"Hahahahaha! Fool!"
Master Ryudo, hidden behind the glass barrier, let out a wild laugh as he watched Akichi Aya fall to the ground after hitting the glass.
"I've seen many girls like you. Did you think I wouldn't know what you were planning?"
Master Ryudo leaned forward, seeing Akichi Aya's face finally show a hint of panic.
He pulled a cigarette and a lighter from his yukata.
As he lit the cigarette, Akichi Aya finally noticed that Master Ryudo was hidden inside a cylindrical glass shield. Earlier, because only a few candles were lit, the light was very dim, and she hadn't clearly seen the glass barrier in front of him.
After taking a puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaling the smoke,
Master Ryudo looked at Akichi Aya and said,
"I'll cherish your recording. So, please try to scream as loudly as possible. The louder you scream, the more excited I get, and no matter how much you shriek in here, no one outside will hear it."
After speaking, Master Ryudo leaned back and sat on the floor, waving his hand at the Black men.
"Get close-ups. Make sure to get close-ups."
"Hehehehe~"
Just as the group of Black men grinned menacingly and approached Akichi Kiko and Akichi Aya,
Suddenly, there was a "thwack!" sound, like a wooden stick hitting a bamboo tube, and then one of the Black men's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the floor.
At the same time, a voice very familiar to Akichi Aya echoed in the baptismal chamber.
"First, never act on impulse!"
As the large Black men looked around, searching for the attacker, another Black man's eyes rolled back with a crisp "thwack!" and he fell to the ground with a "thump."
Simultaneously, several more candles in the baptismal chamber were extinguished.
"Second, never overlook a single wrong."
Akichi Aya, startled but with a smile appearing on her face, quickly rushed to the candles in front of Master Ryudo.
She vigorously waved her hands, fanning out the flames of the candles.
Master Ryudo, hidden behind the glass shield, also realized what Akichi Aya was trying to do. He quickly pulled out a remote control from his yukata and began pressing it.
He seemed to be trying to turn on the lights or open the door in the baptismal chamber.
But no matter how many times he pressed it, the remote seemed broken and had no effect.
"Third, punish evil with perfect justice! Masked Bicycle Rider, here I come!"
As the last candle in the baptismal chamber was extinguished by Akichi Aya,
In the darkened baptismal chamber, a "thwack!" sound continuously echoed, along with the panicked shouts of the Black men.
However, this chaos didn't last long, and the baptismal chamber fell silent.
"Jim? Jim! Did you catch him?"
After a long while, Master Ryudo, still in the glass shield, broke the tomb-like silence.
"Boss! I don't know..."
"Thwack!"
With that "thwack!", the baptismal chamber plunged back into a deathly silence.
In this silence, Akichi Aya suddenly felt someone come up behind her.
Akichi Aya's hair stood on end instantly, and her body involuntarily wanted to let out a scream, but the person covered her mouth and whispered in her ear.
"Don't scream, it's me."
Hearing the familiar voice, Akichi Aya immediately relaxed, allowing Uesugi Kazuki to lead her hand as they tiptoed to the side.
As they moved away, another "thwack!" sound rang out nearby, followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.
After walking a few steps with Uesugi Kazuki, Akichi Aya remembered that her mother was still there and wrote on Uesugi Kazuki's hand with her finger.
[My mother is still here.]
After she finished writing, Akichi Aya felt Uesugi Kazuki gently squeeze her hand.
Following Uesugi Kazuki to a doorway, Akichi Aya felt Uesugi Kazuki turn her hand over.
Then he also extended a finger and wrote on her palm.
[You stay here. I'll save your mother. No matter what happens, don't come over.]
Uesugi Kazuki's finger tickled her palm, a feeling that was both itchy and warm, and very reassuring.
After Uesugi Kazuki finished writing, Akichi Aya again grasped Uesugi Kazuki's hand and wrote [Okay] on his palm.
Then Akichi Aya felt Uesugi Kazuki squeeze her hand again, and then he let go.
He disappeared silently into the darkness like a ghost.
After Uesugi Kazuki disappeared, Akichi Aya crouched down, trying to make as little noise as possible. She even switched her breathing to manual and slowed its frequency, fearing that a slightly louder breath might cause trouble for Uesugi Kazuki.
Just as Akichi Aya's breathing was so slow she was almost holding her breath, Akichi Kiko's scream suddenly echoed in the baptismal chamber.
Then, after two "thwack!" sounds and a "thump!" of falling bodies,
A deep male voice resounded in the baptismal chamber, "Hurry! I've got him! He's too strong! I can't hold him!"
Hearing this voice, Akichi Aya instinctively stood up, wanting to rush to where the sound came from to help Uesugi Kazuki.
But as she took her first step, she remembered the words Uesugi Kazuki had written on her palm earlier, telling her to stay put and not come over, no matter what happened.
Akichi Aya gritted her teeth, remaining rooted to the spot.
Not far away, after the Black man's cry for help, no one responded to him. After a series of struggles and "thump! thump!" sounds like something hitting a sandbag,
The baptismal chamber fell silent again.
Then, as if the world was just beginning, light filled the baptismal chamber.
Uesugi Kazuki, with slightly disheveled hair and a cut on the corner of his mouth, stood in front of the glass cylinder where Master Ryudo was hiding, lighting a candle that Akichi Aya had fanned out earlier.
The moment Akichi Aya saw Uesugi Kazuki appear, she let out a long sigh of relief, relaxing as if a great burden had been lifted from her.
Master Ryudo, hidden in the glass cylinder, was first startled when he saw Uesugi Kazuki standing in front of him, then turned his head to look around.
The large Black men were all lying on the ground as if in a deep sleep.
However, upon seeing Uesugi Kazuki gently tap the glass cylinder in front of him, Master Ryudo relaxed again.
"Don't bother trying. This glass cylinder is made of bulletproof material. No matter how strong you are, you won't break this glass shield."
As his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, he saw Uesugi Kazuki's handsome face.
Master Ryudo said to Uesugi Kazuki,
"You're quite good, kid. Are you interested in joining our Future Happiness Cult? I can give you whatever you want, money or women."
Master Ryudo pointed to Akichi Aya nearby and said,
"If you join us, you can have as many women like her as you want."
"Or, do you want money? Give me your account number, and I'll transfer the money to you right now. How about 100 million yen?"