"It seems that the unknown social entity is not weak." Anton thought as he sensed the subtle gathering aura of malice in the surroundings.
If it's not present in flesh and blood, how could they eliminate something of that nature? This meant that the unknown dark entity was very strong and, at least, difficult to eliminate.
This was both good and bad.
Considering the multiple casualties of agents and civilians in each emerging dark entity, it was good that this time the damages and losses were limited to so few people.
"Sir, how did you find out about what's happening to us?" The boy with glasses asked, trembling suddenly.
"Well, it's not the first time we've faced the unknown. You just need to know that we are a specialized team for these kinds of things. So far, we are the only ones who can understand your situation," Anton said as he sat in front of the students.
Seeing Anton say that, this boy knelt down directly.
"Thank you, sir. You have to save me!" The bespectacled boy hugged Anton's thigh and cried uncontrollably.
The tall and handsome boy beside him was a high school student. However, at this moment, he couldn't care less about his reputation.
They had been tormented by the labyrinth for the past few days. It wasn't easy for him to find an opportunity to survive, so he had to seize it.
The tall boy also knelt down and pleaded.
"Stand up first." As he spoke, Anton waved his right hand in the air. "It's not time to despair yet; don't kneel. It's easy to survive if you listen to me."
Elizabeth, his best friend, and these two boys nodded enthusiastically. Even the boy in the corner remained silent and didn't object.
"From now on, all of you must stay in this room. No matter what, you must not leave this place. If you notice anything abnormal, tell me immediately. It's better not to stay alone."
"We will be here to protect you. If you want to eat something, you can endure hunger for a few hours. So, all you have to do is stay quiet and not speak. Anyway, we are doing this to save your lives."
Seeing that no one had objections, Anton stood up from the sofa and walked toward the door. "Come with me for a moment, Rafael; we need to discuss something important."
"Yes, sir." Rafael, who had been watching everyone in the room, told the other agents, "Keep an eye on them."
"Understood," one of the agents responded.
"Considering that the dark entity hides in their dreams, the last measure we could take would be to end the suffering of these young people," Anton said as he saw Rafael approaching and pointed, "This is the first time we face something like this. In my experience, I don't even know if what I'm about to do will save the lives of these young people."
"Sir... Considering the personality of the dark entity, it wouldn't be prudent." Just before Rafael continued his words, he was interrupted by Anton.
"We can't. Today is about these young people. Next time, it could be younger siblings or even children of our colleagues. We will do the best we can to save their lives, but always consider the worst." Anton interrupted Rafael's words and returned to the room where the young people were sitting.
As he walked to where the young people were, Anton sat on the sofa and began to observe everyone.
They all seemed normal, except for the dark circles under their eyes that characterized them; no one seemed out of the ordinary.
Anton remembered that three of the students were in a coma, as were Elizabeth's parents.
He recalled that the dark entity acted in a very reserved manner; considering that most would want to eat and hunt, this time the behavior was very restrained.
"Could it be possible that it's not strong enough to escape from the dreams of the young people if it tries to enter that labyrinth?"
It could be possible; then it might even die if it goes in that direction.
However, it was too early to deduce something so strange and complex.
Would the unknown, dark entity let the young people escape from the door once they found it?
That was unlikely.
Combined with what he had seen this afternoon, this dark entity could feed on the negative thoughts and fear of its victims. After Elizabeth's body was controlled by the dark entity, her nightmares were immediate, giving whatever was inside the dreams control of Elizabeth's body.
In this sense, Anton supposed that the only way to eliminate the dark entity and save the young people was to attack from within!
However, while Anton entered, there would definitely be a chance to eliminate the dark entity. If he could enter the labyrinth, Anton could discover a way to exorcise whatever was inside.
They waited from the afternoon until nine at night.
These young people forced themselves to stay awake. It seemed that they had been tortured by the smiling doll for too long and no longer dared to sleep.
Time continued passing until 11:00 at night, and at that point, Anton frowned, then gave a signal.
"It's time to start, Anton," and he looked at Rafael as he stood up from the chair.
"Alright! From now on, I will personally take care of entering the labyrinth." When Anton finished speaking, the agents entered with a huge mirror in the room.
After placing it in the center of the room, they walked towards the young people and handcuffed their wrists and ankles to restrain them.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Mr. Anton, what does this mean? Why are you arresting us?" Elizabeth asked, very confused.
"I would like to say it's to prevent the smiling doll from controlling you and causing trouble for my colleagues, so I'm going to enter the laboratory personally." Anton walked toward that mirror and looked at it in silence.
"Rafael, if everything goes well, handle the situation in the most appropriate way. The elimination process must be effective, with no survivors, including myself."
"Have they gone mad?" Shouted one of the boys who had remained silent until now and said, "If any of you enter that place, you will all die trying to kill the smiling doll."
"Do you want me to go in with you, sir?" Rafael ignored the young man and looked at Anton, awaiting his response.
"It's not necessary. Following the protocol, I shouldn't risk the team, and I'm not even sure what I will find inside."
"Then... Let me accompany you; we can better solve the problems inside." Rafael insisted again with a worried voice.
"No, I need you out here to control these young people and make quick decisions." Anton felt a little insecure and nervous. In the past, he still questioned going forward; after all, he still feared death. However, now he has the strength and is possibly the only one who can save the lives of these young people.
"The dark entity has made its move!" An assistant who was handling a frequency meter quickly reported.
Anton frowned, as he could clearly feel that the threat in the room was much stronger than before.
"Donald!" Elena exclaimed as she saw Donald fall to the floor.
Everyone in the room was scared after seeing the young man fall unconscious.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
"Move aside!" Anton spoke in a low voice as he took a step forward.
In a moment like this, there was no time to lose. The most important thing was to save the life of whoever was in danger.
After everyone stepped aside, Anton sat next to Donald and observed carefully.
The current situation of the young man was similar to Elizabeth's during the day.
However, according to his conjectures, the power that could control the bodies of those affected by the dark entity could only make them have nightmares but couldn't cause more serious harm to the body.
Therefore, Anton was waiting.
He wanted to wait until the control of the dark entity was stronger before attacking. It would be better if he attacked after the smiling doll appeared.
This dark entity was very cunning.
Therefore, Anton only had one chance to attack. Otherwise, this demonic creature might never appear again.
After about two or three minutes, even Elizabeth and the others noticed something unusual.
Donald's face darkened a bit, and some kind of dark mist began to seep from his right hand.
The temperature in the room kept dropping. Even with the air conditioning on, they still felt cold.
Moreover, it was useless to put on more clothes against such a peculiar cold sensation.
Seeing this, Anton couldn't wait any longer.
If he waited longer, the unconscious young man might die.
Regardless of what happened, Anton took the paper stuck to Donald's right hand and tore it off with his cut hand.
Anton's blood quickly soaked the paper.
"You must think I'm afraid of you." Anton stood in front of the mirror and watched his reflection carefully. "Let me in, and we can talk calmly. You don't have to fear me."
"You have no idea... You don't understand what you just did; there's no escape."
Anton looked at his reflection in the mirror; in front of him, his reflection smiled at him with a maniacal expression. Seeing this, he knew he had made the connection.
Without thinking too much, Anton struck his reflection with all his strength.
Crash!
The strong impact shattered the mirror, and the broken glass fell to the floor, making a crunching sound.
After Anton struck his reflection, at that very moment, he felt an extremely cold stream of air run through his body.
"Rafael, I'll be back in a second," Anton murmured before losing consciousness.