The suddenly formed sinkholes devoured people greedily like a demon's maw.

People who couldn't even walk properly due to the earthquake fell helplessly downward.

The sight of people disappearing into the darkness amid screams created an endless sense of terror.

"Run away!"

"W-where are we supposed to run to!"

"Everyone back away!"

"Move! Get out of the way!"

Sinkholes appeared everywhere.

The large ones swallowed hundreds of people at once, while even the smaller holes dragged dozens down below.

People gripped by fear became entangled with each other.

The chaos intensified. Even those who tried to maintain their reason couldn't stop the overflowing terror.

"The children!"

There were still students who hadn't managed to flee, remaining seated in their places.

The teachers had already sensed the danger and shouted something, but it was useless.

There were too many people, moreover, since the sinkholes appeared irregularly, it was difficult to predict their formation.

It wasn't advisable to move carelessly in a situation where you didn't know when and where the ground might suddenly collapse.

It was hard enough just taking care of oneself but even in this situation, there were some students who showed courage.

"Quick, get up!"

"I'll help support you!"

Particularly noticeable were Rene and Aidan.

Even amid the chaos, Rudger noticed them approaching frightened students and helping them up by their hands.

"Kids, don't just stay still, move! Hurry!"

Selina too approached a student who sat crying and helped them stand.

"Get out of the way!"

"Kyaah!"

At that moment, someone rushing to save themselves pushed past Selina.

Lost in panic, they didn't even realize what they had done.

It was then that the ground beneath Selina's feet began to sink slightly.

"Teacher Selina!"

Rudger called out Selina's name.

Amid the chaos, Selina turned to look at Rudger.

Rudger opened his mouth to say it was dangerous, to tell her to get away quickly but the ground collapsed faster than those words could come out.

The crumbling ground and the gaping hole.

The monster opened its maw wide.

Selina and the Theon students gathered around her disappeared into the darkness.

‘No.’

Rudger, in his urgent state of mind, tried to use magic.

With telekinetic magic, he could at least pull up one or two people.

"It's dangerous!"

However, before he could activate the magic, Julia grabbed Rudger and pulled him back.

The magical energy dispersed, canceling the spell's activation but Rudger couldn't blame Julia.

The spot where Rudger had been standing also collapsed like a landslide and fell down below.

The tremors subsided as a heavy silence fell over the plains where the earthquake had stopped.

The vast land was now riddled with holes of various sizes and looked like a giant mouse had eaten through cheese.

The survivors were terrified.

They feared not knowing when such an incident might occur again.

"The situation has become serious."

Julia, having witnessed the tragic scene, covered her mouth with her hand and fell into deep contemplation.

"At this rate, the collapse of the upper layer will happen faster than expected. Then everyone will fall to the middle layer."

Staring at the gaping hole, Rudger asked.

"What happens to the people who just fell?"

"You don't need to worry. They won't die. There's quite a height between the middle and upper layers, but people who have experienced dreams would know. You know how sometimes you dream about falling?"

When Rudger made a puzzled expression, Julia rubbed her forehead.

"I guess that's not something to say to someone who doesn't dream."

"I still vaguely know what you mean from hearing about it."

"It's that kind of feeling. When you fall in a dream, you wake up, right? But that doesn't actually lead to death. When you fall back asleep, you can continue the dream normally. That's a characteristic of dreams."

"So you're saying there's essentially no concept of death by falling in Dreamland."

"That's essentially correct. So the people who just fell down there won't have died. However..."

"You're saying it's only a matter of time?"

Julia nodded.

From the middle layer onwards, a completely different environment unfolds.

Regular people absolutely cannot enter, and even magicians can't handle it unless they're Dream Walkers.

They would have fallen to the upper part of the middle layer, but it was undeniable that the already short time limit had become even shorter.

Above all, the fact that students who had been attending the lecture were swept away continued to agitate Rudger's mind.

"Teacher Rudger."

At that moment, someone approached Rudger and Julia.

"Chancellor. I'm glad you're safe."

"The same goes for me. Whew, I don't even know where to begin."

Elisa shook her head, seemingly overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation.

What had happened after chasing Gregorium was a series of shocking events that defied common sense.

Elisa looked with a troubled expression at the places where the students had disappeared.

"Could this be that old man's doing too?"

"I'm not sure either."

Elisa roughly brushed aside her side hair.

Just from that gesture, it was apparent that she lacked her usual composure.

"Never mind what his identity might be. Honestly, it hurts my pride. I had intended to fight with sincere determination, but to fall to such a place without even being able to resist. I wonder if my skills have grown rusty."

"Your magic was strong, Chancellor. It was just that the opponent was formidable."

"Seeing that Teacher Rudger is here too, I suppose you as well?"

Rudger nodded.

Even for Rudger, Nirva's authority was difficult to resist.

Most demonic authorities were like that to begin with.

"I did manage to launch a counterattack, but it was useless."

"You launched a counterattack?"

"The form we saw was just an illusion. As he said himself, it was like the moon reflected on the water's surface. The main body is probably in Dreamland, and what we saw was just a projection of that form, a doppelganger."

"Wait, hold on. You're saying that you, Teacher Rudger, actually fought properly with that old man?"

Is that a problem?

When Rudger asked that with his eyes, Elisa was struck speechless.

"I didn't fight properly. I tried my best to resist falling asleep, but even then I only managed to hold out for a few minutes."

To Rudger who spoke so casually, Elisa sent a complicated look.

While he seemed disappointed about only holding out for a few minutes, she hadn't even lasted three seconds before fainting.

'Well, Teacher Rudger is such an exceptional person, so I suppose that's to be expected.'

Still, it was impossible not to feel her pride somewhat wounded.

Elisa Willow made a strong resolution.

If she were to meet that old man again, this time she would surely show him a proper revenge match but the immediate situation was more urgent.

"Everyone must have fallen to the middle layer, right?"

Elisa was well aware of Dreamland's structure from what she had heard and what happens when people enter there.

"If we're going to save people, we'll need to go at least to the middle layer, it seems."

"Even if we save them, it won't be a fundamental solution."

"I suppose we'll have to defeat that old man called Nirva. And to do that, we'll need to go even deeper."

"Yes."

"I've heard that if you go to the deep layer, you can't return alive."

Going to the deep layer was truly an insane act.

"But someone has to go there, right?"

To use an analogy, it was like having to defuse a bomb, but whoever goes to defuse it will definitely die but if no one goes, the bomb will explode and everyone will die.

To save the majority, the sacrifice of a few was inevitable.

Was that even reasonable?

Considering Nirva's abilities, that few would need to be composed of only exceptionally skilled individuals.

It meant that the strongest people here would have to sacrifice themselves to save others.

"We'll need to gather people, but I'm not sure how well that will go."

Elisa was somewhat skeptical.

How many people would be willing to jump into a fire pit carrying straw to save others?

That's how people's hearts are.

If you sacrifice yourself, others will live.

But what meaning is there in that?

Honor given in death is worth less than a speck of dust.

What good is honor? The body will already be rotting away in death.

"Moreover, we don't even know how many people we'll need. This is that old man Nirva's home ground. Even if we pour all of Theon's forces into it, we can't guarantee victory."

"Yes. That might be true."

Rudger gazed at Elisa with straightforward eyes.

"But we still have to do it."

"..."

"Because this is our only option."

We can't turn back, and there's no other direction, only one path.

We can't guarantee what lies beyond.

If we stay here quietly, perhaps someone else might come to save us.

If we were to choose the safest option, that would be it but we can't do that.

The moment you settle for comfort, that's where you die, especially in moments of crisis like this, you have to do something.

That was the way Rudger had learned through various experiences.

"Isn't there a way to wait for help?"

"As desperately as we wish for help, the people who fell down below are probably thinking the same thing."

Rudger looked at Elisa and asked.

"Who do you think can help them from here?"

Elisa recalled the students and teachers who were swept away while trying to help others.

If only those who remained here survived, would her heart truly be at peace then?

That wasn't why Elisa had become the chancellor of Theon.

"...You're right. I guess I was overthinking things. It's actually quite simple."

"Are you planning to go too, Chancellor?"

"I am the chancellor of Theon after all. If the highest-ranking person doesn't go, who else would step forward?"

Rudger nodded with a faint smile at that answer.

"Then we should gather people first."

"Wait a moment!"

At that moment, Julia cut in between the two.

"Surely you two aren't thinking of going down to Dreamland's deep layer?"

"Don't we have no other choice?"

"Even though you can never return once you go down? If we wait a little, people from the outside will realize the situation and come to save us."

"To Dreamland?"

"Don't forget. Our Dream Faction is in the Empire. Our seniors must have realized how serious the situation is by now."

"How long should we wait? What happens to the people who fell to the middle layer in the meantime? Can you be sure about that?"

"That's..."

Julia trailed off.

How could she predict this entire situation?

This was all an unprecedented, special situation.

Even if people who fell to the middle layer were alive for now, how long would that last?

This was almost the first time non-Dream Walkers had gone down to the middle layer.

They might not even last a day.

"And haven't you noticed something strange?"

"What do you mean?"

"That we can't see the people who first fell asleep at the beginning of the incident."

"That's..."

Julia realized it belatedly.

When people started not waking up from sleep.

Where were the first people who fell into Dreamland, and what were they doing?

"No way..."

"Those people have likely already been pushed down to the middle layer. Looking at the current situation, it's practically certain."

"Then Sedina too..."

And not just Sedina.

The same went for Hans and Seridan.

Rudger didn't think he hadn't found Hans just because there were too many people.

Hans isn't stupid.

If it were him, he would have figured out where the Theon students were and lingered nearby waiting for Rudger to find him.

The same goes for Seridan.

But even though Rudger had shown himself, the two were nowhere to be seen.

The implications were all too clear.

"Then I'll go too."

"You don't need to go too."

"You seem to have forgotten, but before being a Theon student, I'm a Dream Walker belonging to the Dream Faction. Among the people gathered here, no one knows Dreamland better than I do."

"Weren't you just saying we should wait for your seniors? They'll be worried."

"That's the fault of those who are late."

Rudger didn't particularly try to stop Julia.

When it came to Dreamland, Julia would make a better guide than any magician.

Even though she was a student, now wasn't the time to be picky about such things.

"Alright. Let's gather more people."

* * *

The recruitment of people to go down to the middle layer progressed faster than expected.

Teachers who felt the severity of this situation volunteered to go down.

"Of course I'm going. You say Selina fell down there too? Then I have to go save her."

Melina declared confidently.

"With students down there, I can't just stay still."

Bruno also spoke with determination.

"Hmph."

Chris Benimore snorted and crossed his arms, but didn't particularly deny it.

Some were too scared to step forward, but there were far more who weren't.

"I might have been thinking a bit wrong."

They were warned that they might never return once they went.

It was essentially the same as going to die.

But people made up their minds even after hearing such a severe warning.

"I didn't know there were so many admirable people at Theon."

"If you know that, how about raising our salaries?"

"If we return, I'll have to seriously consider it. Of course, I'll have to consult with the Planning Department Head."

"He says it's fine."

Elisa smiled at the joke meant to lighten the mood and looked back.

Theon's teachers were looking at her with tense faces.

As their leader, she couldn't show any weakness or hesitation.

"Everyone. From now on, we're going down into Dreamland."

The other teachers showed no particular reaction since they had been told beforehand.

They hadn't volunteered without knowing.

They had also received rough information from Julia, who had experience in the middle layer.

"When we go down, a completely different world will unfold from that moment. It will deviate from the laws of reality, and many things beyond common sense will happen. And as you already know, the moment we go down, we'll all be scattered."

When going down from the upper layer to the middle layer, you fall to random locations.

Even if you move as a group, you're forcibly scattered.

With good luck, some might stay together, but with bad luck, you might have to move alone.

It wasn't a problem since Julia had taught them the approximate geography and map of the middle layer.

"It's natural to be afraid. Actually, I'm quite nervous too. Because this is the first time for me as well."

Elisa took a deep breath.

"So remember just one thing. The children and civilians who fell inside. We are the only ones who can lend them a helping hand."

Merilda clenched her fist, and Bruno nodded vigorously.

Chris Benimore adjusted his glasses, and Vierano loosened both wrists.

"Is everyone ready?"

Elisa looked back.

There was a large lake spread out there.

It was a clear, clean lake.

The water was so clear that you could see every grain of sand at the bottom.

Deep in the lake, there was a black hole.

Sand from the lake was falling like a waterfall into that hole.

It looked like a giant demon endlessly devouring something.

That was the entrance leading to the middle layer of Dreamland, a sight that instinctively invoked terror.

There was an anxiety that the moment you sank down there, you would sink into an endless abyss.

Some teachers secretly regretted volunteering.

"Well then, shall we go?"

With those words, Elisa was the first to jump onto the lake.

Rudger and Julia followed right after.

The other teachers also jumped onto the lake with determined faces.

The moment they entered the lake, an invisible force pulled at their bodies like a massive gravitational pull.

People fell into the endless abyss of the hole but they didn't suffocate.

Perhaps because it was the dream world, they could breathe even while submerged in water