"Hieeeek"

An icy current went up and down my spine the moment I heard the scream. Feeling several gazes on me, I felt all hair on my body rise and my heart seized to beat for a split second.

But it was only momentary.

Before I even had a chance to react, the others opened their mouths and screamed.

"Hieeeeek"

One, two, three...

The entire room was plunged into a sea of screaming.

Squench. Squench.

Roots sprouted from the ground, taking hold of my entire body, only stopping at my face where I felt a familiar tickling sensation.

"Haa.. Haa..."

Lvl 1. [Surprise] EXP + 0.3%

Lvl 1. [Surprise] EXP + 0.6%

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.04%

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.08%

Lvl 2. [Fear] EXP + 0.12%

Notifications flashed in my vision.

I felt sweat cling to the back of my neck, dampening my hair. Once again, fear started to creep into the depths of my mind.

'...Why?'

Staring at the notifications, I had a hard time understanding my situation.

The situation didn't make sense.

"I-I... haa... should be able to withstand this much..."

I thought I had grown used to fear given how much I had started to understand it.

And yet, all I felt was fear.

It continued to seep into my mind, making it hard for me to think properly. There was something clearly wrong with the situation.

The same was true for the roots.

Why did they keep on appearing...?

Each time, they'd appear to cover more and more of my body, reminding me of the little time that I had left.

Never before did it happen with the visions.

"Hieeeeek"

The screams continued to echo in the background, taking hold of the entire room.

I covered my ears while feeling the gazes of all those present in the room. Their white eyes were currently fixed on me as veins protruded from their necks, and saliva started to flow out of their mouths.

I shivered under the scene.

"Haa."

I struggled to breathe.

Blinking, the roots disappeared and I could move again.

I didn't hesitate to take that chance to move away from where I stood.

"F-failed..."

Yet again, my plan had failed.

As if I was being read at every moment, nothing was going my way. But I didn't let that affect me. I couldn't let it affect me.

Taking one last glance in Leon's direction, I clenched my teeth and pushed my way out of the room.

'The room should be soundproof enough to not have anyone notice anything.'

Just as I reached the door, I waited for a few seconds.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

One after another, the bodies fell behind me. Alongside that, the screams also stopped. Only then did I reach for the door and pull it open.

Clank

As expected, there was no one.

I breathed in relief.

Without hesitation, I retrieved the threads that I used to keep the guard standing and closed the door behind me.

Thump!

The guard at the door fell to the ground.

Swallowing my saliva, I turned to look back. Then, staring at the guard, a certain thought fell and I took a deep breath.

'Yeah, that might work.'

***

Outer Bunker area.

"Where did that bitch go?"

Kiera looked around for any sign of Aoife. In one moment she had been with them, and in the next moment, she was gone.

She did say something along the lines of 'I have to do something', but that was about it before she went ahead and disappeared.

"She's probably with the post-leaders trying to figure something out."

"Bah."

Kiera dismissively waved her hand.

"....Whatever. This situation is way too creepy for me to even be mad at her."

Had the situation not been like this, Kiera didn't think she'd be able to work with Aoife. Perhaps, she also felt the same way.

That bitch...

The thought pissed Kiera off.

"Fuck, I'm getting goosebumps."

Massaging her arms, Kiera looked around. The outer area of the bunker was extremely quiet. Hardly anyone spoke.

A strange atmosphere filled the place.

While no one spoke, Kiera could see the unrest in many of the people's faces.

Right now, there was a fine line between the silence and total chaos. With just a slight push, chaos was bound to appear.

Kiera understood everyone's feelings all too well.

She too was creeped out by the situation. This was especially so after Leon had also fallen for whatever was happening.

It made it especially clear to her that no one was currently safe.

No one.

"Hm?"

Kiera was just about to sit down when she noticed a sudden change coming from the guards patrolling the area, and the Guild stations.

They all seemed to be rushing towards the inner area.

Before she could voice anything out, someone from the crowd beat her to it.

"What's going on?"

Despite the guards and guild members trying their best to be subtle about their actions, it didn't go unnoticed by the crowd who started to grow rowdy.

"Is there something going on?"

"Why is everyone rushing towards the inner area of the bunker? Are you perhaps leaving without us?"

"....Are they abandoning us?"

The fine line that separated the calmness shattered, and chaos started to take hold of the outer area.

"Everyone, please calm down! There's nothing serious! There are no problems. We are just getting the guild members to move on the orders of the post-leaders who are thinking of a way to resolve this situation!"

"Bullshit...!"

"You're leaving us!"

Despite the Guild member's best attempt at trying to calm the situation down, it only served to add fuel to the fire as more and more people started to stand up.

The cadets also started to protest.

"What exactly is going on?"

".....Do you have any answers? Are you leaving?"

"Do you know who my father is?"

Some even started throwing their family names around. Kiera cringed slightly at the sight. Who the hell was going to care about their family in this situation?

Still, it did do something.

Evelyn seemed to be of the same opinion as her as she shook her head.

"Flaunting their family status like that. It's a bad look."

"I guess."

Kiera placed her pinkie in her ear.

Evelyn tilted her head upon noticing Kiera's calmness. She didn't seem all that bothered about the situation.

"You look rather calm. Do you have a plan?"

"A plan?"

Kiera licked her lips.

Turning around, her gaze fell on the crowd of people who started to protest against the guards stationed at the door that led to the inner area.

Scratching her neck, she looked at Evelyn.

"You know, I kind of agree with them."

"Hm?"

"Well, think about it. There's something clearly wrong with the situation. In fact, it seems like Leon and Julien had been purposely targeted because they found out about the whatever tree. Aoife is also gone."

"And...?"

"....I don't know about you, but I feel like we're purposely being detained."

"Ah?"

Evelyn looked confused, turning her head to stare at the windows outside. The world was still red, a clear indicator that the Crimson Shade was still in effect.

It was for that reason that she struggled to understand Kiera's words.

"Why do you think we're being detained? It's not like we're capable of artificially creating a Crimson Shade."

"Eh, I guess you're right. I still don't like this situation."

"What are you proposing?"

"Simply actually."

Kiera cleared her throat. Then, facing the same direction as the crowd, she rushed forward while shouting.

"Do you have any idea who my father is?!"

"...."

"....Fuck, my father aside, do you have any idea as to who I am? Let me in!"

"Yeah!"

"Let us in!"

Before Evelyn knew it, Kiera had suddenly started to take charge of the entire crowd, leading the protest.

"...."

Speechless, Evelyn didn't know what to say.

However, it was clear that with Kiera's interference, the situation was getting more and more out of control.

And it wasn't like she disagreed with what she said.

Thus,

"Haaa..."

With a long and tired sigh, she weakly raised her hand before saying,

"D-do you know who my father is?"

***

"Do we still have nothing?"

"Nothing. Let's go to this area."

Two guards ran around the corridors of the inner bunker. Because manpower was limited, and the inner area of the bunker was like a maze, the guards were separated into groups of two and three.

Fiddling with his weapon, one of the guards looked ahead.

"We'll be heading for the infirmary if we head forward. Do you want to check it out?"

"I doubt there will be anyone there. My best guess is that the target is currently headed for the main exit."

".....Good luck with that. Sir Rogers is guarding that area. There's no chance he'll be able to escape."

"True that."

While talking, the guards rushed ahead.

The tunnels were long, but at their speed, it took no longer than a few minutes to come closer to their destination.

"Wait."

Coming closer, they stopped.

Their expression changed the moment they looked ahead.

"Someone has been here!"

Right at the entrance of the infirmary, a guard lay on the floor with their back against the wall. Immediately, the two guards rushed ahead.

"You check up on him, I'll enter the infirmary!"

"Yes!"

Taking out his weapon, one of the guards kicked the door of the infirmary open and rushed in.

Clank!

At the same time, the other guard bent over the check the pulse of the guard that was done.

Placing his finger over his neck, he closed his eyes and tried to feel for a pulse.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

His eyes flared open the moment he felt something. However, the moment his eyes opened, he felt his own heart stop.

Two hazel eyes stared directly at him.

At the same time, something pressed against his temple.

It was followed by a cold voice.

"I apologize."

Thump!

The guard fell shortly after that.

At the same time he fell, Julien turned to face the direction of the door.

"....."

Silence took over the surroundings until a figure finally walked out.

"You won't believe what"

A hand reached out for his ankle the moment he came out. Before the guard could even react, he felt his head spin and he started to wobble.

Julien took that moment to raise his finger and point it toward his forehead.

Thump!

Like the first guard, his body limped to the ground.

"Hooo."

Taking a deep breath, Julien closed his eyes before standing up.

Massaging his shoulders, he looked at his hands.

"I've recovered enough mana."

Dragging the body of one of the guards back into the infirmary, he walked towards the other guard and threads spread out from his hand, inching towards the guard on the floor and entering his clothes.

Julien's expression shifted slightly due to the exertion, but it was manageable.

Soon, the guard stood up from the ground.

Drip. Drip...!

Blood leaked from its forehead. Thankfully, it wasn't an issue. Picking his pocket, he used an ointment he picked up from the infirmary to seal the wound.

He then proceeded to clean the blood on the ground. It was a quick process and he was done in a few minutes.

"...."

Silence took over the space as he stared at the guard in front of him.

Extending his hand, Julien lowered the guard's hat.

Then, turning to face the corridor, he took a step forward.

Tak

With the aid of the threads, the guard similarly took a step forward. It was a little wobbly, but it worked.

Julien nodded at the sight and took another step. As he did, one of his fingers twitched, and the guard stepped forward.

Again, the step was wobbly.

Julien's brows creased.

Moving his fingers, the guard took another step, and then another.

Like a puppeteer, Julien controlled the guard and moved it as he wished. With each step that the guard took, the less wobbly his steps became, and it wasn't long before the guard started to move flawlessly.

Watching from the back, Julien placed his hand in his pocket and caught up with the guard.

"...."

Sorting through his memories, a map of the inner area appeared in his mind, and took a step forward.

So did the guard.

"I can't fail this time."

He had the necessary means to escape.