The two guards were standing on either side of the tunnel entrance, checking the number of villagers who had arrived, to make sure that no one was missing.
And so the comers entered directly through the tunnel without waiting for the others, and went down the long stairs without even opening their eyes, as if something were attracting them.
Many villagers continued to reach the square and descend through the tunnel.
Moments later, the group that Kotaro, Akina and Ryota mixed with, joined the arena. The two guards saw them but didn't show any expression of uncertainty and let them pass.
Perhaps because they had seen by themselves how Kotaro and his two friends had swallowed the tea, so they had no doubt that the three would not be affected with it.
Kotaro and the others went down the long staircase, which was also wide and could accommodate many people, but it looked worn and had some cracks in it indicating his oldness, and along the staircase and between every ten steps there was an oil lamp hung on the side wall, which Makes the tunnel completely luminous.
Ten minutes later outside, the last group of residents had entered the square, and they started walking into the tunnel.
The last person had come down the stairs, when the two guards also followed him and closed the entrance behind them.
The divided floor also returned to its shape, and the entrance to the tunnel also disappeared.
Calm fell on the great square again, and a strange silence reigned in the mysterious village, a cold feeling hovered over the horizon, and no one knew that a long night was waiting for everyone.
...
Inside the tunnel, Kotaro was walking among the crowd and trying to sense any other enemies, while Akina and Ryota were separated from him, to avoid raising any suspicion, the two guards had already advanced to the front and were currently the first people. Kotaro and most of the villagers had reached the end of the stairs not long ago, and at this moment were walking through a straight path.
After they had covered a distance of a hundred meters, the passage came to an end. Five meters in length and three in width, a huge stone gate appeared blocking the road, and the two guards came forward to open it. On the left and right sides of the gate was an inscription of the eight-star Yamikara emblem and the letter Y within the semi-circle. Between the two emblems and in the middle, a man with a long sword, wearing a cloak, and above his head a crown of kings, had a short beard, and on his forehead a strange symbol like two crossed snakes, and for some reason the right eye of this person was not drawn.
Kotaro opened his eyes a little and when he saw the drawing on the gate he was a little surprised, then he immediately guessed who this person was, Cesar had described it to them before, he was the founder of the Yamikara and the father of its current leader, his name is Azami Anda, and his son was Azami Inari.
Before the two guards opened the gate, they stopped in front of her and knelt for a moment before continuing, as Kotaro noticed this, he couldn't help but snorer coldly inwardly: "Hmph, scum is kneeling to another scum."
The two guards grabbed the two stone rings attached to the gate and pushed the gate from the middle forward, they had already released their magical powers to help open the heavy gate.
As the gate moved slightly, a beam of light began to penetrate the secret tunnel, expanding little by little.
The gate was fully opened and the scene was revealed to everyone. Kotaro, Akina, and Ryota were completely tongue-tied and dumbfounded, but soon regained their composure.
The two guards walked through the entrance and when they passed they stopped and knelt again: "These two humble soldiers salute the master."
"Good job, get everyone in." The unknown gentleman spoke as he commanded.
This was a huge hall, enough to receive more than four hundred people, its walls were painted in gold and white colors and surrounded by seven broad and large columns painted bright red, and between each column stood three knights, each of them carrying a different weapon, it was either a sword, an axe, or a spear, and in the middle a red carpet was rolled out, which covered the entire floor.
At the other end of the hall, there was a vast throne emitting the aura of kings, and upon it sat a woman, apparently over thirty but with a beautiful face and sexy body, and wore a black dress that reached to the bottom of her feet, her eyes were charming, and if you stared at them too long, you will lose yourself.
"Who is this woman?" This question immediately came to Kotaro's mind, but he did not find the answer.
The gate had opened and the villagers began to enter the hall as well, and when they came upon the red carpet, they were stopping there, and this was the first time they had stopped since this strange incident began.
The three found it a bit strange, but soon they knew why, they were able to sense magical energy coming from the unknown woman, and it was highly likely that she was the one controlling the villagers.
Kotaro, Akina, and Ryota remained calm, and continued acting.
When everyone arrived and settled on the rug, the woman stood up from her throne and pointed at the two guards, she said, "Okay, start the procedures..." She also put a cold smile on her face: "But first, we have to get rid of some uninvited guests."
As she said that, at the place where Kotaro, Akina, and Ryota stood, iron rods appeared, from under the ground came out and formed a narrow prison, and although the three of them had been vigilant from the start, they were already anticipating an attack from one of the knights or The two guards, but something like this was surprising, and each of them ended up inside a small prison, separated from each other.
It happened quickly and Kotaro only got to get angry, even Akina and Ryota were cursing at the lady who was smiling in their faces: "You really thought you were going to deceive me with that trick, huh, you're still kids and inexperienced."