Due to their unique location, it could be said that the nearest household within the surroundings of the abandoned school was at least two hundred meters away; hence, no one attempted to seek help outside.
With the gruesome death of the thug and it being unknown if the killer was still around, no one in their right mind would be willing to risk their life to go out, especially at this kind of hour.
Who knows if they become the second target?
Although life was too hard, everyone wouldn't surely risk their safety mindlessly.
Cra-crack~
As Naib was talking to the two beside him while secretly scanning all the people present in the surroundings, trying to discern if the killer was among them, a sudden sight in the corner of his eyes caught his attention.
Not far away, in the direction of the shrine, Naib noticed that the statue of the infant was missing!
Other than the blood that spilled through the edges of the shrine and cracks that unknowingly appeared on the platform, the statue of the infant was nowhere to be found! Instantly making Naib's blood turn cold and pupils enlarge in size in the process.
It's worth mentioning that, in the past 5 years of their appearance, no one had managed to damage the shrine or take the statue within, even after using various methods; hence, the sudden disappearance of the statue within greatly alarmed him.
Even without thinking, he knew that something big would happen when the statue in the shrine vanished.
"Nothing would happen, right? The great darkness wouldn't happen again, right?'
Muttering deep within himself, Naib unconsciously began approaching the shrine location while massaging his eyes, hoping that he was simply hallucinating due to his lack of sleep.
Unfortunately, his fears really came to reality. Upon entering the hut where the shrine is located, the statue of the infant really couldn't be found anywhere; instead, a scene that sent a shiver down his spine greeted him.
There, on the concrete floor, a bloody, long intestine lay behind the shrine. And on the innards' edges, Naib notices particular bite marks and missing parts. Clearly, someone was feasting on the flesh earlier.
Despite lacking knowledge regarding animal species, he knew that the bite marks were vastly different from the animals he had seen so far; instead, the bite marks had a resemblance to those of humans...
In fact, with the size of the bite marks, Naib could assume that the one who nibbled the flesh earlier was a child!
Just imagining the scene, Naib felt that he was about to throw up at any time.
"No, I'm probably overthinking things. The great darkness is already over. Even though the prices of the food were high, it's still not enough to make people extreme and turn cannibalistic for sustenance.
"Right, I'm probably overthinking it."
...
At the same time, while Naib's mind was filled with countless thoughts, inside the abandoned building, where light was nowhere to be found, a pair of crimson eyes could be seen eyeing a sleeping child.
The unknown being's lips, which were crimson as blood, curled upward in pure hatred and hunger as it slowly approached the slumbering being.
Arriving in front of the slumbering child, the unknown being then released a low, disturbing sound, raising its left hand filled with sharp nails that were akin to knives before slashing it toward the child... Ending a life in an instant.
...
Ding!
[ The statue of "Tsanak" has already been awakened, and the trial for survival has already started.
Goal: Survive until the day arrives or kill the "Tsanak".
Trial Difficulty: Mid-F Grade.
Number of Participants: 20/22 ]
Outside the building, near the shrine, after the unknown entity killed the child, all of the people present simultaneously heard a monotonous voice speaking inside their heads, followed by the mysterious screen appearing in front of them.
The thin panel, containing all of the words that the mysterious person just uttered right now, greeted them, causing them to halt in pure confusion, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
"What is this screen? Can you all see what I am seeing? Did I finally develop a mental illness?"
"Amazing, I have seen this thing in the novel I've read in the past."
"What the f*ck is going on!?"
Soon, after regaining their senses, everyone around, excluding Ms. Hazel, who was still weeping on the ground, exploded with discussion; the corpse on the ground seemed to have been forgotten as everyone stared at the empty void with bewilderment.
Some even tried to touch the screen in front of them, but only in vain, as if the screen only existed within their minds.
While everyone was discussing passionately, three people in the crowd, instead of showing curiosity, showed gloomy looks on their faces instead, Naib included.
Although the sudden appearance of the panel surprised him, the thing that concerned him the most was the information it contained.
"Tsanak? Survive until the daytime arrived? What the heck is going on!?
"Not good, I need to find Jerome."
Unbeknownst if the information that the screen held contained any truths; Naib still couldn't help but feel unease within his heart; hence, without further ado, he immediately dashed toward the direction of the staircase, planning to group up with Jerome, causing the crowd around to be startled awake.
"Shit, I hope this is all false."
Seeing Naib rushing toward the abandoned building with all of his might, some people finally began comprehending the text that the panel contained, causing most of them to curse outwardly.
While others, understanding the severity of the situation, also rushed toward the building, planning to regroup with their family members.
...
"Jerome, Jerome, let's go! This place is no longer safe."
Arriving at his room, Naib immediately saw Jerome, who was staring at the void in a daze.
"Naib, can you see this thing in front of me?" Hearing Naib's voice, instead of being startled, Jerome's first response was to ask the latter about the appearance of the panel.
"Yes, all of the people in the compound saw a similar thing. Let's go; you should have read the text it contains, right? We need to get out of this place ASAP!"
Not wasting any time, Naib hurriedly dragged the man before rushing toward the staircase, planning to get out of this building as soon as possible.