Akai Shuichi quickly saw through it: Uzo had suddenly vanished because he had stepped behind this strangely textured board—like a ninja concealing himself with camouflage cloth that blended into the surroundings.
And the board was only so large. As long as they watched both sides, it would become a dead end within a dead end...
"..."
The distance was not far. In the blink of an eye, Akai Shuichi had rushed to the wall. He ducked and rolled, preventing Uzo from getting the first shot at ambushing him.
However, the moment he shifted position, Akai Shuichi discovered that his bad premonition had come true: there was nothing behind the board.
No figure, no Uzo, no hidden passage, and no ladder.
Only three heads suddenly popped up over the wall. Akai Shuichi swept his gaze over them and immediately recognized his three colleagues. Frowning, he asked, "Did anyone climb over the wall just now?"
"No. We've been watching the whole time and didn't see anyone." The three answered in unison. Then they looked down and suddenly said in surprise, "Why is there an oil painting here?"
"An oil painting?"
Akai Shuichi froze, belatedly realizing something.
He warily scanned the area again, then went behind the board and stomped hard on the ground, confirming that it was solid. He let out a silent sigh, temporarily abandoning the search for that figure and turning his attention to the man-high panel.
Then he discovered, to his astonishment, that the back of this "board" was actually a huge oil painting.
The entire painting was gloomy and dark, depicting a lonely moon over the sea. The waves churned, the moon was enormous, and the whole thing carried an eerie sense of oppression.
At the center of the painting, where the moon touched the sea, one would