Eventually, their group made it into the safety of the sanctuary\'s parking lot while repelling the zombies away from the gate as it closed.

There were also other vehicles that made it back safely, while some weren\'t successful.

The few undead who managed to enter the gates were all shot dead, and now, the only sound echoing outside was the zombies gurgling noises.

"Whew." Fjord rested his back against the backrest of his chair and sighed. He always felt like he would die every time he stepped outside, no matter how many times he did it.

Retrieving the newcomers in the hangar was always a hard job. But everyone had a role, and it was his job in exchange for protection and a safe place to eat and sleep.

They all stepped out from the vehicle, and they were greeted by armed men.

"Just two?" one of them asked.

Fjord scratched his head. "You know how dangerous it is every time that portal opens. The success rate of those who escaped those waves of zombies is close to zero. It\'s a miracle that we found two already."

Ryu and Rosa looked at each other.

"You know that we\'re coming?" Ryu thought that it was just a coincidence that they happened to meet. But it turned out, Fjord and the others were expecting them?

"Ah, right. I forgot to tell you." Fjord stepped forward in the line of men. "Every year, the portal opened, and newcomers came pouring into this world. We badly need resources, you see. Beings with extraordinary strength and speed to help us escape this world."

"Escape?" Rosa questioned with a raised brow. Did he mean the exit to the next dungeon?

Fjord nodded. "If there is an entrance to this world, then there is undoubtedly an exit. And right now, we really need manpower to keep this base operational and fight the zombies.

"Anyway, since we\'re the ones who brought you here. Myla and I will bring you to our leader, and he will explain to you the rest.

"Let\'s go."

Fjord ushered Ryu and Rosa forward while the other beings who went out from the other vehicles were also escorted. They came across a mechanism that closed upon a button and lifted them below.

"It\'s called an elevator." Fjord chuckled at Ryu\'s curiosity.

"Elevator. . ." Ryu rolled the letters in his tongue. There were other beings with them too. Must be the ones, who like them, escaped the hangar and was retrieved by Fjord\'s group.

"What a genius way to travel." Rosa studied the small room, trying to decipher the system behind its operation to no success.

Ever since they acquired magic, everything was easy and human technology stagnated in the form that mainly relied on magic to operate.

But what if Septverden suddenly lost mana and magic disappeared? What then?

Rosa shivered. She never expected that possibility until now. Coming into this world, into this Islet, was an eye-opener.

She must discuss this with his grandmother as soon as she gets back to the Mortal Realm. And they must address this issue if, ever one day, magic would really disappear from their world.

But first. .. how would they get back?

Were they going to be stuck in here too for many years to come?

It was no longer about the God-tier items. Now, it was about their survival. Her survival! Since she couldn\'t use her powers, she would mostly rely on Ryu.

But the worst part was . .. now that she was just a regular human. .. what would happen to her here?

She still had items to protect her, but of course, it wasn\'t unlimited.

"We\'re here." Fjord pushed the two double metal doors, and they went inside to find a large map at a center table and rows of screens around its area.

There were people in front of the screen with hands typing on multiple buttons while speaking on weird-looking tiny pieces of a black object on their ears.

Ryu marveled at the screen that displayed weird letters and images. And then there was this giant screen hanging in the center of the room.

"Sir Roger," Fjord called, and a man with a terrifying scar on his face looked over at them.

"Right on time," Roger said and ushered everyone inside.

"Gather around everyone. You\'re all probably wondering where you are and what this world is.

"This world is known as Threa or what was left of it before the apocalypse. And you all are from other planes and dimensions or another parallel universe and whatnot."

Roger pushed a button, and the widescreen displayed an area where it was surrounded by thousands upon thousands of all kinds of undead.

"We believe that a virus caused this calamity. .. But now. . ."

The screen displayed a looming castle in the center of the enormous buildings, and it was surrounded by all sorts of dark creatures, thorns, and vines.

Roger pushed another button, and the screen slid to an image of a skeleton leech. And just from its appearance alone, it looked terrifyingly strong.

Its face was bored like it was drowsing in its throne while a skewed crown propped on its head. There was no armor nor weapon on him, but the aura he gave off was oppressive even from behind the screen.

"A Lich?"

"What\'s it doing here?"

"Did it get teleported here too?"

Murmurs resounded, and Roger continued, "We believe that this creature is controlling the undead. And if we kill this thing, then all of the undead would die with it."

"It got you this long to figure that out?" Rosa sneered.

Ryu sighed and gave Rosa the side-eye. Why was she acting so tough even though she couldn\'t use her powers? Was she that confident with her items?

At times like this, she should remain quiet and low-key and not attract unwanted attention to herself.

Roger maintained his calm. "Its castle just appeared on the surface a few weeks ago. We believe it was laid hidden underground. That was why we didn\'t notice it until it grew bigger and bigger in size, and eventually, it popped out from its hiding hole. And as we observed this thing, we found out that it was controlling the undead.

"This anomaly might have appeared in our world long before."

Roger looked each and everyone in the eyes. "We have sacrificed a great deal of our resources and soldiers to acquire this information."

Someone raised his hand and asked, "The others like us, did they already fight that lich?"

Nice question. Ryu thought of asking that too. If they had discovered the Lich weeks ago, then surely the others fought it to put a stop to the undead.

But. .. Ryu had a bad feeling when Roger\'s face turned dim, and the atmosphere inside the room was so tense he could slice it with his claws.

Roger sighed an audible breath. "We have. And all of them are dead."