The sound of hurried footsteps echoed loudly in Shaan's ears as he and the other participants ran through the long corridor ahead, following Miss Khaya's lead. Good—at least they had finally found a way out of this place.

"Make sure everyone stays together!" Miss Khaya shouted from the front. "Don't let anyone fall behind. Just a little more… we'll get out of here!"

"We understand!" all the participants replied in unison as they kept moving behind her.

"Uhm… Shaan, we need to move faster," Chelsie said as she tapped his shoulder from behind. "Nalira and the others are already several meters ahead of us."

"Ah, okay. I get it."

Honestly, he hadn't expected the corridor to stretch this far. On top of that, fatigue still weighed heavily on his body after using Aspira Ignis. Even though he had only used a small portion of its power, it had already drained a significant amount of his strength.

'I have to keep moving. Just a little more… we'll all make it out of here.'

Shaan took a deep breath and pushed himself forward again. But the moment he took a few steps, a bolt of lightning flashed and shot toward him at incredible speed. It struck him instantly, throwing him off balance.

"W-woah!" Shaan dropped to the floor. "Ugh… damn it."

"Goodness, Shaan!" Chelsie quickly helped him to his feet. "Shaan, are you alright?"

"Yeah… thank you, Chelsie."

"Hey, weakling. What do you think you're doing?" Theo shook his head and clicked his tongue. "You're blocking my way."

Chelsie shot Theo a sharp glare, irritation clearly written across her face. "Control your power. You could hurt the people around you."

"Heh, so now it's my fault?" Theo let out a dry laugh. "If you didn't move as slowly as snails, I wouldn't have run into you." He laughed again and dashed past them without another word.

Shaan let out a long sigh as he watched Theo leave. He rubbed his chest repeatedly, trying to calm himself. He didn't want to start a conflict at a time like this, even though Theo's attitude had already pushed his patience to the limit.

Chelsie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ugh, just ignore him. He always manages to annoy everyone."

"Chelsie, let it go," Shaan said, trying to ease the tension. "We shouldn't drag this out. We need to keep moving. Miss Khaya and the others are already ahead. We have to catch up."

Chelsie exhaled softly. "Uhm… alright. I understand."

***

A cluster of lush trees greeted them the moment they reached the end of the corridor. Relief washed over them. At least they had made it through the long passage and finally found a way out.

[System reactivated]

[System will reconnect with the daemon shortly]

'Jeez… this feels so much better.' Shaan smiled as he read the notification in front of him. 'At least I can reconnect with Robin Hood. He must—'

"Wait. Hold on." Miss Khaya suddenly stopped at the gate and scanned the surroundings. "This is strange. Where are all the guards who should be stationed here?" She narrowed her eyes, trying to get a clearer look. "This could be a trap. All of you stay here. I'll take a few participants and check outside first to make sure it's safe."

"Alright, we understand," the participants replied in unison.

Miss Khaya pointed at several nearby participants, then led them away from the gate. However, after she moved a fair distance ahead, a vehicle suddenly burst out from the side and sped straight toward her. Luckily, one of the participants noticed it in time and quickly pulled Miss Khaya back just before the vehicle could hit her.

"Miss Khaya!"

The shout from one of the participants near the gate instantly put everyone on edge. Shaan and the others rushed toward Miss Khaya as fast as they could to check on her condition.

"Miss Khaya, are you alright?" a silver-haired male participant asked, his face filled with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Miss Khaya clenched her fist as she watched the vehicle speed into the dense forest ahead. "Damn it! I'm sure that was the Resistance. They've already made their move. We have to chase them before they reach the Twilight Sanctum."

"But how can we chase them?" a man in brown clothes asked from beside her. "I don't see any way for us to pursue them right now."

"Keep searching. I'm sure we can find something around here that we can use to chase—"

'BOOM!'

A massive explosion roared, instantly silencing the area. Shaan's ears rang for a moment. Damn it. Whatever caused that blast came from the same direction the vehicle had appeared.

"M-Miss Khaya… what was that explosion?" a brown-haired female participant asked, her voice trembling as her face turned pale.

"Everyone, stay calm. I'll go check it out," Miss Khaya said. "All of you stay here and don't go anywhere until I return."

"We understand."

Miss Khaya directed the participants back toward the gate and assigned several of them to stand guard while she investigated the source of the explosion.

'I have to help Miss Khaya,' Shaan thought as he moved against the flow of the crowd. 'She might need help.'

"Shaan, what are you doing?" Chelsie quickly grabbed his hand. "We need to stay with the others."

"I know, Chelsie." Shaan nodded. "But I'm sure Miss Khaya needs help, and we can't leave her alone."

"Shaan, but Miss Khaya herself told us to—"

"…I agree with what Shaan said," Nalira interrupted, stepping out from behind Chelsie. "Miss Khaya will need our help."

Chelsie fell silent for a moment. "Uhm..."

"Elsie, if you want, you can stay here. Let me and Shaan go to—"

Chelsie shook her head quickly. "No. I want to go with you guys," She tightened her grip on her staff. "I'll help out."

"Alright then." Shaan looked ahead with determination. "We need to catch up to Miss Khaya before something bad happens to her."