‘…Not here?’
What the heck is going on? Thoughts swirl around his head.
Could that poltergeist phenomenon have not been the cause of it all? No, considering all he’s seen so far, that doesn’t make sense. So, why the heck has it vanished now?
“C-Couper! Couper! Couper!”
He strains his brain, trying to find out why that pale face disappeared. But he can’t—he has to cut his thoughts short, thanks to Eleanor’s loud, frantic voice calling for him.
“What? What is it?!”
“Look, right in front of us!”
She points in a certain direction.
It’s right in front of them—where the emergency exit can be seen from far away.
“Shit—”
Right in front of that emergency exit, the pale face that had been hiding was now dangling in mid-air, grinning ominously, waiting for them.
“Whaaa…! What do we do?! What should we do?! At this rate, we’re going to touch that thing soon!”
Eleanor’s voice climbs into near-panic mode, urging him on. What should he do? Why is she asking him?
The only escape route was here, and he had no more strength or resources left to flee from that thing.
More importantly, the objects still flying towards them from behind showed no sign of stopping.
No matter where he turned to avoid that thing, only certain death awaited him.
“———”
Whichever way he chose, it would mean death.
In this unreasonable moment of choice, he could do nothing but pull at his hair, feeling like his head would explode—
“Just jump in!”
Just then, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he began to dash towards the thing waiting for them.
“Wha?!”
Eleanor’s eyes widen, and she repeats the question.
But there was no need. By watching him act, anyone could tell what his words meant.
Essentially, he was urging them to engage in something akin to suicide.
“Just run to the door! It doesn’t matter if you touch it or not!”
“Are you crazy?! You want us to run into that thing?!”
“No time to explain! Just do what I say!”
She kept asking questions, but he just kept repeating his command.
Her desire to understand why would have to remain unfulfilled.
“There must be a reason you’re saying that?!”
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll trust you! I’ll charge first, so follow me, okay?”
With that, Elijah no longer questioned him.
Slowly picking up speed, he charged towards the grinning face ahead.
The only option left for Eleanor was to follow behind them.
“Ugh, I’m lost too now…! Whatever happens, happens…!”
With a defeated voice, Eleanor trailed behind them.
Drawing closer and closer to that thing, she shut her eyes tight, embracing her fear as she braced for the unknown ahead.
Finally, when their bodies were about to touch that thing——
“…Huh?”
That face, without affecting them at all, easily allowed their bodies to pass through as it opened the way to the door.
DUMB!
Elijah crashed into the door, and with a rough noise, it swung open wide.
The three of them quickly rushed through the open door.
Finally, as Eleanor entered last, they heard Cooper’s urgent voice from inside.
“Shut it!”
THUD, the door slammed shut behind them.
And right after, countless objects that had been chasing them flew toward the door.
THUNK, THUD! BAM! CRASH!
The sound of all sorts of small and sharp items, along with large and heavy ones, colliding filled the air.
Their impact could smash not just people but even thick walls.
Yet, after all those items flew in, the door remained perfectly intact, standing there without a single scratch.
The door didn’t open again.
It simply returned to silence, as if nothing had happened at all.
The dark hallway fell back into a world of stillness.
Silence settled in.
In the space that had once shaken with a loud noise, this place had seemed like the world was collapsing upon it just moments ago, raining down massive debris and wreckage.
But now, it was as if all of that had happened long, long ago.
Quietly, everything remained still, upholding the silence.
THUD!
As the frozen silence continued, suddenly, a tiny pebble tumbled down.
It was truly strange.
After the three left, no one else should have touched this place.
So why did this little rock fall?
ROOOOOOLL!
But before he could ponder further, as if in response to that tiny stone, countless shards began to tumble down, all at once.
THUD!
A sound echoed.
Somewhere, a strong banging noise could be heard.
That vibration caused by some force was clearly coming from beyond the area, where large shards had tightly blocked the way.
THUD!
Once again, a loud sound resonated in the surroundings.
Shards shook, and everything trembled violently.
Unlike before, when only tiny rocks rolled around, this vibration could easily be compared to the earlier calamity.
From below, as if something was trying to break through, it rattled and shook even more fiercely—
BOOM!
Finally, with a sound that would make your ears ring, a massive amount of explosives blasted through the obstacle blocking the way.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Debris and shrapnel scattered everywhere before eventually hitting the ground.
As large boulders crashed down, a tremendous noise filled the space.
And just as everything began to settle down, amidst the chaos and the thick dust that filled the air, what appeared was…
A massive hole that formed where the space was previously blocked by shards, revealing an unfathomably deep darkness below.
And—
THUMP!
From below, as if someone were just about to touch the ground.
A small hand reached up, emerging from the depth.
“Whew.”
With a light exhale, a tiny figure climbed up from below.
An incongruous delicate build and appearance for this place.
It was undoubtedly the girl known as the 19th entity who must have fallen into an endless abyss just moments ago.
After brushing off her body, black, gooey substances fell to the ground from her.
They looked damp and unpleasant, as if they had a sticky texture.
Yet the girl lightly brushed them off, as if they were merely dust.
After she believed she had sufficiently shaken off what clung to her body, she slowly lifted her head and lightly scanned her surroundings.
“Elijah—?”
She began calling out the names of her companions.
“Eleanor—?”
But despite the continued calls from the girl, they did not show themselves or respond.
Which made sense.
They had long since fled this place through the only escape route available from the unknown entity that had chased them.
No matter how much she called, a response would never come.
“…Is this not the right place?”
Yet, the girl had no way of knowing that.
Confused, she looked around, becoming unsure if she had arrived in the wrong location, alternating her gaze between the hole she just came from and the sky.
“…?”
Right in front of her, from the darkness of the hallway, she felt something approaching her.
She fixed her gaze back to that direction.
From there, a faint and eerily chilling sound began to echo, sending shivers down her spine.
