The opportunity Kiraya had created lasted only a few seconds.
For Ryota, Fayzan, and Ayame, however, those few seconds were everything.
Outside the bunker entrance, the battle continued to shake the mountain passage. The clash of metal echoed between the stone walls, followed by the violent roar of wind whenever Corvina unleashed another attack. Every so often, an explosion from Kiraya's Lionheart sent another tremor through the ground beneath their feet.
Kiraya was keeping the enemy occupied.
That had been the plan from the beginning.
Now it was their turn to move.
Ryota pressed himself against the rocky wall beside the bunker entrance and carefully peeked around the edge. The two guards who had originally been stationed there had already been pulled away by the commotion outside. More players were rushing toward the entrance from deeper inside the bunker, their hurried footsteps growing louder as they responded to the disturbance.
Ryota glanced toward Fayzan.
Fayzan gave him a small nod.
Ayame tightened her grip on her weapon.
They moved.
The three of them slipped through the entrance as quietly as possible, keeping their bodies close to the shadows while the attention of everyone nearby remained focused on the battle outside. They passed through the entrance without drawing a single glance, disappearing into the bunker just as another enormous explosion reverberated through the mountains.
For a brief moment, Ryota looked back.
He could barely see the entrance through the darkness.
Then he turned forward.
They were inside.
And what they found immediately surprised him.
The bunker was far larger than its entrance had suggested.
From the outside, the structure had looked like little more than an abandoned military installation carved directly into the mountain. Inside, however, it stretched far beyond what should have been physically possible. Thick stone walls reinforced with metal beams extended into the darkness, while wooden crates had been stacked against both sides of the corridors.
Old lamps hung from the ceiling, casting everything in a dull yellow glow.
The air smelled of dust, oil, cold stone, and something metallic.
Ryota crouched behind a stack of crates.
Fayzan immediately took position beside him, while Ayame slipped into cover a moment later.
They waited.
Footsteps approached from somewhere deeper inside.
Several voices echoed through the corridor.
Then, suddenly, someone shouted.
"Outside!"
Ryota's eyes widened.
"Lady Corvina is fighting the Lionheart Knight!"
Another voice answered in disbelief.
"What?!"
"She's fighting Kiraya?!"
"Forget this place!"
"Get outside!"
Then another player shouted a command loud enough for the entire corridor to hear.
"Capture her immediately!"
The response was instantaneous.
"Get your weapons!"
"Move!"
"Everyone outside!"
"Don't let the Lionheart Knight escape!"
The bunker erupted into chaos.
Players came rushing through the corridor, pulling weapons from their inventories as they ran. Swords appeared in their hands. Bows were equipped. Spears materialized. Several players nearly collided with one another as they hurried toward the entrance.
Ryota held his breath.
One of them passed so close to the crates that Ryota could have reached out and grabbed his ankle.
He didn't move.
Neither did Fayzan.
Ayame remained completely still, barely even breathing.
More players rushed past.
Then more.
The noise gradually moved toward the entrance until the footsteps became distant.
Within seconds, the corridor that had been packed with players became almost completely empty.
Ryota waited.
One second.
Then another.
He slowly raised his head.
"...That worked."
Fayzan carefully leaned around the crates and inspected the corridor.
There was nobody there.
Ayame finally emerged from hiding and looked toward the bunker entrance.
Her expression immediately became worried.
"Will she be okay?"
Fayzan knew exactly who she meant.
"Kiraya?"
Ayame nodded.
Fayzan quietly exhaled.
"She can take care of herself."
He glanced toward the entrance.
Another explosion echoed through the mountain.
The sound was distant, but the force behind it still made the bunker walls tremble faintly.
"It was her plan," Fayzan continued. "Kiraya knows what she's doing."
Ryota nodded.
He trusted Kiraya as well.
More importantly, he understood exactly what she was doing outside. She had deliberately drawn the enemy away from the bunker so that the three of them could enter without being noticed.
Fayzan turned toward the dark corridor ahead.
"Our main objective is to find Ramos."
His voice became serious.
"Nothing else matters until we locate him."
Ayame nodded.
"Right."
Ryota stood and adjusted his grip on his sword.
"Then let's move."
The three continued deeper into the bunker.
At first, the search seemed straightforward.
The bunker appeared to have been constructed like a military facility. Long corridors branched into different sections, with storage rooms and equipment chambers lining the walls. They passed several rooms filled with crates, followed by a weapon storage area containing racks of swords, spears, shields, and other equipment.
A little farther ahead, they found what appeared to be a dining hall.
Several long tables had been pushed against the walls. Empty plates remained scattered across them, and cups were still sitting where players had apparently left them after their last meal.
The place was clearly being used.
This wasn't an abandoned hideout.
People lived here.
A lot of them.
They continued deeper.
Eventually, they discovered a large room filled with beds.
Dozens of them.
Most were empty, but some still had blankets thrown across them. A few personal belongings had been left beside the beds, further proving that this bunker wasn't simply a temporary hideout.
Ryota stopped and looked around.
"This place is huge."
Fayzan studied the room.
"Much bigger than it looked from outside."
Ayame looked across the rows of beds.
"How many people are staying here?"
"I don't know," Fayzan admitted.
They continued.
Another corridor led to another room.
Then another staircase.
Then another corridor.
The deeper they went, the more complicated the bunker became.
What had initially appeared to be a simple military structure slowly revealed itself to be something much larger.
It was practically an underground settlement.
There were storage rooms, training areas, dining halls, equipment rooms, sleeping quarters, and medical facilities. At one point, they even passed a room that looked like a small command center, complete with maps, tables, chairs, and several large boards covered in writing.
Ryota slowed down.
He looked behind them.
Then ahead.
His expression gradually became more uneasy.
"How far have we gone?"
Fayzan turned toward the corridor they had just traveled through.
"I don't know."
Ryota frowned.
"We've been walking for almost an hour."
Ayame looked at him in surprise.
"An hour?"
Ryota nodded.
"And we're still nowhere near the center."
Fayzan slowly crossed his arms.
"I noticed that too."
He looked upward, studying the ceiling.
"This bunker is much larger than it should be."
Ryota nodded.
"Exactly."
He glanced at the walls.
"When we entered, I thought this was just some underground hideout."
He gestured around them.
"But this..."
Ryota shook his head.
"This is basically a fortress."
Fayzan's expression became more serious.
"And I have a bad feeling about it."
Ayame looked between the two of them.
"What kind of bad feeling?"
Fayzan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked farther down the empty corridor.
"I don't know."
His voice became quieter.
"That's what bothers me."
Ryota's expression tightened.
Fayzan continued.
"We haven't encountered enough people."
Ayame blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"We know there are a lot of players here."
Fayzan gestured toward the direction they had come from.
"Yet after the first group left to fight Kiraya, we've barely seen anyone."
Ryota's eyes narrowed.
"You're right."
Fayzan looked around the empty hallway.
"It's almost like they're letting us walk deeper."
The three fell silent.
The thought hadn't occurred to Ryota before.
Now that Fayzan had said it, however, the entire bunker felt different.
The silence suddenly seemed unnatural.
The corridors were too empty.
The rooms were too quiet.
Even the faint hum of the old lamps seemed louder than before.
It felt as though the bunker itself were waiting for them to continue.
Ryota slowly reached for his sword.
"Then we stay alert."
Fayzan nodded.
Ayame looked down at her hands.
Then, suddenly, her expression brightened.
"I have an idea."
Ryota glanced toward her.
"What?"
Ayame smiled.
"We don't have to search everything ourselves."
She raised one hand.
A faint silver-blue glow appeared around her fingers.
Ryota immediately recognized the beginning of a skill activation.
Ayame whispered the skill's name.
[Tamer Skill: Moonstone Mice]
The glow intensified.
Several tiny figures began appearing around her feet.
One.
Then two.
Then three.
More continued to appear.
Within seconds, dozens of tiny mice had gathered around Ayame.
Their bodies were made of translucent moonstone, giving them a pale silver-blue appearance beneath the bunker lights. Their tiny eyes glowed faintly as they looked up at their master.
Ryota stared at them.
"...You can summon mice?"
Ayame smiled proudly.
"Moonstone Mice."
Fayzan crouched down.
The tiny creatures immediately gathered around his boots, sniffing curiously at his equipment.
"They're adorable."
Ryota looked at the growing swarm.
"Are they useful?"
Ayame nodded.
"Very."
She crouched beside the creatures and lowered her voice.
"I need you to scout."
The mice immediately became attentive.
"Look through every vent."
"Every hole."
"Every crack in the walls."
"Search for anything unusual."
Ayame pointed farther down the corridor.
"Especially prisons. Cells. Hidden chambers. Anywhere someone could be tied up or held captive."
The mice squeaked softly.
Ayame smiled.
"If you find Ramos..."
She paused.
"Come back and tell me."
The mice immediately scattered.
Some rushed down the corridor while others disappeared beneath doors. Several squeezed through narrow cracks between the stone walls, while a few climbed onto exposed pipes before vanishing into ventilation shafts.
Within moments, the entire mischief had spread throughout the bunker.
Ryota watched them disappear in different directions.
"That's actually really useful."
Ayame nodded.
"They're not strong."
She watched one of the mice disappear through a small hole in the wall.
"But they're excellent scouts."
Fayzan stood.
"Then let's keep moving."
They continued deeper into the bunker.
The moonstone mice explored ahead of them, slipping into places that the three players couldn't reach. Every few minutes, one would emerge from a crack, look toward Ayame, and then disappear again after receiving another silent command.
The system allowed Ayame to maintain a mental connection with them.
She couldn't see everything they saw, and the connection wasn't clear enough to give her a perfect picture of their surroundings. Still, she could sense their general movements and receive enough information to understand the bunker from several different directions.
Dozens of tiny creatures were now exploring sections of the facility that the three players couldn't physically reach.
It should have made the search easier.
Instead, the bunker seemed to become even stranger.
They passed another corridor.
Then another.
No prisoners.
No cells.
No Ramos.
Nothing.
Ryota's uneasiness continued to grow.
"Anything?"
Ayame shook her head.
"Not yet."
Fayzan looked behind them.
"Keep moving."
They continued.
Another hallway.
Another intersection.
Another empty room.
The moonstone mice continued crawling through vents and cracks, but none had found anything useful.
Ryota walked slightly ahead.
Fayzan stayed behind him and Ayame, keeping watch over their rear.
Everything seemed normal.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
Then Ryota suddenly stopped.
Ayame stopped with him.
Fayzan didn't.
Ryota looked over his shoulder.
"...Fayzan?"
There was no answer.
Ryota frowned.
He turned around completely.
Fayzan was gone.
The corridor behind them was empty.
Ryota's expression immediately hardened.
"Fayzan?"
Nothing.
Ayame looked around in confusion.
"He was just there."
Ryota nodded.
"I know."
He stared down the corridor.
There was nowhere for Fayzan to go.
No doors had opened.
No footsteps had echoed.
No movement had passed them.
Fayzan had simply disappeared.
Ryota slowly drew his sword.
"Stay behind me."
Ayame immediately moved closer.
Ryota's eyes scanned every direction.
"Fayzan was right behind us."
He tightened his grip.
"Seconds ago."
Ayame nodded nervously.
"Maybe he went ahead?"
"No."
Ryota's answer was immediate.
"I would've heard him."
The corridor remained silent.
Too silent.
Ryota slowly stepped backward until he was standing directly in front of Ayame.
"Stay close."
Ayame nodded.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Ryota continued watching the corridor.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No sign of Fayzan.
Then Ayame suddenly looked toward something beside them.
Her eyes widened.
"Ryota."
He immediately looked ahead.
"What?"
Ayame's voice became uncertain.
"There's some—"
Ryota continued scanning the corridor.
"Some what?"
There was no answer.
Ryota's brow furrowed.
"Ayame?"
Silence.
He turned his head slightly.
"Ayame?"
Nothing.
His expression changed.
Ryota spun around.
Ayame was gone.
The space behind him was empty.
His eyes widened.
"...Ayame?"
No response.
Ryota slowly turned in a complete circle.
The corridor remained exactly as it had been.
Stone walls.
Metal beams.
Dim yellow lamps.
Nothing else.
No Fayzan.
No Ayame.
Ryota's grip tightened around his sword.
His heartbeat began pounding in his ears.
This wasn't normal.
He had been watching the corridor.
He had been standing directly in front of Ayame.
And somehow, she had disappeared without making a sound.
There had been no flash of magic.
No activation sound.
No footsteps.
No struggle.
Nothing.
She had simply vanished.
Ryota slowly raised his sword.
"Show yourself."
His voice echoed through the bunker.
The sound traveled down the empty corridors before gradually fading into silence.
No one answered.
Ryota took another cautious step.
Then a voice suddenly echoed from around the corner.
"There's an intruder inside!"
Ryota froze.
Another voice immediately answered.
"He's here!"
"Surround him!"
Footsteps erupted from multiple directions.
Ryota spun toward the nearest corridor.
Players emerged from the shadows.
One.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
More appeared behind them.
Weapons were already drawn.
Swords.
Spears.
Bows.
Magic staffs.
The corridors behind Ryota began filling with armed players.
The path ahead was blocked.
The path behind him was blocked.
Players emerged from side passages as well, cutting off every possible route of escape.
Ryota slowly backed toward the center of the corridor.
His eyes narrowed.
"...So that's how it is."
The players continued surrounding him.
One of them raised his sword.
"Don't let him escape!"
Another shouted,
"Take him alive!"
Ryota glanced toward the empty space where Ayame had disappeared.
Then he looked toward the corridor where Fayzan had vanished.
His expression became colder.
Something was wrong with this bunker.
Something very wrong.
They hadn't simply been separated.
Someone—or something—had taken them.
And now Ryota was alone.
Surrounded.
He lowered his stance and brought his sword forward.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Alright."
His eyes hardened.
"If that's how you want to play..."
He shifted his weight onto his front foot.
"...then come and get me."
The players surged forward.
And deep within the bunker, somewhere Ryota could no longer see, two separate corridors remained completely silent.
There were no footprints.
No signs of a struggle.
No trace of Fayzan.
No trace of Ayame.
Only the faint silver-blue glow of several moonstone mice continued moving through the ventilation shafts.
They crawled through the darkness, following the commands of their missing master, completely unaware that Ayame was no longer where they had left her.
The bunker had swallowed them.
And Ryota was next.