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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Mansion of Fear
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“Aaaaargh!”
“Shut up, Seth!”
He had a sack over his head and held a bizarre-looking knife in his hand.
At first, they tried to fight back, but for some reason, the group's attacks passed right through the man's body.
“It's a ghost, a ghost!”
“No, damn it! Why the hell would a ghost show up here?”
What were they supposed to do if their attacks didn't work? Even Haira's charm had no effect.
“Hah, hah. What the hell is this place?”
Unable to fight, they had no choice but to hide for a moment.
Strangely, the moment they entered a room, the man chasing them stomped right past.
“...Ah, you have to get into a safe room to survive.”
“Seth? What are you muttering about now?”
The color drained from Seth's face.
“I... I know that person... no. That ghost...”
Seth, who had managed to sit down and catch his breath, confessed, trembling.
“Th-this... it's exactly like the plot of a horror novel I read...”
A novel he had found truly terrifying, *The Mansion Murderer's Serial Killings*.
He confessed that a murderer just like that one appeared at the beginning of the novel—the same ghost, even the same uniquely shaped knife.
For Seth, it was a novel he'd read once as a child and never touched again.
Yet, it remained the most terrifying horror he had ever encountered.
Moreover, this place was similar to the one he had been dragged to after being kidnapped from the slums as a child.
When the whole story was out, Helios turned to Mint without realizing it.
Mint felt his gaze and smiled slightly.
“Something to say?”
“...Master, you seem to know something about this place.”
“Well now, trying to copy the answer sheet right away. A cowardly choice, but not a bad one.”
“...”
Mint gave a leisurely shrug.
“From the 30th floor on, the levels reproduce human fears.”
The low-level prisoners who made it this far were usually not in their right minds, either enjoying murder due to repeated killings or having their sanity worn to shreds.
And in that state, they faced the 30th floor.
The theme was ‘Fear’.
It was a floor that randomly selected one person from the entering group and maximized their fear.
However, it used to be like the 20th floor, where a single boss would appear.
For example, several murderers like the one before would have appeared in a wide-open space for you to defeat.
The entire floor didn't used to transform to match the atmosphere like this.
“I never imagined it would change like this.”
At this rate, who could possibly overcome their fear? With that last mutter to herself, Mint stood up.
“Go on, do your best.”
“Wait, where are you going?”
“There seems to be something here you all can't handle, so I'm going to check it out.”
“...”
As soon as she finished speaking, Mint vanished.
No, to be precise, she disappeared after leaving Helios with a single, quiet remark.
“Find the clear condition.”
* * *
And that brought them to the present.
The murderer who had first appeared wearing a paper bag had, at some point, thrown it off and reappeared.
“Wait, wasn't he the guy with the paper bag over his head? Why is he suddenly a clown?”
“Hic, b-because he was wearing clown makeup under the bag...”
The only one they could rely on was Seth, who had read this damn horror novel.
“Stop crying and just talk. What do we do next?”
“S-Sis... N-next...”
Everyone was growing tired from the continuous running.
The place was so grim and eerie that even Ged and Haira, who hadn't thought much of ghosts, were starting to feel a fear they never had before.
“I'm worried I won't be able to sleep alone after this.”
While Haira grumbled, Helios was lost in thought.
As expected of the one who was the source of the fear, Seth instinctively found rooms they could hide in.
But unfortunately, if they stayed in a room for too long, the murderer would appear.
*‘There's a time limit for how long we can stay in one room.’*
Just like how they were given a three-minute rest period when dealing with the rat swarms on the first floor, these rooms served a similar purpose.
*‘Master mentioned a clear condition.’*
On the 29th floor, the white entities had spouted incomprehensible words. It turned out they were hinting at another clear condition.
Helios suddenly remembered the dart and the dartboard. He then raised his head.
“Chief, what's wrong?”
“The dart.”
“Huh?”
“A dart went into Seth's body, right? We haven't seen it since. And the dartboard also disappeared somewhere.”
“...”
“What if the dartboard is somewhere in here?”
Besides, there's what it said before it disappeared.
— Hahaha, let's play hide-and-seek! It'll be fun!
“It said hide-and-seek. And isn't this murderer chasing us a lot like hide-and-seek?”
“Haha. So Seth's become the main character of that horror novel he read, huh?”
Brett chimed in. The eyes of the others widened.
“Brett, this is no laughing matter.”
The problem was Seth.
The only person who could solve this was completely paralyzed with fear.
“I'll handle this.”
Haira raised her hand and smacked Seth soundly on the forehead.
“Ack!”
Immediately after, Haira used her ability. Seth's eyes glazed over.
“Huh, wha? I-I'm not scared? I'm not scared! I'm not scared!”
“Uh, Haira. I think Seth's lost it.”
“I don't think so. How do you feel, Seth?”
“Not scared! I'm not scared! Ahahaha!”
“...Haha. I know this look. It's how people act when they're high.”
At Brett's sharp assessment, Helios spoke gravely.
“...We shouldn't drive our comrades insane, Haira.”
“...”
Haira shrugged. Fortunately, Seth, under the influence of Haira's charm, had forgotten his fear.
“In the novel, they had to go to the basement to seal the ghost!”
Thanks to Seth smoothly recalling the novel's plot, the group headed for the basement, evading the murderous ghost.
There were dangerous sections along the way, but they managed to get through them one way or another.
Brett played a surprisingly large role in this.
By using his shadows to create obstacles, he made it easier for them to escape the ghost's line of sight.
They had to be careful not to touch the ghosts that looked like pieces of cloth floating in mid-air.
Haira had already touched one by mistake and nearly lost an arm.
“Hah, is this it?”
“Is this the right place?”
Helios, Ged, and the others gasped for breath.
“It's the basement.”
At last, the group arrived at the basement Seth had mentioned. Thankfully, the door was open.
“...Is that the final boss?”
Ged asked with a tense expression. And for good reason—a lone figure stood inside the vast cavern.
Like the first murderer, this one wore a paper bag over its head and had a large build.
“Uh, b-but there's only one murderer?”
Seth tilted his head. He then pointed to a distant altar.
“There, you just have to get up there! If you grab the candlestick on the altar, get on it, and chant the spell, the murderer will be sealed!”
The unidentified being stood in the very center, as if it knew the group's path. Seth quickly told them the spell.
Helios nodded and gave the order.
“So only one person needs to make it. We'll split up. That way, one of us is bound to get there.”
“...Alright.”
“Haha. Running right to the very end.”
At Helios's signal, everyone scattered and ran.
The underground plaza was vast.
One person couldn't possibly stop five people at once.
CRASH!
...They had thought it impossible for him to stop them all.
The person in the paper bag moved with incredible speed and slammed Ged into the ground.
Next was Seth, who was nearby. He was terrified.
*‘So fast!’*
Even Haira's charm couldn't stop this new, approaching terror.
*‘I'm going to die...!’*
Just as the new murderer's hand was about to strike Seth's head.
KRAANG!
A tremendous sound echoed. When Seth looked up, he saw a back blocking his view.
“Seth, run now!”
Helios stood in the way, holding his azure spear. Seth scrambled away as if jolted back to his senses.
*‘Psychokinesis, psychokinesis!’*
“Seth. Maybe it's because you're such a coward. You have no idea what your ability is capable of.”
The words of Mint, whom he considered his master in his heart, flashed through his mind.
“You'll hit a wall if you keep going like that.”
Until now, he had only used his psychokinesis for attacks, but maybe.
Couldn't he lift his own body into the air and get to the altar in one go?
In his desperation, his mind raced. If he was too slow, something might happen to Helios!
*‘I... I don't want anyone to die because of me...!’*
The crisis awakened his potential.
An application of psychokinesis. Seth's body shot forward at high speed.
