"Move!"

Caelis snapped, not even sparing Shuu a glance as he positioned himself between him and the next incoming wave.

Rin followed a split second later, cutting down another creature that had tried to slip past. His movements were sharp, almost aggressive now, as he forced the monsters back.

"There is no end to these. Should we get out of here?"

Rin said, his voice tight with urgency.

Shuu didn’t move.

His feet felt rooted to the ground. Every instinct told him that running would only make things worse.

"They’re not going to stop. They’re coming for me."

Shuu said quietly, his eyes fixed on the creatures regrouping in front of them.

Neither of them denied it.

Before the situation could escalate further, a loud mechanical hum spread through the area.

A translucent barrier rose from the ground, expanding outward in a dome-like structure that pushed back the advancing monsters just enough to create breathing space.

Shuu turned his head instinctively.

More people were arriving.

Kris stepped out first, his expression tense as he took in the scene in front of him. Secretary Ann followed closely behind, his usual composed demeanor cracking under the pressure of the situation.

"What the hell is going on?"

Kris muttered, his eyes scanning the broken sky and the monsters pouring through it.

Secretary Ann didn’t waste time asking questions.

"Deploy emergency barriers. Get everyone inside. We’ll hold a meeting immediately."

He ordered sharply, his voice carrying authority despite the chaos.

Several guild members moved at once, activating defensive measures and guiding civilians toward safer areas within the protected zones.

Even with their intervention, the situation remained unstable.

The monsters continued to press against the barriers, their movements erratic and relentless, as if they were being driven by something beyond instinct.

Kris glanced toward Shuu briefly, his expression tightening, but he didn’t approach. There was no time for anything beyond immediate survival.

"Inside."

Rin said firmly, placing a hand on Shuu’s shoulder and guiding him toward the secured area.

This time, Shuu didn’t resist.

He allowed himself to be moved.

Not because he wanted to retreat, but because he understood that staying out there would only make things worse for everyone else.

As they crossed into the protected zone, the noise of the outside world dulled slightly. The barrier held—for now—but the constant impacts from the creatures outside made it clear that it wouldn’t last forever.

Inside, people were already gathering.

Voices overlapped as panic gave way to hurried discussion. No one had clear answers, but everyone was trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Shuu stood near the back, his gaze unfocused as he listened.

Caelis and Rin stayed close to him, both unusually quiet as they watched him instead of the others.

"You feel it too, don’t you? There is something wrong with these monsters."

Caelis said under his breath.

Shuu didn’t respond immediately, and the silence that followed stretched just long enough to make the tension between them more obvious.

He kept his gaze forward, avoiding both Caelis and Rin, but that only made it clearer that something was weighing on him.

Caelis watched him for a few seconds, his expression unreadable as he tried to gauge how much Shuu was holding back. Eventually, he spoke again, his tone calmer but no less direct.

"Do you want to help them?"

The question was simple, but it carried more weight than it seemed.

Shuu hesitated.

His eyes shifted toward the group gathered ahead, where Secretary Ann and the others were already deep in discussion. Their voices overlapped, urgent and strained, as they tried to make sense of a situation none of them fully understood.

"I don’t know. Can I even help them? Or would it make things much worse?"

Shuu admitted quietly.

That was the truth as he saw it.

This was their world, their system, and their responsibility to manage.

Rin clicked his tongue softly, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, but he didn’t push any further. Instead, the three of them moved closer to the group, choosing to listen rather than interrupt.

"This has never happened before. The system doesn’t behave like this."

One of the guild members said, his voice tight with unease.

"That’s assuming we actually understand how the system works. We’ve always just followed it without questioning anything."

Another replied immediately.

Secretary Ann pressed his fingers against his temples, the strain finally showing through his usual composure.

"We rely on the system for everything. But if it can malfunction—or worse, be controlled—then we need to reconsider that trust entirely."

He said, his voice heavy.

Kris leaned against the wall nearby, his arms crossed and his expression dark as he listened.

"So what, we just assume it’s hostile now?"

He asked, his tone edged with frustration.

"No. But we stop assuming it’s on our side."

Secretary Ann replied firmly, lifting his head.

The room fell into a brief, uneasy silence after that.

Shuu listened to all of it, but none of it felt new to him. The doubt, the uncertainty, the fear—it all sounded like something he had already accepted long ago.

He already knew the answer.

The system wasn’t neutral.

A soft beep interrupted his thoughts.

Shuu froze.

It was faint, subtle enough that it could have been mistaken for background noise, but to him, it was unmistakable. More importantly, no one else reacted to it.

Slowly, he lowered his gaze.

A system window appeared in front of him, dimmer than usual, its presence almost hidden as if it had been deliberately concealed from everyone else in the room.

[User Shuu.]

[Location identified.]

[You have limited time to comply.]

[Failure to surrender will result in continued escalation.]

[All consequences will be attributed to your resistance.]

Shuu’s breath caught as he read the message.

The weight of those words felt different from anything the system had shown before. This wasn’t a general announcement meant for everyone.

This was directed at him.

His fingers twitched slightly as his eyes moved over the lines again, as if rereading them might change their meaning.

"...A few hours."

He whispered under his breath.

That was all the time he had been given.

If he didn’t comply, then this situation would only escalate further.

His gaze shifted subtly toward the others in the room.

They were still talking, still trying to analyze the situation and come up with solutions. None of them were aware that the system had already made its decision..

Shuu clenched his jaw, trying to dismiss the message, but the weight of it refused to fade.

If this really was Goddess Astoria’s doing, then she wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted.

And if he was the reason all of this was happening, then there was only one conclusion he could reach.

A few hours passed like that.

The discussion continued without pause, ideas being proposed and rejected in quick succession. Every plan seemed incomplete, every solution temporary at best.

The lack of clear information made it impossible to form a decisive strategy, and the uncertainty only deepened the tension in the room.

Shuu remained quiet the entire time, standing at the edge of the group as if he didn’t fully belong there.

He could not take the silence for much longer and decided to finally leave.

Caelis and Rin exchanged a brief look, both sensing something off about his sudden initiative. But they hesitated, just for a moment, unsure whether to follow or trust his decision.

That hesitation was enough.

Shuu moved quickly through the corridor, his pace faster than usual as his thoughts raced ahead of him. Every second felt heavier now, the countdown in his mind ticking louder with each step.

He didn’t have much time.

If he wanted to stop this, then he had to act before things spiraled any further out of control.

But the moment he turned the corner—

He stopped.

Kaiden was standing there.

His presence filled the space effortlessly, his gaze locking onto Shuu the moment he came into view. There was nothing casual about the way he stood there, nothing accidental about their encounter.

He had been expecting this.

"Where are you going?"

Kaiden asked, his voice calm but edged with something sharper, something that made it clear he already suspected the answer.

Shuu’s heart skipped at the question, but he forced himself to remain composed.

"...Bathroom."

He replied, keeping his tone as natural as possible.

Kaiden didn’t look convinced.

"I’ll come with you."

The response came too quickly, too smoothly, as if he had already decided that would be the answer no matter what Shuu said.

And just like that, Shuu’s path forward was blocked.

A flicker of panic rose in his chest, but he forced it down before it could show on his face.

"...You don’t have to-"

He tried, though even he knew how weak that sounded.

"I do"

Kaiden cut him off, already stepping forward.

There was no room left to argue and Shuu’s opinion did not matter. Kaiden had made his decision and he intended to follow it through.