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ƥαṇdα-ηθνε|·ƈθm

They call this place the “Godless Continent.”

For those that the punishment of death is found to be too simple of an execution of justice, the unfortunate criminals will find themselves transported to this land–tortured by the human-loathing curses that inhabit the region.

–

The skies that hung over this land in the peak of daytime were a solemn gray, loomed over by gloomy clouds and neighbored by spiky, harrowing mountains that isolated the despised land away from all others.

Currently, an expedition of highly-trusted adventurers by the Guild Foundation has been sent out on a research mission, the first in a decade for the horrific landscape. However, it is clear to some that the expedition has other problems.

[Guild Foundation Mission Log]

[SPECIAL QUEST: “Godless Continent Exploration”| Minimum rank required: RUBY | Threat: Maximum]

[Adventurers Sent | 60] [Adventurers Dead | 55]

—

[Squadron One | Group Dragon]

“Haaah…Hff…”

Breathing heavily, a veteran adventurer held his black-and-red greatsword in front of him as rain pelted down on the accursed gravel.

Strewn across the moist ground were the bodies of those like him: adventurers that signed up for the Godless Continent expedition. They were turned to mincemeat—killed instantly, if lucky.

‘I should have never come here—ruby rank? Bullshit! We need an army of Void ranks…Th-this is hell,’ he thought.

To his right, another adventurer stood with his magical staff raised—a hazel-haired man who shouted out:

“Stay focused, Desmond! It’s still around here! I’ll support us with—”

Before the mage could even finish his sentence, the great sword-wielding adventurer found the words cut short as the wind suddenly exploded against his ears.

“Huh…?” The stunned man let out, feeling a warm liquid unlike the Brian rain spray against his right side.

Blood painted his cheek as he looked over, finding the bisected body of the mage laid across the rain-drenched gravel, with guts sprayed across the ground.

What stood there with blood dripping from its claws was a monstrous creature that stood tall, hunched over with pitch-black skin.

“You—!” The adventurer yelled out, finding the courage to stand for himself.

—However, as the creature vanished from his vision and his eardrums burst, he found any such resistance to be impossible.

“…Huh…”

The clawed creature already passed by him with speed that surpassed the arrival of sound, leaving the sole adventurer standing there before his limbs fell to the gravel.

After a moment, the man fell to the ground in a dozen pieces, never having realized he had been killed in the first place.

‘The Godless Continent is hell.’

–

[Squadron Two | Group Falcon]

Alone in a dimly-lit cave, kept with some light only by the dim torches hung on the clammy walls, a lonesome girl gulped, clutching her magic staff close to her chest.

“Marco…? David? Where are you?” She meekly called out.

‘We got separated from the rest of the squad…Our group leader, Vismond, didn’t return when he scoped out this cave–Marco and David rushed in so fast, I couldn’t keep up…I just hope they’re all right. This place…it’s inhuman–we should’ve never come here,’ she thought.

The young woman with hair kept in a braid, wearing dark-blue robes that supplemented her magecraft, adjusted her glasses as she looked down, finding a trail of blood leading to the dark area in front of her.

“…Malena…”

The masculine voice was familiar to the young woman, who didn’t hesitate to call out in return, “David?!”

Rushing over, she conjured a small flame above her staff for light, entering the shadow-filled section of the cave as the light stretched to the walls, revealing its contents.

Immediately, the girl froze, coming to a halt as her breath was caught in her lungs and her blood ran cold in her veins; the sight was nightmarish beyond any comprehension.

Suspended from the rocky ceiling were headless bodies–those of which she recognized as her comrades from her expedition group. There were well over a dozen–all decapitated and hanging there idly, dripping down blood onto the ground like a hellish rain.

“…No…”

“Malena. Malena. Malena.”

The voice of the man she sought continued calling out to her, but she saw his headless body suspended there; it came from elsewhere–from the horrific monstrosity that was hunched over in the cavern room, too tall to stand up properly.

It had a humanoid physique, yet stood well over five meters tall with blood-stained, scarred skin, possessing no head of its own, yet wore the heads of her comrades around its neck like a prized necklace.

“Malena! Malena! Malena!”

The distorted cries of the comrades she lost rang out like a nightmarish chime; the head-wearing creature stood up, wielding a gigantic, bloody cleaver in its right hand as it stepped towards the fear-stricken girl.

She fell to her knees, shattered by the sight born from hell, unable to muster any word as only mumbled left, “Mm…I-I…Nf…Hff…”

Before she could do anything, the head-thieving monstrosity blitzed past her, causing the flame to be put out with its wind-breaking speed.

“…Hah…”

The girl’s head was gone from her shoulders, held in the hand of the grotesque creature, who brought it to the assembly of heads around its neck. As it brought her head to its trophies, its flesh stitched itself to the open wound of her neck, connecting them.

“I…I-I…”

Despite losing her body, the girl found herself still conscious, broken by the nightmarish sight, fueled by what could only be a fate worse than death–forever attached to the head-hunting creature.

‘The Godless Continent…Who would create a place like this…? Not God…Not anything that loves humanity…’

—

Sitting by a campfire, a few of these adventurers sat together, one of the three squadrons sent out to the Godless Continent–the red-haired adventurer, “Crimson Lightning”, Roan; the chaotic swordsman, Lawrence, and the scarred maiden, Veldalla. Of course, the squad didn’t start as just the three of them–however, the original group of ten had been whittled down by the lurking beasts of the land.