"Huff... huff..."
Four players ran through the amusement park's streets, gasping for breath.
Their clothes had grown disheveled as they ran, and sweat kept sliding down their foreheads. None of them could spare a hand to wipe it away, so they could only let it soak their clothes.
After who knew how long, the player bringing up the rear finally ran out of stamina. As he tried to climb a step, he failed to lift his leg in time. His toe struck the edge, and he crashed hard to the ground with a thud.
He screamed, but the three players ahead of him never looked back. They kept running, concerned only with their own escape. Frantic, he scrambled to get up, only for sharp pain to shoot through his ankle.
He had sprained his ankle. He couldn't run anymore.
Clutching his foot, the player looked behind him in utter despair. His expression was grim, as though he were staring at his own impending death.
But then, "Huh?" Already prepared to face his end, the player stared at the empty street behind him, his eyes suddenly widening-there was no one there.
"Hey!"
He shouted at the three players, who had almost vanished into the distance.
"He... he..."
"He-he doesn't seem to have followed us!"
"Wh-what?!" The three players, who had acted as though they were deaf and hadn't heard his scream at all, immediately slowed at those words and whipped their heads around.
Only after confirming that no one was chasing them did they finally breathe a sigh of relief and gradually slow down. "He really didn't..."
They were nearly at their physical limits, too. Sheer determination was all that had kept them going.
After all... it was humiliating to even admit it-the four of them had gone charging in to