This was not the first time Jack and Grace went through the Dorwin region. This region was where the Lost Forest was located.
This region was also where Oswald spent his time before he was called into Greed's chamber. Oswald now stayed behind in Thereath. He was no longer a fugitive.
The previous Council of Virtus was no more. The only grudge the new council under Mihos and Pallas was interested in was against the Cult of Phobos. Abdu was no more, and Abasi was not among the orcs in charge of Verremor anymore. So, Verremor also no longer after him.
The only one who still had a bounty on him was his previous employer, the Assassins Guild. But Jeanny had helped smooth the matter over with that faction. Their status as a national guild entitled them some respect even among the native factions. After paying a few gold coins, the bounty on Oswald was lifted.
Oswald was enjoying his freedom in Thereath, which was now a bustling megalopolis.
Grace asked him to not get over-indulgent in his celebration. She expected his level to continue increasing so he could be of use when she needed him.
Jack rode Pandora and traveled on land instead of flying in the sky. Pandora's speed in the sky was faster than Grace's unique-grade unicorn so Pandora ran on the ground to match the unicorn's speed.
The unicorn could release an aura from its horn that calmed all the monsters in its surrounding, making them consider the unicorn as their ally, but this ability had a cooldown. There was a half-hour gap where this ability expired and before it could be used again. With it running alongside Pandora, there was no need for the unicorn to use this ability.
The unicorn itself was unaffected by Pandora's fear. It ran close to Pandora without a problem, which actually made Pandora feel a bit offended. She continued to huff while running. Grace's unicorn paid her no mind.
The Dorwin region was extremely vast. It was almost the size of one country, and they were traveling the elongated path along this region to get to the Sylvan region.
With Pandora, they traveled without the worry of being interrupted by monsters. Except at some certain areas where extremely high-level monsters existed, Peniel guided them to take a roundabout way.
They were not exactly in a hurry. So when they saw new monsters, Jack still made the time to hunt those monsters. The wooded topography of the region made the two steeds unable to move at full speed. Thus, even with their exceptional steeds, it still took nine days before they entered the Sylvan region.
The wooded landscape of the Dorwin region changed to terrains filled with rocky hills and trees. The trees were not as large as the ones in the Dorwin regions, but they still gave the region a feeling of lush nature.
The two saw lots of flying monsters above, more than what they saw in any other areas. Peniel informed them that this region and the Daflue region were the two regions crowded with avian-type monsters. The Daflue region was where the Council of Elpo was located, where Jeanny and Paytowin were heading. It was between Liguritudum, Hydrurond, and Palgrost.
These two places were the ideal spots for those with the bloodline that needed avian monster essences, like what Fierce Flame had. Jack sent the message to Tip so he could inform their guild members.
Jack transformed into his supreme dragon form and flew up to slay at least one new avian monster for his monster book. Grace followed Jack to the sky by using angelic possession.
When Jack realized Grace had been following him in the sky for a period longer than the duration of angelic possession, he noticed the wings behind Grace were different. The wings were silvery green.
"You have wings tool?" Jack asked.
"It is a gift from God Greed," Grace answered.
"He is truly nice to you," Jack remarked.
"Are you jealous?" Grace teased.
"Nope," Jack uttered and flew away to hunt nearby monsters while Grace giggled.
The coordinates John gave were not too far from where they entered the region, so it was only three days before they arrived near the coordinates.
The two stared at the thick mist that covered the trees ahead.
"Do you sense it?" Jack asked.
"Yes. This mist is unusual," Grace answered.
The two sensed that the mist ahead of them was formed of mana. They had been staring at the mist for a while. It didn't diminish nor did it move. It just stayed there as if it was stuck in place.
"The location John gave is behind this mist," Peniel said.
"Let's circle the place. See if there is a way to reach there without going through this mist."
So, they walked in a circle while referring to the coordinates on their maps. After making one full circle, they understood that the mist covered all the paths into the coordinates. The mist covered even the canopies of the trees. Grace flew up using her wings tool and surveyed from the sky. They would still have to enter the mist if they entered through the sky.
"What should we do?" Grace asked.
"It is pretty obvious this mist is intentional. If the Council of Charite's base is behind this mist, then I bet this mist is its entrance."
"So, we just enter…?" Grace asked.
"Of course," Jack said.
When he was about to walk into the mist, Grace held him and asked, "Are you not afraid something bad will happen if we just enter like this?"
"This is the base of one of the good Gods. One represents joy, even. I bet they have all the fun stuff waiting for us. We just need to show them that we are Hope's representatives and we are here with good intentions, I'm sure they will receive us with open arms."
"I'm not sure… I have a bad feeling about this mist," Grace said.
"You worry too much. Look, all we need to do is just announce our intention before we enter."
Jack then shouted with a loud voice, "Good people of the Council of Charites! My name is Storm Wind, and this is Grace. We come in peace! I repeat. We come in peace! We carry Hope's sanctification and we are here to warn you about a possible threat. All we want, is just a talk. We will be entering now!"
Jack gave Grace a reassuring look before saying, "I will be entering first."
He then walked into the mist.
"Sometimes I admire his boldness, sometimes I just want to smack him," Peniel said. She was staying behind with Grace. "Let's hope he is–"
Peniel's words ended when her body was suddenly yanked and she vanished.
Grace had seen such a thing happening before. This meant that Jack had entered another dimension within the mist, rendering his distance from Peniel too far and Peniel was forcefully teleported to where he was.
Grace took a deep breath and entered the mist.
As she did, Grace felt as if she had fallen into a bottomless abyss. She couldn't see anything. She realized then that she was closing her eyes. When she opened them, she found that she was in a dimly lit dungeon. She tried to move but discovered that her arms and legs were bound by chains.
"What…?" While she was trying to make sense of what had happened, she saw there were others in this dungeon. They were similarly bound.
A hoarse voice greeted her from above. She looked up and saw a grinning face that was formed of vines.
"Well, well. It looks like we have another participant. Excellent! Let's wait for two more. Then we can finally begin our game and have some fun!"
