At the same time, Imperial Capital, Monsell.
“Two useless fools! This is obviously a trap…..”
Another person beside him said,
“But they’ve already become prey in the jar. It was only a matter of time.”
Inside the veiled bed curtains, a lazy silhouette cursed hatefully.
“Forget it. Their failure was within expectations.”
“From the previous operation at Yufeng Valley, it’s clear that Willis has changed a lot now. Maybe someone skilled is guiding her…..”
“But how many more moves can you withstand, Willis? Kukuku…..”
“Pass down the order, have Nightfall prepare to take over.”
A black-robed man below immediately cupped his hands.
“Yes! My lord!”
Under the night, unseen currents stirred.
Hidden in the darkness with the soldiers, Anne suddenly wondered if she’d forgotten something important.
“Uh…..Damn, I forgot to feed those two Fox Spirits.”
Her tone made it sound like she’d forgotten to feed the two pigs at home.
“Forget it, there’s no time now.”
With a wicked smile at the corner of her mouth, Anne had no intention of going back to feed them at this hour.
At the same time, in the cellar of the Castle Lord’s Mansion in Ushi City.
At this moment, Ofilia was curled up, squatting in the corner of the cellar.
The temperature here was low, colder than outside.
Earlier, in a moment of heat, Ofilia had rashly bet with Willis and walked in.
But she soon realized—it was so cold in here!
So she could only hug herself, shrinking into the corner.
She had come to this cellar since dawn, and now she had no idea how much time had passed.
During this period, Ofilia hadn’t had a single drop of water.
Even so, her delicate body still trembled from time to time.
It wasn’t just the cold; there were also physiological reasons.
Even after a day without water, the uncontrollable urge to pick flowers was about to make her cry.
And in this darkness, it was extremely quiet.
There was no sound from outside the cellar, and not a single ray of light inside—complete darkness!
In such an environment, Ofilia lost all sense of time.
Moreover, the silent darkness gradually brought fear and panic.
She huddled in the corner not only to preserve body heat, but even more because she was afraid, staring at the surrounding darkness.
Even though she couldn’t see anything, she still didn’t dare to relax.
She knew this was a cellar, but Ofilia had never been here before.
What could be in the cellar?
Maybe monsters were hiding here, not yet cleared out by Willis.
Maybe something terrifying would crawl out from the ground.
Or perhaps evil things lurked within this seemingly endless darkness!
Ofilia didn’t dare move, but her bodily sensations grew stronger.
She tried shouting loudly to boost her courage, but her voice was swallowed by the darkness.
It was as if a monster that devoured everything stood before her, intensifying her panic and swallowing any chance of calling for help.
Ofilia tried to call out, but no one answered.
It was as if she had entered a world of solitude.
Here, apart from herself, only darkness kept her company.
When she made a sound, it only brought more fear.
What……What is that!?
What’s over there?
Could monsters hear her voice and crawl out of the cellar walls?!
Stories she’d read before often described such horrors.
In the darkness, a hand would reach out
It……
Right behind you!
Now, Ofilia didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, clamping her trembling legs tightly together, her eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.
Nothing.
Except for darkness.
And more darkness!
And the monsters hidden within the darkness!
Time ticked by second by second, but Ofilia felt every moment dragged on endlessly!
She wanted to pick flowers.
She wanted to get out.
No!
No way!
Ofilia bit her lip. If she gave up here, wouldn’t she lose her freedom forever?
Yes!
That’s right, use the Illumination Spell
No, that won’t work either.
Willis had placed a Magic Suppression Collar on her.
She couldn’t use magic.
Not even the simplest Illumination Spell!
But why is it so dark here?
Where’s Willis?
Is she watching me?
“You’re there! You’re there, aren’t you, Willis!”
Ofilia shouted twice, but no one answered.
Only her own echoes replied.
Ofilia rubbed her stomach. Hunger started to make her hallucinate.
She even heard ringing in her ears.
Below, the urge to pick flowers grew stronger and stronger.
She couldn’t hold it much longer.
Should she find someone to let her out and return after taking care of things?
No!
Willis had said—they could only leave after seven days
Unless they gave up, they could only leave halfway.
Ofilia, you absolutely can’t surrender!
She tried to cheer herself up in her heart, but facing the endless darkness before her, Ofilia became afraid again.
She couldn’t hold it anymore
…
What to do?
What to do?
Was she going to end up here?
But if someone found out then…
“Who is it!? Who’s there?”
Suddenly, a voice came from her ear.
Ofilia stared in terror toward the direction the voice came from.
But in reality, she was experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Mages were said to have higher mental strength than ordinary people, but Willis had miscalculated.
The higher the mental strength, the more sensitive the nerves.
At the same time, the five senses of the body became sharper.
But in this pitch-black little room, with no light, no sound, no food, and not even any scent,
Even the only touch—the cold ground—became blurry and numb as her inner fear intensified.
Sensitive senses became a burden!
They became accomplices to her terror!
Ofilia’s teeth were chattering.
Partly from the cold, partly from the intense urge to pick flowers.
And thirdly, from fear.
Her voice was once again swallowed by the darkness; there was no reply from the other side.
“Is that you, Willis!?”
“I know it’s you! You want to see me give up, don’t you? You want to laugh at me, don’t you!?”
“No! Impossible! I, Ofilia, am not afraid of death!”
At her ear, Willis’s cold laughter seemed to echo.
[Not afraid of death? Really?]
Ofilia opened her mouth wide, a wave of anxiety jolting through her body.
She pressed her back against the wall in terror.
No matter how much she cursed Willis, the cellar remained silent.
Only the silent darkness answered her.
All the hairs on Ofilia’s body stood on end. She felt
***
Something stood one meter in front of her and stopped.
What was it?
Was it Willis?
Or……
Or…..A monster!?
Ofilia thought about begging for mercy, but the thought that doing so would be admitting defeat made her swallow her words.
“No, it’s fine. I’m scaring myself. There’s nothing here.”
Ofilia gave a forced laugh.
Suddenly, something touched her hand.
“Ah~! No, no! Don’t! Go away!! Stay away from me! Ah!!”
A scream, terror, and a mad, aimless scramble.
She crashed into the cellar wall and finally stopped.
After a long while, she came back to her senses.
What had touched her—was her other hand.
But soon after, Ofilia screamed in fright again.
“What is it!? Don’t crawl on me, don’t!”
“My magic! Why!? Help! Help me! Willis, master, I surrender, please save me!”
“Wuwuwu, no…Don’t, master, I was wrong…”
But only darkness answered her.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
Ofilia collapsed on the ground like a lifeless statue.
A faint sound of water trickled from beneath her.
On the other side, the Elf—Winnie Kanasha’s situation was very similar to Ofilia’s.