"Hm, there are so many trees. This realm is a strange one," James muttered as he scanned the surroundings.
I replied, "Maybe it's because this is one of the strongest demons of the Supreme Demon Court."
James turned to me, surprised. "How do you know that?"
"Research," I shrugged. "That's all."
"So, you've studied the Supreme Demon Court? Smart kid," James said, nodding in approval. He then added, "If we're looking for your friends, we'll need to search through houses, but that's going to be difficult out here in the woods."
"They're probably looking for me too," I said, trying to stay hopeful.
James nodded. "Once we find them, all of you are going home."
Just as he finished speaking, I saw something in the bushes, staring at us. "Look, there's something in the bushes!" I said quickly.
Before James could respond, the figure darted away. Without hesitation, we chased after it. As we ran, we unexpectedly bumped into one of my friends—Enoch. He was so scared that I couldn't help but laugh.
Enoch's face turned red with frustration. "Watch who you're laughing at!" he snapped.
James smiled and glanced at me. "So, this is one of your friends. Let's find the others."
I turned to Enoch. "How did you get here?"
"I woke up in an old cabin," he explained, still on edge.
"That means your other friends might have woken up in a building too," James remarked thoughtfully.
As we continued walking, we spotted an old high school up ahead. We decided to check it out, entering through the back. When we opened the door, we found ourselves in a basketball court.
"There should be a backup generator somewhere," Enoch said, pointing toward the halls. "We can use it to check the CCTV."
We walked through the dimly lit halls, eventually finding our way to the basement. After some searching, we managed to switch on the backup generator. Returning to the main floor, we made our way to the CCTV room, eager to see if we could find our friends.
What we saw on the screen was horrifying—a massive, eight-tentacled beast, feeding on people. My stomach churned as I stared at the screen.
James' voice was grim as he explained, "This world was once a universe ruled by demons. The people here worshipped them as gods. But one day, Ching Fang, the ruler, went mad and slaughtered them all."
We left the CCTV room, shaken, and continued exploring. As we moved deeper into the building, we suddenly ran into another one of my friends—Jeremiah. Relief washed over me for a moment, but before any of us could react, one of the beast's tentacles slammed into us, knocking us all unconscious.