Mizushi stares at Ryota in shock and thinks:
“How…”
“How can you lie with such confidence?!”
“By the heavens and the earth, how can you place your trust in a system you described as unjust only minutes ago?!”
“Aside from our lives, how can you so easily wager your own life on a few assumptions you made about a system you described as unjust?!”
“And the strangest thing…”
“There are no other options!”
After several seconds, they finally make it out of the danger zone.
They pass through safely, making it beyond the second massive pillar.
They stare in shock at the massive pillar, its entire surface now covered in cracks.
They look at one another.
They look at their trembling hands.
Some of them speak:
“It didn’t fall?”
“Really?”
“We survived?”
The voices suddenly rise:
“We survived! We survived!”
“Long live the leader, Lord Ryota!”
Some of them comment:
“When the sound of the cracking suddenly grew louder, I felt like I was going to be crushed at any moment!”
“We’re lucky to be with Lord Ryota. He can predict the future!”
“I truly feel sorry for Akira and those who went with him.”
“I hope they somehow survive, even if they fail the test.”
Amid the crowd’s cheers and comments, Ryota looks around, moving from side to side as he tries to focus on sensing any danger.
He even shouts at them:
“Silence!”
Then he thinks:
“Strange… I truly can’t sense any danger nearby…”
“At first, when I didn’t notice any differences aside from the initial increase in the cracks, I thought we would encounter a sinister trap while crossing, especially with the sound of the cracking growing louder than the previous time. I was already prepared for the worst.”
“And when we crossed safely, I thought the sinister trap would come after we had crossed safely and caught our breath. We would naturally lower our guard, and then the trap would strike us when we were at our weakest. And this kind of cunning is nothing new for the designer of this test.”
“But here I am, and I can’t sense any danger nearby!”
He falls silent for a few moments…
Then he addresses the crowd:
“Let’s keep moving…”
As they walk, Ryota approaches Evander and whispers to him:
“I had already noticed those cracks.”
“But…”
He turns his gaze toward Mizushi…
“Not everyone is capable of bearing the truth…”
Then he turns his gaze toward the crowd…
“Look at them carefully…”
“Don’t let those moments of excitement from earlier deceive you. They’re already on the verge of breaking down.”
Then he turns his gaze toward Evander and continues with a serious expression:
“Don’t interrupt me again…”
He leaves him behind and moves several steps forward, taking the lead of the group as they continue onward.
………………
A tremendous cracking sound!
And before Ryota can finish speaking—
Someone shouts:
“To the left!”
And rushes forward alone!
Ryota immediately corrects this mistake and shouts at them:
“Don’t move! It won’t hit us!”
The person hears Ryota’s command, hesitates for a moment, then runs back.
But…
A nearby pillar collapses, and debris flies through the air, with one of the rocks striking his left shoulder!
Everyone freezes in place.
He narrowly survives, falls to the ground, clutches his shoulder, and cries out in pain.
Ryota quickly approaches him, places his hand on his injured shoulder, and gently presses against it, noticing how much pain he is in.
Then Ryota takes a pouch from his pocket.
It contains crushed herbs.
“Unfortunately, even healing Vira is prohibited.”
“They’re pain-relieving herbs. They’ll ease the pain until we leave this test.”
Hitoshi approaches him and tries to help him stand.
He looks at him sharply and shouts:
“For heaven’s sake, why did you move before listening to the leader’s orders?! Have you gone mad?!”
He replies in a trembling voice:
“I… I was trying to survive…”
Ryota’s eyes widen for a moment, then he returns to the front of the group and addresses them:
“Let’s keep moving…”
………………
They walk for a while.
No sound.
They walk for longer.
No sound.
Long…
Too long…
Silent…
Too silent…
One of them suddenly stops.
He lets out a muffled, sarcastic laugh, then begins laughing wildly and loudly before shouting:
“Enough!”
“I can’t hear anything!”
He grabs his head frantically and laughs hysterically.
“No, no, no… It’s happening again!… Every detail of it!…”
“Are we simply walking toward our deaths?!”
…
No one responds.
Ryota doesn’t look at him.
He simply keeps moving forward.
…
After a few moments…
He catches up with them…
In silence…