Shaan quickly scanned his surroundings, but to no avail. He couldn't see the two won anywhere.
"N-no… this… this can't be."
His shoulders slumped. Regret gripped him instantly and left him standing there with a hollow stare. Honestly, he felt incredibly stupid. He trusted a stranger's words so easily instead of listening to Robin Hood's warning. If he had acted faster, he might not have lost Chelsie and Nalira.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Shaan growled in frustration. "That damn officer planned all of this. Now, how am I supposed to find—"
He froze. His eyes locked onto a single strand of golden-yellow hair lying on the ground. Slowly, he picked up the strand of hair from the ground, looking at it more clearly with his own eyes.
"T-this looks like… Nalira's hair." His face tightened. "B-but where is she?"
He lifted his gaze and scanned the surroundings again. Then he noticed more strands of the sa golden hair scattered ahead, trailing toward a dense cluster of trees not far from him.
"I have to hurry. Nalira and Chelsie. They must be in danger."
Without wasting another second, Shaan followed the strands of golden hair one by one until he reached the dense cluster of trees he had seen earlier.
"W-Where are they?"
Silence swallowed the forest around him. The air felt heavy. Cold wind brushed against his skin with every step he took.
"Chelsie, Nalira..." Shaan shouted. "Where are you?"
He suddenly stopped. Through the thick trees, he caught a glimpse of the officer—the sa man who had fed them false information—running between the trunks.
'That's him! ' Shaan clenched his jaw. "I won't let you escape!'
Rage surged through him. He activated his Dash skill and shot forward at high speed, closing the distance in seconds. The officer tried to flee, but Shaan reached him first. Without hesitation, Shaan swung his dual short swords.
"Ahhh!" The officer crashed face-first onto the ground.
Shaan pinned him down imdiately and pressed the blades against his neck.
"Who are you really?!" Shaan growled.
"P-please forgive ! I only followed orders!" the officer stamred, his voice trembling. "Spare ! Please, spare my life!"
"Shut up! Where are my friends?!"
"…"
"Answer !"
"The… the Resistance. They took them."
"Where?"
"I-I don't know—"
"Say it! Or I will kill you!"
"F-fine… they're all at—"
Strangely, Shaan's vision suddenly blurred. He lost focus and couldn't hear what the officer was saying at all. He collapsed hard onto his side, powerless.
"W-what's happening…?"
He forced his muscles to move, trying again and again to stand up—but nothing responded. His body felt stiff, as if frozen in stone.
"Argh, damn it."
His vision grew darker by the second. He fought to stay conscious, but his body refused to obey. Within monts, darkness swallowed everything.
***
'Splash'
"What—?!" Shaan jolted awake as cold water hit his face. "T-Theo?!" He wiped his eyes and glared at him. "Damn it, what are you doing?!"
"Finally, you're awake." Theo tossed the small plastic cup aside. "I've been trying to wake you up for a while. You slept like a wild boar."
'This guy is seriously annoying.'
"Where is everyone?" Shaan pushed himself up and looked around quickly. "Where are the other participants? Where are Nalira and Chelsie?"
Theo shrugged. "I have no idea what happened to them," he said bluntly. "But we're inside a cell right now. I'm sure the other participants—and your two female friends—ended up in the sa situation."
"B-but how is that possible?"
"Resistance. They are all behind this ss."
'Damn it… so the Resistance really caused this chaos.'
"Then what are you doing here?" Shaan rushed to the iron door and tried to force it open. "We need to get out of—Argh, damn it!" He gritted his teeth. "Why won't this door open?!"
"Don't waste your energy. That won't work. The door won't budge."
"Then we'll break it with our weapons," Shaan said confidently as he reached for his dual short swords. "I'm sure this will— Huh? Where are my swords?"
"Before you knew it, the resistance mbers took your weapons. Mine too," he said while lying on the floor. "The door can't be broken."
"Huh?" Shaan furrowed his brow, hearing Theo's casual tone. "What do you an by that?"
"The door is strange. It doesn't have a keyhole. It requires so kind of special key, and I think one of the officers carries it," Theo explained. "The tal looks thick. Without weapons, you'll only waste your ti."
"What about another way?" Shaan scanned the room, searching every corner. "We have to think of sothing else. There must be another way out."
"Nope." Theo shook his head. "There isn't. Just give up, okay?"
"Robin Hood." Shaan snapped his fingers. "Well, I'm sure he can help at a ti like this."
Without wasting any ti, Shaan cast his summoning spell, hoping that Robin Hood would appear. But strangely, nothing happened at all. Robin Hood did not appear at all, and even the symbol of the summoning spell did not form.
"Damn it." Heat rushed to his head as he grabbed his hair in frustration. "What's going on? Why can't I summon Robin Hood at all?"
"I told you it's useless," Theo mocked. "Stop wasting your energy, idiot."
Shaan shot him a sharp glare. "Hey. Do you actually want to get out of here or not? Why are you talking like that?"
"Want to?"Theo let out a dry laugh and turned to face him. "Listen carefully. Before you woke up from your little nap, I already searched for a way out." He pointed at the walls. "There's no exit. No weak spot. Nothing. We can't escape. We can only accept it."
"No. I won't accept this." Shaan slamd his fists against the iron door. "Soone out there! Help us! Open this door!"
"Hey, hey! That's useless." Theo shot Shaan a sharp look. "No one will hear you."
He pointed upward. "The footsteps above us sound way louder than your voice," he said coldly. "Your shouting won't help. It just hurts my ears."
Hearing that, Shaan slowly lowered his head. Theo had a point. Every effort Shaan had made so far had led to nothing. He couldn't break the door. He couldn't summon Robin Hood. He couldn't even get soone's attention. Frustration tightened in his chest.
'H-how can I get out of this?'
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