Chapter 42
Max flinched.
“Y-Y-It’s a ghost!”
“Technically, these were created a thousand years ago in the Shadow Realm, so even if they are alive, they might as well be ghosts. Stop talking nonsense,” replied Sian, whose complexion had improved. It seemed he had just returned.
“Your Highness, I have given the spirits to each of the representatives of the groups.”
“Good job, Sian. You seem to be in a better mood. You’re definitely a workaholic. Did Lady Debnoa receive her spirit?”
There was a tone of relief in his voice, as if he were glad Sian had snapped out of it. Despite his cheerful words, the Crown Prince wore a somewhat irritated expression.
Sian shook his head.
“No. I gave it to Duke Kyle instead.”
The Crown Prince’s favorability has slightly increased.
“Duke Kyle, huh? That guy is always hard to read. Let’s check the door first.”
The door was too large to open both halves at once. They had to choose one side to investigate.
“Which way should we go, Viscount Isengrif?” Yeniel elegantly asked Sian. Sian glanced at both sides of the door.
“There’s already someone on the right side. Let’s go left.”
“That seems like a good idea.”
On the right side of the door stood a group of commoners, whom they could easily identify as such. After spending time with nobles, they had learned to distinguish the commoners naturally.
It wasn’t their clothing. Everyone had dressed up for the party, and many people coming down from the third floor had torn clothes or were covered in blood.
Etiquette wasn’t something Sian was familiar with. He had never been chastised for his behavior, so it seemed like there were no strict rules for him. But what about the commoners?
“They were invited based on their abilities, unlike some nobles who were invited because of their status,” Sian thought to himself.
Lost in his thoughts, Sian snapped back to reality.
There was a reason, but I didn’t know why at first.
Sian was not particularly clever, nor did he have much information. So he couldn’t deduce things like this on his own.
“Something strange is happening,” he muttered, feeling uneasy.
Standing at the left side of the door, Sian and his group looked across at the commoners, who stood at the opposite side of the door.
“The distance between us and them is quite large. I don’t think we’ll be able to communicate. I thought maybe if we pushed together, it would open, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case,” the Crown Prince said with a disappointed tone.
He reached for the large handle, but just as his hand touched it, the headless servants suddenly turned to face the Crown Prince.
“What is that?” Max trembled, looking at the scene in shock.
“Take your hand off the door, Your Highness!” Yeniel quickly pulled the Crown Prince’s arm away, making him stumble from the force. It was as if an extraordinary strength was coming from the servants. Sian caught the Crown Prince from behind.
The Crown Prince was lucky.
“AAAHH!”
The massive door creaked open just a crack, and a woman standing by the right side of the door was instantly sucked into it.
Once the door slammed shut, the scream stopped, and only a large amount of bright red blood spilled out from under the door.
“Melissa…? Melissa!” The group on the opposite side of the door screamed in horror.
“What’s happening inside? Tell us what’s going on!” they shouted, banging on the door.
“Open the door! Who’s inside?” The headless servants began to step forward with slow, deliberate movements, getting closer.
One of the men, who had reached for the opposite door handle to check on his companions, was sucked in as well.
“AAAHHH!”
Having seen the first victim get pulled in, he desperately held onto the door, but it was useless.
Something from inside was dragging him in.
Sian watched as shadowy, blood-stained hands appeared from the opposite side of the door, almost as if they were reaching out for him.
Before anyone could escape, the remaining group was surrounded by the headless servants, who were armed with sharp tools like stakes and knives.
“Turn away, everyone! Don’t look!” the Crown Prince yelled.
The group, who had been stunned by the sight, instinctively closed their eyes or lowered their heads.
Sian, still aware of the threat, mentally mapped out where the dangers were.
The headless servants weren’t fast. They moved at most at a quick pace, so they hadn’t reached them yet.
When he opened his eyes again, the door where the commoners had been standing was now empty.
Only blood remained, dripping from the door and pooling on the floor.
“Are they… dead?” the Crown Prince whispered in a trembling voice, his face a mixture of fear for nearly dying and relief for surviving.
Hearing the commotion, other survivors began rushing toward them, some lamenting and others vomiting, unable to handle the gruesome sight.
The others’ expressions turned desperate.
Finally, people realized that the third floor was not much different from the other parts of the mansion.
Sian looked down at the floor.
The area around the door was faintly discolored. It seemed like even though they had tried to clean up the spilled blood, there were still traces left.
This really is the hard mode.
As Sian compared the events with his memories from the game, it became even more real to him.
In normal mode, no one had died.
According to his memory, the door had just been impossible to open. Every time they tried to open it, the headless servants would start to turn their heads toward them.
If they tried three or four times, the servants would chase them, but as long as they escaped the third floor, it was over. Sian himself had simply fought and killed them all.
The roaming headless servants were generally too busy with their own tasks unless someone touched the door.
“We should move away from the door. It’s better to check out the eastern area. We know Lady Debnoa went there, but we haven’t investigated it yet,” Yeniel suggested calmly.
“I’ll call forth a spirit to check around the door. There might be a hidden passage or key,” Sian added.
A gust of wind blew as the spirit appeared.
Sian turned to his group.
“While the spirit is investigating, we should explore as well.”
Unlike before, sian’s eyes now looked resolute.
He must have realized that there was no time to dwell on guilt when survival was at stake.
Despite the deaths, the hall still gleamed beautifully.
That eerie atmosphere made it feel all the more unsettling.
“We need to get out of here. We must leave this Shadow Realm as soon as possible.”
Sian’s muttering sounded almost like a personal reminder to himself.
