358: A Killer Pyramid?!

A Killer Pyramid?!

There was a standoff for a minute before Harry signaled his other teammate, who was holding Mika Nakamura.  1

The boy then released Mika. With a sharp glare, she then snarled, "And Yasuo!" 

The boy exchanged glances with Harry before releasing the spell on the rope. The moment the rope fell off, the boy, Yasuo, ran towards Mika and hid behind her. They then slowly backed away until they reached Juin.

"You will regret it," Harry warned. "Do you know who her brothers are?" 

"I have an idea," Juin said as he dispersed the sword into thin air. 

"They have been massacring everyone they met!" Harry snapped angrily. "Including some of my closest friends!" 

Juin looked at Mika, who looked away guiltily. "Mika, do you know about this?" he asked in a cold voice. 

Mika gulped and nodded. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. Looking at Juin, she said, "Akuma… He's different. I heard of the massacre, and I can't even defend him, because I know what he's capable of…"

When she saw the suspicious look on Juin's face, she immediately grabbed his hand and said, "But trust me! I'm not in on his plans! I don't know what are his plans, or what are my father's plans when he released Akuma and made him participate in this year's battle! My father basically sent me here to die!"

Juin looked at her face, and he then looked at his teammates, who merely shrugged. It was up to him whether to believe her or not. 

"I can't trust you fully…" Juin said with a stern expression. Just as Mika was about to accept her fate, she heard him say, "But I won't let them hurt you." 

"You're going to protect someone like her?" Harry spat. "Do you really think that she doesn't know anything about her brother's plans?" 

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to protect her anyway. If you have a problem with it, then you can deal with me."

Harry exchanged glances with his teammates before saying, "You'll regret this, Juin."

He then looked at the dead bodies around before adding, "Don't say that you are not warned."

Harry and his teammates then went to the entrance of the pyramid. Whoever placed the bodies there probably meant for them to be a warning to those who came after them, but with the prize at stake, there was no way anyone who took the long detour to come here would leave without even exploring the pyramid. 

Juin and his team watched as the door of the pyramid lit up in an ominous red before Harry and his teammates walked in. 

"That seems…" Wolfe mumbled.

"Anti-climatic," Caelian completed it for him. 

They then looked at Juin, who for the first time ever, looked at Luca. 

"In or out?" Juin asked. 

Even if he were a little surprised that Juin was letting him decide, Luca did not let it show on his face. He did some thinking before saying, "We are already here anyway… The wind is telling me to go back…"

"You are being contradictory."

"Let me finish," Luca said as he glared at Juin. "The wind is also telling me that there are plenty of opportunities inside the pyramid. If we survive it, we will gain more strength than we can imagine." 

Juin stared at him for a few seconds before asking, "Are you passing the baton back to us?" 

"There's a 99% chance of us not making it." 

Hearing that, everyone felt nervous and uncertain. It was either go home as a complete loser or go home with a big harvest. 

"I'll go," Mika said when she saw everyone hesitating. When the boys looked at her, she said, "I wasn't going to come here, but since I'm here, I have no choice. If I can truly gain strength from this, then I'm willing to take this chance." 

She was right, she had no choice. It wouldn't be long before she would be sacrificed to the demon that her ancestors made the pact with. 

"Yasuo, go to the meeting point," she said as she looked at her younger cousin. "It will be safer for you than to follow me." 

The kid shook his head and grabbed onto her shirt as he said, "No, I want to be with Sister Mika."

Luca looked at Juin and the rest of the group and said, "I have to go."

Neither of them asked them why. Luca's desire had long been known by everyone else. 

Wolfe looked at Juin and said, "I have a feeling that I'm supposed to be with you. So, whatever you choose, I'll follow you."

"I don't want to follow you," Cyrus said with a shudder, "But I can't leave this godforsaken place without you, so… It's up to you."

Juin looked at Caelian. "You too?" 

"I didn't come here just to run away," Caelian said in his preteen voice, which honestly, didn't match his words. 

Juin thought for a moment before nodding. "Then we will go in together."

As they walked towards the entrance, Lucifer asked, "Are you sure about her?" 

Juin activated Silence and looked at Mika's back. Since she was the first to speak out and since they saved her, she decided that she should take the lead to show her thank, so everyone just let her. 

"No," Juin finally admitted to Lucifer. "But she would be our only eyes and ears in the Nakamura Clan. Having one more ally on my side is better than having another enemy." 

Lucifer nodded. "I'm surprised you can think that." 

Juin did not say anything for a while. "I'm not a complete idiot. I can't confidently say that she's here with pure intentions. Her father tried to kill me before, and I'm sure her brothers have their own plans with me as well… But I need her help so that I can know more about the Nakamura Clan." 

"You are going to turn her against her own family?" 

Juin slowed down his pace until he came to a complete stop. "I don't have to. Her family is doing a great job at that." 

It wasn't hard to tell. While they were waiting to enter this place, Juin noticed that Mika's teammates were mostly nobodies with bad reputation. No matter what, she was the daughter of the head of the family. She should have been placed with stronger teammates. Yet she was placed in the worst Nakamura team, with a clearly inexperience child who was probably sent her to die along with her. 

"Juin, what are you waiting for?" Wolfe called out when he sensed that the footstep sounds were off. 

"Coming!" Juin said with a smile as he quickly caught up with them.

Lucifer floated above him, glancing down occasionally. He was proud that Juin could think further, but at the same time, he was worried.

…

At the entrance of the pyramid, the same ominous red light appeared in front of them before the heavy stone door moved away, revealing a dark pathway. However, before they could enter, they noticed movements heading towards them and quickly stepped aside. 

"Not those again!" Wolfe groaned when he saw the flying torsos and limbs. 

The heads followed next, and they were neatly stacked outside with the rest of the dismembered body parts. 

"That's… Harry and his team," Luca muttered with a deep frown while the rest looked on with a horrified expression. 

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