All Today 3

This mission would not be easy. Going in alone with their current numbers might risk allowing the Shadows to escape.

Now that Princess Fiorentina had provided intelligence and identified the targets, it was Fury's turn to lead his forces in and eliminate them once and for all.

Millwall

The gentle sound of waves crashing against the cliffs provided a constant background.

An aerial view revealed a dense, overgrown forest beside an ancient cave near the mountains. Hidden within it was a secret settlement, quietly tucked away from the outside world.

There were vegetable farms and livestock pens where wild chickens and pigs were kept, their natural cries occasionally breaking the silence...

But something was wrong.

There was no smoke from cooking fires. No sounds of food being prepared. The hoes and shovels were perfectly clean, without a trace of dirt.

It looked like something that was trying to imitate the lifestyle of human beings, but hadn't quite figured out how to do it properly.

And now, Fury's people had arrived.

Emerging from the forest, his eyes fixed intently on this artificial settlement.

With nothing more than a casual sweep of his hand, Valencia, Freya, and a group of terrifying-looking Diablo soldiers emerged from the shadows...

All of them in their true forms, except Dan and Valencia, who remained in their human appearances.

The moment the Diablo soldiers set foot on the settlement's vegetable plots, Nora and Rafinya, following behind, heard an ear-piercing shriek from some monstrous creature.

A cluster of black shadows erupted from the vegetable fields and immediately launched themselves at the Diablo soldiers, engaging them in combat almost the instant they came face-to-face.

"!"

At that moment, Princess Nora detected an unusual humidity in the air.

She raised her head toward the sky...

And saw dark clouds spiraling overhead, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder, as though preparing to unleash an enormous downpour.

"Weather manipulation magic... They're preventing us from attacking them with fire."

Dan explained to Nora.

Ahead of them, a fierce battle erupted between the Diablo soldiers and the floating black creatures.

They tore into one another, smashing everything around them and leaving the settlement in ruins.

There were so many of them.

Freya's tentacles pierced straight through the body of a watery black Shadow. Dark liquid spilled out like blood before she hurled its body into the forest, smashing into a tree so hard that it snapped cleanly in half.

Rafinya, standing there in shock, failed to notice the cloud of smoke gathering beneath her feet.

By the time she turned around, it was already too late.

Right before her eyes was the gaping maw of a monster, lined with razor-sharp teeth.

But a flash of firearm magic illuminated the scene, and its mouth exploded.

Black liquid splattered across Rafinya's face.

Valencia stood there with her firearm still smoking.

She gave Rafinya a nod, as if to say there was no need to thank her, before turning around and continuing with her mission.

Dan and Nora walked straight through the battlefield, with the princess following behind him as the Diablo and Shadows tore one another apart in a frenzy.

The young man kicked open the door of a dilapidated house with such force that it broke off its hinges.

A strong chemical stench hit them immediately.

Princess Nora couldn't even begin to identify what she was looking at.

To put it simply, the place resembled a bizarre combination of magical ritual equipment, dangerous chemicals, strange seeds, iron-made engineering apparatus, and organs belonging to creatures whose origins—whether human or animal—were impossible to identify.

Nevertheless, Dan walked through all of it as though he had done this hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.

He began destroying everything in sight, overturning tables and smashing cabinets as though searching for something.

And then...

When the young man pulled back the animal hide rug beneath his feet...

The two discovered an underground mine that had been excavated beneath the house.

"Nora, get back."

The princess obeyed Fury's command.

The person who stepped forward was none other than Valencia.

She held two firearms and conjured magical flames to illuminate the surroundings. With Nora providing additional light, the two women took the lead and entered the mine.

Naturally, the princess was not going to be outdone.

Black ice began gradually spreading along the excavated mine walls, growing in response to Snowhaven's magic as the temperature steadily dropped.

The cold air would slow their movements.

There were dozens of branching passages, resembling an enormous anthill or termite nest.

The Diablo soldiers split up and entered the different tunnels, while Rafinya, who arrived a little later, joined Dan's group.

Just then...

A Shadow had been lying in wait for her.

It suddenly lunged out and attacked.

But Rafinya countered with her fire sword, driving it straight through the creature's heart.

The mass of living material was incinerated by holy flames until nothing remained.

However...

After its body dissolved, a brass-colored cube fell from its remains.

Valencia abruptly stopped and stepped back.

At almost the exact same moment, the cube struck the ground.

It began unfolding and rotating on its own, releasing an intensely bright blue energy that nearly blinded everyone who looked at it.

Both women instinctively turned away.

Their first thought was that it had to be some kind of magical bomb...

But then—

When they opened their eyes again,

Nora, Rafinya, and Dan...

Were no longer deep inside the mine.

They were somewhere else entirely.

A place that appeared to be an endless black void, with no visible boundaries.

Had they been teleported?

Had they been transported into some dimension of nothingness?

Were they dead?

What had happened?

And why were there only three of them?

"Mr. Fury...? What is this?"

"Some new toy of theirs, I suppose?"

Dan's composed reaction prevented his two students from completely losing their nerve.

He carefully examined their surroundings before giving them a warning.

"Stay alert. They might come at us from any direction."

Nora and Rafinya assumed defensive stances, preparing for an attack.

But then, suddenly...

Their feet stepped into mud.

The squelching sound was unmistakable.

Rafinya lifted her boot...

And right before Dan and Nora's eyes, they saw it.

Her black leather boot was stained with brown mud.

Real mud.

From somewhere.

And just as Nora was about to turn around and speak to Dan...

Their entire surroundings had transformed into a muddy swamp. The sun was shining overhead... and they could feel the warmth of its sunlight.

"!"

All three were utterly shocked by what had just happened.

Confusion overwhelmed them...

And the tension rose even higher.

"What is this? How did we go from complete darkness to suddenly being inside a forest?"

"It must have something to do with that strange cube from earlier..."

The flames at the tip of Rafinya's sword ignited.

She stood back-to-back with Nora.

Dan, protected between the two, calmly assessed the situation.

The young man raised his hand, feeling the gentle breeze in the air.

"We're no longer inside the mine... I can't sense Nora's cold magic anymore."

"Does that mean we've been transported somewhere else?"

"Teleportation magic... the technology of the Shadows."

Dan had expected the Shadows to use this opportunity to swarm them and tear them apart.

But that wasn't what happened.

All around them was a muddy woodland—a swamp.

And it was...

Very quiet.

There was a sound resembling insects, perhaps crickets, mixed with the splashing of water as they stepped through ankle-deep pools.

The trees...

They were unusually tall and oddly shaped, unlike any ordinary trees they had encountered before.

Their shapes resembled...

Umbrellas?

And then, suddenly—

Dan froze.

"Mr. Fury?"

"......"

The young man fell silent.

"What's wrong?"

"...Something feels strange."

"What exactly are you talking about, Mr. Fury?"

"I don't know..."

The young man pressed a hand against his temple.

"But I know something is completely backwards here. I just can't figure out what it is..."

At that moment...

Rafinya spoke up.

"Are you referring to... the magnetic field?"

The Earth's magnetic field, which the Diablo people possessed the special ability to sense, allowing them to navigate and find their way home.

"I once had to organize Professor Darwin's books for you... so I remember. And I also remember that Professor Darwin wrote about trees from a hundred million years ago... and then..."

She raised a trembling hand and pointed toward the tree in front of them.

Her words caused Dan to freeze.

A hundred million years ago, the Earth's magnetic field had been oriented in the opposite direction from today.

The north pole had been south, and the south pole had been north.

But before they could do anything else—

Prince Fury heard the sound of something trudging through muddy water ahead of them.

He caught sight of a tail belonging to some kind of animal slipping out from behind a tree in front of them.

Its color was a dull greenish-brown, and its surface was rough and uneven.

It appeared for only a fraction of a second before disappearing back behind the trees.

But Fury knew immediately...

Even that brief glimpse was enough for him to realize something.

Whatever that creature was...

It did not belong to the same era as him.

His legs began moving through the muddy water almost instinctively.

But just as Nora and Rafinya were about to reach out and stop their mentor—

An intense flash of scorching light erupted across the entire sky, as though the sun itself had exploded. A blinding white radiance engulfed everything, forcing them to shut their eyes.

.

.

.

"Your Highness... Your Highness!"

Two hands cradled his face as he regained consciousness.

The voice belonged to Freya, the jellyfish demon, screaming almost hysterically.

Dan abruptly sat up, his eyes wide open.

...He was back.

Back in the same place.

Inside the underground mine, still in the middle of hunting down the Shadows.

His body had sustained no serious injuries, save for a few minor bruises.

He turned toward Freya and the Diablo soldiers, who were busy eliminating the Shadows lying lifeless on the ground.

"Your Highness!"

"I'm fine."

Rafinya and Nora were in no better condition.

They too were gradually regaining consciousness in Valencia's arms.

"...You and the others lost consciousness, Your Highness."

The young man immediately sprang to his feet and hurried over to check on the two girls.

"Mr. Fury..."

"Nora, are you alright?"

"Yes..."

Dan turned toward the Diablo soldiers and immediately issued an order.

"Get them out of here. Don't let them get so much as a scratch."

"Understood."

With that, Dan changed direction and continued deeper into the passage ahead.

The Diablo soldiers surrounded him, along with Freya.

They resumed their advance.

But this time...

Red lightning began crackling at his fingertips.