Chapter 188

It was a cursed fog, one that made you mistake your comrades for monsters and attack them.

Had a gate opened inside the headquarters? I couldn’t see one, but the fog was thickening so rapidly it had to be.

‘Of all places, in the dining hall, where nearly all the guild members were gathered…’

The most horrific memory from my past life was unfolding all over again.

Unlike last time, this space was confined. The dining hall filled with fog in an instant.

Soon, you wouldn’t even be able to see the person standing beside you. You would feel utterly alone.

I obsessively wiped my hands on my dress. And yet, the horrific sensation of my hands being drenched in my comrades’ blood refused to fade.

For me, having just regained my memories today, it felt as if it had all happened yesterday. There was no way I could overcome it.

“Haa…”

Cold sweat trickled down my spine. Then, my ears began to ring. My mouth went dry, my breathing quickened. It was the onset of a panic attack.

I gritted my teeth and screamed. A raw, cracked voice tore from my fear-constricted throat.

“It’s illusion magic!”

Once the fog became too thick, sound would be completely muffled. You could wander into someone and still be unable to communicate. They would see everyone as a monster.

That’s when the real hell would begin.

I had to warn everyone in the building before that happened.

“All mages, amplify my voice and spread it through the entire building! Guild members, find a place to hide alone, now! Anywhere in the building is fine, just hide by yourself! Don’t attack anyone who approaches you!”

Once they saw a monster, they’d be too consumed by fear to remember my words, anyway. But I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

It felt hopeless. There was no way to clear this gate without anyone getting hurt.

“I’ll say it again! Hide alone and do not move! You must not attack!”

Just then, I heard the puzzled voices of the guild members.

“Huh? A quest just popped up!”

“You too? I just got one myself.”

“Is the quest about some kind of hunt?”

“Yeah! That’s the one. Find and eliminate all the hidden monsters, right?”

“Me too! I got the same one! Looks like we all received the same quest.”

It seemed every guild member had received the same quest.

I scanned the space in front of me. Why wasn’t I getting a quest?

And that quest… ‘find and eliminate all the hidden monsters.’ It was far too vague.

How many were they supposed to kill for it to end? Would it even end at all?

The guild members’ voices continued.

“But how are we supposed to find monsters in this fog?”

“We’ll have to search on foot. What other choice is there? We need to find them before this fog gets any worse!”

“Wait! I have an idea!”

“Johan? What do you have in mind?”

“Holy power reacts to monsters! I’ll try to locate them!”

After a moment of silence, Johan’s horrified voice cut through.

“Th-this can’t be… I can feel the presence of countless monsters nearby!”

“What? Where are they?”

“They’re everywhere!”

I could faintly see Johan’s silhouette in the fog as he hastily drew his sword.

His title, ‘He Who Atones for Sin,’ was about to be rendered meaningless as he repeated the very same sin from our past life. I screamed in terror.

“Johan! No! What you’re seeing aren’t monsters, they’re our comrades! Don’t fall for it!”

But my voice was lost in the ensuing commotion.

“Where’s the Guild Master! They said the monsters are close!”

“She was right here a second ago. Where’d she go?”

“We’ll find the Guild Master later! Grab your weapons!”

The dining hall descended into chaos in an instant.

*Shinggg.*

Guild members drew their weapons, aiming in every direction. The air was thick with killing intent.

Any moment now, everything living would appear as a monster to their eyes.

I backed away instinctively. I instinctively drew Arondight, but I had no confidence. Could I bring myself to attack my own guild members?

“I hear something! They’re close!”

“Everyone, prepare for an attack!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Please, snap out of it! You’re all hallucinating! There are no monsters! They’re all people!”

“Ugh! That roar is going to burst my eardrums!”

“Its cry seems to be laced with magic! Everyone, cover your ears!”

The guild members had started hearing each other’s voices as monstrous shrieks. They were completely ensnared by the illusionary fog.

What was I supposed to do now? My mind went completely blank. I couldn’t think of anything. I just stood there, frozen.

— Anonymous Constellation: They’ve completely lost their minds! We told them it was an illusion, but they aren’t listening!

— Anonymous Constellation: Astell, you have to get out of there! They’re going to kill you!

— Anonymous Constellation: What are you doing! Snap out of it and run!!!

— Anonymous Constellation: NOW!!!!!!!

Right, I have to run.

To protect myself from them, and to protect them from me. Escaping was my only option.

‘But how?’

Even for me, it was impossible to get out of the dining hall without harming so many of my guild members.

While I hesitated, the fog grew even thicker.

“A m-monster!”

“Aargh! There’s more than one of them!”

“Attack! Kill them!”

One by one, the guild members began to see monsters. I could hear the sound of swords swinging from all directions.

“No! You idiots! I told you not to attack!”

I was screaming myself hoarse when I suddenly felt a heavy weight. Something had collapsed against me.

I whipped around to see a snake-headed monster on the floor, a deep gash in its side. A name floated above the convulsing monster’s head.

<Elaine Roma / Title — The Jealous One>

After Elaine, the victims of the indiscriminate slaughter began to pile up.

The stench of blood was so thick it was numbing. Blood splattered from every direction. The fog itself seemed to turn red.

I collapsed right where I stood. Strength drained from my limbs, and my breathing grew ragged. *Hic, heek!* A wheezing sound escaped my throat.

Just then, a monster emerged from the fog. A name floated clearly above its head.

<Yulia / Title — Ardent Follower>

“Yulia…”

Yulia raised her arm over my head.

I couldn’t move. Trapped by the memories of my past life, my body was frozen solid.

In that instant, someone screamed.

“Astell! Get out of the way!”

It was Dante’s voice.

I snapped my head up. Yulia was frozen in place. As if caught by some invisible force, only her crimson eyes darted about frantically.

It wasn’t just Yulia. The other guild members were also frozen, as if nailed to the floor.

Dante had used his ability to hold them in place, creating an opening for me to escape.

“Astell! I can’t hold them for long! Go!”

Dante’s desperate voice snapped me back to my senses.

I scrambled to my feet and ran. I dodged past the mannequin-like figures of my guild members and escaped the dining hall.

The hallway was already thick with fog. It was impossible to find my way when I couldn’t see a thing in front of me.

“Guys, which way do I go?”

— Anonymous Constellation: Follow the left wall and run!

— Anonymous Constellation: Keep going and you’ll find the stairs! Take them up to your office!

— Anonymous Constellation: Lock the door to your office and hide! Go all the way to the top of the stairs!!!

I swung my hand wildly to the left until my fingers brushed against a cold wall. Keeping my hand on the wall, I broke into a desperate run.

I ran frantically, yet I couldn’t even hear my own footsteps. It was like running with my eyes closed and my ears plugged.

I hadn’t run far, but my entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.

“Pant, pant!”

*Thud!*

My foot slammed into something as hard as stone, and my whole body crashed into it. It seemed to be a pillar jutting out from the wall.

“Ugh!”

I stumbled awkwardly before catching my balance. A throbbing pain shot from my toes all the way to my ankle.

I leaned against the wall, catching my breath, then gritted my teeth and forced myself to move.

“Gasp! Gasp! Am I going the right way? I… I can’t see anything… nothing at all.”

— Anonymous Constellation: Yeah, you’re going the right way, don’t worry.

— Anonymous Constellation: You’re halfway to the stairs, stay focused!

— Anonymous Constellation: Oh god… they’re all killing each other now, it’s a mess 🙁

— Anonymous Constellation: Shut up!! Can’t you read the room? Why would you say that?

— Anonymous Constellation: Astell, ignore that and hurry! Some of them have made it out of the dining hall!

With the silence, I had no way of knowing how many guild members were out here, or how close they were.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I felt like someone could leap out and grab me at any second.

The pain in my ankle was getting worse. Was it broken? At this rate, I wouldn’t get far before they caught me.

I pulled a healing potion from my inventory and downed half of it. The pain vanished, making it much easier to move.

I was moving at a near-run when my outstretched hand finally hit a wall. I had finally reached the end of the hall, where the stairs were.

Just as I grabbed the railing and set foot on the first step, my foot landed on something soft and wet.

I reached down, fumbling in the dark, and my hand touched something. It was the severed head of a monster.

<Zenia / Supporting Role — NO, 00000026>

“…Zenia…? Zenia!”

No matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, the name floating above the monster’s head didn’t change.

I clutched Zenia’s head to my chest and sobbed.

— Anonymous Constellation: There’s no time for this ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

— Anonymous Constellation: Stop crying and let’s go, okay?

— Anonymous Constellation: Astell, please!!!

Urged on by the constellations, I scrambled up the stairs.

My tear-soaked eyes felt like they would pop out, and my lungs burned as if they would burst. I could taste the faint tang of blood in the back of my throat. To make matters worse, my eyes were so swollen I could barely see.

“Gasp, sob! Gasp!”

— Anonymous Constellation: Where are you going! That was the eighth floor!

— Anonymous Constellation: Are you serious? We told you to hide in your office!

I scrubbed at my tears and said.

“Some of the guild members… *huff*, they’re priests. They’ll be able to find me no matter where I hide.”

All they have to do is follow the call of their holy power. Which meant there was nowhere in this building I could safely hide.

— Anonymous Constellation: Ah! That’s right! Dammit!

— Anonymous Constellation: So where are you going?

The rooftop. Where there’s no fog. I had to get there to survive.

I kept climbing the stairs, on and on, until I reached the door to the rooftop.