“It’s been nearly a week since we arrived, right?” Nero asked. “Are we going to make a big move soon?”

He tossed a small chunk of fried chicken into his mouth, and Dia reached out for the bowl full of popcorn chicken a moment later. This little treat, which were sold by the packets, were prime material to dip into all sorts of sauces, or enjoyed by itself.

“I think we can, but I’m increasingly of the opinion that there’s really something odd going on in this county,” Risti replied. “And it’s not just the great Dark either. Like something else screwing around with us.”

Dia nodded. Over the past seven days, Nero had reported a drastic decrease in the number of people in Daybreak itself. In fact, Dia could see the drop herself; the streets, which had been brimming with people, were growing more and more deserted for each passing day. The miners that had thronged the lifestone mines had dropped in number too, and Nero’s original job of scaring the living daylights out of them had become easier with each passing day.

In fact, Dia had the feeling that they didn’t actually need to do anything or even go to Daybreak County at all. At this rate, the county would soon be devoid of people…and what was most creepy of all was how no one else seemed to notice the decrease in people at all.

“Should we just leave and report the results to Count Nightfall?” Nero suggested. “It feels dangerous. Like something’s about to happen here. It’ll be best if we aren’t caught up in it.”

“That’s a tough question, but it’s undeniable that the number of people here really has decreased,” Risti replied. “Today was particularly drastic.”

“Which is why I brought up such a suggestion.” Nero frowned. “I’ve tried to convince people to leave with me, but whenever I bring it up, my words seem to be ignored. It’s as if the people can only respond to certain questions or requests.”

“You got that feeling too?” Dia asked.

“Seems like we all concur on the same thing, then,” Risti replied. “In that case, let’s put it to a vote. Who wants to abandon this mission and report our current results to the count?”

Dia raised her hand, along with everyone else.

“Then we are in agreement,” Risti replied. “Let’s pack up and leave before whatever brewing disaster strikes.”

Nodding, Dia got up with the others and headed upstairs, returning to their rooms. It didn’t take long for her to pack up her items, and before long, the three of them had checked out of the inn…or rather, simply left the money on the inn, since the innkeeper didn’t seem to be able to recognise the fact that they were checking out.

That just intensified the spookiness more, incidentally.

“We should hurry. I get the feeling that we’ve triggered something by checking out like this. Maybe we’ve alerted the mastermind or whatever, but…” Nero shook his head. “Let’s mana-walk out of this place before anything really bad happens.”

The surroundings turned into a blur as the three of them left the city, but a single glance at Nero’s face was more than enough to make Dia worry. Fear was the only thing written on his face now; the Holy Son of the Black God had an expression Dia had never seen him make before.

Neither she nor Risti was going to bother bringing that up, though.

The sunlight that illuminated the Daybreak County seemed a bit hollow at this point, as if something or something had placed a piece of translucent paper against the sun. The noises of work that came from the few people that were still tilling their fields were abnormally weak too, and as they left the city gates, Dia saw a few of them start in surprise.

“They’re…awakening?” Nero narrowed his eyes. “The people here…indeed, something has been done to them. However, if this something is being undone, it can only mean that the mastermind behind all these is already ready to add the finishing touches.”

“…We should have left a few days ago, then.”

“That wouldn’t be possible,” Nero replied. “I didn’t tell you two, but there was something hindering our thought processes. There was something that stopped us from thinking about leaving the place; I myself only managed to overcome this restriction yesterday.”

“…Hindering our thought processes?” Dia asked, a chill running down her spine. “What manner of being can actually do such a thing?”

“Aren’t there two prime suspects?” Risti snorted. “The Moons and the Dark. Either one of them could do such a thing easily, right?”

“True.” Nero bobbed his head. “And the Moons did conduct a blood sacrifice via their Moon Emissaries and mortal devotees not too long ago. I won’t put it past the Moons to vanish the people here and then perhaps do something to the entire county…but why would they do that? They already have the Terra Jewel for Daybreak County, after all.”

“So it’s the great Dark.”

“Probably.” The air around Nero began to warp. “Hang tight. I’ll be wrapping you two in a bubble of mana. Try your best to not trip over.”

Dia felt her insides lurch, and the blurred surroundings turned into splotches of colour. Wind howled, but she didn’t feel anything much from the way Nero charged onwards to the border of the county, and—

“Damn it!” An awful, nauseating force ran through Dia a moment later, and the blurred surroundings returned to normal. Immediately afterwards, she understood why Nero had cursed; the area outside Daybreak County had completely vanished. In its place was a shimmering grey border that extended towards the skies and arced inwards into the centre of the county, much like the dome in Moon Mansion.

“This…” Risti straightened her body. “It’s like the Entrapment skill, just that it’s far stronger!”

“Entrapment…Absolute Entrapment?” Dia shook once. “Is it possible that a Bearer of Destiny is operating here? Why? And for what?”

“I don’t know,” said Nero, “but if it’s really an Absolute skill, then we’ll need to be very careful. Absolute skills represent the pinnacle form of a certain skill, amongst many other things. I don’t think anything short of another Absolute skill can break this dome now.”

“Divine intervention, maybe.”

“No, not necessarily.” Nero paused, and in a deliberate tone, said,

“It is theorised that the foundation of the Coloured Gods lies in their own Absolute Skills when they were still mortal. It’s possible that they cannot break it, if they’re using their own power.”

“You make it sound like the possession of Absolute skills is what makes a god a god,” Risti noted.

“Maybe. Anyway, we’re stuck here, but it seems that the county is waking up now,” said Nero. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, or if there’s a relation between this theorised Absolute skill and the awakening of the people here to their actual circumstance, but I think we need to change of strategy.”

Dia nodded. “I recommend that we—”

“—Find Count Daybreak—” Risti continued.

“— and get him to help.”

Everyone looked at each other, and then shrugged. As Dia held back an inappropriate urge to laugh, Nero said, “It seems that working together has synchronised our thought processes slightly. Yes, we should offer our services to Count Daybreak and rip him off or something.”

“But what can we do? I don’t think we can find the skill-user this easily,” said Dia. “We could track murderers who threw spears across a city’s wall since there’s a direction, but our target could be anyone. They can be hiding inside the city, for instance. And don’t forget that there’s people vanishing everyday too.”

“…Put that way, it does seem like we won’t be able to do anything,” Risti conceded. “But this verdict is too premature. Don’t underestimate the power of artefacts, alright?”

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small can with a needle of sorts at the end. Walking right up to the shimmering grey wall, she placed the tip of the needle against the grey light and held it there for a minute, before withdrawing it.

“What’s that?” Dia asked.

“A method in which people tried to locate your mistress with,” Risti replied. “I’ve captured the mana signature of the user. As long as the Bearer of Destiny doesn’t adjust his mana signatures, we’ll be able to use it to track him down. We’ll need to come back every day, in case he does change his mana signature, but I know how people with power behave.”

“Go on,” said Nero.

“They’re supremely confident.” Risti narrowed her eyes. “And I’ll prove it to you.”

Smirking, she stored the odd-looking can into her backpack. “Come on. We’ll head to the Daybreak Palace and scare the count there a bit. Nero, we’ll be counting on you.”

“What am I, hired muscle?” Nero sighed. “Fine. Can’t believe that the Holy Son of the Black God has been reduced into hired muscle to intimidate a tiny count…”

Casting one last look at the shimmering grey dome, Dia and the others ventured into the depths of the county once more.