The gigantic blue system window above Clodine Becket Academy read 00:45:31.

Ludville ran into the rose garden and hid among the bushes. His face was pale and his hands trembled intensely. When he realized that he was breathing too heavily, he quickly clamped a hand over his own mouth. A few steps to his side, a pale bluish figure walked awkwardly. 

Looking closely, the figure’s limbs looked charred and disfigured. Its movements became sluggish after its leg twisted too far backwards from moving too quickly. Only a few sections of hair remained on its head. Ludville could hear its low growl as it passed by.

These things had attempted to chase and attack Ludville several times, but with Ban Yue supervising all four sides while he was tucked underneath his arm, Ludville would always be able to hide or run away just in time. 

A few hours ago, roughly 45 minutes after the red moon appeared, the shadow puppets were able to break free from the underground dungeons and quickly flooded the surface. As soon as they did, the puppets simultaneously let out loud and threatening growls as if they were wolves howling during a full moon. 

Unlike the first time they appeared, the shadow puppets’ movements became quicker and smoother, and their intelligence seemed to have increased. 

They scaled walls, entered buildings, climbed stairs, and also knew to be quiet and listen to locate their prey. 

Their sense of hearing had especially improved. 

Because of this, Ludville and Ban Yue had no choice but to keep on moving. 

They alternated between hiding and running for the past hour and a half.

Ban Yue was counting the time. 

There were still 30 minutes left before Clodine’s seals were completely removed, but when he looked at Ludville’s face, he knew that they couldn’t keep on running anymore. Ludville’s shirt was completely drenched while drops of sweat continued to fall from the edges of his hair and down to his chin. He was panting too heavily. 

They had to proceed with the final phase now.

When the shadow puppet had finally deviated from the path, Ban Yue called Ludville’s attention quietly. 

Upon hearing his ghostly voice, Ludville held Ban Yue in front of him with both hands. His fingers left an oily stain on the box wherever he touched. Ban Yue took out a matchbox from his inventory.

“Ludville, that plan we discussed before. We’re going to do it now.”

Ludville eyes widened when he heard Ban Yue’s words. Even he knew that it was still too early. His expression looked grim.

“I can still run.”

Ludville felt like he was the reason why Ban Yue was pushing the plan forward. He hated the idea that he was dragging Ban Yue down so he resisted. 

But Ban Yue was determined.

“Ludville, you have an important role. It’s not because I’m worried that you’ll drag me down. It’s to make sure you’ll have enough time to get there on your own. Do you understand?”

Ludville was hesitant but eventually gave up. He trusted Ban Yue – even more than he trusted himself – so he didn’t doubt his judgement. Ludville took the matchbox from Ban Yue with a resolute gaze and took a few matches out.

As soon as Ludville struck the matches, the shadow puppets in the vicinity stopped abruptly in their tracks and turned around. When they saw the small fire that had come alive in the middle of the rose garden, they started to run towards Ludville’s direction. Ludville could clearly hear their raspy growls and the sound of several pairs of feet hitting the ground.

Some of the puppets that had turned around had crooked necks, while some’s eyes were already partially falling off.

The others’ gums and jaws were already visible, while some no longer had any recognizable features after being burned at the stake. Their skins had either melted off or charred completely.

A few had flesh falling out and some exposed bone. They looked much more gruesome under the light of the red moon unlike the first time Ludville saw them.

It was likely that these were their original forms.

After all, they were corpses who couldn’t return to earth.

The sight made Ludville tremble, but he steeled himself. 

The puppets were quickly surrounding Ludville. 

At that moment, Ludville let go of the burning matches and started running. 

He did his task just like how Ban Yue had taught him.

The fire spread through the entire rose garden quickly, and the shadow puppets whose attentions were completely turned to the fire started to run towards the patches in attempt to put them out. They stomped repeatedly, growled, and shrieked as if they were letting out cries of pain. However, despite the slight wind that was starting to blow in, the fire burned faster, stronger, and much brighter than the previous night. 

A strong smell of kerosene floated up in the air. 

The slippery trail that ran along various parts of the garden was Ludville and Ban Yue’s handiwork. 

A few hours ago, just before the shadow puppets managed to escape the underground prison, both had already made some preparations. 

Ban Yue had taken out the several oil lamps he had found inside the dumpster that night when Ludville had thrown him away as a box. 

At that time, he already suspected that fire might play a big role in their survival during the finale. After all, when he took into account everything in the pile, aside from Clodine Becket, there was another common denominator: fire. So, Ban Yue kept as much as he could. 

And now, the oil inside each lamp was being put to good use.

Ludville and Ban Yue took the chance to escape from the enclosure while the shadow puppets were distracted with the growing fire. 

He ran towards the mound in the middle of a large grass clearing away from the rose garden where Clodine Becket’s staff stood regally under the blanket of the red night. However, instead of heading for the base of the staff, Ludville set Ban Yue down at a spot a few yards away. They waited for a while.

“This much is still fine.”

Ban Yue wanted to check how near he could get to Clodine’s staff without triggering the return command.

“You can light it now.”

Ludville took the oil lamp from Ban Yue and set it down on the grass. He lit a matchstick, but just before he was about to light the wick, Ludville hesitated. His hands hovered in the air, seemingly frozen in time. 

It was a plan that he and Ban Yue had already gone over a few times but Ludville still couldn’t help but worry.

“Hurry.”

“D-don’t get hurt…”

Ludville’s worry was clearly shown on his face. 

Ban Yue had the feeling that Ludville was waiting for his response. That unless he promised, Ludville wouldn’t set the wick alight.

“…I won’t.”

Soon, the dark patch of grass around Ban Yue was illuminated. 

Ludville walked a good distance away before stopping again. He lit a bundle of matchsticks and let them fall on various patches in the grass, paused as if to confirm something, then started running. 

Ban Yue watched Ludville’s back disappear into the distance. 

In front of him, the fire from the matchsticks started to come alive. It followed a circular line and completely surrounded Ban Yue in all directions. As the wind blew mildly, it fanned the flames further making it burn brighter and higher. Ban Yue’s view beyond the circle became obscured.

Ironically, Ban Yue didn’t feel scared of being burned. Instead, Ban Yue felt safe. He felt like he could even fall asleep. Perhaps, the smoke from the fire was making him deluded. After knowing that these beings were discouraged by large patches of fire like this, Ban Yue gained a sense of temporary confidence. In this situation, this spot right here really was the perfect place for a fragile coward like him.

“After making a child do most of the legwork, it feels like I’m burning in hell.”, Ban Yue chuckled to himself.

He stared at the dark red skies. 

There were no signs of the sun rising, nor did any star shine through the thick reddish clouds. Lightning continued to paint the skies in the distance, and every so often, a thunder so loud would cut through the creepy cries of the puppets. The air inside the circle was starting to feel a little too warm, but Ban Yue didn’t dare complain because he knew that Ludville was currently running like his life depended on it.

Fire attracted the shadow puppets. 

The bigger the fire, the more they gravitated towards it, but fewer dared to go near. The fire around Ban Yue grew bigger and bigger, making its glow more eye-catching in the dark. He could hear feet scurrying about in the grass, but he knew those steps didn’t belong to anything cute like rabbits or squirrels. 

Ban Yue’s line of sight was low so he could barely see, but he could make out some distorted faces near the boundary of fire. 

Once in a while, he would even hear a loud shriek from a shadow puppet who dared to cross the boundary only to get burned. Whenever a shadow puppet burned, they turned into something similar to charcoaled wood and crumbled into ash. The slightest breeze will then carry the dirt away, only leaving scorch marks on the ground.

The fire in the rose garden had burned several shadow puppets to crisps before it was subdued. After its last embers have been put out, more and more shadow puppets drifted towards Ban Yue’s spot. The amount of shadow puppets crossing the line was increasing, and each time, they got closer and closer to Ban Yue.

At 11:40pm, Ban Yue started to feel the wind pick up. He could smell the scent of earth in the air. It felt like the thunderclouds were getting nearer every minute they came close to the deadline. 

Ban Yue looked up when he felt a drop fall on his face. 

At that moment, rain started to pour from the sky.

“It seems Mother Nature is finally here to kiss the pain away.”

Ban Yue already expected this so he couldn’t even be mad about it. 

He turned to the shadow puppets in front of him then spoke as if he was trying to converse, “I don’t know. On hindsight, this vibe does feel quite romantic, doesn’t it?”

The theme for tonight seems to be a candle-lit dinner during a romantic rainy night. 

Only, Ban Yue was the dinner.

Ban Yue received nothing but growls for response, so he gave up. 

Truthfully, although he was trying to make light of the situation, he was indeed fucking terrified. Every second, Ban Yue could see a denser smoke rising up in the air as a result of the fire being extinguished bit by bit.

[Player Ban Yue’s defense has been reduced significantly due to wet state. Please be careful.]

“Any second now….” Ban Yue murmured under his breath as if he was expecting something.

Right at that moment, Ban Yue heard a loud hollow sound that shook the entire Clodine Becket Academy. 

But this time, it wasn’t thunder. The sound that made the shadow puppets around Ban Yue scream in agony due to their enhanced hearing was none other than The Holy Knight’s First Tribunal’s carillon – the huge church bell sitting in the academy’s abandoned belltower.

This only meant one thing. 

Ludville succeeded in his mission. 

Although Ban Yue’s face couldn’t be seen, he felt a big grin forming on his lips. He was feeling extremely proud.

“Good job.”

Now it was his turn.

[Incognito is currently in use. Effect: 00:14:57]

BXX: Please don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoyed this chapter! It would mean a lot to me! ( ﾟヮﾟ)