I stood frozen in silence as I felt the gazes of the eaters in front of me.

My chest clenched with anxiety at the sight before me, but upon realizing that I had yet to be attacked, I understood that they had only reacted slightly to the door opening.

'I'm still safe."

At least, for now.

Staring at the eaters in front of me, I fiddled with my pocket. I still had two mana bombs with me.

They would certainly be useful in this type of situation, however, I chose against using them this time.

I looked at the long and narrow alleyway in front of me.

'.....I'll only screw myself over if I use them.'

While it was true that the mana bomb would attract the eaters away from me, it would also attract the eaters behind me.

That would make escaping impossible for me.

With eaters on both sides, I'd be completely helpless.

'Now what...?'

I had two options.

Go back inside, or move past the eaters in front of me.

The choice was rather simple after I thought about it.

'I'll go this way.'

The number of eaters in front of me was quite high. However, when compared to the entrance, it was probably much lower.

For that reason, this was the best option for me.

'It's not like I have to use the mana bomb.'

On another note, it was also true that I didn't have to use a mana bomb. Perhaps it was because of the situation that I was in, but I was starting to overthink a lot.

Was I the type to overthink?

Perhaps, but for some reason, it felt as though my mind was slowly losing clarity the more I stayed here. I had noticed something similar happening back at the bunker when I started killing without regard.

Was it a coincidence?

I didn't think so, and all of a sudden, I was reminded of the words I read back at the library.

'.It can't be.'

Was the tree already affecting me?

But how was that possible? I wanted to refuse the possibility with all my heart, and yet, the more I thought about it, the more likely this possibility was true.

'This might also explain the roots that have been haunting me.'

I felt a pang of anxiety when I thought about it. Recalling the fact that roots had now reached my face, I knew I didn't have much time left.

".."

I lowered my head to stare at my shoes.

While it was indeed a bit of a pity, I had no choice. There were no rocks around, and the alleyway appeared to be spotless.

The shoe was my only option.

'....If only I could open my bag.'

There were many things that I could use instead of my shoes, but opening the bag would create too much noise.

This was unfortunately the safest method.

Thus, taking off my shoes, I wrapped one of them with the threads.

The alleyway was quite long. I could see the exit from where I was, but it was quite far. Thankfully, it wasn't a distance I couldn't cover with my throw.

Therefore, tensing my body further, I threw the shoe as far away as I possibly could.

Thud!

In the silence that took over the surroundings, a subtle 'thud' resonated, and the eaters all raised their heads to face the same direction of where the noise came from.

"Hieeek!"

Shortly after, they screamed and ran towards where the shoe was.

Their speed was quite fast, and in seconds, they were already quite far.

I followed right behind them.

I wasn't worried about the sound of my steps as I walked without my shoes. It helped reduce a lot of the noise that I made.

"Hieeek!"

Just as the eaters were about to reach the shoe, I pulled it back with my thread and caught it with my hand.

I was still not out of the alley.

Catching onto the shoe, I tensed my arm and threw the shoe again.

Thud!

The eaters once again screamed and followed the noise.

'It's working.'

I continued to run behind them.

My pace was rather slow, but in no time, I was finally able to reach the exit of the alleyway.

"Hieeek!"

The monsters were still chasing my shoe, but just before they could eat it, I'd always retrieve it back and throw it in another direction.

Only when I got far away did I finally retrieve my shoe back for good.

'Well, maybe...'

Staring at the dangling shoe in front of me, I didn't know how to feel.

It was torn apart with multiple scratches and gashes all over. It wasn't an expensive shoe, but I still felt pained seeing the state it was in.

.....In this world, I wasn't rich.

Every little Rend mattered to me.

'I'll get the academy to reimburse me if it's the last thing I'll do.'

This was a pledge.

'Now, then...'

I looked around me.

I was back standing in one of the streets that led to the main plaza.

The streets were deserted, and absolute silence gripped the surroundings. It was hard to describe the situation, but it felt incredibly unsettling.

Cr Crack

The silence was broken by a faint cracking sound coming in the distance.

Raising my head, I stared at the hand that was gripped against the station walls. Bit by bit, it was starting to destroy the walls, creating more and more cracks.

More eaters started to emerge from the other side, entering the station in hordes.

I stared at the hand in thought.

'.....I can't really see how strong it is.'

From the book, 'silent eaters' were Terror Ranked creatures. It was for this reason that I never bothered fighting them.

However, staring at the massive hand in the distance, I wasn't so sure that creature was Terror Rank.

I had a feeling it was higher ranked.

If that was the case, the only people that could deal with it were the Post-Leaders.

'Right, the Post-Leaders.'

A sudden thought entered my mind at that moment.

It was a crazy thought.

One that might land me in a whole world of trouble, but at the same time, it was also the only way for me to have a chance at gaining the missing page.

'Yes, I'll do it.'

But now was not the right time yet.

The first thing I needed to do was get back near the bunker.

Taking a small and shallow breath, I quietly moved around the cobblestone streets to head for where the bunker was.

The location wasn't quite far, and I knew exactly where I needed to go.

Along the way, I'd noticed eaters around, but none of them noticed my presence. In fact, they all seemed to be rushing towards where I had previously been.

"....."

Walking past one of the eaters, I glanced at one of the mummified corpses that was lying down on the streets.

There were many of them, and under the heat, they almost became unrecognizable.

.....I had just turned to look away from the corpse when all of a sudden, I heard a faint rustling noise coming from it.

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned my head.

Two white eyes.

They were staring back at me.

I felt my heart freeze.

Before I could even react to the situation, I watched with numb horror as the corpse's mouth opened, and,

"Hiaaaak!"

A hoarse scream escaped its mouth.

It was a raw, grating cry. It was as if the vocal cords were shredded with each desperate exhalation, producing a chilling, almost inhuman wail that echoed throughout.

"....."

In a matter of seconds, I heard a series of sounds coming from all sides.

Realizing my situation, I prepared to run away, but,

Tak

The corpse moved yet again, its skinny and mummified arm clamping against my ankle.

"Kh...!"

I tried to release myself from its grip by moving my leg, but the corpse refused to let go as its white eyes continued to stare at me.

Yet again, its mouth opened.

This time, it didn't scream. Instead, it started to speak, as yet again, its hoarse voice echoed out.

".... Stop... Resisting..."

It was only two words, but they were enough to send chills down my spine.

And then,

"Hieeek!"

The eaters arrived, surrounding the area from all sides.

I looked around me with bathed breath and stopped resisting. The corpse next to me continued to speak.

"Become... One... With... The... Tree..."

My pulse raced, and I fiddled with the mana bomb in my pocket.

There was little time at my disposal. With the corpse still gripping onto my ankle, and the eaters staring in my direction, I knew that the situation was dire.

Extending my hand in the corpse's direction, threads flowed out from my arm, wrapping around the arm that was entangling my ankle.

Clenching my hand, the hand severed in two.

In spite of my actions, the corpse continued to stare at me with its white eyes.

It no longer seemed to be able to speak, but its gaze was enough to send shivers down my entire body.

.....Unfortuntely, I had no time to stare back into its eyes for too long.

Taking out the mana bomb, I threw it in the air where it exploded.

BOOOM

The surroundings shook, and the eaters lunged in the air.

"Hieek! Hieeeeek!"

I turned around and dipped.

"Haa... Haa..."

Despite my best attempts, I couldn't stop my breath as I ran. I was starting to get tired again, and the mana inside of my body depleted further.

'This is bad.'

I now only had one mana bomb left to spare, and eaters appeared from all sides, rushing in the direction of where the bomb sounded.

However, there were quite a few that were headed right at me due to the noise that I made, and gritting my teeth, I could only increase my pace and run across the cobblestone street.

.....I wasn't running blindly this time.

Despite not going in the direction of the bunker, there was one place that I was currently headed to.

The control station.

Located at the very heart of the station, it was where the emergency station was located.

While I didn't know much about it, looking up and staring at the speakers located on some of the poles that were stationed around the streets, I knew this was my best bet in getting rid of the eaters.

While the eaters thrived in silence, it was also their biggest weakness.

Once the horns started, the eaters were going to be in a state of utter confusion, unable to know where to go.

That was my best bet at escaping.

"Huu."

Thus, taking a deep breath, I picked my pace further.