While the two imposters were still howling with laughter, a deer suddenly emerged from the bushes, moving with unnatural calm.
Kairo and Leonhart noticed it at the same instant. Without a word, both boys leapt onto their horses, hearts hammering.
"Ohh my goodness, these two boys are afraid of this tiny deer!"
one of the fake Daichis mocked, still chuckling.
The other stepped forward confidently and tried to smash the deer's head with sheer brute force. His hand swung down — but in a blur too fast to follow, his own head was severed cleanly from his shoulders. It tumbled to the ground with a sickening thud.
Kairo and Leonhart had already spurred their horses into a full gallop, racing away from the gruesome scene.
"We ain't running from the battlefield,"
Kairo called over the wind, gripping the reins tightly.
"We're making sure the others are safe while those guys fight that monster!"
Leonhart's face was tight, pride clearly wounded.
"Uhh… my pride still feels like I'm running away. But life is precious, you know. And I know there's only one man left — the other is probably dead by now."
They pushed harder through the trees when a familiar high-pitched scream echoed ahead. Renji was backing away in terror from a hollow, grotesque creature.
Kairo and Leonhart's eyes widened in shock as a giant, monstrous figure began tearing its way out of the deer's skin — tall, twisted, half-animal, with limbs that didn't belong to any natural beast.
Without hesitation, they rushed toward Renji.
"Follow us!"
Kairo shouted at Renji's horse.
The animal obeyed instantly, falling in behind Wind and Leonhart's mount as the three boys fled together.
They soon caught up with Daichi and Akio, who were riding hard in the same direction.
Akio glanced back and grinned despite the chaos.
"Hey, you screamed like a little girl!"
he teased, looking at Renji, then noticed Kairo and Leonhart's pale, scared faces.
"Daichi, let's run away from here and find the exit. If those guys are lucky, they might meet us later."
Daichi gave a small, lazy nod, though his eyes were sharp with tension.
"Yeah… that's another smart thing you talked about today."
The group rode on, the forest growing darker and more oppressive around them, the distant sounds of unnatural movement urging them forward. Whatever was hunting them wasn't finished yet.
"Don't go left — go right!"
Kairo shouted, voice cutting through the chaos.
The others agreed without hesitation, wheeling their horses sharply to the right. They had barely gone a few strides when another grotesque creature came into view. It had already slaughtered several other children — their bodies lay torn apart, limbs scattered in the blood-soaked grass.
A lone boy around their age suddenly stumbled toward them from the shadows, looking terrified.
Kairo didn't hesitate. He drew his blade and struck the boy down mercilessly. The body crumpled to the ground.
Renji's eyes widened in shock.
"Why did you kill him?!"
Akio stared, frozen in disbelief.
Kairo pointed at the corpse with a grim expression.
"It was an illusion to slow us down. Look at his corpse — it had a net that would have caught us if we had gone toward him."
Daichi gave a small nod of approval, though his lazy tone carried clear respect.
"That's our Kairo. Not only did you kill the trap, you made sure you wouldn't fall into that pit."
"Nah, that's nothing,"
Kairo replied, already scanning ahead.
Leonhart pointed forward.
"Look, there's an exit!"
"That's fake,"
Kairo said immediately.
Renji frowned.
"But why is it fake?"
Daichi echoed the question.
"Yeah, Kairo. Why is it fake?"
"Because it will just make you fall, and you'll die from fall damage. There may even be a net to make sure we don't die instantly. That's one of their traps,"
Kairo explained, eyes narrowed.
Daichi scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Uhh… yeah, I just hurried and didn't think of that."
So I just lost to him in the battle of intelligence. He has indeed become talented after that incident… Well, power requires pain. Pain requires power.
Kairo urged Wind forward again.
"There is no other way now. This time we are sure that this is the exit."
Akio's face paled, gripping his reins tightly.
"I am scared… What if it is another trap?"
Renji glanced around nervously.
"Maybe they want us to hesitate and go somewhere else."
Kairo slowed his horse slightly, expression focused.
"Leonhart, stay forward. I'll watch your back. Akio and Renji, you look left and right. Daichi, make sure you observe from above and below for traps."
Everyone nodded quickly.
"Yeah, we will!"
they replied in unison.
The group pressed on, tension thick in the air as they finally reached what appeared to be the exit.
Akio let out a relieved breath.
"Finally… we have reached the exit."
But before anyone could celebrate, the muscular man who had given the rousing speech earlier stepped forward, his face stern.
"Prince Kairo, you have been failed."
Daichi's eyes widened.
"No way… it was a test?"
Leonhart looked equally stunned.
"So… did I fail?"
The man shook his head.
"No. You followed the prince's orders, so you did not fail." He reached out and touched Kairo's shoulder, then frowned.
"But wait a second… this is an illusion. No way… the prince played us instead."
A flashback unfolded.
Instead of riding with the group toward the exit, the real Kairo had stopped his horse the moment the others moved ahead. He stayed hidden, using telepathy magic he had been secretly learning for the last three years. Layered beneath an illusion of himself riding behind them, he quietly guided the group from a distance while remaining vigilant, constantly scanning for any survivors who might still be trapped in the deadly forest.