Gripping their weapons tightly, Aldon and Celes cautiously observed the fog surrounding them for any disturbances. In a short time, the fog surrounding them thickened to such an extent that they couldn't even see their hands clearly.

Suddenly, a pair of jet-black eyes with slight signs of madness materialized at a distance and observed the duo intently. Both Aldon and Celes noticed this immediately as it was quite in contrast with the now-white surroundings and tried to figure out its location, intending to attack without giving it much time to react.

Just as Aldon was trying to make out the distance between them and the Eyes, Celes stared blankly at the Eyes, apparently drawn to something. Her face slowly lost all its composure as she clutched her axes with such power that her nails digging into her hands drew blood. Mere seconds later, she became livid after remembering something and rushed towards the Eyes, screaming loudly and in a state of extreme anger.

Aldon noticed this slightly late and couldn’t stop Celes from running into the fog. Just as he began to look around in confusion, trying to figure out what was happening, a slender, feminine figure materialized within a few feet from him and started to approach him. Aldon noticed this and got ready to fight, clutching Alastair tightly.

Looking closely at the figure, Aldon soon came to a halt as he froze, with a slightly confused expression on his face. The figure was that of a beautiful, red-haired woman with hazel eyes and slight freckles on her cheeks, who was staring at Aldon quite fondly. Aldon felt waves of emotions batter his heart as he began to feel melancholic, for reasons unknown. He had no recollections of the woman in his memories and yet felt that she was kind of familiar. Seeing the confused Aldon, the apparition of the woman smiled gently. This smile triggered something within Aldon’s mind as a fragment of his forgotten memory resurfaced. He stood blankly, remembering the memory as the woman stretched her arms and embraced him.

***

During a sunny afternoon, under a tree’s shade, a lean man appeared to be taking a nap on a red-haired woman’s lap. The woman was caressing the man’s hair with a loving smile on her face. The woman resembled the figure that appeared in front of Aldon in the fog.

After a while, the man slowly stirred as he woke up from his nap. Sitting upright, the man yawned and stretched comfortably. The woman asked with a smile, “Had a nice nap?”

The man nodded his head and replied, “Yeah! The job description of the Hero, unfortunately, doesn’t include a good night’s sleep! I’m just glad to have gotten some shut-eye in between the missions!” The man was the Hero who was waging war against the Demons to eradicate their evil presence! He was also Aldon; before being reincarnated as an elf!

The woman smiled mischievously as she spoke, “Well, how does the great Hero intend to repay this favor of mine?” The woman had dragged the Hero away from his Party and was directly responsible for the rest that he had got. Remembering this, the Hero also grinned mischievously as he replied, “Oh, I’ll show you how!” He grabbed the woman by the waist, pulled her closer, and linked their lips together. The woman chuckled softly as she also reciprocated the kiss passionately.

After a passionate make-out session, the Hero released the woman’s waist and spoke with a sigh, “We have to get going. The latest mission requires us to leave the city by tomorrow. We have yet to prepare the necessary supplies for the journey.” The woman also sighed and leaned against the Hero’s chest and spoke with a slightly worried voice, “What will you do after you’ve completely eradicated the Demon Race? What comes next for you?”

The Hero replied, after thinking for a while, “Since the complete eradication of the Demon Race appears to be out of grasp currently, I haven’t thought about it yet!” He continued, with a slight chuckle, “I’ll think about it after I complete eradicating all the Demons!”

A slight frown formed on the woman’s face as she admonished the Hero, “You cannot put your all into anything if you do not have a plan for what to do next after you accomplish your goal! We still have a few moments to spare before heading to the Party. I want you to think over it now!”

The Hero gave in to the woman’s badgering and agreed to her demands. He started to think about his future after he accomplished his goal of eradicating the Demons from the face of the planet. He glanced over to the woman, who was looking at him with a curious and inquisitive look, and immediately came to a decision. He was surprised by himself and thought, ‘I never imagined that I could make an important decision of my life so quickly!’

The Hero cleared his throat and spoke awkwardly, “I... have decided to spend the rest of my life after accomplishing my goal with you in a quiet, countryside village.” He continued, stuttering, “What do you think about that?”

The woman was taken aback as she realized what the Hero had spoken about and replied teasingly, “Is this a proposal? I don’t see a ring in your hands, though?” This was enough to embarrass the Hero as he quickly turned bright red. Taking a while, he replied in a confident and determined voice, “I don’t have a ring currently...” He continued, with the earlier confidence slowly slipping, “...But will you agree to it if I procure a ring?”

The woman mischievously smiled as she answered, “Well, you will know the answer to your question once you show me the ring!”

The Hero quickly turned beet-red again as he realized the implied answer behind her words. He couldn’t handle more embarrassment as he quickly spoke, “We need to go back now. The Party members must be waiting for us.” and fled the place. The woman chuckled softly as she also blushed slightly in happiness as she followed the Hero back to their Party members.

After the woman caught up with the Hero, they flirted on the way back. Soon, they encountered the Thief of the Party, a very thin fellow with narrow eyes that always looked like he was plotting something.

The Hero greeted him warmly as the Thief nodded, without paying any attention to the Hero, and stared at the woman with a hidden lust from the corner of his eyes.

***

Back in the fog, Aldon felt a wave of immense anger when he remembered the face of the Thief. His recollection of that particular memory stopped when they greeted the Thief, and he couldn't remember anything further.

Glancing around, Aldon found out that the apparition of the woman was embracing him and felt a warmth in his heart. Just when he was about to open his mouth to speak with her, a few more apparitions materialized behind her. They were that of the Thief, the Assassin, the Caster[1] of the Hero’s Party, and the King of the Kingdom who had summoned Aldon in his previous life.

Noticing them, the woman stopped embracing Aldon, turned her back to him, and spread her arms, aiming to protect him from something. This scene reminded Aldon of his previous life’s death, as another fragment of his forgotten memory quickly surfaced. He remembered, to his horror, that the Healer who died while trying to protect him was none other than the woman in his recently gained memory, the one whose apparition was in front of him.

Aldon quickly snapped back to his senses and found out that the apparition of the King held a Blood-red sword in his hands. Remembering that the woman was still shielding him, he screamed loudly, “Don’t cover me! Move aside!” He also tried to run towards the woman but found out that he couldn’t. He tried to circulate Mana within his body but realized to his horror that he couldn’t do that too!

Aldon watched in anguish as the King threw the Blood-red Sword directly at the woman protecting him. He couldn’t do anything but scream out warnings to the woman to dodge it. He helplessly watched in despair as the Blood-red Sword plunged deep into the woman, turning the woman into bits of fleshes that flew everywhere due to its power. The King and his associates started to cackle wildly, seemingly mocking the sacrifice of the woman.

Aldon blankly stared at the clear space where the woman was present earlier and recalled the lone memory he remembered of her. It was more than enough to understand that she was the most treasured person to Aldon in his previous life. More than anything, watching the woman he loved be blown into bits once again, without him being able to do anything about it, snapped something in Aldon as he released a deafening scream filled with immense grief and rage and went berserk, attacking the apparitions of the King and his accomplices. He attacked ferociously, without any concern for himself, as tears began to form in his eyes, remembering the death of the woman he loved.

***

Aldon’s heart-wrenching scream resounded within a radius of a kilometer from his location. Sylph, who was defeating some of the Dungeon Beasts nearby, heard this scream and identified it as Aldon's. Worried that he was in danger, she quickly finished dealing with the Dungeon Beasts and hurried towards the source of the scream.

Sylph quickly arrived at Aldon’s location and stopped in front of the fog. After observing it for a while, just as she was about to take a step towards the fog, the voice within her mind spoke, “Oi, Sylph, don’t just rush into things! That fog looks quite similar to the one produced by the huge toad-like Dungeon Beast ‘Bufotarius.’ If my estimations are true, then the fog contains hallucinogenic compounds. The Bufotarius creates the fog to entrap its prey, causing them to hallucinate their worst nightmares and tire them out. After completely exhausting its prey, it moves in for the kill. Till then, it will wait with patience.” The voice continued, “Aldon is yet to be tired out. Listen carefully. You can hear his strikes. Hence, we still have time to come up with a plan rather than blindly rushing into the fog.”

Sylph concentrated and listened to the sounds within the fog. Just as the voice mentioned, she could faintly hear Aldon’s strikes and screams. She asked the voice, “So, what now? Do you have any strategies to deal with this fog?” The voice chuckled slightly as it replied, “Why do you want to deal with the fog and then look for a way to defeat the Bufotarius? I know about its weaknesses! I have a surefire strategy that will deal with this creature almost instantly.”

Sylph grew impatient hearing the pain behind Aldon’s screams and anxiously asked the voice, “What strategy? Spill it out fast!” The voice noticed her anxiousness and spoke calmly, “Calm yourself! Only when you have a calm outlook will you be able to tread the dangerous path of being a Mage without dying!”

Sylph took a deep breath to calm herself and asked again, “Okay, I’m calm now. Tell me your strategy.” The voice answered, “First, you should find a higher vantage point for this strategy to work.”

Sylph quickly cast the Realm 5 Wind-attributed Spell, ‘Soaring Steps’ on herself and climbed the sky. The Spell created two small, rectangular barriers of wind at the base of her feet alternatively, allowing her to climb higher by using it as leverage.

Sylph quickly reached an astonishing altitude of half a kilometer and stopped. She was approximately two hundred meters above the fog and could witness its expanse reach. Though Aldon’s screams and strikes were slightly more audible than before, she still couldn’t locate from where it was coming. A weird protrusion of red blob of flesh was sticking out of the fog nearby the airborne Sylph.

Observing the red blob of flesh, Sylph questioned the voice, “What’s that? Its appearance is truly revolting!” The voice answered with pride, “That, is the weakness of the Bufotarius. Since it will also be enveloped by the hallucinogenic fog while hunting for its prey, the creature has evolved to possess a fascinating way to avoid hallucinating. When releasing its hallucinogenic fog, it protrudes a blob of flesh on its head above the fog. Since the hallucinations only occur when you inhale any of the fog, the creature respires through this blob of flesh when it produces the fog. Now, you have two options to kill the Bufotarius. One is by cutting off the visible blob of flesh and waiting for it to start hallucinating and get exhausted. This way is more time-consuming, so I wouldn’t recommend it in this situation. The other way is to plunge a sword or spear through the blob of flesh deep enough to kill it. Since the blob of flesh sits atop its head, it is basically exposing the location of its most vital point, the head. Because of this weakness, though the Bufotarius is a threat to even the Realm 5 Mages, it can be easily defeated by even Realm 4 Mages who are capable of flight.”

Sylph digested everything that the voice revealed and drew her weapon, a pristine blue sword that radiated sharpness. The sword’s hilt had beautiful carvings that depicted graceful swans leisurely floating around in a lake.

Sylph flash-casted the Realm 4 Water-attributed Spell, ‘Heavenly Waterfall’ on her sword. Due to the Spell, the sword seemingly became the origin of a small but powerful waterfall. Water fell from the surface of the sword with immense force, seemingly capable of cutting through anything. The voice appeared to be confused as it didn’t see the point of the Spell, as she could have easily pierced the blob of flesh and killed the creature.

Somehow noticing the voice’s confusion, Sylph explained, “Though it’s true that I could simply pierce the blob deep enough to kill it, what if it momentarily shakes its head and my stab doesn’t kill it in one strike?” She continued, with a noticeable blush, “I cannot take such risks, especially when my fiance is in danger.” The voice didn’t let this opportunity go to waste and teased her, “Ah! You are taking extra precautions to make sure your fiance is safe! That’s so adorable!”

Sylph weakly argued in a slightly embarrassed voice, “It’s not like that! I barely know Aldon. How will I get to know him if he’s devoured by this creature!?” The voice chuckled as it spoke, “Whatever you say, girl!”

Though she was still embarrassed, Sylph concentrated on the situation at hand. She moved right above the blob of flesh through the help of the still active Spell ‘Soaring Steps’, and infusing some Mana into the sword, slashed the blob eight times within a second with immense speed. The infused Mana present in the sword produced sharp bursts of Mana that traveled along with the water arcs formed by the ‘Heavenly Waterfall’, and cut into the blob of flesh.

After a few seconds, the blob of flesh slowly fell apart like a lotus flower and disappeared from view, seemingly going under the fog. Sylph waited nervously for the fog to thin, which would indicate that the Bufotarius was truly slain.

After another few seconds that felt like an eternity to Sylph, the fog slowly started to thin out. Sylph let out a sigh of relief and waited for the fog to completely dissipate. While waiting, Sylph muttered to herself in a slightly disheartened voice, “It’s a shame that I couldn’t see the creature’s features! It’s always best to enhance one’s knowledge about things! It’s a real shame!”

The voice heard this, as it laughed out loud and spoke, “It’s not really a shame! The Bufotarii[2] are extremely rare to come across even in a high-level Dungeon. Even if you encounter it, it’s almost impossible to see it clearly since it is a very timid creature and would flee in the face of the even slightest hostility! This type of aggressive behavior of the Bufotarius, actively hunting for its prey is practically unheard of! It probably went berserk along with the other Dungeon Beasts due to the explosion of the Dungeon.”

While the voice explained things, the fog cleared out entirely, and both Celes and Aldon slowly came to their senses. Sylph noticed that the area around where Aldon was currently located was almost reduced to a barren field due to his rampage. In fact, no vegetation could be found within a radius of a hundred meters from him. Celes lost consciousness and collapsed in exhaustion since she had long reached her limits. Aldon, too, fell onto his knees, and keeping his head down, stared at the ground silently.

The voice whistled slightly as it expressed its admiration, “Wow, that lad Aldon probably has quite a tragic past! I’m becoming more and more interested in him!” Sylph shushed the voice, flew down the sky, and approached Aldon. Though she had seen Celes fall to the ground, Sylph prioritized Aldon over her as she checked upon him.

Sylph asked with a gentle voice, “Are you okay, Aldon? Did you sustain any injuries?” Aldon simply couldn’t concentrate on her, as he replied with a shaky voice, “Just give me a moment to gather my thoughts.” Sylph nodded in affirmation and approached the nearby Celes to examine her condition.

Aldon stared at the ground, trying to sort out his feelings which were constantly changing from grief, anger, and immense longing for the woman in his memory. Though he had only recovered a small piece of his memories spent with the woman, it was enough to throw him on an emotional rollercoaster. He took a deep breath and tried hard to organize his thought.

A short while later, Aldon let out a long breath as he remembered that they were still in a really dangerous environment, and he couldn’t possibly waste time pondering on things while their lives were on the line. He decided to bury his current emotions and not think about it as long as they were still trapped inside the city of Cartos.

Noticeably more stable, Aldon stood up and walked over to Sylph, who was examining Celes. Giving her a slight smile, Aldon enquired about the status of Celes. Though she noticed that the smile appeared to be forced, Sylph didn’t press him for details and answered, “She is in no danger. She has passed out due to excess exhaustion. She should be alright after a few hours of rest.”

Aldon nodded his head in acknowledgment and thanked her, “Thank you, Sylph! You basically saved us single-handedly!” Sylph chuckled and cracked a joke, trying to cheer him up, “Looking at the damage you caused, I’m sure you would have eventually arrived at the creature’s location and dealt with it yourself!”

Aldon looked at the destruction he had caused, and a wry smile formed on his face. Seeing her effort coming to fruition, Sylph smiled radiantly.

At that moment, a small bush at some distance from the duo started to rustle. Noticing this, Aldon and Sylph were alarmed since the jungle was swarming with dangerous Dungeon Beasts, and the rustle meant something was about to arrive in front of them.

Aldon quickly summoned Alastair and cussed unintentionally, “What the fuck’s wrong with this jungle!? It’s always one thing after the other!”

Though Sylph was confused by the voice’s silence as it had previously always warned her in advance about any incoming hostilities, she drew her sword and got ready for battle.

Suddenly, a small figure dashed out from the bush and appeared before them.

***(Footnote)***

[1] It appears that I had accidentally mentioned the Caster of the Hero’s Party as the ‘Mage’ of the Hero’s Party in the Prologue. This was a mistake on my part as I had not yet finalized the terms while writing the Prologue. (Don’t be confused, the ‘Mage’ of the Hero’s Party mentioned in the Prologue is the same human mentioned as the ‘Caster’ of the Hero’s Party in this Chapter. They will be mentioned as the ‘Caster’ of the Hero’s Party from this Chapter onwards.)

[2] Bufotarii: Plural form of the noun ‘Bufotarius.’