I Can Copy Curses

95  95. Shura

As Orion pondered what to do in the situation they found themselves in, the girl in the mask turned to him.

"Orion, right?" she said, her voice calm. "I think we are stuck in a loop—a never-ending loop. But it's just my speculation, and we need to be sure of that before we come up with any plan. So, I'm going to walk backward, and if I appear from the front, then my guess is true."

"A loop?" Orion also had a feeling that they had been walking around in circles. Other than that, he couldn't explain why they hadn't reached outside even after walking for two hours.

But a loop never came to his mind. As far as he understood loop, if they were really stuck in it, then their situation would turn bad to worse in no time.

"Alright," Orion agreed with her decision.

The girl in the mask nodded as she walked backwards towards the other end of the cave, while Orion gave his full attention to the front of the cave. He hoped that it was just her speculation and that she wouldn't come from the front.

However, all his hopes turned into despair when he noticed a silhouette appeared at the front.

'Maybe it's someone else.'

He thought, but as the silhouette got closer, he finally saw the person he didn't want to see. It was the girl in the mask who came from the front.

"It's really true," she sighed. "We are really stuck in a loop."

"Is there a way we can escape the loop?" Orion asked. "And how did we come inside a loop anyway?"

"My grandfather told me that there are many ways to escape a loop, but he didn't mention anything specific, as most of the ways required strength at the gold rank or above," the girl in the mask said. "He also said that if I were to find myself in a situation like this, then I shouldn't worry and act calmly."

"That's it?" Orion frowned, a little frustrated with her. "Your grandfather knows so much about loops, and the only thing he mentioned about escaping is to act calm."

"Why are you scolding me?" She appeared clearly dissatisfied with Orion's words. "I am trying to help you, you know."

Hearing her, Orion realized he had spoken in the heat of frustration.

"I am sorry." He apologized to her for that.

After that, the atmosphere became a little awkward. Nobody said anything; they just stood there. The silence grew heavy, each person uncertain of what to say or do next.

Meanwhile, Ron looked at the two of them and pondered deeply. As dull as he appeared to be, he wasn't a hopeless case. He could understand they had arrived before a problem here.

But there was one thing he didn't understand.

"Guys," he called out to them as he pointed at the right wall of the cave. "Don't you see the door here?"

"What door?" Orion asked as he looked around. The girl in the mask also looked in the direction Ron pointed; however, they didn't see anything besides the brown wall surrounding them. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"The door in front of us!" Ron exclaimed as he saw that they didn't see anything. "It's right there." He pointed in the same direction as earlier.

Orion frowned as he once again looked around, but it ended with the same result as earlier. He didn't find the door Ron mentioned. The cave walls were smooth and unyielding, with no sign of an entrance or hidden passage.

"Are you sure you aren't seeing things?" He asked Ron.

"No, I am sure there is a door right there," Ron said, pointing at the wall.

Orion became silent as he heard him. He pondered whether Ron was seeing things or if they were having a problem with their visions. Doubt gnawed at him as he scanned the cave once more, trying to discern any detail they might have overlooked. Were they under some kind of illusion, or was there a trick to finding the door that they hadn't yet discovered?

"Why don't you open the door?" The girl in the mask asked Ron. "Maybe that way we will escape the loop."

Orion also nodded from the side.

"Alright, I will open the door," Ron said as he walked in front of the door and opened it.

Almost instantly, the world around them shattered into pieces before they found themselves standing in front of an altar. The cave walls dissolved like fragments of a broken mirror, revealing a grand chamber illuminated by an eerie, otherworldly light. The altar stood at the center, ancient and imposing, covered in cryptic symbols, and surrounded by an aura of power.

"How did we end up here?" Orion wondered as he observed the area they suddenly appeared in. "What is this place?"

"I don't know," the girl in the mask said. "But at least we escape the loop."

"You see, the door was indeed the solution to our problem," Ron happily said. "But for some reason, only I could see that door."

Orion nodded at him, but he couldn't understand why only Ron could see that door.

But he didn't think about that too much and observed their surroundings. He saw that they appeared in a rectangular hall made up of black square-shaped bricks.

At the side of the walls, torches had been placed that illuminated the whole area, and in the middle of the hall stood a circular altar where a sword gleaming in blood red was stabbed atop the altar.

However, as the trio's attention was drawn to the sword, they suddenly trembled a little, for they felt an intense bloodlust emanating from that sword, causing their backs to drench in sweat.

"What a terrible sword!" Orion exclaimed.

Ron and the girl in the mask nodded. They, too, felt fear upon glancing at the sword.

"We should leave this place as soon as possible," Ron said worriedly. "This place is giving me creeps."

Orion nodded and turned back to see that the door they had come from was still open.

"Let's leave this place," he said, looking towards the girl in the mask.

However, she shook her head as she pointed in the distance.

"Look there," she said. "There is something written on the wall behind the sword."

Orion turned to see that behind the sword, a wall was indeed there, but he couldn't see clearly there because there weren't any torches in that wall, causing that area to become a little dim.

"I can't see there," he said, turning to her.

As the girl in the mask heard him, she condensed a small golden ball, shining brighter than any torches in the hall, and moved it behind the sword.

The light from the ball illuminated the intricate engravings on the altar and cast long shadows across the chamber. The golden glow revealed hidden details and symbols that had been invisible in the dim light.

At that moment, Orion could see everything in that area clearly. He also saw the writings she mentioned inscribed on the wall.

"I am Shura, one of the nine Title Gods with the title of God of Slaughter and, at the same time, one of the 99 Elder Gods. If any humans are seeing this, then read carefully, for what I am about to tell you may very well decide the fate of your race's entire existence."

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