Chapter 9

Later during the night, Douma got ready to go for a stroll down the mountains and then to town. He needed some time and space to think about the conversation he had with Mr Hanekama, he couldn't stop thinking about it for the whole day. Besides thinking of his decision, the blonde male wanted to check on the villagers, not pay them a visit but see if they're doing alright after the events of today, if the houses are bright and people are chatting away, that concludes it, he didn't need to worry about them anymore, not like he really cared about their constant worries anyway, they always came to him for the same reasons.

"I almost forgot my lantern! Can't afford to go the wrong way!" Douma said cheerfully not like he really needed any light source he could see in the dark well enough.

After checking on the garden to see if the Koi fish were well fed for the night, Douma walked down the cobbled stone steps and grabbed the keys from his pocket. Careful not to make a lot of noise, Douma locked the shrine gates and proceeded down the slope, glancing back at the shrine one last time to ensure nobody was hiding in the bushes and watching him. Someone tried to break into the shrine once, luckily there were many visitors that night so the intruder was caught in no time. Douma thought it was stupid to break in when there's a lot of people in the area.

The sound of crickets filled the dark ambience, it had been a few minutes now, there hasn't been any houses in sight just a few trees and the hills at every corner, the only sources of light was the lantern he was holding and one or two lampposts, stepping out of this part of the path would invite him into pure darkness, any person walking down here would need a working lantern or torch to be safe.

"It's so quiet, is everyone asleep now? Oh well," Normally there would be a few people walking down this path, tonight it was eerily quiet with no sign of life anywhere.

"Maybe there's a surprise for me somewhere? I wish that was the case maybe the villagers felt bad for mocking me!" Douma clasped his hands together in joy, oblivious to any possible dangers lurking around.

Soon he reached the first stretch of houses followed by a few barns with cows and sheep that were still munching on the grass as usual.

Douma felt relieved seeing this part of the village as he continued walking, observing the state of the neighborhood, it seemed everyone was going about their lives as per normal, the only difference was nobody acknowledged his presence, maybe the news already reached the village. Nothing he could do about it though, in all honesty he didn't want anyone to bother him or start asking questions, it was rather annoying sometimes.

There were some chickens walking past him, the blonde male waved at them to which a large rooster turned to look at him for a while before carrying forward with the others.

A few blocks away were residents outside of their homes, arranging the clothes outside and checking their plants, it seems none of them noticed him. Everyone sure was busy, he wondered if talking to them would help them let loose but leaving them alone was a better option he didn't want to disturb them. Back then meeting the leader of Paradise Shrine was a dream come true for every individual in the village.

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It wasn't long until Douma had completed his journey down the mountain, now it was time to visit town and see if there was anything he'd like to get, he was craving for ice cream. The blonde started thinking of which flavor to get and toppings, he recently had chocolate with bits of cookies so maybe something simple this time since he was heading back soon, it would be a waste if all the delicacies melted away during the walk back to the shrine which was an hour depending on the path he went.

The other mountain could be seen clearer from where he was standing, Douma wondered if there were any places worth visiting there, it wasn't as lively and mostly consisted of dense forests. The last time he went there it was gloomy even in the day time, no wonder some people were creeped out by it especially at night time, but regardless of what people think, Douma thought it was still a fascinating natural treasure in its own way and people needed to be less judgmental towards the things around them.

After a few more minutes of walking, Douma finally reached the town, which to his dismay was empty and desolate.

"This is strange the town is always bustling with people did I miss something?" 

Douma squinted his eyes and noticed something very odd about the whole place. The windows of some stores were shattered and pieces of wood and glass were scattered on the ground like some big robbery had occurred not too long ago. There was nobody in plain sight, the town looked like a complete ghost town, only the sound of the chilling wind could be heard, and that only lasted for a second, leaving only Douma's breathing to be the loudest.

As someone who has the reputation for being brave and leading the mountain to its glory in any situation, Douma started walking towards the town preparing for any potential threat that awaited him. 

It hadn't even been minutes into his exploration when he saw a familiar-looking face lying on the floor outside a terribly ransacked store, which he assumed was a cafe or restaurant that he knew very well.

"Isaki! Are you alright?!" Douma ran towards the man who looked like he just passed out, the ground was dusty and there were glass shards all around the spot.

"Hey wake up what happened here are you there?" It was hard to get Isaki to wake up he seemed way too tired, luckily he was fine and opened his eyes only to jump back and yelp.

"Over there! You must leave now!" The frantic man started moving backwards he looked terrified.

"What are you talking about? Where is everyone?" Douma was confused there was nobody in town except him and this freaked-out follower of his, which could raise suspicion because the town was a mess and he was the only one here but knowing Isaki he wouldn't pull something like this would he?

"See it for yourself! It's right there!" 

"Isaki can you just listen to me for a second? Jeez why are you always overreacting?"

"It's behind you just look!"