(Part 2)

"The map! It's held in the wrong way! Look!" Azazel corrected pulling Alan to his place.

Alan blinking his eyes stood on his side.

"Look! The way you are looking at the map and the way I am is entirely the same! But, if you look at it closely the sides change. We climbed the mountain from the right but looked at the right route on the map which in reality was from the left." Azazel judged.

Instantly Seraph apprehended, "You mean… we have been reading the map upside down all this time?!"

"Yes!" Azazel corrected.

"Perspective Dodge…" Alan described, "All this time we were cheated by this piece of paper. Sigh, something so simple troubled us this much?!"

"Perspective Dodge?" Azazel asked.

"Yeah, it is known as the blunder of eye. Let me explain…" Alan crouched on the ground picking up a branch soon drawing on the sand.

Seraph and Azazel squatted beside him.

"Look, the moment we stepped down from the top, we knew we stood on the right side. Right?" "Yeah…" Seraph replied. "However, what we didn't knew was the fact that the scroll opened from the left. Which means when we opened it we saw our destination upside down, like this." explained Alan, turning the map upside down, "In this case the map seen from front or the back, depicted the same side of the mountain confusing us." "That means, we had to go from the left but we did from the right?" Azazel asked.

"Yes." Alan responded.

"Oh dear…" Seraph exhaled, "No wonder we weren't able to find the cavern since long."

"Yes, because we were continuously walking the opposite side." Alan amended.

Azazel pointing the map asked stupefied, "Does that mean we have to go back to the top again?!"

"I am afraid yes." Alan responded.

Seraph shook his head in disbelief, "Let me tell you one thing. Kenzo isn't going to like the sound of that."

"It's not just him. No one would. We had been walking since two hours just to find out that we were walking down the opposite direction painstakingly all this time is indeed frustrating." Alan stood up. "Come on, we better inform them now and not waste more time." he suggested. Turning around he smiled at Azazel, "Also, great job, you might not think that nonetheless you saved us big time today." he praised.

Azazel blinked.

Seraph too ruffled his hairs, "Indeed, good job."

Azazel hearing the remarks stood embarrassed suddenly walking ahead. A contended smile resting his lips he beamed. The three of them soon met the middle schoolers who looked quite refreshed compared to before.

"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Helios questioned walking over.

"I am afraid we couldn't find anything. However we did bought news." Alan replied sitting down. Grasping the water bottle which Cassiel handed he drank.

"And what is that?" Xavier inquired curious.

Kenzo sitting silent listened carefully. "Guys, I'm afraid… we have been walking down the wrong path since the beginning." Seraph uttered. A sudden silence befell over them.

"Phush!! Cough! Cough!!" Ezekiel coughed amid drinking water questioning bewildered, "What!?"

"Wait, how can that be? We have been walking the same path shown in the map ever since the beginning?" Ryan asked puzzled while Feng laid dead as soon as he heard about it.

"You are right. We have been walking the right path however, we held the map upside down all this this time. Even if you look from up or down the map's route is the same from both sides it's hard to tell the difference. Since, we opened it from the left side, we have been leading our way from the right which should have been from the left instead." Azazel explained.

For a moment the middle schoolers sat wordless. None uttering a single word.

"Oh god…" Heber murmured unamused while Adam sat a stiff as a stone. Gabriel who was annoyed to the core gritted his teeth frustrated.

"Let bygones has bygones. Now what?" Poseidon questioned instead, studying the correct side of the map.

"We can only go back from where we came from I suppose. We don't have a choice else that that right?" Xavier guessed. Seraph agreed.

"But we walked all the way here for two hours. Some of us have even lost their stamina. So how can we go all the way back?" Cassiel asked. "We have to and there's no turning back on that. Somewhere I had this feeling that, that old hag must have known about it yet toyed against us." Alan stood up. "I wish from the bottom of my heart that his helicopter jut crashes like the titanic somewhere." he cursed vexed.

"Yeah, I should've realized it the moment I didn't find the key on the map as well as the compass." Helios realized his mistake.

"By the way…" Cassiel gulped glancing at Kenzo who sat on the rock stiff with his expression blackened. "Is he alright?" he asked.

"Nope! He isn't." Heber interrupted gulping, "He is seriously angry. I can sense it!" Xavier eyeing him along with the others sighed.

"Yawn~ it wasn't our fault to begin with. There's no one to blame." Ezekiel yawned exhausted.

Ryan rolling his eyes taunted, "It was that king's own fault to begin with. He was the one to hold the map in his hands since the moment we began to climb down. Didn't he knew what was right or wrong? Tch, and he calls others doofus." Adam hearing him nodded, "Yeah, yeah, that wannabe stupid king."

Hearing them Kenzo instantly stood up tugging his queen.

"Here he comes?!" Heber shrieked hiding behind Poseidon who shook his head clueless.

Standing between Alan and Seraph Kenzo grabbed the scroll silently. His expression calm and serene, showing no frustration Xavier whispered, "Maybe he isn't that angry. It might be our mistake…"

And as soon as he ended his sentence Kenzo was about to shedder the infamous map into fine particles as Helios grabbed him from his shoulders.

"Whoa!! Whoa! Easy there Kenzo. We wouldn't be left for anywhere if this gets torn!" he warned as Kenzo cursed it harshly, "This good for nothing useless piece of trash! How dare it fools a king hun? How dare this tiny scroll has the audacity to! I am going to rip it and…!"

And… so on and on. To the point that Feng, Heber, Ezekiel, Poseidon along with Ryan and Adam plugged their ears with their fingers.

"And here he goes…" Cassiel added in disbelief while Alan gazed at the map ignoring Kenzo's curses.

"Oops, I guess it was my mistake…" Xavier corrected his prior sentence with a smile.

"So what's next?" Feng questioned Alan still lying on the ground flat. Alan walking towards him gave his hand, "Come on. Get up. We are going back."

Hearing him Feng once again laid dead, "Game over…"

"Haha!" Alan chuckled over his remark, "Come on, I don't think it's that bad. Don't resist now, get up."

Grabbing his hand, Feng sat up straight uttering. "This is really hell…"

Alan concurring exhaled, "Yup, it's indeed hell. However, those who survive even this… are monsters nope…. devils." Alan fortified in his weird way.

Feng blinking his eyes stood up. "Sigh, now we are on our road to becoming devils? Seriously?" he thought ironic however instantly giggling, "Hehe… you know, you really intrigue me out of nowhere. Sometimes I don't even have remarks for your wise words." Alan shaking his head smiled.

Kenzo finally calming down took deep breaths as Gabriel walked over. "It's better if we head back now. It's going to be evening soon. I don't think we would be happier standing amid here pulling all-nighters." he advised.

Heber patted Kenzo's back who twitched his brow instead. "Your old man really toyed good time with us, Alan." Adam remarked.

"That's the sole reason I am praying that his helicopter just crashes like a titanic." Alan replied shameless.

"Are you even his son?" Cassiel asked doubtfully. "Who knows, I too doubt that. There was definitely a mistake in heaven's registers above when god was making this decision." Alan responded blatant while the others stared speechless.

"Unbelievable…" Helios smacked his head.