Creak—!
The floor creaked under Joanna’s feet as she stepped into the room.
Instantly, her gaze swept across the room, her body alert as she held tightly onto her daggers. Her eyes continued to scan the place in hopes of finding the anomaly or whatever had been causing trouble for her.
’See what happens once I find you.’
Joanna didn’t quite know what Ariel had done to her, but at this very moment, the only thing she wanted to do was find the anomaly and tear it to pieces.
’...For everything that you put me through, I’ll make sure to tear you apart.’
But—
Scanning the room, the first thing that Joanna noticed was the open window by the far end, the curtains billowing slightly under the cold breeze. Instantly, her steps paused as Ariel entered the room right after.
"It ran away?"
Joanna continued to stare at the window, her face blank. Then, scanning the place once more, she clenched her teeth.
"...It seems that way."
Disappointment lingered in Joanna’s voice as she continued to look around. Alongside the disappointment, there was also quite a lot of resentment.
’I was really scared of this crap? What’s fucking wrong with me? At this rate, I’m really starting to prove the people right.’
"But I’m curious. I’m rather interested in finding out why it led you into this room."
Ariel looked around the room.
No matter how she looked at it, the room was quite normal. It was a simple bedroom with one bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a bookshelf. There were a couple of worn-down paintings, and the books on the bookshelf were similarly worn, but aside from that, there was nothing particularly eye-catching about the place.
"Are you sure that it was trying to lead you here?"
Ariel asked as she looked at Joanna.
Looking back at Ariel, Joanna nodded her head, looking a lot more calm then before.
"Yes."
The effects of whatever Ariel had done to her had started to wear down, and she felt a lot more clear headed. At the same time, however, the feeling of anger and resentment towards the anomaly still existed.
If she were thrown in the same scenario again, she was most likely going to start chasing down the anomaly. But there was no use dwelling on the what-ifs.
"Let’s check the room to see if there’s anything that might be dangerous. Anything that we can bring back to the Squad Leader."
With a cooler mind, Joanna was able to quickly initiate orders once more as she started to scan every item.
Of course, she also had to remind them, "Scan the items before touching them. In case they are anomalous objects, we have to be careful."
She merely said the words as a precaution. Looking back, everyone was busy scanning the items without touching them.
Joanna did the same, scanning the items carefully before eventually stopping at the wardrobe.
It was made out of wood and stood rather tall, with several cracks appearing, likely from the age of the item. Reaching for the knob, she pulled the drawer open as a figure appeared next to her a moment after. Then, as she pulled onto the door, Joanna froze while Ariel’s voice echoed a moment after.
"...Looks like we finally know why it was trying to lead you up here."
Joanna opened her mouth, but soon closed it, nodding softly.
This...
***
"It’s closed."
I looked up at the trapdoor, flashing the light of my torch in its direction as I pursed my lips together. It all happened so fast and abruptly that I was completely caught off guard.
Mia’s voice echoed a moment after.
"That... does that mean that we’re trapped? What are we supposed to do now? Should I contact Ariel? She might—"
"No, there’s no need to panic."
I cut Mia off, reassuring her that everything was fine.
Indeed, everything was fine. The situation did look quite dire, but I wasn’t worried at all. The trapdoor wasn’t enough to stop me. If I wanted to leave the place, I could leave when I wanted.
With [Trait Transfer] and the Realmwalker’s abilities, escaping was a piece of cake.
But the real question was whether I should leave or not.
’Would it be better for me to go up and catch whoever closed the trapdoor on us, or stay here and figure out more about the place?’
I tapped my foot against the floor for a few seconds before coming to a conclusion.
’...I’ll send the Realmwalker up.’
For now, I planned on staying here longer. I wanted to understand this place better.
Looking at my group and seeing them all look at me, I was glad to see that none of them were panicking, but just looking at me in silence. Even the usually loud Mia looked calmer than I expected.
But this didn’t take me by surprise.
Although Mia was a little bit silly, in serious situations, she knew how to be serious. Furthermore, with all of the games that I had subjected them to, she was probably the last person to be scared of death.
’She’s died the most after all.’
"I can go out anytime that I want. Going out is not a problem. What’s important is that we stay here longer and figure out what is going on with this place. I am rather curious to figure out more about this research facility."
By now, it was clear to me.
This place was no regular research facility. The BUA had clearly not disclosed all of the information to all of us. In fact, the main reason why the previous squads were even sent to this place in the first place was that they wanted to research this place, or to be more precise town.
There had to be some sort of secret that was linked to the appearance of the Gate.
’Perhaps the missing squads had found something related to the mist before their disappearance. That’s why they sent us? After all, we’re the most elite members in the world. There was no better pretext than this. They just kept the idea a secret and pretended it was a trial for the World Congress.’
I let out a slow sigh, dragging a hand down my face as I tried to push the thoughts aside. Right, I might be overthinking. No need to jump to conclusions.
But the harder I tried to dismiss it, the clearer it became.
’...If it’s true, then every Guild is being used by the BUA to do their dirty work. I don’t know how to feel about this.’
Should I just quit?
No.
I inwardly shook my head while continuing to walk down the corridors. There was no guarantee that I was right, and above all, I was also curious about this place.
Just what sort of secret was hiding here?
"Let’s go."
I walked down the long corridor, passing one door after another as my boots clicked against the wet floor. Each step sent faint ripples across the thin layer of water, distorting the reflection of the narrow beam of light stretching ahead of us.
No one spoke behind me.
They followed in complete silence, their presence felt only through the steady rhythm of their footsteps and breaths. The air felt heavier the further we went, and as I moved past another door, I paused and looked behind me.
Making sure that everyone was present, I continued ahead.
"Make sure to keep an eye on each other," I said quietly, my voice carrying just enough to reach them all. "We don’t want a repeat of what happened to Mia."
This place had some sort of effect on the mind. I didn’t know what it was, but it was certainly dangerous, hence why everyone had to be extremely careful.
"Make sure that the four of you follow quietly and keep an eye on each other. This is so that we..."
Suddenly, my steps came to a complete stop, and the others halted with me.
In an instant, it felt as though the air itself had frozen. The faint echoes of our movements vanished, leaving only the fragile sound of our breathing. Then even that seemed to fade, swallowed by a silence so complete it felt unnatural.
Min. Mia. Sarah.
I swallowed quietly, my throat dry. The beam of my torch trembled in my grasp as the realization settled in. Something began to tighten around my chest as the air seemed to have thinned without warning.
Three.
There were only three of them.
So why...
Why did I say four?