After breaking the barricaded window with a single powerful kick and leaping from the ice bridge into the Crafters Guild to escape the swarm of Visages chasing them, Arezu landed in the third-floor hall, followed by all the mage students.

Although their surroundings were covered in darkness, with no lights inside the building, the faint glow of the crescent moon shining through the broken window was enough to illuminate the silhouettes of the figures standing in front of them.

Damn it, we're surrounded…

Arezu initially thought those around them were Visages, considering how silent they remained, just like the undead. But upon Lynn's remark—

"My, my… What an unexpected welcome we've got here."

—the silhouettes within the darkness began to move, followed by a command from a voice both Lynn and Arezu knew well.

"Hurry up and seal that window! And reinforce the barricades on all the third-floor windows!"

A dozen silhouettes hurried to barricade the broken window through which Arezu, Lynn, and the students had entered. Half of them pressed wooden planks over the gap to hold back the Visages trying to break in, while the other half nailed those planks firmly into the wall.

When the broken window had been completely sealed, the interior of the third-floor hall was engulfed in total darkness—until a small lantern was lit, giving off a faint glow just enough to reveal its bearer.

"I'm glad that all of you are still alive," said the petite girl with short brownish-blonde hair and tanned skin.

—"Ms. Beatrix…"—

Senna murmured, echoed by Leo, Cliff, and Casey, as they collapsed to their knees along with the other mage students, realizing they were finally safe inside the Crafters Guild.

"As if those weaklings could get us," Lynn said proudly—and a bit arrogantly—despite keeping her arms wrapped around Arezu's neck, silently telling him she couldn't walk yet.

"We almost died, though," Arezu muttered—not because he refused to carry Lynn until she regained the strength to walk, but to remind her that reaching the guild had not been easy, and sacrifices had been made so they could escape.

Still, Lynn's words gave Arezu some hope—that the two mage instructors, along with the first group of students and the instructor who went to the northern gate, were still alive.

"So…" Beatrix said, continuing the conversation, glaring at Lynn as she brought the lantern closer.

"So… What?"

"…What did you do this time that brought us into this mess?"

"It's unfair to blame Mr. Arezu for every troublesome thing!"

"She's clearly blaming you, Lynn," Arezu said. "But still, she really didn't do anything."

While the crafters were reinforcing the barricades on all the third-floor windows, Beatrix guided Lynn, Arezu, and the mage students to the headquarters so they could rest.

Lynn and Arezu thought it would be in the basement, since it was the sturdiest place in the building. But to their surprise, Beatrix said otherwise.

"The ground floor and the basement are crawling with Visages…"

On their way to the headquarters—located on the fifth and highest floor—Beatrix explained what had happened in the guild after the clocktower bell rang at six in the evening.

The crafters, guild staff, and locals—everyone inside the building—suddenly attacked the members of the Annual Caravan the instant the chime ended.

Their group had numbered more than a hundred at first, but their ranks slowly dwindled as more were captured, dragged away, and pulled into mirrors by the Visages, until only half remained.

Beatrix took command after all the senior officials of the Annual Caravan's Crafters Guild were killed.

Fortunately, there weren't many capable fighters among the Visage of the local crafters.

Together with the crafters, merchants, and adventurers, Beatrix managed to barricade the building—blocking the stairs to the first floor and securing the upper floors by eliminating the Visages one by one over the following hours—

"What's with that look?" she asked, pausing her story when she noticed the uneasy expressions on Lynn and Arezu's faces.

Sensing what they were thinking, Beatrix quickly gave her reason, though even she faltered.

"It's them or us... That's all there is to it," she said in a stammering voice, showing regret even as she recalled how those she cut down had shattered into mirror shards upon defeat.

The fact that their numbers had been reduced by half only meant they had hesitated at first, Arezu and Lynn thought as they followed behind her, Lynn still being bridal-carried by Arezu.

At the fifth floor, faintly illuminated by a few lanterns, a handful of crafters worked to barricade the broken windows.

The shards of glass scattered across the floor weren't only from the windows but also from shattered mirrors that once lined the walls—destroyed to prevent Visages from emerging through them.

"Looking at you being carried like his girlfriend, I guess healing the injured is out of the question," Beatrix remarked as they arrived at the main hall, where her wounded companions were resting.

Lynn had no response—not only because she was flustered at being called Arezu's girlfriend, but also because she was too dejected to admit she no longer had the strength to use her divine blessing.

Arezu took over the conversation as Lynn fell into silence.

"If you don't have any priests or priestesses who can heal, how about using potions?"

"Everyone's already used what they had."

"Then search the guild and take whatever you find. It's not like the Visages will need them anyway."

Although conflicted about following Lynn's suggestion and using what wasn't theirs, Beatrix instructed the merchants and adventurers to search the entire building for anything that might help them survive.

"Let's go help with the search, Mr. Arezu."

"Just stay here and rest, Lynn," Arezu said, worried—not only about her condition after collapsing for the second time tonight, but also about her habit of picking up valuables, or more accurately—

"It's not like I'm gonna steal something," Lynn muttered, pouting as she glared at him.

"You can say that after we return those twin swords and that robe to Alex."

After a while, the group that went searching returned carrying only a few boxes of potions and water, along with a collection of weapons—swords, spears, even bows and arrows.

"You didn't find any food?" Beatrix asked while inspecting the items.

"It's not that we didn't find any," one of the merchants replied. "It's just that everything was already spoiled."

"Why would the food already be spoiled?"

The same question lingered in everyone's mind as they rested and tended to their injuries.

Hours passed in silence within the dimly lit guild hall, broken only by the rustling and pounding of Visages outside against the doors, windows, and walls—until finally, something broke the silence.

"Another group is heading toward us!"

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