Without thinking, Shaan sprinted. He pushed his legs as hard as he could, trying to escape the red glow, but the darkness swallowed everything like a pathless void. He couldn't see what lay ahead, and suddenly his foot struck sothing. He lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
"Argh! dammit"
Shaan glanced back and saw the red glow closing in behind him. He crawled forward as far as he could, but sothing suddenly clamped tightly around his leg and held him in place. He looked back, yet the darkness hid everything from his sight.
'What the hell…?'
His breath caught. His entire body froze as sothing resembling a mouth crept closer. Rows of sharp fangs erged from the darkness, and he knew this had to be the sa creature that attacked that poor man earlier.
"H-how do I get out of this…?" Shaan's voice trembled as the mouth slowly opened, ready to devour him. "I have to—"
'Slash! slash! '
A slashing sound cut through the darkness, and the mouth suddenly stopped moving. The creature's silhouette froze in place. Shaan could only stare in shock. He had no idea what had just happened or why the creature suddenly stopped. Then, from behind it, a reddish-golden light appeared and moved toward him.
"Wh-what is that light?"
At first, Shaan thought another monster had co—after all, he knew more than one lurked in this place. But as the light drew closer, sothing felt strange. Instead of fear, warmth spread across his body, growing hotter with every second.
"Huh? A fireball?" Shaan paused. 'Then that ans… this fire must be from—'
"…Shaan, are you alright?" Nalira stepped out of the darkness, holding a ball of fire in her palm. "Good. I reached you in ti."
"Y-yeah… thank you, Nalira." Shaan let out a long breath. "B-but how did you find ? Where's Chelsie?"
"…No ti to explain. We need to head to the gathering point," Nalira said as she scanned the surroundings. "Elsie and the others are already there. That creature still lurks nearby. We need to move."
"B-but I can't." Shaan shook his head. "I twisted my ankle. I can't move properly."
"…I'll help you walk." Nalira held out her hand. "Hurry, we don't have much ti."
"O-okay. I get it."
Nalira quickly helped Shaan up and guided him toward the gathering point. Shaan could clearly hear the terrifying creature nearby. He knew it still road around them, and sooner or later, it would co after them again.
"…Hang in there, Shaan," Nalira said as she scanned their surroundings. "We're almost at the gathering point."
As they moved, several creatures lunged out of the darkness and tried to attack them. Nalira and Shaan dodged each strike just in ti, barely escaping each ambush until they finally reached the area near the gathering point.
"Shaan! Lira!" Chelsie ran toward them as soon as she saw Shaan struggling to walk. "Shaan, what happened to you?"
"I twisted my ankle while trying to escape from that creature," Shaan replied.
"Uhmm... Alright. I'll try to heal you—hopefully my spell works," Chelsie said hesitantly. "But I can't cast my spell here. We need a place to—Ah, over there." Chelsie pointed her index finger at a pillar not far from where they were standing. "That pillar. Help lean Shaan against it so I can cast my healing spell, Lira."
"…Got it. Let's move."
Very carefully, they walked toward the pole and leaned Shaan against it. While Chelsie cast her healing spell, Nalira scanned the surroundings, making sure no terrifying creatures might appear and attack them.
"Uhm… done. At least your ankle isn't sprained anymore."
Shaan wiggled his leg repeatedly. "Yeah… this feels much better. Thank you, Chelsie."
"Uhm... I-it's nothing." Chelsie lowered her head, her face slightly flushed. "I-I'm just doing my job."
A few seconds later, another flicker of firelight appeared, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. Shaan imdiately noticed—several people moved toward them. He couldn't tell whether they belonged to the Daemonists or not.
At first, suspicion crept into his mind. The guards might have co for them. But when he saw how calm Nalira and Chelsie looked, he realized these newcors were likely allies. That's relief.
'I just hope what I'm thinking is right.'
The footsteps grew louder and closer to their position, and slowly the figure of Miss Khaya and several other participants erged from the darkness, holding pieces of wood with burnt ends, like torches.
"Have you found all the other participants yet?"
Nalira shook her head. "...Not all of them. In darkness like this, it's hard to find the others."
"Uhm… I agree with Lira," Chelsie said, nodding quickly. "We need to turn the lights back on. That will make it easier for us to find everyone."
"…Miss Khaya, have you found the electrical panel room yet?"
Miss Khaya nodded. "Yes, but there is sothing…"
"But what, Miss Khaya?" Shaan asked curiously. "I don't understand what you're trying to say at all.
"Several guards stand in front of the panel room," Miss Khaya explained. "I will lure them away with the others. You three will sneak inside and find the switch to turn the lights back on."
"We understand," the three of them said at the sa ti.
"Good. Now follow . We must move quickly before anyone notices us."
Without wasting ti, Shaan and the others followed Miss Khaya until they stopped in front of a cluster of large boxes.
"Look," Miss Khaya whispered as she pointed ahead. "That's the room I ntioned."
Shaan slowly turned his head, and just like Miss Khaya said, several guards stood around the door. At a glance, he counted about six of them. Two stood right in front of the door, while the others circled it, watching every movent nearby.
"Listen for my signal," Miss Khaya said as she pointed forward. "When I draw their attention, you three run straight into that door. Got it?"
"Yes, we understand."
"Good. Then it's ti to move."
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