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“What on earth is that?”
Hinoyama leaned against a tree, breathing heavily, as he voiced his doubts.
“I wonder what it could be.”
Encountering an old man who seemed to be acting strangely, I suggested that we should just ignore him and move on.
Hinoyama agreed that it was more important to search for his senior, and we left the scene. But since then, we have been wandering in the mountains.
We take breaks occasionally, but searching in the mountains is tiring, so we need to take frequent rests.
It’s now 6 o’clock. Looking up at the sky, it’s starting to brighten up, pushing away the darkness.
Is it already morning?
Since then, we’ve encountered about ten villagers who seemed to be wandering around aimlessly like the old man we saw earlier. None of them had any light source and they all moved in a strange manner.
Their vacant eyes had red pupils and they let out incomprehensible groans while staggering around.
Hinoyama suspected that they might have taken some sort of drug. I tried to remain calm and composed despite feeling conflicted inside.
I know of a figure that resembles that one.
I have seen it before – in a vision. A scene of attacking hordes of people with zombie-like figures. The resemblance is uncanny.
“It looked just like a zombie, didn’t it?”
“Haha, yes, indeed.”
I forced a smile, but I was not at ease.
To think that the village near my hometown was somehow related to the figure I saw in my premonition dream.
No, it wasn’t just a village near my hometown. I can’t escape from reality at this point. Judging from the circumstantial evidence, it is possible that the village is the cause.
It’s a clan that is exclusive but willing to do inhumane things to gain the six supernatural powers.
They are said to have incorporated the blood of people who possess suspicious powers, including psychic abilities, curses, and magic, both in Japan and overseas.
Not just blood, but also occult knowledge and technology.
Life in the village was tough and cramped.
In my childhood, I lived in a large, but old-fashioned mansion, and never had any trouble with living.
I was convinced to develop my abilities, and was forced to undergo traditional training such as mountain climbing, meditation, and standing under waterfalls from an early age, in order to awaken my abilities. I was not even allowed to watch television, because they did not want me to become tainted by the secular world.
That was at the level of child abuse that could be sued.
As a child, I had a fascination with supernatural powers, so I could endure the harsh training. I believed in earnest that I could awaken my abilities someday and become a hero, just like the heroes in the manga shown to me secretly at school.
However, since I couldn’t gain any power, I was called useless day after day. Only my sister and parents protected me.
My father, who couldn’t bear to see my situation, left the clan and the village behind.
“Sakurazaka-san, Sakurazaka-san. Shall we start moving?”
Startled by the call of my name, I realizes that I had been lost in thought for quite some time. It’s already getting quite bright outside, so we won’t need the lantern anymore.
“Yes, let’s go.”
“We seem to be getting closer towards the summit,” remarked Sakura.
They were following the arrows that Diya’s uncle, Jinguichi, had most likely left behind, but the directions were leading them towards the mountaintop. If their goal was to escape, going upwards would be a foolish move, as it would only leave them with no way out.
“Hinoyama analyzes the situation of Jinguichi from the escape route.”
After that, Hinoyama observed the villagers he had occasionally seen from afar, who were climbing up the mountain in evenly spaced intervals, surrounding the mountain and heading towards its summit.
As the sun rose, the zombie-like creatures disappeared from sight, and ordinary villagers could be seen instead.
It was easy to distinguish between the two groups: the zombies walked alone, shaking their bodies and with their gaze unfixed, while the other group moved in a group, keeping watch of their surroundings as they advanced.
The common denominator among all of them was their direction of travel – towards the summit of the mountain.
“If we continue like this, eventually senior will be caught or we will be found out. We’re moving while looking for the arrows, so our movement isn’t very fast either.”
Although they were walking at a faster speed than the villagers, they also used up time looking for the arrows.
As Hinoyama had said, the situation was becoming increasingly difficult.
“So, from here on, we’ll ignore the arrows and run up the mountain as fast as we can while calling out the names of our seniors and Iwaro-san.”
“Is it a race to see whether we find the two first or whether the villagers find us first?”
“Yes.”
It had been over six days since Diya’s uncle and Iwaro-san disappeared.
Although they were okay in terms of water intake, they couldn’t do anything about food. It wouldn’t be strange if their strength and energy were at their limit.
Despite knowing the risks involved, we were willing to take the gamble.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Even if this was a risky bet, there was no need to hesitate.
Seeing the precognitive dream on April 1st meant that it was certain that I would be alive until that day. In the dream, there were no signs of injury or pain, which also meant that I would not suffer any major injuries.
The decision to join the search was made to ease Diya’s worries and efficiently advance the fortification.
In addition, there was a guarantee that I could survive no matter what happened.
After replenishing, we headed quickly towards the mountaintop.
“Iwaro-san! Senpai! Please answer if you’re there!”
We strained our ears, but there was no response from the two.
We continued to move upwards, calling out loudly.
“We’re getting pretty close to the summit.”
“If we don’t find Senior by the time we reach the top, we’ll go down in the opposite direction of the route we took. If we still can’t find them, then unfortunately…”
Hinoyama, who had been walking ahead, made a difficult decision without looking back. He clenched his fists and trembled as he spoke.
“I hope we find them…”
“Don’t move.”
A voice suddenly heard near my ear, and a cold object pressing against my throat.
It was a man’s voice that I didn’t recognize.
I cursed myself for getting too caught up in the conversation and not noticing the approaching villager!