Deep in the tunnel, Lu Mingfei panted like an old dog, his feet flying beneath him.
Behind him, countless Golden Eyes flickered in the darkness, like fireflies, or ghost flames. The Kamaitachi beat their wings, whipping up a foul wind. Their shrieks pierced the rock walls, as though they meant to drag his soul out through his back.
He lunged at the wooden door and slammed it shut behind him.
The door was thin, with several cracks running across it. It looked as though it could be kicked apart with a single blow. Yet when the swarm of Kamaitachi crashed into it, that thin wooden board did not budge in the slightest.
This was a rule of Nibelungen: the door could not be opened from that side. So no matter how numerous the Kamaitachi were, they could only glare helplessly from the other side.
The Kamaitachi seemed to realize how strange this Barrier was. Their shrieks carried a little more fury and helplessness. They circled the wooden door a few times before finally dispersing unwillingly, their Golden Eyes gradually vanishing into the darkness.
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, chambered a round, then gently opened a crack in the door.
A lone Kamaitachi stood with its back to him, its gaunt frame like a dried specimen. Lu Mingfei raised his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang."
The Kamaitachi exploded on impact, bone fragments scattering everywhere.
The gunshot echoed through the tunnel like a horn of provocation. In the distance, those Golden Eyes that had just faded lit up in unison. The Kamaitachi screeched as they turned and rushed at the wooden door again.
Lu Mingfei calmly shut the door.
The crashes, shrieks, and furious howls were all blocked on the other side by that thin wooden board, as though