The One Who Disappeared

The tunnel was pitch-black. Fortunately, Senju Kyogawa's flames were powerful enough to keep the three of them from stumbling around blind.

"The smell of blood is really strong here..." said Senju Chenghe, the only one who could smell anything besides the strange fragrance.

When Senju Chenghe entered the tunnel, the first thing he smelled was the stale, musty odor of dust and decay that had built up from a long lack of airflow. As they went deeper, he could clearly make out a faint smell of blood, mixed with the stench of something burnt—and even the odor of rotting corpses.

And the farther they went, the more uneasy Senju Chenghe felt. It was a powerful, overwhelming sense of unease. His heart began to race against his will, and a sheen of cold sweat appeared at his temples.

"This tunnel is too long," Madara said.

They had been walking for several minutes, yet there was still no sign of reaching the end. Even when they shone the flames ahead, all they could see was an inky blackness, like a bottomless pit stretching into the abyss.

Madara's muscles were taut, clearly ready for battle at any moment. His sharp, eagle-bright eyes were fixed on the darkness ahead, his brows slightly furrowed and his teeth clenched tight.

Senju Kyogawa, who had been fairly relaxed before, began to feel tense as the atmosphere got to him.

[System, have you detected anything?] Senju Kyogawa quietly asked the system in his mind, hoping it could offer some help.

A few seconds later, the system replied:

[Host, I sense a strong force of causality here. Perhaps the cause of the worlds crossing is somewhere in this place.]

[Master, I sense the presence of a space-time rift here. Perhaps I can use my space-time abilities to help you fight the enemy.] Ugly Monster, who had been sitting obediently on Senju Kyogawa's shoulder, suddenly spoke.

"Haah~ haah~ haah~" The sound rang out through the hollow, silent tunnel. Startled by the eerie noise, Senju Chenghe and Madara whipped around to stare at the one who had made it—Ugly Monster.

[Master, why are they both staring at me?] Ugly Monster was startled by their gaze, and his tail smacked Senju Kyogawa on the cheek with a "pa!"

A red mark appeared on Senju Kyogawa's cheek where the tail had struck. He rubbed it, then explained to Ugly Monster in his mind:

[They can't understand you.]

Ugly Monster's strange voice had put Madara and Senju Chenghe on edge, but when they realized it was a false alarm, the tense atmosphere eased a little.

The three of them continued exploring the tunnel.

At last, they reached the bottom. A few lamps were lit there, so it was no longer quite so dark. Senju Kyogawa put away his flames.

But...

What they found was completely unexpected...

There were three branching paths.

Senju Kyogawa asked the system and Ugly Monster, but neither could give him a definite answer.

Besides, although the strange fragrance was especially strong here, they still couldn't tell which path it came from most strongly.

"What should we do?" Senju Kyogawa asked. "Should we split up?"

Senju Chenghe fell silent. He had no idea what they should do either. "It's like something here is interfering with my chakra. I can't sense what's down the three paths. All I can sense is danger ahead."

Madara furrowed his brows and thought for a moment before suggesting:

"Let's stay together. This place is too dangerous and unpredictable. At least the three of us can watch each other's backs."

"Sounds good! I agree with Madara! If the three of us stick together, at least we'll have company if we die." Senju Kyogawa chimed in with a teasing grin.

Madara raised a hand without hesitation and gave Senju Kyogawa a "knuckle knock," lightly tapping him on the forehead to warn him not to say anything so unlucky.

Senju Kyogawa, who hadn't turned on pain suppression this time, unfortunately took the hit.

He yelped, glared angrily at Madara, and clutched his head as he ducked behind Senju Chenghe.

Madara gave a cold laugh. He hadn't used any force at all. Senju Kyogawa was putting on quite an act. If Madara hadn't known how hard he'd hit him, he might have been fooled.

Hearing Madara's cold laugh, Senju Kyogawa guiltily rubbed his nose.

"Ahem!" Senju Kyogawa cleared his throat.

He stepped between the two of them, took one hand from each, and shouted:

"Come on, my minions! Charge with me! Your king promises to protect you!"

Hearing the ridiculous line and seeing the comical expression on Senju Kyogawa's delicate, youthful face, Senju Chenghe wanted to laugh. But he didn't want to spoil Kyogawa's fun, so he struggled to hold it in.

"But, Your Majesty, you don't even come up to my waist~" Madara suddenly added.

Madara's remark was too much for Senju Chenghe. He burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

Madara joined in, not forgetting to tease him between laughs:

"What kind of king is that short? Hahahaha!"

"Stop laughing!" Senju Kyogawa watched them mock him, his face turning bright red with anger.

"Aaaah! Stop laughing! What's so funny?!"

It took quite a while for Madara and Senju Chenghe to finally finish laughing.

The laughter had actually helped. It swept away the gloom that had built up inside them over the past two days, leaving them both feeling refreshed and light.

In the end, they had Senju Kyogawa to thank for that.

But while they were happy, Senju Kyogawa was still fuming.

And so, a world in which Senju Kyogawa was the only one who suffered was achieved!

Still, Senju Kyogawa knew the situation was urgent. This wasn't the time for jokes or sulking. A little laughter to ease the tension was fine, but their most important task now was to uncover the secret of the "Evil Demon Virus."

The three of them discussed it carefully again, but still decided to stick together. After all, a team was always stronger than one person fighting alone, wasn't it?

But even after thinking it over for a long time, they still couldn't decide which path to take first.

"Forget it. Let's just pick one! They're all unknown anyway, so we might as well leave it to luck!" Senju Kyogawa said, spreading his hands helplessly as he asked the other two what they thought.

Madara and Senju Chenghe made no objection, which amounted to agreeing with Senju Kyogawa's suggestion.

"Great! Since you both agree, then... eeny, meeny, miny..."

"Okay! It's decided—the middle path!" Senju Kyogawa said, pointing to the passage directly in front of him.

Still holding one person's hand in each of his own, Senju Kyogawa narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together before asking the other two, "Are you ready?"

After they both answered firmly, Senju Kyogawa led them forward.

"Ah!"

"Hm?"

The moment Senju Kyogawa stepped into the passage, he suddenly realized that the two people he'd been holding had disappeared.

He whipped around, only to find a wall where the passage behind them had been.