The dark water made it incredibly difficult for Yul to see anything around him. Before he jumped into the pond, he hadn't thought about what might be lurking in its murky depths. Yet, now, in the chilling embrace of the abyss, it was hard not to have a moment of sobering clarity, considering what might happen to him if another demon awaited. All he could focus on was the key that would allow him to enter No Man's Land. The only light Yul saw in front of him was the glowing beacon at the bottom of the pond. When the first genuine clue he'd gotten in fifteen days was finally within reach, it was impossible to resist diving for it.
Yul reached the shining point of light. It appeared to be a luminous stone nestled atop a huge seamount. He tried to pull the stone free but was unsuccessful, and he knew his air was rapidly running out. He drew his dagger from his belt and began to cut around the base of the seamount where the stone was embedded. He tried to pull the stone out again, but something seemed to be holding it down. He continued to hack with his knife at whatever secured the stone. Finally, he grasped the stone. Knowing he would soon be out of breath, he had to reach the surface before he drowned.
He began to swim upwards, but suddenly something grabbed his left leg. He shone the bright stone at his feet, and saw a naked, pale man, gaunt and grinning, swimming towards him. Terror seized him, and he quickly kicked his leg free from the man's grasp. Then, hundreds of similar pales, ghostly figures began to swim around him. He heard voices, ethereal and unsettling, calling to him, and he knew their intention was to drown him. Hundreds of cold, skeletal hands grabbed him, pulling him deeper into the dark pond.
"Stay down here with us." "Come and live with us." "Stay with us." "It's so fun down here."
Yul struggled desperately, fighting to free himself from the hands that pulled him deeper into the pond. He knew that if he did not break free from their grasp, he would soon drown.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Hajime began to worry. Yul had been swimming in the depths of that dark abyss for at least six minutes. He thought: The average person can only hold their breath for one to three minutes at most. Hajime himself could only hold his breath underwater for less than forty-five seconds. Now, he regretted not trying to stop Yul from diving into the unknown.
He turned his head to look at Michio, but his gaze fell upon the dead, half-female, half-snake body of Chun. Seeing the snake's tail made him incredibly sick, and he suddenly vomited on the edge of the pond.
Michio quickly gave way to Hajime, his brow furrowed with concern. "Are you unwell?" he asked.
Hajime wiped his mouth, still feeling queasy. "I hate snakes," he muttered.
"You vomit because you hate snakes, not because you feel unwell?" Michio clarified, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Hajime nodded, a disgusted shudder running through him.
"Then why weren't you afraid of the snake when we were fighting?" Michio pressed, genuinely curious.
"I was worried about you two," Hajime explained, "so I didn't have time to think about the grossness of the snake's scales." He took three steps towards the pond, but Michio grabbed his upper left arm. "Yul has been gone too long."
Michio smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Yul can hold his breath underwater for as long as it takes to burn one incense stick."
Hajime looked at Michio, his eyes wide with surprise. "You are kidding me?"
"No, I'm not," Michio replied, shaking his head. "When he was training to become a palace guard, those people received very harsh and heavy training. Underwater breath-holding is a core requirement of the palace guards. Abrafo's breath-holding time is much longer than that of Yul."
Hajime looked at the middle-aged monk, intrigued. "What about you?"
Michio smiled sheepishly, raising two fingers.
"Your breath-holding ability is twice that of Abrafo?" Hajime asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice.
Michio shook his head, a wry grin spreading across his face. "No… I can hold my breath for twenty counts."
Hajime burst out laughing, a genuine, booming sound that echoed through the trees. "I thought the men of this universe were immortal! I think I was wrong to rate you so highly!" He continued to laugh, but deep down, a knot of worry remained, and he kept thinking, when will Yul come out from under the surface?
The large wolf-beast, its neck still bleeding from Abrafo's earlier attack, regarded him with a low growl. Saliva dripped from the corner of its mouth, but it showed no sign of weakness or flinching. The beast began to advance, one slow, deliberate step at a time, moving its paw towards Abrafo.
Abrafo knew that if he continued to retreat towards U-ri, it would show the beast that he was the weaker alpha. So, he stood his ground, staring fiercely at the approaching creature. Abrafo smirked. He knew that these were not ordinary beasts; they could understand human language.
"Come closer," Abrafo sneered, his voice laced with defiance, "and I'll cut your throat." He raised his knife to his chest, ready to stab the beast to death if it dared to pounce. He twisted his toes desperately, only managing to regain about fifty percent of the strength in his left leg. He knew that if he didn't find a way to get out quickly, if the rest of the wolves decided to come back, he would definitely be their dinner tonight.
The beast, sensing it couldn't defeat Abrafo alone due to the wound on its neck, raised its head and let out a chilling howl.
Hajime and Michio looked at each other. "U-ri," they both said at once, realizing the call was for him.
Hajime looked at the dark pond, torn. He wanted to help U-ri, but at the same time, he was worried about Yul. He looked into the pond and yelled, "Yul!" He turned to Michio. "You go help him first. I'll wait for Yul." Hajime took out two wooden wolf figures and threw them on the ground. He looked at one of the transformed wolves. "Take him down," he commanded.
The wolf lay down obediently, and Michio climbed onto its back. "See you on the road!" he called out as the wolf rushed down the hill.
Hajime shouted from behind, "Be careful!" He watched Michio disappear into the dense forest, then turned back to the pond, still seeing no sign of Yul.
Hajime looked back at Chun's deceased body. "I don't want to possess this body," he muttered, frowning. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, Chun's body sat up. She turned her head and looked at Hajime, who stood not far away, with one of Hajime's transformed wolves guarding him. She looked at the wolf and commanded, "Guard my body." Then, Chun's reanimated body slipped hurriedly into the pond.
Abrafo watched the rest of the wolf pack emerge from the road, their eyes all fixed on him. He knew that no matter how powerful he was, he was no match for ten wolves. He began to move quickly, albeit slowly, towards the bangle's protective circle.
As Abrafo slowly inched his butt away, the wounded wolf, knowing its siblings had its back, rushed towards him and bit deeply into Abrafo's left arm.
Abrafo was no less aggressive than the wolf itself. Although the wolf had bitten his arm, he knew that this first fight would be crucial, as it would determine whether he was a better alpha than his opponent. He stabbed the wolf's throat, which only made the wolf's grip tighten, its teeth digging deeper into his flesh. But he didn't stop there. He continued to stab the wolf, again and again.
U-ri quickly put down his book, suddenly realizing that the person in front of him might be the real Abrafo. "Abrafo…" he murmured, disbelief in his voice.
"U-ri, you old fool! Don't come out!" Abrafo yelled, fighting furiously.
"I'm sorry," U-ri said, "Hajime told me not to go out of the protection of the bangle."
"Don't come out now! There is no point!" Abrafo shouted, ignoring U-ri's explanation and continuing to stab the wolf.
Abrafo didn't know how many times he had stabbed the wolf, but as the wolf's head finally severed from its body, he realized that his left leg had regained all its strength. He stood up slowly, a gasp of pain and relief escaping him.
"Abrafo, quickly walk into the bangle!" U-ri shouted.
As soon as U-ri finished speaking, two more wolves pounced on Abrafo. U-ri looked around desperately, then grabbed Michio's discarded spear. With a burst of unexpected speed, U-ri rushed out of the bangle's protection, stabbing one wolf deeply in the stomach. He kicked another wolf in the stomach, sending it reeling, and the wolf immediately turned its attention to him. Seizing the opening, Abrafo leaped forward and plunged his knife deep into the wolf's head, causing its instant death.
U-ri helped Abrafo up, then turned to look at where the protective bangle had been, only to realize that their containment shells were gone.
"This is bad," he said, looking at Abrafo, a grim realization dawning. "No wonder Hajime told me not to go out of the circle."
Abrafo snatched the spear from U-ri's hand. "I told you not to come out," he snarled.
"I wouldn't watch you die without helping you," U-ri replied, his voice firm. "What kind of person would I be if I did that…?"
The wolves snarled and growled at Abrafo and U-ri, all ready to attack the two men.
"What are we going to do now?" U-ri asked, his gaze sweeping over the snarling pack.
"Well," Abrafo said, a wry, defeated smile on his face, "it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'm sure we'll be crushed and torn apart by these beasts next."
The leader of the wolf pack stepped forward, its gaze piercing Abrafo and U-ri. "You dare to step into my lair…" he growled sternly, his voice a guttural rumble. "Even the guardian of this mountain dares does not step into my lair. You can come here, but you can never get out." He paused, then turned to look at the pack of wolves standing behind him. "Children, your dinner is right in front of you… go and claim it." He let out an angry, commanding growl at Abrafo and U-ri, signaling the imminent attack.