Emma looked at David with a cold gaze. In her eyes there was only disdain, as if he were nothing to her.
At that moment, David thought grimly:
"She's so fast… I couldn't even react to her movement. I'm no match for her."
"What are you doing?" Emma asked in an icy voice.
Behind her stood Lucy, tears streaming down her cheeks. David looked at them both and said:
"Don't you remember what we talked about last night? Don't you remember?" He gestured toward Emma.
But Emma, her expression still cold, replied:
"What are you talking about? I didn't speak to you yesterday."
Suddenly, familiar glowing text appeared before their eyes:
"Ha-ha-ha! How entertaining it is to watch you… a real drama is unfolding right before me!"
Reading this, David clenched his teeth.
"Damn it… drama, huh? I'll remember this…"
His face darkened as he stared at Emma, who stood firmly opposite him, filled with determination.
Lucy, sobbing, cried out:
"Emma… he tried to take me by force!" The girl wiped her tears.
Upon hearing this, Emma's eyes blazed with fury as she glared at David. The veins on her face bulged. In the very next instant she rushed at him with blinding speed.
David didn't even have time to react. He was knocked down, and as he hit the ground, he saw Emma above him. Her eyes were filled with nothing but disgust. Raising her weapon, she was about to pierce him, but he shouted:
"Stop! Listen to me!"
The blade froze a mere inch from his face.
"Remember!" he screamed, gasping for breath. "Remember what we talked about last night! How we must escape this island together! Remember that this cursed tree wants to consume us! We cannot die here like this! Please, remember!"
Emma staggered back, clutching her head with both hands. Her memories came flooding back in a painful wave. Agony tore at her from within, but slowly her mind began to clear.
At last she looked at David — and in her eyes shone gratitude.
"You did it… well done," she whispered.
David breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and reached out his hand, helping Emma to her feet.
At that moment, new words appeared in the air:
"Well done, well done… you managed to pull through, David. You're delighting me!"
With every word, David felt irritation boiling within him. His lips tightened into a thin line.
And then came the Voice of Fate:
"Participant, the Lord of Darkness, participant Child of the Stars, and participant number 234 are being observed by the Goddess of Fertility and Queen of the Underworld — Persephone."
"What the hell…" David muttered. "The goddess of the underworld?! That makes two Greek gods already?!"
A new message appeared:
"Hades was curious about what his beloved brother was doing… and here you are, watching children!"
Another reply flared up beside it:
"Mind your own business, Persephone."
Emma, confused and shaken, asked:
"What is happening here?! Gods? What the hell is going on?!"
"I don't know either…" David answered, glancing at Lucy.
But the girl was still under the tree's influence.
"Emma… we need to leave before night falls," he said firmly.
"Yes," Emma nodded.
They rushed to Lucy, grabbed her by the hand, and dragged her toward the boat. The girl struggled violently, screaming that she didn't want to leave the island.
In the sky, Persephone's words appeared once more:
"Oh… how pitiful this girl is…"
Despite her resistance, they pulled Lucy into the boat and began to push off. The girl thrashed and shoved at them with surprising strength, and David could only think:
"Fragile as she seems… she's incredibly strong."
Meter by meter, they drifted farther from the cursed tree. With every second, the tree's influence weakened.
At last, Lucy regained her senses. She looked at David, then threw herself at him, hugging him tightly as she sobbed:
"Thank you… thank you so much! If it weren't for you, we would have died there…"
David was surprised, but gently placed his hand on her head. Lucy clung to him like that for twenty minutes before finally letting go.
David gazed into the distance and said in a solemn voice:
"This journey will be dangerous."