Chapter 63 Part 2

Meanwhile, Zhong Nian and Little Yu, who had run out of the Cathedral first, were trapped in the fog.

Finding the devil was only half the success; the harder part was finding the way out amid the fog teeming with danger.

Visibility in the midnight fog was extremely low.

With the moon obscured, there was no light to guide them. They had to use flashlights, but that might expose them like moving targets to the devil. They proceeded cautiously, on edge.

Fortunately, Little Yu had quietly studied the orientations of the houses in the Town over the past few days, which proved useful now.

They used it to judge direction and avoid going in circles, making their situation better than the initial landing in the wasteland with no landmarks to find the Cabin.

Zhong Nian and Little Yu had not walked long along the houses when his sharp hearing caught footsteps. He swiftly grabbed Little Yu’s wrist and pulled her back to hide, signaling her to stay silent.

Little Yu did not know what was happening but cooperated fully by covering her mouth and staying alert.

Zhong Nian thought it was the devil at first and wanted to identify it before changing paths to avoid blundering into a trap.

But the more he listened, the more it sounded like human footsteps.

Devils had bizarre forms, distinctly different from human steps—except for the Goat Demon, which was hardest to distinguish.

Could it be the Masked Guy?

Zhong Nian and Little Yu exchanged a glance and silently agreed.

Soon, they saw a figure hurrying through the fog.

Zhong Nian pursed his lips in disappointment.

Judging by the clothes, it was Jie Jialiang.

And he was alone.

What about the Masked Guy?

Zhong Nian thought it highly likely that Jie Jialiang had abandoned the Masked Guy to flee.

Facing a powerful, bloodthirsty monster alone, and possibly other devils that could now freely enter the Church after breaking restrictions…

Zhong Nian’s brows furrowed tighter, interrupted by Little Yu’s quiet question.

“Should we join him?”

Zhong Nian shook his head. “No.”

Jie Jialiang did not look as composed as usual, and he did not seem to know the way out.

Though Jie Jialiang had helped a bit at the end, aligning with their plan, Zhong Nian still found him untrustworthy.

“We’ll find our own way,” Zhong Nian said.

Little Yu nodded. “I think so too. Better to stay away from him.”

Zhong Nian glanced at the glowing numbers floating in the void.

25 minutes and 47 seconds left.

It seemed like plenty, but if they encountered a devil…

A bad thought flashed through his mind when Zhong Nian heard another noise.

An indescribable strange sound nearby, like snakes slithering on the ground—not from one direction, but closing in from all sides.

Zhong Nian tensed, scanning the surroundings, but saw nothing in the fog.

“Watch out!”

Little Yu, whom he had shielded behind him, grabbed him instead and helped him dodge a sudden attack.

Zhong Nian heard a thick liquid splatter against the wall. Turning, he saw what it was and felt his scalp tingle.

A creature covered in black sludge with sharp, malicious features. Though distorted, anyone familiar would recognize it as the Skinny Man’s face—

Zhong Nian shivered. “Run!”

Even in flight, they did not panic into mindless chaos like headless flies.

Little Yu led, retracing their familiar route around houses with plenty of cover to hide and evade, avoiding a complete disruption of their rhythm.

Though not strong enough for direct confrontation, they were nimble and quick, soon shaking off the eerie, disgusting thing.

Little Yu turned her flashlight back on. “We should have lost it…”

Both were drenched in cold sweat, panting.

No time to rest, they returned to their previous spot and continued navigating by house orientations.

But ten minutes later, unfamiliar houses kept appearing ahead, still shrouded in fog.

“This is weird…” Little Yu’s voice trembled. “The Town isn’t that big. We should have gotten out by now.”

Zhong Nian swept the flashlight over the houses ahead and behind.

They were completely unfamiliar; he had never seen them.

Over the past few days in the Instance, he went out daily, and the last two days he had gone house-to-house with the Masked Man helping villagers, covering the entire Town.

He should have some impression; this was clearly wrong.

Zhong Nian frowned. “This fog is problematic. We…”

Mid-sentence, one flashlight beam went out.

Zhong Nian turned to find no one behind him.

His voice trembled as he softly called, “Little Yu?”

No response. Before him was only darkness and fog.

A living person vanished in an instant, leaving Zhong Nian alone.

In the dead silence, panic surged. His eyes reddened.

Ignoring whether devils could hear, he shouted Little Yu’s name loudly, searching back.

Sweat soaked his back, his wet clothes clinging coldly to his skin, the chill seeping into his bones.

Zhong Nian bit his lip until it bled, a smear of crimson like blooming nectar. His panicked eyes in the fog made him look like a pitiful small animal.

In his anxiety, he suddenly heard distant bell chimes.

The crisp, pleasant tinkling swayed left and right at a lively, cheerful rhythm, eerie in the cold night fog.

Accompanying the bells were heavier, uneven footsteps.

Zhong Nian hid behind a wall to observe. Soon, a…

Fluffy Black Goat with a bow tie appeared in view.

The bright red bow stood out in the fog, adorned below with a shiny golden bell that jingled with its trotting steps.

How did this goat get out of the Church?