Shaan froze. His face drained of color the mont he heard Chelsie's words. He never expected the mysterious figure to be Chelsie's father. But if that man truly was her father… why did he attack her? What was he thinking?
"Dad, it's…it's ." Chelsie stepped closer, tears streaming down her face. "Thank goodness you're still alive. Mom and I missed you so much."
The man gave no response. He stared at her with cold, emotionless eyes. Before Chelsie could take another step closer, he threw sothing onto the ground. In an instant, a blinding flash of light flooded the entire room, swallowing everything in white.
'D-damn it… what is this light?!'
Monts later, the brightness slowly faded, and the room returned to its normal state. However, the man who had stood before them no longer remained there. He vanished without a trace. No sound. No presence. He left Shaan and Chelsie alone in this place.
"Chelsie, are you okay?"
"Uhm... yes." Chelsie nodded weakly. "I'm... I'm fine."
"Chelsie, I'm sorry," Shaan said as he lowered his head. "I—I never ant to attack your father."
"U-um… It's okay. I understand." Chelsie slowly shook her head. "I never expected the mysterious figure to turn out to be my father." She gripped her cross necklace tightly. "All of this happened because of the moriam Crystal. This crystal led to et my father again."
"But why did your father act like he didn't recognize you at all?" Shaan rubbed his chin, his brow furrowing. "He even tried to kill you earlier, didn't he?"
Chelsie fell silent for a mont. "U-um… I honestly don't know what happened to him." She raised her shoulders slightly. "Maybe sothing is controlling him, or maybe he's under the influence of a special spell. I'm sure of one thing—my father is a kind person. He would never attack like that."
'Under the influence of a spell?' Shaan gently stroked his chin. 'So sothing like that can really happen in this world… But how?'
"U-um… Shaan, we should leave this place now. Nalira and the others must—"
The sound of footsteps approached from their direction. The calm, steady rhythm told Shaan that whoever walked toward them carried confidence and composure.
"…Shaan, Chelsie? Are guys okay?"
"Lira!" Chelsie smiled brightly, dimples appearing on her cheeks. "I'm so glad you're safe."
"Na-Nalira, but what about the mutated blue lizard?" Shaan asked curiously. "Did you manage to kill it?"
Nalira slowly shook her head. "No. I trapped the mutated lizard between the rocks. That should buy us enough ti to escape."
"Uhm... that's good. In that case, we have to get out of here as quickly as possible."
"I agree. We should head back to—"
"... But, wait a minute."
Nalira's words made Shaan stop in his tracks. "Nalira, what's wrong? Don't we need to return to the sa path if we want to leave this cave?"
"Uhm... yes. That's the only way out of this place."
"…Exactly. That's why we need to find an alternative route. We can't use the sa way to escape."
"Alternative route?" Chelsie frowned. "Uhm… Lira, I don't really understand. Why can't we just go back the way we ca?"
"…When I trapped the Blue Lizards, other Blue Lizards were watching ," Nalira explained calmly. "They haven't mutated yet, but sooner or later, they will. We need to take a detour—or at least find another route."
'Ah… so that's how it is.' Shaan slowly nodded his head. 'That sounds make sense.'
"U-um… o-okay, I get it. " Chelsie replied. "So... we should find another route then."
They decided to split up and search the area. Perhaps another route hid sowhere nearby—one they could use to escape. However, no matter where Shaan looked, he found nothing but clusters of crystals surrounding them.
"Hey, did you guys find anything?" Shaan asked curiously. "I don't see anything here."
"... neither." Nalira slowly shook her head, her expression briefly showing frustration. "There's absolutely nothing here. Only a few large rocks and crystals."
Shaan looked to his left. "What about you, Chelsie? Did you find anything?"
Chelsie nodded slowly. "Yes, but..." Doubt flashed across Chelsie's face. "But I'm not sure this will work."
Hearing Chelsie's words, Shaan and Nalira walked closer to Chelsie. They finally realized that what Chelsie ant was a mining cart. This mining cart was made of iron, and inside it was a large container that was definitely used to transport mining products from the cave to the surface.
"Uhm... But I'm not at all sure if this thing can still move?" Chelsie squinted her eyes. "What do you think, Shaan?"
"In that case, I'll try to check it out," said Shaan, walking closer to the train. "You two, wait here."
"Uhm... okay." Nalira nooded. "We will stay here and wait for you, Shaan."
"... Just be careful, Shaan."
Shaan carefully inspected the mining cart. He brushed away the thick dust covering its surface and examined the exterior, making sure no serious damage marred the tal. After that, he tested the lever inside the cart. To his relief, every part still responded.
"Shaan, how is it?" Chelsie asked curiously. "Can the cart still work?"
"Yes, the cart can still work, and we can use this to get out of here."
"Thank goodness." Chelsie let out a long sigh. "Um... but now, how can we use this cart without the blue lizards in this cave finding out? Can this cart safely take us out of here?"
"… I can't guarantee that, but I'll cast a temporary protective spell. At least it can create a temporary illusion, and hopefully the blue lizards won't find us," said Nalira, jumping into the train. "Now, we have to leave here before the lizards manage to find us."
Without thinking twice, Shaan and Chelsie imdiately agreed to the idea and jumped into the train. Nalira began to recite the sa spell she had said before, and instantly, a transparent energy wall began to cover the surface of the train.
"All right, then it's ti to move."
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