...
"Speaking of which, where are Teio and the others? Haven't they arrived yet?" Just as Lucian was wondering, a burst of rapid footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the wall.
Soon enough, Tokai Teio, Ines Fujin, and Mejiro McQueen also successfully reached this room.
All three looked shaken, leaning against the wall and patting their racing hearts.
Lucian: "You three—still okay?"
Ines Fujin shook her head. "Not really... too scary."
Tokai Teio caught her breath. "Trainer, you have no idea—just now a pair of hands reached out from the floor and grabbed McQueen's leg!"
"Impressive. What we ran into was an NPC dropping from the ceiling." Lucian finished, then looked sympathetically at the silent Mejiro McQueen—her long lashes seemed slightly damp.
"A place like this... I won't come again next time." Mejiro McQueen said in a very aggrieved tone.
At that moment, the path they had come from was suddenly sealed by a hidden door, and the prompt sounded once more.
"The ritual requires combining props to activate. The vengeful spirits are very pleased with you."
The frame of the tightly shut door ahead suddenly glowed with blue light. Three small indentations appeared in the center, matching the exact shapes of the clues they had just obtained.
After Lucian placed all three items into the slots, the door leading to the next stage slowly opened. Beyond it was pitch-black darkness, like an ocean of void.
The prompt rang again. "Only the one chosen by the fourth vengeful spirit can find the 'Eye' and dispel the fog ahead."
The horse girls once again turned to look at Lucian.
Lucian turned to look at Matikanetannhauser.
Matikanetannhauser: "If I guessed right, next we have to go find the 'Eye'."
"As expected of the captain—hitting the key point in one sentence." Lucian rubbed his chin.
How could Matikanetannhauser not catch his teasing? "Trainer, hurry up and think of what to do."
"Fine. If I'm not wrong, the next part is solo tasks. Everyone has to go in one by one until we find out who's been chosen."
Just as Lucian finished analyzing, the walkie-talkie crackled with a staff member's voice. "Yes, solo tasks. Only the chosen person needs to reach the specific spot to obtain the 'Eye.' Non-chosen players will loop back to the starting point after one circuit."
"Solo... solo task..." Mejiro McQueen, leaning against the wall, had her legs trembling inward as if they had gone weak.
Special Week pressed even closer to Silence Suzuka.
The other horse girls' faces didn't look good either.
"Then how do we decide the order? Never mind... I'll go first to scout. If any scary NPCs appear, they should show up in the same section of the hallway."
Lucian always felt he wouldn't be the chosen one. "You can decide the order among yourselves first—rock-paper-scissors, how about that?"
The horse girls nodded and huddled together.
The final order from first to last: Mejiro McQueen, Silence Suzuka, Special Week, Ines Fujin, Matikanetannhauser, Tokai Teio.
The most frightened Mejiro McQueen drew the worst luck—if Lucian failed, she'd be second.
"McQueen..." Lucian looked at her worriedly.
Mejiro McQueen shook her head. "It's fine... a bet's a bet. I can walk the whole way with my eyes closed, feeling along the wall."
"Okay." Lucian couldn't let the others swap with her—that would be unfair.
"McQueen, let me switch with you." Tokai Teio suddenly said.
Mejiro McQueen: "Teio?"
"Don't misunderstand—I just have a strong sixth sense that I'll be chosen. Helping poor McQueen is just a side thing~" Tokai Teio's feelings for Mejiro McQueen were sometimes even less straightforward than those for Lucian.
Of course, Mejiro McQueen was equally tsundere.
But right now, fear had smoothed away her sharp edges. Her lips parted softly. "Thank you, Teio."
Tokai Teio froze for a second, then pretended not to care as she stepped beside her. "I said it's just on the side—no need to thank me or anything, haha."
She subtly glanced at the pitch-black doorway ahead. They would probably really have to feel their way along the wall.
Maybe light only appeared when an NPC showed up—either the NPC shining a flashlight in their face or controlled lighting illuminating their full bodies.
"T-Trainer, make sure to tell me exactly what it's like in there later." Tokai Teio said.
"Sure, don't worry." Lucian gave her a reassuring look, though the smile tugging at his own lips was a bit forced.
He was scared too.
In this eerie atmosphere, if a ghostly face suddenly popped up—or a professionally posed "weirdo"—very few people wouldn't be afraid.
"Trainer, you're not scared at all?" Matikanetannhauser asked.
"I got startled earlier too—you know that~" Lucian spread his hands. "But compared to all of you, my courage is probably the biggest, so I'll go first..."
"Lucian-kun." Just as he took a step, Silence Suzuka called out to him. "I'll go with you."
"B-But the rules say only one person can go, right?" Special Week instinctively spoke up.
She raised her hand, as if to hold him back—or to stop him.
"Spe-chan, if Lucian-kun says he's scared, I think deep down he'd want someone to stay with him." Silence Suzuka turned and said, "This is just a game, after all."
Special Week's mouth opened, but no words came out. She silently lowered her hand, thinking to herself: "Y-Yeah... that's what Suzuka said."
A little disappointed—she hadn't considered it again.
"Trainer, I'll go too!" Matikanetannhauser volunteered eagerly. "Earlier the Trainer asked me 'if you're scared, do you want encouragement or someone to stay with you?' I... I think the Trainer right now feels the same as I did earlier."
Lucian knew Silence Suzuka's plan—surprised but understanding. Matikanetannhauser, though, was completely unexpected.
The storm centered on Silence Suzuka and Matikanetannhauser swept through Tokai Teio and Special Week's inner worlds, leaving behind ruins of guilt.
Mejiro McQueen was caught in the edges too.
Ines Fujin seemed to realize something: Trainer and Suzuka's relationship really isn't ordinary.
"Alright, just Suzuka and I will go. Since the rules are already broken, I can come back and walk with everyone again later."
...