Ishiki didn’t wait to see if they had gotten back up. He scrambled to his feet, carefully, on the blood-slick surface and ran toward the opening he and the Princess had cut through the wall.
They had used the cut out piece to close the circle again. It was still there, holding firmly because of traction.
He kicked it hard. Once... twice.
The section fell outward with a satisfying crash, revealing the eternal night beyond.
Ishiki squeezed through the opening and emerged onto the temple’s exterior. A narrow balcony that was like a ledge that wrapped around the building.
From this vantage point, he could see the settlement below, not entirely though... he could only see the half in front of him. The other half was on the other side of the temple.
Luckily... this was the side where the temple doors were and from here he saw the five soulless players stumbling out of the temple’s main entrance, they moved with a jerky, marionette-like cadence already reorienting themselves to continue the hunt.
Ishiki’s throat was dry, but he forced it to work.
"WAKE UP!" His voice cracked. "EVERYONE, WAKE UP!"
For a moment, nothing happened. The settlement remained silent except for the distant song of the Crimson Canopy.
A silent dread coiled up Ishiki’s chest. ’Don’t tell me... No... is everyone else too?’
Then the door of one of the houses opened.
Filch emerged out, moving with the alertness and shock of a a man who slept with one eye open and a knife under his pillow. A cigarette was already lit in his mouth, the cherry glowing like a tiny star against the dark.
’Of course he is awake. Does that man ever sleep?’
Filch looked around, confused, trying to locate the source of the shouting.
"I’m here!" Ishiki yelled, waving his arms like a lunatic. "On the temple, you druggy!"
Filch flinched, then slowly tilted his head upward. His eyes found Ishiki perched on the temple’s exterior.
He looked at him with narrowed eyes and then shrugged.
’What the hell... is that idiot trying to commit suicide? ’ Filch thought, sighing tiredly.
"On your right!" Ishiki screamed suddenly.
Filch’s combat instincts kicked in. He spun right, raising his arm just in time to deflect a punch that would have shattered his jaw.
Filch skidded backward, his boots leaving deep furrows in the sand. He shook his arm, wincing. That punch had the weight of a sledgehammer behind it.
"Wait... What the-" Filch began.
The stocky guy stood there, fist still extended.
The other four converged on him from different directions without delay.
Filch moved like a seasoned fighter, a small dagger made of a sharp alloy like object materialized in his hand mid-dodge.
He parried Mira’s strike, sidestepped another puppet’s lunge, and created distance with a single flowing motion.
Ishiki looked at the guy moving like water between the attacks, where he was just trying to survive the onslaught gracelessly. He felt a little jealous and awestruck at the guy’s talent.
It hasn’t been more than 3 months and he was already like a veteran fighter. If given time Filch would turn into a really dangerous fighter. And that was him never using his skill around other players.
The guy always went on hunts alone and no one has ever seen him use his skill. Ishiki figured that it might be related to his corruption... but who knew.
More doors began opening. The Princess emerged out, her pink eyes narrowed and alert. Nina stumbled out behind her, rubbing sleep from her face.
Liu Xi appeared from another house, his expression immediately darkening as he looked at the fiery scene.
"What’s happening?" the Princess called out in disbelief.
Ishiki looked back inside, now that there was no one down there, he can get out from here... then he looked down from the balcony with a spectacle expression.
’I will need to jump... doesn’t matter from where.’
He was reluctant to back inside the creepy temple. He blinked a few times and gulped hard looking below. There were no trees now... he would be jumping down and meet the ground directly.
’Screw it... we should save trees, definitely.’
Ishiki jumped.
He hit the ground in a roll, the impact sent a shiver from his legs up to his entire body. For a second he forgot how to breath.
But then he stood up and started running. Warming his body.
If he were a normal human, his tibias would be splintered shrapnel right now, but with the system’s enhanced strength he survived the fall.
That too considering the fact that he was at mere level 10. How much strength would his body have once he reached the maximum level 50? And what is beyond it?
He shook his head... he was in no moment to think about that. Ishiki kept running until he reached the princess.
Liu Xi also came running from the other side. The young man’s expression was intense and deeply disturbed.
Ishiki skidded to a halt next to the Princess and Nina. Nina immediately grabbed his arm to support him.
"Where... were you?" Yuki asked without delay.
"The temple!" he gasped, breathing hard. "It’s not safe here! It’s been causing everything—the disappearances, our memory loss, all of it!"
"What?" Nina looked confused.
Meanwhile Yuki and Liu Xi simply looked at him with curiosity.
"The statue!" Ishiki straightened. "The Lord of Illusions and Deceit has been sealed there, and we broke the temple’s seal. It... It has been eating the souls of everyone who disappeared! If we stay here—"
"We’ll be dead soon," Liu Xi finished quietly. His eyes were fixed on the five players, who had stopped attacking Filch and were now slowly turning toward the larger group.
"But... But how did this happen? When?" he asked, as he looked at Ishiki with shaking eyes.
"I... have no idea." Ishiki said slowly. "I... Just..."
The man stepped forward, his eyes narrowed as he looked straight into the blue eyes. "You what? Would you like to explain how do YOU... know all of this?"
"I also saw an illusion... actually I saw three of them." Ishiki said looking down.
Suddenly, Liu Xi grabbed Ishiki’s collar, yanking him forward. "That doesn’t explain anything! Why you and why now when everyone is gone?"
Ishiki slapped his hand away. "It’s not my problem you have a tiny brain!"
"Wait," the Princess said, raising a hand. "stop fighting both of you."
Liu Xi pushed Ishiki back and muttered an apology. They were all at edge... but that was not a good way to behave. Ishiki waited a few seconds, but didn’t say anything back.
"What Exactly is happening here?" the Princess asked Ishiki.
Filch circled around the players using his agility to herd them away before sprinting toward the group. He had a few new bruises and his shirt was torn.
Now all four of them—Yuki, Filch, Nina, and Liu Xi, looked at Ishiki with identical expressions. Frowns of deep concern mixed with dawning horror.
Ishiki opened his mouth to speak... but the soulless players were already upon them. The princess turned and created a wall of thin ice between them and the approaching zombies.
"Ah!"
Nina screamed suddenly. Her eyes glazed over, and she tried to bolt toward the temple.
Filch caught her by the back of her shirt, yanking her back. She thrashed and clawed at him, mumbling something about a garden.
"Wake up, kid!" Filch shouted, shaking her violently. But she didn’t... loosing consciousness at the end.
Still alive.
The damned god or whatever it was inside the temple hadn’t yet given up on them.
"We need to run... We need to get away from here as soon as possible." Ishiki emphasized. "Its halo is almost complete!" he continued. "When it finishes—"
Suddenly a very pleasing and harmonious voice resounded in their minds, or maybe it was in the whole clearing... they didn’t knew.
Everyone suddenly stopped as if being commanded by the beautiful voice.
"HOW RUDE."
Everyone froze, looking at each other is disbelief.
"HOW DARE YOU BREAK MY BEAUTIFUL DREAM."
"BUT THANK YOU," the voice continued. "NOW I WILL SAVOR YOUR DESPAIR PROPERLY."
Behind them... out of nowhere the temple suddenly shuddered and even sent an insidious tremor through the ground.
The Princess’s face paled a little, stepped forward breaking free of the momentary shock. "Everyone—"
"We need to run, goddamn it." Filch finished her sentence, already putting Nina on his back.
No one said anything.... they didn’t need to be told twice.
All of them turned around and sprinted toward the clearing’s edge.
Towards the forest.
Toward the Crimson Canopy that had killed so many.
Behind them... the soulless puppets followed. They had already broken through the princess’s Ice.
Ishiki ran beside Yuki, his lungs burning. ’Screw it, Screw it... I hate how this is going.’
They reached the boundary of the clearing which kept them safe from the all devouring forest. The golden leaved trees looked at them as if they have been waiting. They looked... anticipatory.
The Princess turned to face the others, breathing hard. "Stay close! I’ll try to keep the trees at bay!"
"For how long?" Filch asked grimly.
She didn’t answer.
’Until we die. Of course... either way.’ Ishiki narrowed his eyes. Didn’t he swear not to enter the wretched forest during Crimson Night.
And now here he stood... running into the mouth of the beast to escape the devil at his heels.
’From one to another.’
Without much delay... they plunged into the Crimson Canopy.
Into hell itself.