The Underground Ruins beneath the Winden Thermal Power Plant were vast. From anywhere within them, the enormous doors loomed like part of the backdrop, with dazzling, shifting light flickering before them.
Multicolored light spilled between the towering stone pillars, making the people standing silently before the seal flicker in and out of view.
Their allegiances and identities differed, but at that moment, the Arson Cultists, the Players, and even Mavis, the blonde college student, all gazed solemnly up at the enormous doors like medieval monks attending a sacred rite.
No one spoke.
But as the wait dragged on, the Cult Leader, Nosna, could not help glancing at White Line again.
White Line looked young, but there was no light in her dark eyes. Her gaze was impossible to read, and the faint curl of her lips made her seem more inscrutable still.
They had temporarily become teammates to break the seal, but Nosna was deeply wary of White Line. The memory of being assassinated at the end of the previous loop still haunted her.
Nosna studied White Line's delicate face for a while, then quietly looked away.
White Line was a ruthless schemer who rarely spoke. Anything she said was bound to be half-truths.
She claimed the Incantation Bell could break the seal, but perhaps she was using this chance to plot something else. I can't just sit here. I need to test her somehow.
With that thought, Nosna narrowed her eyes and broke the silence with a smile. "Why hasn't anything happened yet? White Line, are you sure you didn't get it wrong?"
"..." White Line said nothing. She just kept staring at the seal.
Only after a long pause did she slowly turn her head, like someone struggling to process what she had heard. Even then, she remained