episode_0033

It was an impossible situation.

I had been walking around Bellafork Manor just moments ago.

But now, I found myself tied to a wooden chair in what seemed like an unknown underground chamber, unable to move.

Is this another hallucination created by the manor?

No, it must be a hallucination.

If not, the situation I was in right now would become a life-threatening crisis.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

There was someone else in the underground chamber besides me.

Their face was obscured by strange noise, making it unrecognizable.

Sitting hunched over, sharpening a long butchering knife on a grindstone, the person’s physique clearly indicated they were a man.

I tried to say something to him, but it felt like my throat was filled with sand, rendering me speechless.

Even when I tried to shout with all my might, I couldn’t make a sound as if the mute button had been pressed.

Looking around, the chamber was filled with horrifying devices that could be called torture tools.

Wooden crosses, sharp triangular wooden horses, handcuffs, chains, whips hung on the walls.

Unidentifiable dried bloodstains darkened the cold stone floor.

The man with the noise-covered face stood up, holding a large butchering knife, and slowly approached me.

He was a large man, exuding strength.

He slowly stroked my face with his large, rough hand.

A chilling sensation ran through my body.

Even though I tried to convince myself that all of this was just a hallucination created by the manor, the vivid sensations made it increasingly difficult to dismiss as anything but reality.

Is this really a hallucination?

Or is this the harsh reality I am facing?

As doubts began to creep into my mind, my certainty waned.

Even the events I had experienced since coming to this world began to feel like a dream.

Were they all just dreams? Is this my true reality now?

Unbearable fear and sadness flooded over me.

I was being consumed by those emotions.

What was I doing just moments ago?

Who am I?

“Yunoa’s mind was crumbling under the curse of Bellafork Manor.

The horrifying illusions of the manor that all adventurers who visited here experienced.

It was enough to terrify even those with strong mental fortitude.”

At that moment, a narration echoed in my mind.

It felt like my fading consciousness was suddenly illuminated by a lightbulb turning on.

If not for the narration, I might have completely lost my mind.

Yes, this is definitely a hallucination.

Just a prank by the ghosts living in the manor.

No matter how vivid it may seem, as long as I don’t let go of the certainty that this is all a hallucination, I can endure it.

The man with the noise-covered face slowly raised my hand.

Then, as if counting my fingers, he slowly pressed his index finger against each of mine.

And then, he brought the butchering knife down on my pinky finger.

The sensation in my finger vanished instantly.

There was pain, but not the excruciating pain of actually losing a finger.

My mind was in turmoil.

Am I really okay?

The doubt about which side is reality continued to grow in my mind.

The man now grabbed my next finger and thrust the knife down.

I closed my eyes tightly, wishing for this dreadful experience to end soon.

* * *

“Haa… Haa…”

I had no idea how long I had been tortured in this hallucination.

Although the pain I felt wasn’t as intense as it seemed, it was a terrifying experience.

With no part of my body spared, I felt like I was on the brink of death.

Barely managing to escape the hallucination, I returned to the scenery of Bellaforte Mansion.

My body trembled, and my breath caught in my throat.

Sweat poured down my forehead like rain.

Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with my body.

In the hallucination, I had been beaten all over by that man, leaving no intact part of my body.

I felt grateful that my arms and legs were still attached and unharmed.

“We need to get out of here quickly…”

My first thought was to leave this place as soon as possible.

My mind was already exhausted.

I could understand the man who had burst into the guild, crying and shouting to cancel the request.

If it weren’t for the narration keeping me sane, I might have ended up like him.

“Sylphy!”

After calming down a bit, I started to worry about Sylphy.

I called out her name loudly, searching for her somewhere inside the mansion.

“Sylphy! Are you okay?”

Sylphy was crouched in the kitchen, holding her head in her hands.

“Sylphy?”

I approached her and called her name again.

Sylphy was trembling, as if trying to protect herself from a disaster, tears streaming down her face.

“Oh… Oh…”

“It’s okay! Let’s get out of here and talk!”

It seemed necessary to calm Sylphy down in a safe place.

I grabbed her wrist and helped her up, shouting at her.

Looking at her worried face, I saw her wide eyes filled with tears.

“Let’s go outside and talk for now!”

I hurriedly led Sylphy out of Bellaforte Mansion.

* * *

“…I see. I think I understand why adventurers have been giving up on this request.”

I took Sylphy out of the mansion and moved to a safe distance.

Leaving Sylphy in a state of shock, I explained everything that had happened in the mansion to Tina, who was waiting outside.

“I was almost in danger too. The hallucination felt so real that if I didn’t hold on to my sanity, I wouldn’t have been able to bear it.”

“Should I go back and cancel the request for you?”

Tina asked, writing in her notebook.

It was natural that all the adventurers who had attempted this request had given up.

No one would want to experience such a terrifying ordeal again.

Moreover, the opponent to be dealt with was non-existent, and there was no way to know how to solve it.

But I wasn’t ready to give up.

I had already confirmed that the terrifying illusions shown by the mansion couldn’t harm the real me.

And there was the presence of the narration, which sometimes provided me with unexpected information.

Even if I couldn’t ask directly, investigating this mansion would surely lead to finding clues.

“No, I’ll continue the investigation. But first, I need to take care of Sylphy.”

Saying that, I took out a bottle of holy water from my bag.

If it didn’t work, regular water would suffice.

I made Sylphy drink it slowly.

* * *

It took quite some time for Sylphy to regain her senses enough to speak.

She was still trembling and wiping away tears over what had happened in the mansion.

“Siphy, calm down. That wasn’t real. It was just a fantasy shown by the mansion.”

“Ugh… But it was so scary. I still feel like that man will appear in front of me.”

“You saw him too? The man whose face was strangely obscured.”

I cautiously asked Siphy.

Listening to what she had experienced was part of the investigation.

It was pitiful to dredge up trauma, but now we needed to gather as much information as possible.

“Seniors were gone… Suddenly sitting on a chair… The man… Ugh… It was so scary…”

“Take it slow, take deep breaths. You’re okay now.”

I gently stroked Siphy’s trembling head.

Taking breaks in between, I slowly listened to Siphy’s story.

And one thing became certain.

“It’s the same…”

What Siphy had experienced was exactly the same as what I had experienced.

Being tied to a wooden chair in a strange basement, tortured by a man whose face was not visible.

The order of torture, the method of torture, waking up from the hallucination, everything matched.

Was it just a coincidence?

If it was just showing a horrific hallucination like a simple nightmare, then everyone would have different experiences.

But if we had the exact same experience, wasn’t there some meaning behind it?

As my thoughts reached this point, a voice echoed in my head.

“Yunoa reached the conclusion that the fantasy shown by the Bellafork Mansion might not be a simple fantasy.

As he thought, the fantasy experienced by those who set foot in this mansion was not a simple fantasy.”

I turned my head to look at the eerie atmosphere of the mansion.

It wasn’t a simple fantasy.

Then what exactly does that mean?

“The fantasy shown by the Bellafork Mansion was actually something that had happened.”

* * *