The bus carrying the duelists slowly drove into a road dappled with tree shadows in the morning light. Tall, cold-climate trees lined both sides, radiating a bone-chilling chill in the early breeze.
The yellow bus entered thick fog. The damp morning mist grew denser and denser, slipping through the gaps in the windows and into the bus. Once the interior was filled with fog as well, they suddenly realized that the furnishings inside had changed.
The vehicle that entered the fog had been an ordinary bus common in rural America, but the one that emerged was a stretched luxury limousine. They had gone from sitting forward-facing to sitting opposite one another on the limousine's sofas.
No one moved, because they saw a living driver in the driver's seat.
"There is food and alcohol in the refrigerator beside the sofas. Please help yourselves, honored guests. Make sure to get yourselves into proper condition. The Nihrelet Family awaits your arrival."
The two Batmen wore remarkably identical expressions, both narrowing their eyes slightly with the corners of their mouths turned down. Clearly, countless speculations about the situation had already flashed through their minds.
But neither spoke to the other, because the driver's seat of this limousine was not separated by a soundproof partition. Before they understood the exact circumstances, it was best not to reveal that they were outsiders.
The driver's brief words offered very limited information. All they knew was that they seemed to be guests of a family called the Nihrelets and were currently on their way to the family estate. It appeared that the setting for this game would be an aristocratic manor.
The two Batmen happened to be sitting opposite each other, so they exchanged a glance. In just a few seconds of eye contact, they conveyed an enormous