All of them automatically became wary of the person.

  "State your name," Anastasia demanded, as the man stared at her for a few seconds before bowing his head in greeting.

  "Forgive me for my rudeness. My name is Hoshi," he said. She trailed her eyes over his clothes.

  "You came from the East?" she asked, making him nod.

  "Then how did you get here?" Denovan asked.

  "I live here," he said, and they looked at each other in alarm. Callista stared at him when she felt his burning gaze, and they stood there silently, staring at each other.

  "I'm sorry to say this, but I can't let you pass this valley."

  The man in front of them hasn't done anything yet, but something was telling Callista that it didn't feel right or safe. One, two, then three seconds had passed.

  Callista was the first to notice it and quickly turned to Anastasia. "Run!" she shouted, but it was too late.

  By the time she turned to shout at her, Anastasia was already blown away by a strong gust of wind. Denovan grabbed her wrist to pull her in, but he flew with her as their bodies sank, enveloped by the fog.

  Ignis didn't think twice before following them, quickly jumping into the unknown valleys. This left only her and Ivan.

  "Go teleport down there, Ivan," she said, and he was stunned.

  "What? What about you?"

  She smirked at his words. "You worry about me now?" she teased.

  "Over my dead body!" was his immediate answer.

  "Hurry. I'll take care of this," she said, turning to Hoshi, who was silently and patiently staring at them.

  She didn’t like the look in his eyes—like he was calculating what to do to them.

  "You know how weak they are if magic is involved. Besides, you have to find this man's magic armament in there," she said.

  She was right. Denovan specialized in swordsmanship, so it was normal for him to be weak in spell casting, though he was skilled in enhancement spells.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Anastasia was a different case. She was good at defense magic but had low capability in attack magic. Ignis had the most powerful attack magic of all of them, and his defense was also strong. But in this situation, Ivan was the only one who could protect them in the thick fog.

  Ivan hesitated before sighing. "You better not die. I want to kill you myself."

  These words made Callista chuckle. Before she could even blink, Ivan had already disappeared.

  "I don’t know what your intentions are, but I can’t let you get away, can I?" she said, turning to Hoshi. "I applaud you for finding out about me being a wizard, but I have no intention of letting you go either. See this as a life lesson from an adult."

  Callista was confused as a gust of wind blew her away when he raised his hand.

  'That wizard... is weird,' she thought before she was swallowed by the fog.

  ---

  Meanwhile, Anastasia grunted as she pulled herself up from the ground.

  "Are you okay?" Denovan asked with a worried look on his face.

  "I'm fine," she said with a smile, looking around. "But where are we?"

  "This must be the reason no one was able to come back," Ignis said, his eyes locked on the human bones in the corner.

  "You think they got stuck here?" Denovan asked.

  Ignis shrugged. "What do you think, Ivan?"

  They all turned to the man in a robe.

  "He's a wizard. We have to find his magic armament to get out of here," Ivan explained.

  "Wait, if you're here, then where's Callista?" Anastasia asked with furrowed brows.

  "She insisted on staying behind," he replied.

  "What?! And you listened to her?!" Anastasia exclaimed in disbelief.

  "What was I supposed to do?! You know how stubborn that woman is!" Ivan huffed.

  "But still—"

  "It's nice to see all of you having fun."

  They all turned in alarm to the voice of an unfamiliar man who had suddenly appeared.

  "You... What do you want from us?" Anastasia asked.

  Hoshi stared blankly at her.

  "Where’s Callista?" Ivan asked, noticing her absence.

  "That brave friend of yours? Don’t worry; she’s not hurt," Hoshi assured them with a smile.

  "What do you mean by that? What did you do to her?" Anastasia demanded with furrowed brows.

  "Lady Ana..." Denovan called, making her turn to see him looking in a particular direction.

  She followed his line of sight and was shocked to see Callista on the ground.

  "Callista!" she called out, immediately rushing toward her, only to collide with an invisible wall.

  "What’s this?" she asked in confusion, banging on the invisible surface. "What is this?! Why are there trees on that side but not here?!" she exclaimed, pointing at the grass and trees.

  Hoshi walked toward the barrier. "Before the God of Darkness was defeated a thousand years ago, this place was known as the Valley of Illusions. Nobody was able to spread information about this valley because the people who lived here died," he explained.

  "And you’re the one in charge of this place?" Ignis asked.

  Hoshi smiled. "I’m happy you’re able to keep up," he said.

  "It wasn’t that hard to figure out. No one would dare come here with all those rumors going around," Ignis answered.

  "I don’t understand. Who is he?" Anastasia asked in confusion.

  "Impossible..." Ivan mumbled, his breathing hitching as realization dawned on him. "Is that possible?!" he asked Ignis, who nodded. Den

  ovan was also taken aback.

  "The Ninth Hero, Hoshiro Namaki," Ignis said, the words trailing off his tongue.