This escape mission was divided into three main places, while Ruminas and Achlys were having their moments of suffocating fighting and tension, on the other side, there were two figures hiding very well in a dark corner.
"How long are you going to hide?" Renji asked softly.
Aoi was extremely focused on the front, when she heard the question she slightly regained her composure.
"By the time those guys leave, we've already gotten the remaining components anyway, the next thing is to just go to the ship and fill them up, but what's the rush? Those two haven't returned yet, wouldn't it be better to wait for them to arrive and then leave together?"
Aoi spoke with great righteousness, but within seconds, Renji exposed her true thoughts.
"Are you planning to wait for them to come back so they can protect you? Are you afraid that I won't be able to protect you alone?"
Aoi immediately became speechless.
After a few hesitations, she said, "Everyone wants to survive. If we all go together, then of course the chances of survival will increase. Besides, who says I can't do anything? My magic might even be stronger than yours!"
Renji sneered and said, "Then why don't you go and deal with them?"
"Using magic requires chanting! Are you sure you can protect me during that time? If we go out now, we'll both die."
Renji began to feel that Aoi had a point so he stopped arguing and the two returned to a silent and highly alert atmosphere.
"Hey, do you think Ruminas will survive? I'm suddenly worried about her," Aoi said, her hand gripping the staff even tighter in worry.
"That girl is much stronger than you, there's no need to worry so much," Renji said, but he was just as worried inside.
"According to the time calculation, those two should have returned by now, right?!" Aoi was getting more and more impatient.
"Calm down, not everything can go smoothly, otherwise this mission wouldn't need ten people to do it!"
Aoi sighed.
"I know but I can't help but worry, Ruminas is still very young, she only looks like a high school student so if something happens to her it would be really regrettable"
"Ha, it's rare to see you worry about someone so much." Renji chuckled but Aoi didn't reply.
Renji suddenly remembered something so he kept quiet.
It was not until a while later that he said: "But why don't you see that you're worried about that young man? He's no less dangerous."
"Tsk, I don't like cold people," Aoi said with a proud face.
"But that girl doesn't talk much, she mostly clings to people," Renji said.
"That's different! She's a girl so it's normal for her to be shy, and besides, she's so beautiful, it's worth ignoring."
"But that young man is handsome, isn't he?" Renji scratched his head.
"Why are you asking so many questions? You're in the mood to gossip in such an emergency!?" Aoi turned to speak, trying to keep her voice as low as possible but still making a few small noises.
The nearby monsters let out a few growls, forcing the two of them to quickly retreat deeper, holding their breath as they examined the situation.
After a while, seeing nothing happened, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, there are still many places over there, why do you keep bumping into me?" Aoi said softly.
"Are you delusional? I've been a long way from you," Renji replied immediately.
"But you clearly touched my right hand , it was so itchy, why did your hand suddenly become cold? Are you that scared?" Aoi asked.
But Renji did not reply.
"What's up?"
When Aoi turned around, she saw the pale face of her companion.
"What's wrong? Are you really that scared?" Aoi asked.
After a long while, Renji stammered, "Aoi… I've been on your left side all this time…!"
"Huh!?"
Aoi suddently froze in place, her heart almost stopping.
The surrounding air suddenly became so heavy that it was difficult to breathe. Aoi felt a qill run down her spine as she realized that the thing that had just touched her hand… wasn't Renji.
She swallowed hard, stiffly turning her head to look down at her right arm.
A jet black, slender hand covered with bruises was gently placed on the back of her hand.
Aoi wanted to scream, but her throat felt choked, unable to make any sound.
The other hand moved slightly, its skinny fingers crawling up along her arm, making Aoi's skin crawl, but she still didn't dare do anything for fear that the creature would get angry and stab her.
"Is human skin this smooth these days?" A soft voice rang out, it was a woman's.
At this moment, Aoi could no longer bear this goosebumps feeling so she immediately shook off her other arm and rushed towards Renji.
"Save me!" Aoi screamed.
"Be quiet, you want monsters to come huh!" Renji was also very scared, but he still tried to calm himself and Aoi down.
After Aoi jumped away, he could clearly see the creature. It had a humanoid shape, but its skin was either black or completely peeled off. Its figure resembled that of a woman, its long hair was still quite smooth behind, and its face was covered by a layer of cloth.
It squatted there, continuing to look at the two people in fear without any intention of attacking.
After the panic, Aoi gradually regained her composure. She turned her head slightly to look back, but because she was in a half-sitting, half-lying position, her vision was a bit lower and she accidentally caught a glimpse of the woman's face behind the cloth.
Aoi didn't scream but she fainted directly.
"How did someone with such a weak mentality survive until now?" The woman said, her voice still a bit funny.
"Who… are you…?" Renji asked, stuttering.
"A person forced to work overtime," the woman replied. "But if she faints, how can I work? Hurry up and wake her up… I want to go home and relax."
The woman's attitude was so leisurely that it made Renji feel less scared, but his vigilance did not decrease, especially when Aoi had fainted and he was the only one left.
Renji took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He looked at the strange woman before him, not knowing whether to see her as an enemy or… something else.
"…You said work? What do you mean?" Renji asked, trying to stall for time.
The woman tilted her head slightly, the cloth covering her face swaying slightly, but still not revealing the face underneath.
"Let's get to work, I don't have time to scare people." She shook her finger, as if she was reproaqing. "So, are you going to wake her up?"
Renji looked at Aoi who was still unconscious on the ground. Part of him said that this was a good opportunity to leave quickly, but the other part warned that if he left Aoi alone, he would never be able to forgive himself.
"…Wait, you said work, so what is your job?" Renji continued to ask.
The woman was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Do you really want to know?"
Renji swallowed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer, but for the sake of clarity for this new visitor, he nodded.
"Then answer me this one question… Do I look pretty?" As soon as the woman asked that question, the playful attitude disappeared, replaced by a cold feeling that enveloped everything.
Renji's heart immediately rang with a loud alarm, he didn't think the next question would be and he didn't know how to answer because he couldn't see the woman's face.
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind telling him to say yes because women like to be complimented on their beauty, but at the same time, another thought told him no because women don't like lies and they can tell right away if he's lying.
But no matter what the answer was, Renji still felt there was a trap here, no matter which one he chose, the possibility of death could come immediately.
"What is it? Didn't you want to know? Answer me quickly," the woman said, accompanied by a soft, ghostly laugh.
Those thoughts in Renji's head became more intense and by now he was sure that something strange was trying to lure him into answering that question. Renji tried to calm himself down and remained silent.
"Can I… not answer?" Renji asked.
"No, normally if I met a man, they would have been killed immediately, but right now I'm bored so giving you a chance to answer is already your luck."
Renji's forehead broke out in even more sweat.
Just then, Aoi slowly opened her eyes.
Aoi blinked a few times, her mind still hazy after passing out. When she saw Renji standing there with a tense expression on his face, and the strange woman staring at him expectantly, she quickly realized that the situation was not good at all.
"…What's going on?" Aoi muttered, still a bit confused.
The woman remained standing, her head tilted slightly to one side as if assessing Renji. "Still no answer?" she said softly. "I don't like people who hesitate."
Renji gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't just answer carelessly.
"Oh, you're awake, then join in," the woman repeated her question.
Just as the tension in the air reached its peak, Aoi suddenly realized something—
"Wait… this question… I've heard it somewhere before…!" She thought to herself.
A memory flashed through her mind. It was an urban legend she'd read about before—a spirit asked "Am I beautiful?" , and whether the answer was yes or no , the person would die.
But if you want to live… you have to find the right answer.
Aoi took a deep breath, trying to calm down, then suddenly spoke: "Sorry, I can't see your face, so I can't judge."
The woman turned to look at Aoi, her veil fluttering slightly.
"…OH?"
Renji glared at her.
Aoi felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, but she still tried to keep her voice as calm as possible: "If I could see, then I could answer honestly. But right now I can't see, so I don't dare to speak carelessly."
The woman was silent for a long time. The air around her was still cold, tense to the point of making it difficult to breathe.
Then suddenly, she giggled and reached out to lightly touch the veil, but did not pull it down.
"Alright. Consider you two passed this time."
Renji and Aoi both breathed a sigh of relief, but still did not dare to let down their guard.
The woman took a step back, her voice still gentle but full of meaning: "Remember, the answer does not always lie in the two choices given."
After saying that, she turned and walked away, her figure gradually disappearing into the darkness. Before leaving completely, she whispered: "I didn't expect to waste so much time on two chickens…"