, making it very difficult to discern. She could barely make out the characters "OOOOO Village."

So, it's a village... but there's something very wrong about this village.

There's no one here, no living creatures at all—no cows, sheep, chickens, ducks—nothing. An intangible sense of oppression hangs in the lifeless air.

Dry, dark red liquid is everywhere, along with white, unidentified fragments... human teeth.

Then, Grace saw a standing figure.

It was a young man with green hair, dressed in a black robe, and a sparkling crystal ball hung from his chest.

"Oh, so you're here this time, huh? Hmmm, hmmm, heh heh heh, not bad, not bad..." The young man's face bore an exaggerated smile, and his unfocused eyes were quite discomforting.

"...? Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry, my bad. I didn't introduce myself first. Greetings, I am the [Collector] Geka." The young man bent over in a dancing bow.

"Welcome to my Projection World, which is the crystal ball on my chest... Don't worry, Miss Grace, [Black Dragon Mage], I just want to play a game with you."

"... So, you're an enemy?" Grace raised her staff.

"Well, I want to invite you, an insufficiently skilled magician like me, to a life-or-death battle in my Projection World... Even if you don't want to, you can't refuse, because this Projection Space is a cursed item. Every activation requires an unharvested soul, or it can't be closed." Ignoring Grace's words, he continued self-absorbedly.

"In other words, unless one of us dies, we'll both be trapped here!" Geka's eyes sparkled with excitement.

The cursed crystal ball, [Soul Harvesting Space], entraps the user and a designated target inside for a duel, and it won't deactivate as long as no souls are reaped. Time stands still within it, and those trapped inside must engage in a fight to the death forever... This means, perhaps there's no benefit for the user, but...

"Well then, come on!!!!!" Geka's muscles exaggeratedly swelled all over his body as he pulled out a small knife and swung it in Grace's direction.

Crack!

The ground shattered as the small knife's strike cleaved the earth.

That's the unique feature of this item—the power of the crystal bearer determines the size of its effect. This isn't a duel, it's an execution.

Blossoms floated down from the sky, and surprise flashed in Grace's eyes as she dodged the immensely powerful strike.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you scared? I'm just an insufficiently skilled magician after all!!!!!!" Geka shouted wildly, his blade dancing and his attacks shattering everything as they assailed the barrier space.

As a [Mage], Geka was born into a family of wizards.

Even though he was a [Mage], his abilities in all aspects fell far below the average [Mage], and one could even say they were not much different from those of a [Villager].

Though he was a [Mage], he couldn't even perform a decent spell.

In the eyes of his family and friends, he could only bow and kneel... until he obtained the cursed item [Soul Harvesting Space]. From then on, he immersed himself in a world of boundless potential, driven by jealousy, he hunted down famous powerful [Mages] and [Fighter] all around... in the end, the [Sacrament Wardens] took notice of his abilities and his hunting record.

"..." Grace could only dodge and evade under the onslaught of destructive force.

Then, the attacks temporarily ceased.

"I'm really surprised! The [Black Dragon Mage] is indeed deserving of her name. You're the first person who managed to hold out for so long!" Geka's expression toward Grace became even more eerie, and deep-seated jealousy compelled him to raise his blade once more.

"... You said, this place will only open if you obtain a soul?" Grace spoke up.

"That's right, so..."

"... Then, go and kill yourself." With that, Grace turned into petals and vanished into the air.

After all, Walson had her [Ender Pearl], and by using that, Grace could come and go freely.

"Ah?"

With the departure of Grace, only Geka remained in that place.

A person who will forever be trapped in his own world unless he commits suicide.

(Walson)

The building that was originally used to confine me has now turned into ruins.

There's no one around, and thus, no witnesses; that's really a relief.

The ground is littered with the broken bodies of the black-clad individuals. Aside from a few who are still twitching, one captured, the rest have ceased to breathe.

"18, 19... Hmm, there's one person missing. I heard that there were 20 people who infiltrated the city, and only 19 have shown up so far." Standing on a pile of rubble, Derisha counts the bodies of the enemies that laid around her.

"..."

I can't see Melon's expression. She's facing away from me, tying up a black-clad person whose mask has been pulled off. His face is hard to recognize, badly beaten and swollen.

"Since you already noticed the signs way back in Nonokuta Town, why didn't you speak up!? If something had happened to you, Grace and the others would..." Barella scolds me in anger.

Yes, at the last attack in Nonokuta Town, it was a sign of this incident.

Yet I didn't say anything, and it led to this situation. It not only caused trouble for everyone, but also made others worry.

"I'm sorry... because it was my own business, I didn't want to trouble you all..."

Since it was targeted at me, I felt bad about involving others, so I didn't say anything. But...

"Trouble?!" My words seem to have infuriated Barella even further.

"So you're blaming yourself? You should've confided in us! We're a [Party] after all! By your logic, there is no reason for you to save me back then!"

It seems like something is dripping in front of me. Lifting my head, I notice that Barella is crying.

For a moment, I don't know what to say.

"Aure, take a break," Grace lightly pats Barella's shoulder... Why is Grace smiling?

In the next moment, I feel a chill creeping up from my feet, as Grace takes off her glasses.

"... There's a lot of things I want to ask Walson tonight."