"Heh? W-where is everyone?" Chelsie rubbed her eyes repeatedly, making sure she saw things correctly. "Why don’t I see any of the other participants? Did they leave us behind?"
"...No. That seems impossible." Nalira slowly stroked her chin. "Maybe sothing happened to them."
"I agree with Nalira," Shaan said firmly. "We might find a clue sowhere around here."
They jumped off the cart and split up to search for any sign of the others. Shaan ran around the cave entrance, scanning the ground and surrounding area for anything that could lead them to the missing participants.
"Nothing." Shaan bit his lower lip, his face looking annoyed. "Damn. I can’t find anything about the whereabouts of the other participants." He scratched his head. ’Could Chelsie be right? Did they really-’
"You two, co here," Nalira called out as she stood near a tree trunk. She motioned for them to approach. "I think I found an important clue about the others."
"Uhm... okay."
"I understand."
Without wasting any ti, Shaan imdiately ran towards Nalira and saw for himself the important clue that Nalira had ntioned earlier. It turned out that the clue was a pair of shoe prints leading into the forest.
’Shoe prints?’
Shaan crouched and lowered his face closer to the ground, studying the footprints more carefully. At a glance, the shoe size looked close to his own—large and wide. Most likely, a man had left these tracks.
"...We have to go into the forest and follow these tracks."
Chelsie’s expression tightened. She quickly grabbed Nalira’s hand before she could take another step. "L-Lira, are you sure about this?"
"...Yes, of course," said Nalira confidently. "Why not?"
"Uhm... I don’t know, b-but what if so kind of dark creature attacks us?"
"Then we’ll take it down," Shaan said with confidence. "There are three of us. We can handle it."
"Uhm...." Chelsie was silent for a mont, then slowly nodded her head. "All right."
"...Good. Now, let’s move."
The three of them followed the trail deeper into the forest. After several minutes, they stopped abruptly. A guard lay motionless on the ground ahead of them.
"Oh my God, that’s—" Chelsie gasped and ran toward the fallen guard. She knelt beside him and checked his condition. "Hang on. I’ll try to help you."
"Chelsie, how is he?" Shaan hurried over and crouched beside her. "Is he going to be okay?"
"Uhm... He’s still unconscious, and his wounds look pretty severe," Chelsie said as she checked his pulse. "But I can still feel his heartbeat. I’ll try to heal him, though it will take so ti."
"... Keep reciting your healing spell." Nalira looked around. "We’ll protect you."
"That’s right," Shaan added firmly. "Focus on saving him. He needs you."
"Uhm... Okay." Chelsie nodded quickly. "Please watch over ."
"We understand."
While Chelsie chanted her healing spell, a soft glow flowed from her hands and covered the guard’s injured body. Shaan and Nalira stood nearby and kept a sharp eye on the forest. Shaan tightened his grip on his weapons, ready to react at any mont. He refused to let anything interrupt Chelsie while she tried to save the guard’s life.
"Uhmm... I did everything I could to close his wounds," Chelsie said as she slowly rose to her feet. "Now we just have to wait for him to wake up. I hope he regains consciousness soon."
Not long after, the guard’s fingers twitched. He slowly opened his eyes. Confusion filled his face when he saw Shaan and the others standing around him.
"W-what actually happened?"
"Calm down, sir. Everything is under contr—"
"Oh, damn it. Where is it?" The guard suddenly pushed himself up and frantically searched the ground with his hands. "I have to find that box before—ugh!"
"Sir, your wound hasn’t fully healed yet," said Chelsie, trying to calm the officer down. "Calm down, and don’t move around too much. Let your wound heal first."
"...."
"Sir, what actually happened?" Shaan looked curious. "Where are all the other officers and participants?"
"An ambush. The Resistance managed to capture them all."
"Huh?" Shaan was speechless, his face tensed. "B-but how is that possible?"
"One of the security officers turned out to be a mber of the Resistance in disguise and managed to shut down the security system around the cave entrance," replied the officer, holding his head. "That made it easier for the Resistance to carry out the ambush."
"Uhm... has this report reached the Twilight Sanctum?" Chelsie asked curiously. "If not, we must ask for help from the others before—"
"It’s useless." The officer shook his head. "The Resistance group managed to hack and cut off the communication system quickly before they could send this information. We cannot communicate with the team at the Twilight Sanctum at all."
’Damn. The resistance mbers are really clever.’
"... What about the box you ntioned earlier?" Nalira folded her arms, looking at the officer with a serious expression. "What’s actually inside the box?"
"Sothing valuable," the guard said. "I’m sorry. I don’t even know what it contains. They only assigned to guard the box." He let out a long breath. "But... I think I lost it."
"Let help you find it," says Shaan without hesitation. "When was the last ti you saw the box?"
The officer was silent for a mont. "I don’t rember the details at all. It’s just that I did pass by there," replied the officer, pointing his index finger towards a cluster of shady trees on the side. "There was a group of dark creatures chasing when I was here. Maybe I dropped the box there."
"Alright, then I’ll try to check it out."
"...Shaan, wait." Nalira stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I don’t fully trust what this guard says."
Shaan frowned. "What do you an?"
"His story sounds suspicious. If that item truly matters, why would he leave it behind so easily?"
"Maybe he panicked and dropped it while he ran."
"No. That explanation doesn’t convince ." Nalira glanced briefly at the guard. "Sothing feels off about him. We shouldn’t trust him too quickly."
After hearing Nalira’s warning, Shaan gently patted her shoulder. "Nalira, relax. Don’t overthink it. I’m sure this guard doesn’t have any hidden motive as you suspect."
"Shaan, but—"
"Nalira, stay here and protect Chelsie. I’ll co back as soon as I find that box."
Without wasting another second, Shaan walked into the cluster of dense trees, leaving the others behind. He moved forward with steady confidence, putting more distance between himself and the group. He believed he would find the missing box quickly. However, he had no idea that sothing already waited for him in the shadows.
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