Vico wakes up in a dark and cold room. Dim lights reveal three stone doors in front of him, each with a strange symbol representing one of his friends: Ken, Akio, and his sister, Ann. In front of each door stands a stone statue of his friends, almost alive.

As Vico looks around, a mysterious figure appears, wearing a black cloak and hiding its face. It speaks in a deep, cold voice:

Mysterious Figure: “Finally, you’re awake, Vico. Your test is simple: choose one person to survive. Two will die, and only one will live.”

Vico is shocked, feeling as if the ground is spinning beneath him. He tries to approach the statues, but they glow brightly, stopping him.

Vico (angrily, scared): “Are you joking?! What have you done to my sister and my friends?! Show them to me now!”

Mysterious Figure: “If you don’t choose, they will all die.”

Vico: “Where is my sister?! Give her back to me now!”

The figure slowly steps toward Vico and pulls out a crystal ball. Inside, Vico sees Ann, tied up in a dark room, crying and screaming.

Vico (shouting with fear and anger): “My sister! What have you done to her? I’ll never forgive you!”

Mysterious Figure: “No problem. We’ll release her if you choose to protect her. But your two teenage friends will die.”

Vico: “Akio and Ken will never die! They have dreams they must fulfill!”

Mysterious Figure: “So, will you choose them over your sister?”

Vico: “Of course not. There’s only one person who will die today, and that person is me!”

Mysterious Figure (surprised): “You foolish boy. Will you really sacrifice yourself for them?”

Vico begins trembling and sweating from fear but tries to stand still, pretending to be brave.

Vico: “I’m… just a dumb kid with no dreams. But those three must achieve theirs! If you want to kill someone, kill me, but don’t hurt them!”

Mysterious Figure: “But why? You just met Ken and Akio today, yet you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for them?”

Vico: “Because I feel like those two are different from any friends I’ve known before. I feel like there’s something extraordinary about them! They’re destined to shape the future. Even though I just met them, it feels like I’ve spent years with them.”

The mysterious figure slowly approached Vico, pulling a sword from behind its back. It pointed the blade at Vico’s neck. Vico, terrified to the core, stood frozen, staring at the sword as it came closer. Suddenly, the figure stopped and said coldly:

Mysterious Figure: “Well done. You’ve passed the test. You may proceed.”

Vico: “R…Really?! You’re not going to kill me?!”

Mysterious Figure: “Killing you was never part of the test’s conditions. You and everyone else are safe.”

Vico collapsed to the ground, sobbing after the terrifying ordeal he had just endured.

Mysterious Figure: “By the way, you’re very weepy. You’ve been crying a lot since you entered this cave.”

The mysterious figure walked out of the room, leaving Vico alone, still crying.

The scene shifts to the room where Ken and chained-up Ann were. Ken’s battle with the Black ghost had already begun. The ghost disappeared and reappeared in unexpected places, landing punches on Ken. But Ken started focusing, using his hearing and sense of smell to track the phantom’s movements. Finally, he pinpointed its location and swung his sword.

To his shock, the ghost was entirely transparent, and the blade passed right through without harming it. A hint of frustration appeared on Ken’s face as he switched tactics, hurling fireballs at the black ghost. But again, they had no effect, passing through the ghost without causing any damage. Ken began to sweat and panic as he repeated his attacks to no avail.

Ken (to himself): “What is this creature… It really can’t be defeated with normal combat! What do I do now? I can’t keep fighting it forever!”

Suddenly, Ken’s expression brightened as if he had discovered a solution. He started thinking to himself.

Ken (to himself): “If this creature is 100% transparent, how can it punch me with such solid force? I think I’ve found its weakness! And it’s so ridiculous…”

Ken stopped his attacks and focused on dodging, carefully watching the ghost’s movements, especially its hands. He noticed that its hands became solid right before landing punches. It was difficult to catch due to the phantom’s speed, but Ken persisted.

Ken (to himself): “This ghost is really foolish. I’ll make him reveal his weakness to himself!”

Suddenly, Ken began executing his final attack. He reached the peak of his focus, and this time, he managed to scratch the black ghost’s hand with his sword. But that wasn’t enough. The Black ghost stood still and looked at the scratch on its palm.

Black ghost: “You know? You’re not bad!”

Just moments later, the Black ghost charged at Ken again. This time, Ken started throwing fireballs at it, focusing on hitting its hands when they were in a solid form. After several attempts, he succeeded. The ghost’s right hand started to catch fire. He screamed loudly and ran out of the room, unable to continue due to the pain.

Ken (with a victorious smile): “Is that all you’ve got? You ran away once I find your weakness. How pathetic!”

Ken lit his cigarette with his finger and started smoking. Then he walked over to Ann, untied her bonds, and removed the cloth from her mouth. Ann stood up, looking at Ken with a blush on her cheeks.

Ann (nervously and admiringly): “T…Thank you, Ken-san! You saved me!”

Ken grabbed Ann’s hand and began running with her.

Ken: “We don’t have time for that. We need to find the others right now!”

The moment Ken touched Ann’s hand, her face turned comically flustered, and her eyes turned into hearts as she smiled widely. She had fallen in love with him! Ken was still running, holding her hand, completely unaware of her reaction.

Ann (excitedly): “Please marry me!!”

Ken stopped walking, shocked by Ann’s words. He turned to her with a surprised yet nonchalant expression, letting go of her hand.

Ken: “What?!”

Ann realized that she had said it out loud, and her face turned completely red from embarrassment. She began screaming in shock, punching her face from the humiliation.

Ann: “How foolish I am! Why did I say that out loud?! Did I get so captivated by his handsomeness?!”

Ken: “I can hear you.”

Ann fainted from both Ken’s handsomeness and her embarrassment, and her face looked funny. Ken looked at her in confusion.

Ken: “Girls are really strange creatures.”

Ken took his last sip of his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stomped it out. He then picked up the unconscious Ann and carried her on his shoulder, walking away with her.

To be continued…