The crowd runs inside. I hear a sound behind me—someone has fallen—when I turned around to see who it was, it turned out to be Priest Musou. Like the others, I didn't stop—we couldn't afford to. I just run forward along the cobblestone path that connects the interior, illuminated by ceremonial stone lanterns, heading toward a set of wide stairs and a Central Hall. There are several structures, the Central Hall is the closest, the danger doesn't wait for us to think of another option.
Aaaah!...
The Guardians have breached the entrance portal, and standing tall in the temple courtyard, they immediately confront us. They lash out with their weapon—a swift, horizontal movement—seeking to finish us off. This causes a current of air lifts us from the ground, sending us flying with violence and falling forward. Scattered by the impact, the group seeks refuge under the hall's portico with the exception of the priest Musou, who with no other choice he walks toward the temple's bell tower. I'm breathless... Tension makes my heart race...I don't know what to do now...
"RUN!"(1). He finishes climbing the stairs to the Central Hall's portico.
"WE DON'T STAND A CHANCE"(2). His friend follows him to take refuge as well.
"EVERYONE WITHOUT A SUIT STAY BEHIND US. WE'LL DRIVE THEM BACK WITH OUR WEAPONS! DON'T RUN! SHOOT! ALRIGHT TEAM, FIRE!!!" (Kato). The leader retakes command to restore order to the team.
"NNN!!!"(Grumpy Alien). Despite its massive figure, the alien moves with human agility, its heavy foot crushes part of the stairs in front of the armed group.
"KYAAAAAA!"(Kishimoto). Fragments of the floor go flying.
"OH DEAR GOD!"(Kiyoshi). Kato gets kicked back by the green Guardian.
"THEY KILLED PRIEST MUSOU! WHAT THE HELL? THEY SQUASHED HIM LIKE A TOMATO!!!" (fat military maniac). Who lets out a shriek of terror close to me.
The Red Guardian on the left went after the one who had fallen, the priest Musou. Even as Musou was uttering prayers to it, the alien knelt its gigantic body beside the bell tower, and, watching him, horrifically crushed him with its palm, ruthlessly. As he dies, his final scream is gut-wrenching.
Meanwhile, the Green Guardian on the right confronts our group. Kato gives us the order to shoot, but in that instant of hesitation in their opposition, the alien kicks him. It attacks us with the fury of a colossus, swinging its weapon and destroying the structure of the stairs and pillars of the Central Hall. The group scatters before imminent death. We are pushed to the limit and the fear consumes us.
This is... This... we can't survive this... it's a trial from purgatory...
"RAAAHH!"(Kurono). A battle cry emerges from the fear.
Kei rushed forward to face the alien on his own, running towards death without any fear and with a cry of defiance. Because of this, the Green Guardian mercilessly attacked him with a fist. Its blow landed, shattering the concrete of the stairs, but missing him —perhaps by mere centimeters— He skidded at the last minute. In that skid, he fired the X-rifle he held in his hands, targeting the colossus's foot again and again. After a few seconds of delay, the alien's foot exploded, sending flesh and bones flying through the air, forcing it to kneel. Its shriek of pain pierces the air. Kei ran between the colossus's legs, destroying the other leg in the process, forcing the Green Guardian to lean down and support itself with its arms to avoid falling. He took out his X-gun and X-rifle, aimed at both arms, and fired. He then raised his head to look the Green Guardian face-to-face, so that the alien would look into the eyes of the one who was about to kill it in its final breath. In that moment of suspense, he moved as the alien's body fell beside him, bleeding out and trembling in pain, but still alive at Kei's mercy. The group felt a renewed vigor. His action inspired us, transforming group fear into a burning thirst for survival!. When there was still something more missing....I couldn't take my eyes... all my attention is on him...
"YES! WE CAN DO IT!! WE CAN WIN!!!"(1). He says in hysteria, Putting his life into it.
"DO IT, KILL HIM!"(2). He is unbridled in such a way that his heart would beat once more.
"KEI!"(Kishimoto). Her feelings seemed to overwhelm her.
"HEY, KILL HIM! KILL HIM! YES! COME ON! ORAHH!!" (fat military maniac). He barks eagerly, desperate to witness the alien's death.
"Kei-chan...Kei-chan...KEI-CHAN!" (Kato) Our leader lets out one last broken cry before a shot silences him by the spray of the thick alien blood.
"He's insane..."(Kiyoshi). His words come out in shock.
PAFF! Kurono squeezed the triggers and his weapon fired, blowing the alien's head off. There was no confusion in his eyes; he looked sure of himself, he just killed it with an impressive calm. He gets dirty with its purple blood. Witnessing this scene left a profound impact on me.
He executed it...
"The more you kill, the sooner you get out… Now you know the rules. Don't get in my way. I'll do it alone unless you're helping"(Kei) His eyes lingering on each of us before finally stopping on his girlfriend. Then, he turned his back on us, drenched in alien blood, on us and ran off in search of the other Guardian.
Who is this person…?!. Should I go? Or should I stay? Ah, damn it!...
At first, I hesitated. But then I saw Kishimoto move—she chose to follow him without hesitation. Before I even fully understood why, my body moved too. I followed them. This causes the group to charge like a horde to bring down the alien in front of us. Realizing this, the alien sends another gust of air to lift us up again, knocking us all to the ground with a single sweep of its arm—except for Kei, who remained standing, still charging at the huge red guardian.
Bellowing in fury, the second alien guardian let out a growl and attacked, swinging its ritual vajra, completely ignoring us and focusing exclusively on Kei, who nimbly dodged the strikes that destroyed the surroundings. Each impact sent shockwaves through the ground. While he kept its attention, Kishimoto and I opened fire. Then, during the action, a precise shot from my X-gun blew off part of its head. Moments later, the red guardian collapsed with a heavy thud. Its blood spilled from the hole in its skull, spreading across the ground in a pool of gore and shattered matter. Truth be told, I was shaking uncontrollably with adrenaline when I pulled the trigger.
We did it...
The team relaxes for the moment; the hunt comes to a halt. Kei, Kishimoto, and I sat on the stairs.I didn't pay attention to the others in the temple courtyard. The otaku couple struck up a conversation with me; it turned out they lived together and had been surviving these hunts for about a month. This was their third mission.
"If we manage to survive, I promise I'll take you to the hot springs. I just got my license, and we could go in my car, I'd really like to…" I said shyly, glancing sideways.
"That sounds… nice. After all this, something calm would be good." Kishimoto gently rested her shoulder against Kei's.
"Hot springs, huh? Doesn't sound bad…" Kei said, scratching the back of his head.
"Then it's a promise," I said, fidgeting slightly but smiling anyway, looking at both of them. Soon after, the dog moves away, letting out sharp warning barks toward door of the Central Hall behind us.
At that moment, Kato gathers the rest of the group in the courtyard to reorganize us. He tells us that when we took down the second Guardian, it had actually been hit by shots from another member of the team; I didn't notice it in the middle of the action. The soldier had been hidden on the terrace of one of the structures, acting as a sniper. He informs us that from now on, he will provide cover from his position. Additionally, Kiyoshi shows the radar screen indicating two enemy zones: the Main Sanctuary and the Pagoda, both buildings located on either side of the Central Hall. Therefore, we should split up.
Team 1: Kato, Kiyoshi, the fat military maniac, and the two teenagers.
Team 2: Kurono, Kishimoto, the yankee karateka, the dog, and me.
In the middle of our farewell, an older man walks by to look inside the temple while smoking. He seems completely unaware of our presence. Kato worries about the man's safety, since several aliens are still inside the temple. I come up with the idea of going outside to start the engine of his car parked nearby. After I move the car slightly, the man notices it and safely leaves the temple. I go back with the group.
"Is something wrong, Kei-chan?"(Kato). The leader asks Kurono, noticing how thoughtful he looks.
"Nothing. We should hurry. Good luck, Kato…" Kurono says, bidding him farewell with a salute.
"Let's move, team. Keep your weapons ready. And yes, I'll be leading this group. See you later, Kei…" (Kato). He says before leaving with part of the team.
"'You stay where you are!" (Kato). He shouts an order to the sniper.
"Understood!" the soldier replies.
We proceed with caution toward the east wing of the temple, where the pagoda stands at the far end of the grounds. The surroundings are silent, and the lights only partially illuminate the path. As we go deeper in, I start to feel like we are being watched… stronger and stronger.
We arrive at the foot of the pagoda.
The dog moves away and starts barking at a shadow. From the darkness, a smaller Buddha statue emerges. Then another appears on the second floor of the pagoda—then another, and another—spreading across the surrounding structures. One after another, they reveal themselves from the shadows. These statues begin speaking in a strange language I cannot understand… some kind of alien tongue. What are they trying to say?.
"%$&$"#"(Minor Buddha statu).
"Yeah… fine. Let's make this easy. Screw it… kill them." Kei immediately fires back, fast and direct, killing the statue in front of the dog. Part of me questions his way of acting—whether maybe we should make a different decision—but he has been here before, so he must know what he's doing.
Although I couldn't understand what the Buddha statues were saying, I could notice a change in their expressions. One of them hurled a spear toward us, while another swung a sword from a different direction. Instinctively, I threw myself to the side.
Kishimoto is struck by the sword and wounded. The karateka charges at the nearest statue and lands a high kick. The statue staggers, grunts in irritation, and strikes back. They exchange blows.
From the ground, I fire at one of the statues, but it moves abnormally fast and dodges it.
Kei moves to assist Kishimoto, who has a severe injury—the sword has pierced her abdomen. Her suit is leaking a blue liquid from its damaged areas. She needs urgent medical attention or she will die.
I get back on my feet and fire at the same statue again, but it dodges it once more. It flies toward me and kicks me, sending me flying backward and crashing into a wall. He closed in to attack me once more, but his legs detonated in a spray of flesh and gore. Immediately after, his torso shattered into pieces in front of me, drenching me in blood. Wait, how...? Ah, that's right, the sniper...
Three other statues approach Kishimoto and Kei. Kei grabs the spear from the ground and, with an angry shout, stabs one of them, piercing it. He blocks the attack of the next one, then dismembers its arms in the same motion, jumps, and drives the spear into the last one's head, knocking it to the ground and pinning it there.