Fear, panic, despair, terror.
His body temperature plummeted, his body shook uncontrollably, the color drained from his arms, and even his soul seemed to tremble.
Facing the door only ten steps away, both he and Miss Louisa sensed it. In the profound darkness behind them, something was watching them.
That was darkness. That was chaos. That was a deep ocean. That was... an evil god.
The two of them almost simultaneously understood the situation completely. The uncontrolled Fish Scale Disease had attracted an unknown evil god. It had not descended, but it was watching this place at this moment, causing the environment to take on abnormal properties.
This was not actually dangerous. As long as they left the increasingly warped area under its gaze, they would be safe.
The golden marks on Shade's body suddenly erupted, and the gaze from a higher dimension slowly vanished. Trembling, Miss Louisa nearly collapsed, but Shade caught her again.
"Quick, go."
In her emerald-green eyes was reflected Shade, as though golden flames were burning across his body. Shade nodded and supported her as they moved forward.
But after that terrifying gaze departed, the door before them actually began to close bit by bit.
"Sorry."
After softly apologizing, Shade directly picked Miss Louisa up. But even so, that door still seemed likely to close before they reached it.
"Shade, put me down. Save yourself."
A small figure appeared before the door. The fifth fishman, the small and thin one who had never appeared before, braced the door open, allowing Shade and Miss Louisa to reach it in time. They both saw the figure. Fragments of the clothes it had worn last night still clung to its body, and the pair of shoes still remained on its legs—the only part of it that was still human.