Draco's eyes sprung open, his entire body rising from the wooden ground. Cold sweat dripped down his neck as he stared at the door with fear. He was home. The timer has ended, and he was instantly transferred back.
"Damn it... what the hell has just happened?" Draco glanced at his hand. He no longer doubted whether it was all a long, scary dream. The injury on the tip of his finger, which he got from escaping the beasts, still stayed fresh.
"This ring... this system thing..." Draco tried to remove the ring again, and it still didn't budge even a bit. The screen hasn't disappeared either. Some kind of extra words were forming on it, yet Draco just ignored it.
"If I died in that place, would I die here as well?" Draco frowned, not even knowing what to think of right now. Just a few moments ago, he was so close to death, but he somehow stayed alive.
Honestly, if he didn't find that village, then he would be surely dead. Perhaps it was just luck, but he spent most of the required time in one hut.
It was a scary and overwhelming feeling - to see all these enormous beasts searching for him, checking every window with their gigantic eyes.
Eventually, they found him, but the time has run out just a second later. Perhaps luck was the only thing that has kept him alive.
"What now? All this happened because of this ring... should I go to the police?" Draco wondered, looking at his fingers in the air. The idea of going to the police seemed foolish to him. They would just think of him as some kind of psycho.
Perhaps that was true. Maybe he truly was going crazy from all this loneliness.
"No... I am not going crazy." Draco concluded in his mind. Something extraordinary has happened to him; something that neither he nor the police could explain.
"Damn, I need a drink." Draco sighed, rising from the ground. His white t-shirt was torn apart and had soot from all sides. There was also a strange, overwhelming smell coming from him, but he just tried to ignore it for now.
With all the recent events, the least he could do was try to calm his mind and ease up.
Ding!
Draco's ears perked up as he glanced at the door with surprise. The same sound of the doorbell echoed through his apartment. Draco grew wary, his hand moving towards the knife on the ground.
Perhaps it was his instincts or just intuition, but he felt incredible danger coming from the other side of the door. Danger far greater than the creatures he has faced.
'Is it the person who has sent me the ring?' Draco wondered, silently moving towards the door. 'Maybe he will explain to me what the hell is going on.'
Draco still had some doubts, but if he wanted answers, then greeting that person was all he could do. His hands slowly pushed the door open, and someone truly stood there, waiting in silence.
The person had a huge scar on his face, and he certainly didn't look too pleased. He wore a tight black and white suit, which highlighted his enormous muscles.
They both stared at each other for some time. The person saw the trembling knife in Draco's hands, as did he see his current condition.
The person was the first to break the silence. "Follow me, sir. Resistance is useless," he said, coldly.
"What?" Draco didn't know what to expect, but it was definitely not this kind of introduction. His hands trembled more violently.
"I said that you have to follow me," the person repeated, his face unreadable. "Or else, I will have to use force, sir."
"Force?" Draco took a step back, goosebumps on his skin. The man in a suit extended his hand forward, as Draco felt an incredible danger tower over him. He didn't know why he did something like this. Perhaps it was just pure panic.
Draco gripped the knife in his hand and propelled it forward. The man, however, didn't even budge. His hand caught the weapon before it could hit him, and Draco felt an incredible pressure on his wrist.
"We have to go, sir." There didn't seem to be an emergency in the man's voice, which was quite bizarre considering that Draco has just threatened his life.
"Don't touch me." Draco tried to resist. Yet, there wasn't much he could do. This person had some incredible power, and the grip over his wrist only seemed to tighten.
"Please, sir." The man walked through the door, forcing Draco together with him. "I know you are scared right, but there is not much time left. We have to leave before-"
Strangely enough, the man didn't finish his words. Instead, he cocked his head to look back into the apartment. In the shadows of the corridor stood another silhouette, and Draco's head drifted into confusion.
'I live on the third floor... how the hell did someone get into my apartment?' Draco frowned, closely inspecting the silhouette. It was a woman, dressed in a set of bulletproof garments. Her hair was cut short and had a bizarre purple shadow to it.
"Get back!" The man shouted, releasing Draco's hand and pushing him away. Suddenly, he took out something from underneath his suit. It was a gun.
The man didn't consider his actions even for a moment, as he shot towards the woman. Once, twice, and thrice. Draco was already on the ground, looking at the scene from the side with confusion, fear, and panic.
'What the hell is happening?' Draco frowned, keeping his head low as to not get shot by this maniac. He couldn't see what had happened to the woman, but the continuous bullets flying from the gun were quite confusing.
Shouldn't she die from one bullet? Why shoot so many times?
A moment later, something even more strange happened. The bullets seemed to have ended, and the man was struck with fear.
He took a step back, trying to find another stack of the bullet within his suit. It was too late, however. The woman, who was already dead in Draco's opinion, rushed out of the apartment.
Her hands twisted unnaturally, as she propelled a punch towards the man's abdomen. Draco stared at this extraordinary scene in wonder. Just one punch from this small, weak-looking woman has made this maniac lose his consciousness.
"Another weakling." She sighed, looking over the man in a suit, then turning to face the confused Draco. "You will have to go with me."
'What? She came here for me as well?' Draco frowned, his hands turning into fists. Just after he acquired that ring, both these people showed up searching for him. It was not a coincidence.
The thing was, however, that Draco didn't want to have anything to do with any of them. Draco felt vulnerability. Who knew what they were up to... perhaps they wanted to torture him... or even kill him.
"No... I will go nowhere." Draco declared, a hint of determination arising in his eyes. Suddenly, he stood up and rushed towards the woman, propelling a punch towards her.
"What are you even doing?" The woman seemed to chuckle, and Draco pushed even more power towards his palm. Unlike his expectations, she easily dodged sideways.
'Eh?' Draco felt a sudden jostle of pain connecting his neck. His entire body fell into weakness, and his eyes rolled apart. Soon, everything was dark.