7 Chapter 6 (2/2)
As the Hunters waited for Jinwoo's directions, noises that carried bad news came from edges of the room .
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The six heads turned in unison, looking around the room .
”What the hell?!”
”They've… they've come closer!”
”They're all just moved!”
The Hunters' breathing quickened .The statues that only responded to humans being nearby suddenly appeared to be few steps closer than before .In that short time, Jinwoo was able to fully ascertain the situation .
'No, the statues didn't move .It was the pedestals beneath the statues that moved closer . '
The sliding sound from earlier was the sound of stone pedestals grinding against the floor .
” . . . They've stopped moving?”
Mr . Kim wiped away the sweat on his brows .As everyone else's attentions were focused on the statues, Jinwoo looked at the blue flames around them .Disappearing one by one, three blue flames had already gone out .
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”What, what! Where is it?!”
Someone shouted .Jinwoo raised his head, the sound came from his direction .The statues that faced him had moved closer .
'Why only me…?'
Was it because he had looked away?
Jinwoo closed his eyes to test the theory .
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”Goddammit, why?!”
”What, what do we do now?!”
With renewed understanding, Jinwoo shouted at the others,
”Don't look away from the statues!”
Now that he thought about it, the initial movements of the pedestals were probably caused when everyone looked towards him for guidance earlier .
'These bastard don't move when we're looking at them . '
Another blue flame went out, but it did not elicit a response from the statues .
'Could it be…?'
Without taking his eyes off the statues, Jinwoo carefully raised his arm and looked at his watch .
'As I thought . '
The blue flames were disappearing every minute .
'The blue flames are a timer . '
Jinwoo surmised that the Final Commandment's trial was to wait on top of the altar until the 36 blue flames disappeared .As long as each of them covered all the statues, they would be safe . There was a chance no one had to die in this final trial .
Jinwoo checked his watch and the blue flames to determine the time remaining .
'30 left…'
They just had to wait for 30 minutes!
But Jinwoo had made a mistake .While he was counting the blue flames, he had looked away from the statues, and as such, they started moving toward him again .
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”I-I can't do this!”
The man who was positioned across Jinwoo screamed and ran towards the open door .Having startled by the sound of movement coming from behind him, unable to turn around, the man lost all courage and made the decision to run .As he jumped from the altar, one of the red flames disappeared .
”No, don't!”
Jinwoo shouted .
But the man who ran with all his might ignored him and safely passed through the open doors .
”W-what? Mr . Sung, what just happened? He got out safely!”
Jinwoo, unable to turn around towards the door, did not know what had happened .
”Did anything change?”
”The door… the door moved slightly inwards . ”
”Is it closing right now?”
”No, no .It started closing a little after that man went through but isn't moving anymore . ”
Jinwoo remembered the red flame disappearing after the man left the altar .
'Of course!'
His heart sank to his stomach .The riddle that plagued his mind atop the altar had finally revealed its answer .
What part of this was proving 'Faith to the Lord'? The answer had come to him .
However, to a man who could only walk with someone else's assistance, it was the worst answer possible .
The 'open door' was a trap .A false hope to their eyes!
Had the entire party ran towards the exit after seeing the door open, the door would have closed immediately and the party would have ran towards their massacre .On the contrary, the altar was the safe zone . If they had just waited on top and waited out the blue flames while watching the statues, it would've guaranteed their safety .
A false hope they could see vs . a promise they could not .
This was how one proved their 'Faith to the Lord' .It was a test to overcome the temptation of freedom amidst the approaching danger .
Here, two variables appeared before their situation .
One .Jinwoo's presence .
Instead of running to the open door to their doom, the party stopped to listen to Jinwoo, avoiding a certain death .
'We got lucky . '
It was only possible due to the presence of a man who had solved the Two Commandments before and saved their lives, earning their respect and attention in the process .
But the second variable was not as favorable .
Someone had left their party to safety .
How would those that remained behind react to this appearance of hope?
The answer was obvious .
The man supporting Jinwoo was the second to run out the open doors .Mr . Song quickly reacted and caught the falling Jinwoo . Another red flame went out with the second runner, and the door inched closer to being shut .
”Hey, hey!”
Mr . Kim wagged his finger at the second runner, but the man, like the first, safely passed through the doors .
Looking at the number of remaining flames, Jinwoo shouted,
”Please don't move! We can't afford to lose anyone else!”