"No! Dad... I really saw her smiling at me!" Nai Xue said with a tight frown.
"All right, it's okay. We're leaving this place now." Takahashi Yuya pulled his daughter into his arms and stroked her hair reassuringly.
"Mhm."
Nai Xue was still deeply unsettled.
At that moment, a faint pink mist drifted out from deep within the mountains and forest, enveloping everyone like a gauzy veil.
They smelled a refreshing fragrance flooding into their nostrils.
"What's that smell? It's so nice!"
"Probably wildflowers in the woods."
"Oh, it does smell pretty good..."
"..."
Everyone discussed it among themselves. Accustomed to the bloody stench of the apocalypse, the scent of wildflowers now felt exceptionally fresh. Flowers were life in full bloom, as well as a longing for beauty.
The scent put Nai Xue somewhat at ease.
But just then, she suddenly heard a cracking sound from the ground, as if something had shattered. She looked in that direction, and her eyes instantly widened.
She saw a withered, pallid hand extending from the memorial portrait they had seen earlier.
"Dad... look!"
Takahashi Yuya and the others noticed the movement as well. They immediately turned to look, their faces likewise filled with terror.
An arm had already emerged from the picture frame, followed by a shoulder, then the old woman's aged head, wearing the same eerie smile as before.
"This..."
Takahashi Yuya's eyes went wide. His scalp prickled, every hair stood on end, and the overwhelming fear nearly suffocated him.
As though she had trained in bone-shrinking techniques, the old woman's bones crackled as she somehow squeezed out through the narrow picture frame.
"What kind of monster is that?!"
Faced with the horrifying sight, Takahashi Yuya felt like his scalp was about to explode. He clenched his teeth and, with a clang,