Chapter 115
A surge of terror dried my lips.
But, does that mean I should just sit here like an idiot until the door closes! That's always what happens in horror movies!
I hurriedly got up and ran out of the room.
Fortunately, I wasn't trapped inside. But I witnessed the black hem of a robe disappearing into the fourth room.
Damn it. I found myself desperately wishing Zenas would hurry back to the cabin.
"That... it's like it's inviting me into that room..."
Who knows? Maybe I'll find something like the notebook I found in the second room. Something that could bring me a little closer to the secret of this island.
Right. To survive even a little longer, I have to be brave.
I steeled my resolve, passed the third room, and stood in front of the fourth door. It was the last room on the third floor. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
But there were no ghosts like I'd feared. The room was tidier than I expected. A bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The layout was similar to the second room.
Unlike the second room, which seemed to have been empty for a long time, this room had everyday items scattered on the desk, as if someone had been living here until recently.
I calmly searched the room.
"Doesn't seem like there's anything special."
Then I found letters written on the desk drawers. The first drawer had 'Modification' written on it in Imperial language.
Modification?
I tilted my head and cautiously opened the drawer. And I found a red revolver-like Flare Gun inside.
"Huh? What, it's the same as mine?"
Even the word 'Alea' written on the side of the Flare Gun was the same as mine.
There was also an ammunition pouch, which contained more bullets than I had.
I took out my waterlogged Flare Gun from my crossbody bag and quietly replaced it with the one in the drawer. Then I took the generous ammunition pouch and put it in my bag.
"Did the owner of this room modify it himself?"
Considering the word 'Modification' written on the drawer and the unusual appearance of the Flare Gun, my guess seemed right.
The second drawer was labeled 'Necessities.' I opened the drawer and took out the lighter inside. And I put down my waterlogged Zippo lighter and put the new lighter in my bag.
"Could these things all be Zenas's?"
If so, should I put them back?
Morally, that's the right thing to do. But in a life-or-death situation, it wasn't an easy choice. I swallowed hard and pondered.
As my worries grew longer, I suddenly remembered what the owner of the notebook had written. That what's more important than survival is not forgetting who I am.
'I should put it back...'
"That's right. That's mine."
"Aaaagh!"
I was startled by the voice suddenly behind me and fell to the floor.
Turning around, I saw Zenas leaning against the doorway, staring at me with a blank expression.
"Oh, when did you get here?"
The handsome boy, who was standing leisurely with his arms crossed, replied calmly.
"Just now."
I opened my mouth, seeing Zenas looking around the room carefully.
"...I was just curious and came up. Sorry for coming in without permission."
He probably doesn't know that I picked up a diary in the next room, so I shouldn't mention that.
"I told you to respect my privacy."
Zenas replied with a slightly annoyed voice. For someone who doesn't express emotions, saying that means he's really angry.
Zenas walked slowly into the room with his hands behind his back. I cautiously backed away from him. My back hit the desk. There was nowhere else to retreat.
Zenas, who had come closer to me, pointed to the Flare Gun in my hand.
"Take that."
"Did you modify this Flare Gun?"
"Yeah. More like made it than modified it."
I understood what Zenas meant. Well, whether you make a Flare Gun with a pistol or a pistol with a Flare Gun, it didn't seem easy to modify either way. It made sense if he made it from scratch.
"Wasn't it useful?"
Zenas tilted his head slightly and pointed to the Flare Gun in my hand.
I suddenly remembered that I had picked up this Flare Gun on the top of the mountain.
Why was this thing there? And not only that...
I showed him the word Alea engraved on the side of the Flare Gun.
"Did you engrave this word yourself too?"
"Yeah."
"What does this mean?"
"You know."
"I don't."
I pretended not to know for now. Then Zenas nodded as if he understood.
"Oh, it's not in this language. Alea, it's the name of this island."
He was definitely not from Earth, but he could read English.
'That doesn't make sense. How can someone from the Ingram Kingdom know English...? That's too weird?'
Maybe among the countless modern objects on this island, there were books or something? If so, he might have learned other languages while living on this island for a thousand years.
"The name of the island? What do you mean it's not in this language?"
I pretended not to know anything and asked. Then Zenas tilted his head with a thoughtful look and replied.
"I don't know the details either."
Then he closed his mouth again and hesitated. I waited patiently for his next words. After a while, he added.
"My sister named it."
"You had a sister?"I asked back, but it belatedly came to mind that he had said 'everyone who came with me is dead,' and I realized." So the sister he's talking about is not here now...
Unlike what I was worried about, Zenas nodded with a nonchalant face.
"Yeah. Anata studied that language."
"What country's language is this?"
His sister's name must have been Anata. This time, I pretended not to know and asked him to test him, but Zenas just shrugged.
"Ask Anata."
"Your sister? Is she here...?"
"Ah..."
At my question, Zenas finally looked a little embarrassed. When his doll-like face showed emotion, he looked like a really young boy.
"That's right, she's not here."
Zenas mumbled with a bitter face. He still can't forget his sister.
I don't know how long his sister lived, but if he was with his sister and was left alone, it makes sense. Did the kidnapper just kidnap people and leave the island abandoned for a thousand years?
"Then I don't know."
"How can you be so irresponsible? If you made me curious, take responsibility."
"I don't know."
Zenas shook his head and closed his mouth. Then he turned his head as if not to ask about it anymore.
Damn it, what the hell. He only solves half of my curiosity, driving me even crazier.
Still, one good thing is that Zenas doesn't seem to have noticed that I, a Korean, am possessing Margaret's body.
'I wish I could discuss this with Enoch and Kaiden soon.'
"Ah, and..."
Zenas suddenly walked quickly to the desk and rummaged through the bottom drawer. It was a drawer I hadn't opened yet.
He took out a flashlight and binoculars from the drawer and handed them to me. It was the flashlight I had been desperately looking for every time I went night fishing.
"This is a gift."
I quietly received the flashlight from him. And after staring at the thing in my hand, I quietly asked him.
"You said you weren't going with me. But why are you taking such good care of me?"
Zenas tilted his head at my question.
"I want Meg to survive."
"Why?"
"I was sad because everyone died so easily."
It was a very meaningful statement. I wanted to figure out what it meant, but I couldn't figure out what he was thinking because he didn't have any expression.
"Zenas, I don't understand why you haven't escaped when you seem like you would have found a way to escape."
The Gate must have opened several times in a thousand years, but it's hard to believe that a genius Wizard like Zenas hasn't escaped.
"I can't escape. And I like it here."
"Here? What's so good about it, it's dangerous."
"That's why it's fun."
This crazy island with Monsters is fun?
He looked fine on the outside, but he must have been crazy on the inside. Well, he couldn't have stayed sane after living on this crazy island for a thousand years.
"You know there are Monsters roaming around this island, right?"
At my question, Zenas looked at the ceiling with a thoughtful face and replied after a while.
"They weren't there from the beginning."
"...What?"
What is this again? No, how can a new story come out like an onion even when you peel it?
"At first, they were all ordinary creatures. But they gradually evolved."
"Monsters?"
"Yeah."
Is this why Monsters are based on ordinary creatures? And evolution is ongoing.
"They only appear from sunset to night, do you know why?"
"It wasn't always like that."
"It wasn't always like that?"
"At first, they only appeared at dawn. Then at night, and now they appear at sunset. But who knows, they seem to be getting stronger and more immune to the sun, so they might appear during the day."
If Zenas is right, do I have to worry about Monsters during the day now? Oh my god, that's terrible.
Then, Zenas suddenly rested his chin on his hand and stared at my face.
"And there's something unexpected..."
His red eyes scanned my face thoroughly. So thoroughly that it was eerie.
"The Monsters seem to like Meg."
I got goosebumps all over my body at his words.
'Why do Monsters like me? And how do you know that?'
I swallowed the questions that came up to my throat. I started to get scared of Zenas. Zenas continued to speak, not caring about my reaction.
"And it seems like there's someone in Meg's group who uses Mana."
Could he be talking about Enoch using Sword Aura against the Monsters in front of the cabin?
I'm the one who gave Enoch Mana, but he doesn't seem to know that I'm the one who uses Mana. Zenas mumbled with a serious face.
"I wonder how that person used the Mana that's being controlled in this body."
"How do you know that?"
"I was watching through the eyes of the Monsters. It's hard to handle and I can't use Mana so I don't have any attack power, but I can do that much."
'What? The eyes of the Monsters?'
I then remembered what Kaiden had said. He said that a Wolf-type Monster was watching him as if monitoring him. I suspected it, but someone was really watching through the eyes of the Monsters!
"You've been watching us all along? Why?"
"I haven't been watching all the time. Only when I'm bored? And isn't it natural to watch if there are people?I was at a loss for words at Zenas's rebuttal, not knowing where to start pointing out.
"I will do Zeni.".., no, Zenas. Can't you tell me everything at once because I'm going crazy? Why are you telling me one thing at a time like this? And you're not answering my questions properly?"
I sighed once and continued.
"Why did you just watch? If you knew we were here, you could have come to meet us. And how did you borrow the eyes of the Monsters when you don't have Mana? Have you been controlling the Monsters all this time? Is the evolution of the Monsters related to you?"
I had so many questions. So many.
Then Zenas smiled as if he was amused.
"I'm telling you because Meg looks interesting. I'm not usually this kind."
Interesting?
Zenas stared at my speechless face and opened his mouth again.
"Strangely, only you seem to have changed, but I don't know what it is."
Zenas looked at me with a face that I couldn't understand what he was thinking. Then he glanced at the open door, then looked at me again.
"But, Margaret."
He called my name in a low voice. And then asked.
"Did you see everything?"
"...Huh? What?"
"The cabin. Did you look around everything?"
"...No?"
I had a bad feeling and denied it first, but Zenas suddenly burst out laughing. As if what I was doing was very funny.
After laughing like that for a while, he stopped laughing and looked at me.
"What do you mean no? You're on the third floor now."
I stopped breathing. Zenas looked at me with eerie red eyes and said.
"I told you not to come up."
As soon as he finished speaking, I felt a chill down my spine. An oppressive atmosphere flowed, making my hair stand on end.
A large shadow was already cast under my feet. It was the shadow of something that appeared outside the window behind me.
Zenas, who was facing me, looked over my shoulder and laughed as he stepped back.
"I'm not going to help you. This is your fault."
"What does that me...!"
Clang!
Before I could ask what that meant, I heard the sound of the window breaking. Something long and thick came in and wrapped around my waist. It's an unidentified Monster.
I looked at Zenas in surprise, but he shrugged and waved at me. At the same time, I was pulled out of the window in an instant.
"Aaaagh! X-like Monster! This is the third floor!"
And that's outside the third floor.