The police officer who stood on the bridge watching the huge crater suddenly flinched when he felt a subtle wave.

"What was that just now?" he muttered in confusion. He squinted at the night air—just then, his eyes widened, reflecting a humongous, intricate blue magic circle that shimmered into existence before him, runes and glowing arcs spinning over the emptiness!!

A magic circle... no, a colossal, ancient glyph—so big it nearly covered the entire crater.

The whole world seemed to tremble as, before his very freaking eyes, the once lost and forgotten place flickered into existence. Pulses of sapphire light laced the air.... weaving the city back into the bones of the earth.

Sssnnnnnnggglllll~

"Oh… My god… this can't be real…" His voice trailed off, a breath caught in his throat.

He couldn't even finish the word. His eyes stared blankly, awe-struck by the miracle happening before him.

All around, buildings shimmered into existence, towers flaring and rising, whole avenues blooming like illusions over empty dust.

It was a miracle... the impossible made real, right in front of him!

The stones on the ground rose up, shaping themselves into grand buildings. Trees unfurled from green sparks, racing from tiny sprouts to majestic, full-grown giants in seconds. Asphalt rippled and flowed across the earth, reforming smooth black roads.

Streetlights blinked awake, one after another, stringing yellow and blue lights along every building, until the once barren space was filled with nothing but… a city of wonders!

Leo and the others blinked, barely able to process what they'd just witnessed.

None of them could move at first, trapped by the shock and beauty of the scene.

"W-What's going on here? How is this possible?" Raphael stammered, her voice trembling between confusion and awe as she gazed at the newly formed buildings. Windows glowed warmly, lights blooming inside, and the enormous trees swayed gently in the breeze that had just begun to stir... like the world itself had taken a new breath.

Even the crater before them had vanished, leaving behind only shimmering roads and impossible buildings.

Essa clenched her weapon tighter, eyes narrowed, and whispered, "It's the Relic… the magic has awakened."

"Huh?" Leo's brow furrowed, trying to understand.

Valra said, "The Relic has chosen its next ground. Just like before, the last place we visited—remember?"

Only then did Leo begin to piece it together.... a strange single door, leading to a maze and traps.

Just like that, now it was… buildings?

Why?

Leo, slightly confused by the new formation, looked around warily. "Is something going to happen here—Arrhh!" Suddenly, Leo clutched his head as a sharp pain flashed through his mind.

For a split second, he sensed something familiar…

"Leo, are you alright?" Azrael immediately rushed to his side, catching his face in her hands and searching his eyes for any sign of danger.

Leo shook his head, trying to clear the haze. "Don't worry, it's just a mild… headache," he said, forcing a small, confused smile.

Azrael stared at him blankly for a moment before her gaze darkened. "Don't let them get inside your mind," she said, her voice low and dangerous.

"…Pardon?" Leo blinked.

What did she mean by them?

Azrael smiled weakly, then pointed beyond him at the monsters that had begun to stir. "I meant them."

"Oh? I see… Don't worry. We'll be fine," Leo replied.

Yet Azrael only bit her trembling lips.

"We need to escape now! The new paths and buildings give us a chance to move!" Valra shouted, raising her arm. Flames poured from her palm, burning a path through the monsters ahead.

"Follow me!" she called, sprinting forward. The others rushed after her, firing their guns to cover her back as she cleared the way.

Since they couldn't fight these monsters in close combat, Ophis, Azrael, Leo, and Raphael relied on their guns as they fired into the swarm.

"Thank goodness we have these—otherwise I can't even imagine what would have happened to us!" Raphael gasped, relief in her voice as she fired off another round.

Everyone nodded. Meanwhile, Essa watched the group's movement, trusting Valra to lead them out. Without warning, Essa leapt high, landing on a building's wall, her curved blade hooking deep into the stone before she launched herself skyward again.

Sssshhhh~

Two golden lights shimmered beneath her hoodie as her eyes sharpened and scanned the distance.

She saw farther down the twisting streets... other figures running after the Relic!

"What the hell did you do, you fucker?!" Fallen Camazotz shouted, his voice echoing as he tried to catch the Relic, only for it to suddenly dart away, leaving a trail of blue particles swirling behind.

Ever since the buildings had appeared, the once-stabilised, hovering Relic had begun to move—zigging and zagging as if playing tag, taunting its pursuers.

Dracula gritted his teeth, "I'm telling you again, I didn't do anything—it's that woman!" he growled, pointing a finger at Fallen Pride, who stood atop a distant building, silent and still as a statue, as if waiting for her minions to fetch the prize.

Dracula lunged to intercept the Relic, but it zipped to the side, faster than sight.

"Haha… I got it this time!" Fallen Nergal shouted, leaping toward the spot where the Relic trailed off, cornering it against a building wall. Yet—

Thud!

He slammed into the wall as the Relic simply passed through the stone, ghostlike, leaving Nergal sprawled and stuck.

"Arrh… I hate this thing!" he groaned, voice crumbling as he shook off the debris and chased after it again.

Meanwhile, Valra managed to guide her group safely out from the encirclement of monsters.

Essa, who was leaping from one building to another, shouted back, "Just go straight—the Fallens are there too! Don't slow down!" Her voice cracked through the chaos as she led the group, her silhouette darting from rooftop to rooftop under the pale blue glow of the magic-lit city.

The others nodded, breath ragged as they ran.

Behind them, hordes of black, sticky humanoid monsters surged forward, their inhuman screams and moans echoing down the streets.

The shrill screams and guttural moans spilled from the black, sticky figures... They moved like a living ocean of tar, bodies shapeless, mouths wide and howling.

It was a nightmare that not even a nobody could wake from!

Still, the creatures weren't fast enough. Leo's group managed to keep ahead as they darted through the streets.

Ophis, running calmly near the front, her eyes sweep the buildings, the signs, the glowing windows, her face itched with confusion and curiosity. Suddenly, she slowed, staring up at a crooked sign.

"I think… I've seen these buildings before," she murmured, almost in disbelief.

Leo, running beside her, frowned, "What do you mean? You've seen this place before? In a dream?"

Azrael hurriedly interrupted, "I think that's not important right now—just keep moving!"

She wasn't wrong!

But Raphael, panting, sweating, couldn't help herself and interjected, "I think it would be… ah… ah… good if you did know something about this place, right? We could… ha… ah… use it to our advantage? Maybe find a way out?"

Well… she wasn't wrong, either.

Veins bulged on Azrael's forehead. "I hate you sometimes, Raphael," she spat.

"What?" Raphael tilted her head with wide eyes and an innocent.

Just then, Ophis caught sight of a familiar sweatshop storefront, the flickering neon sign. Her eyes widened in shock and memory.

"Yup, I definitely came here with my big sisters… Yeah, this place—I know it.

It's Abaddon Sheol!"

Ba-dump!

Leo's heart skipped a beat. For a second, he didn't understand why; confusion and a vague dread itched across his face.

"Abaddon Sheol?" Valra, running alongside them, repeated in surprise. "The previous province that got hit by a meteorite?"

"What? Hit by a meteorite?" Raphael's jaw dropped, and her running faltered for a step. She looked at Leo with a stunned expression—What the heck had her brother been showing his son all this time?

Valra was surprised, too. "What? You don't know? Everyone knows this place! Once, it was full of buildings and people. Decades ago, it was hit by a meteorite!" she explained quickly, glancing around, "And she's saying… it's the same one… ah…"

Raphael felt even more shocked—everyone knew this, except her?

The heck! Why was she always the last to know?

Suddenly, Azrael leaned in, whispering to Raphael, "We went abroad, remember? Maybe we missed it on the news."

Only then did Raphael remember her years overseas for her studies, but still… something this massive happened and she didn't remember?

What's going on here!

Leo, meanwhile, was utterly shocked to hear all this. His parents had shown him this place as a child?

Had they lost their minds, bringing a kid to a cursed ruin like this?

Did they have a screw loose or what?

Now the huge crater made sense—of course, a meteorite must have destroyed everything back then.

That was the only thing that could have left such a mark on the earth, right?

However,

"No," Ophis suddenly said, her voice going cold and flat. "This wasn't caused by a meteorite. You've all been told the wrong story."

Valra stared at her in disbelief, slowing her run. "What?"

Ophis's face turned grim, her tone suddenly weighty and solemn.

"Exactly eighteen years ago, this is where the previous Arcanum Eidolon War happened—and it caused the death of a hundred million people.

Not a rock from the sky, but a war…

A cataclysm that erased everything."

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