Chapter 59 - Escape the Falling Grave
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Chapter 59 - Escape the Falling Grave
The tunnel trembled violently, loose stones raining from the ceiling as cracks splintered like spiderwebs along the walls. Dust choked the air, making every breath a challenge.
"Run faster or we're gonna be buried like ancient fossils!" Ryuuji shouted, already sprinting ahead. "And I don't look good in rock armor!"
Tora frantically typed on his portable console, fingers flying across the keys. "I'm trying to override the collapse mechanism but who the hell designed this trap? A sadist?"
"Knowing Shiro? Yes!" Mira coughed, waving away the dust cloud. "Just shut up and run!"
Sai yanked Hotaru to the side just as a chunk of ceiling crashed down where she'd been standing. "Stick close, we're not losing you here."
"Don't act all cool," Hotaru grunted. "I'm faster than you."
Kuro, balanced like a tiny ninja on Mira's shoulder, let out a loud "MEOW!" as if issuing commands to his human crew.
"Yeah, yeah, we know you're the real brains here," Tora huffed.
They reached the fork in the tunnel, but the left passage was already partially caved in. "This is the shortcut?!" Ryuuji groaned. "Sai, your map sucks."
"Less complaining, more squeezing through!" Hotaru pushed forward, sliding through the narrow gap. Rocks scraped her arms but there was no time to care.
Behind them, the tunnel's main corridor gave a loud, earth-shaking crack, and they knew the whole thing was coming down. If they didn't make it through this gap in the next ten seconds, they were done.
Ryuuji went next, but halfway through, his jacket got caught on a jagged rock. "Are you kidding me right now?!"
Mira grabbed his collar, yanked hard, tearing the sleeve off entirely. "New fashion trend — 'survivor chic.' Move!"
Kuro leapt from her shoulder onto Ryuuji's head, using him like a springboard to bounce forward, landing gracefully beside Hotaru. "I swear that cat's training for the Olympics," Mira muttered.
Tora came last, nearly dropping his console when his foot slipped, but Sai hauled him up by the back of his hoodie like he was a toddler.
They burst out into a slightly wider chamber, the emergency shaft right ahead — a narrow ladder leading upward into pitch-black darkness. Above them, distant rumbling suggested this might not be the only collapsing section.
"Up, up, up!" Hotaru shouted, already climbing.
Ryuuji was next, one hand on the ladder, the other trying to shield Kuro perched stubbornly on his shoulder.
"Your cat weighs like a sack of bricks," Ryuuji grunted.
"My cat has a higher IQ than you," Hotaru shot back.
"Fair."
Mira climbed after them, while Sai boosted Tora up before following himself. Dust swirled like smoke below, the last of the tunnel collapsing in a deafening roar.
"Who makes escape routes this deadly?!" Tora coughed.
"Shiro does," Sai said darkly. "He never builds anything without a knife hidden in it."
They finally reached the top, bursting out into the night air, coughing and gasping. They were in some overgrown forest clearing, wild ivy wrapping around ancient metal structures — remnants of old escape bunkers long abandoned.
"Well…" Ryuuji collapsed onto the grass, arms spread wide. "That was my daily workout. And weekly heart attack."
Hotaru stood up, glaring into the dark horizon. "This wasn't just a trap. This was a warning."
Sai dusted off his hands, his expression grim. "Shiro's not just hunting us anymore. He's toying with us."
Mira cracked her knuckles. "Then let's break his toys."
Kuro, sitting proudly on Ryuuji's chest, gave a solemn, approving "Meow."
To be continued in Chapter 60.
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