"Draw a Circle to Imprison."
Xue Tingtao's arrival set more than the revolving door in motion. It also stirred a situation that had grown stagnant.
He had clearly come prepared. The instant he entered, before he even had time to take in the scene, he activated his Sin Object.
The worn, antique map unfurled flat across his palm. A mysterious aura swept in with the cold wind from outside, entering the reception area that had seemed beyond saving.
Under the effects of Draw a Circle to Imprison, the pitch-black ghost hole briefly froze. It stopped expanding, yet continued to contract slowly, as though afraid that certain secrets hidden within it would be exposed.
At the same time, the muscles of Ruru's Mother's stiff, deathly pale face began twitching grotesquely as it stood above the ghost hole. Its features gradually shifted out of place, and even its limbs trembled slightly.
It was as though the mounting chaos had triggered an unexpected change in it as well.
Only then did Xue Tingtao truly see the Major Event unfolding before his eyes.
One glance was enough to send tremors through his entire body. Fear, both instinctive and learned, swept over him once more, making the hand holding the map go weak against his will.
He was facing Ruru's Mother alone, a being that had served as the Root Ghost in multiple Manager Missions. Despite having braced himself extensively beforehand, when the moment actually came, he could not suppress the instinct ingrained in his bones.
"Tick, tock..."
The sound of a clock ticking came from deep within the dark ghost hole, faintly audible, yet almost like an illusion.
At this critical moment, time slowed to less than a tenth of its normal pace once again, taking the event at 8:30 p.m. into yet another