episode_0025

“Okay, wait! This is…!”

A scream like a terminal word was sucked into the painting along with Arsent’s new form. Ashe reflexively ran towards the title of the work: Demonic Realm.

“Ashe!”

The butler stopped Ash, who was losing his mind in an emergency situation. Fortunately, Ash calmed down and froze in place.

‘Is Asher the type who can’t even stand to see his enemies die?’

Just as he was about to evaluate her as having an unexpectedly soft temperament, the butler remembered her situation.

It would be strange for an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl to become so ruthless. It would be inevitable that her way of thinking would be fundamentally different from that of a long-serving butler.

Asher is just an arrogant and cocky child, but we should see that he has a good nature at heart.

“Whew…”

Asher lets out a ragged breath. The butler steps forward in front of her.

“I’ll check first and come back, so stay on the safe side.”

Then the butler closed the distance to the painting that Arsent was sucked into.

Next, he stretched his arms out onto the plane of the picture.

Bam.

The butler’s arm was blocked as if he had touched an ordinary painting.

It was different from other paintings that rippled like the surface of a lake even when fingers touched each other.

“It seems impossible to go and save him.”

“… I didn’t even think about going to rescue you.”

“Is that so? It must have been a face that would do that.”

“Absolutely not. Your eyes are swollen, butler.”

Asher’s tone was more subdued than usual, making the butler doubt his eyes.

Is it because we are bound by the same blood?

Even if they are enemies, it seems that other people’s misfortunes do not bring her happiness.

“First, I would like to hear an explanation. What kind of scenery does the painting [Magyeong] depict?”

“To put it simply, it’s an abandoned land. It’s an undeveloped area that is beyond human control.”

“Was it like that 500 years ago?”

“Yeah, there’s no need to obsess over a small piece of land the size of a country because it’s of no use.”

The reason why the abandoned land earned the nickname of ‘Magic Realm’ was simple. The peculiar energy rising from the ground caused strange mutations in living things.

Therefore, even the most heinous criminals were not taken into consideration when they entered the Demon Realm. Entering the Demon Realm to catch a single person would only increase the human casualties…

“…… That’s why there are change Counts at the border of the Demon Realm. Sometimes, they have to suppress the monsters that escape the Demon Realm. ”

“Are monsters that evil?”

“Not as good as Hailey.”

There are two reasons why Asher was able to survive Hayley.

First, the only sense that Hailey had available was smell.

Second, Hailey intentionally suppressed her mobility because she didn’t want the mansion to be damaged.

Ashedo knew this too, so his evaluation was objective.

“Still… It’s threatening. You can think of a small animal that becomes a wolf, and a wild boar that becomes a tiger.”

“If the beast is a mutated monster, then it seems like the Knights are needed.”

“Yeah, really… I saw a stuffed monster once a long time ago, and it really freaked me out.”

“… You went to a place like that. Arsent.”

“Yeah… right.”

Asher lowered his gaze solemnly.

“If the same thing happens to you as Ashe… Arsent will also be possessed by a specific body and perform the role, so it will be okay.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, you must have been possessed by someone who could overcome difficulties.”

“Hmm…”

The butler’s opinion is correct.

It was just bad luck that Asher possessed the body of a maid. If she had been invited to such a shady stage, she would have possessed someone worthy of being on that stage.

“Let’s see, what happened in the Demon Realm 500 years ago?”

There was a description that the warrior captured the ‘King of Demons’ and presented it to the imperial family…

There’s no way Arsent would possess a warrior.

… Rather than wasting time on uncertain speculation, it would be quicker to question him later on, using the market as an excuse if he returns alive.

“Whew, okay, okay! Let’s find a clue to get up to the third floor. I hope whatever pops out is weaker than Hailey…”

“That’s…”

“It might be impossible,” the butler thought, swallowing his useless pessimism.

Common sense would suggest that the higher the floor, the more difficult it would be to clear.

‘Above all, on the next floor I…’

A penalty must be served for a foul committed on the first floor.

Moreover, it is taboo to convey this to Ashe.

For now, I just silently hope that Asher will overcome the ordeal without hesitation.

“Butler.”

At that moment, Asher disturbed the butler’s distracted thoughts.

“If you just look at this hallway, you’ve already gone around the second floor.”

“Are there any pictures that bother you?”

“Hmm, not really? There are so many pictures of trivial scenes. I think the picture of someone being forcibly pulled seems important…”

“Ashe and Arsent have each experienced it once.”

“That’s what it is.”

If this is the case, we can only hope for Arsent’s return. Perhaps her experience will serve as an important hint for escaping the mansion.

So Asher had complicated feelings.

The contradiction of having to cheer for the return of an unwanted character and the paradoxical desire to live while wishing for death clashed with each other so much that it was unpleasant.

After a while, the butler and Asher stopped walking.

“This is amazing…”

“…”

Asher let out an honest exclamation, and the butler remained silent.

“That’s great… but I think I know why I’m at a dead end.”

The painting hanging before them was as huge as Bernatien’s portrait.

Title: [Forgetting the Soul]

The painting, colored only in white and ink, dynamically expressed numerous hands struggling in the river. And a figure wearing a pitch-black coat was leisurely rowing a small boat on the river.

To put it bluntly, it is a picture that is just plain unpleasant.

It was a work of art with a unique corner that polluted people’s aesthetic sense.

“Ugh… Butler, let’s go back.”

“… Right.”

It was when they turned their backs without any hesitation.

Suddenly.

There was a sound of something shaking.

The butler and Asher quickly turned in the direction of the sound.

Title: The ghost invades the field of vision once again.

That was the direction from which the sudden noise came.

…

……

Suddenly.

Clunk, clunk, clunk!

Squeak…

thud!

…

……

The ghost hanging on the wall fell to the floor on its own.

An unexpected situation.

By the time they realized this, a strange phenomenon was unfolding before their eyes.

Dribble dribble dribble…

There was a sound of water leaking. Asher doubted his eyes. It was indeed water leaking from the ghost.

The surface area of water wetting the floor gradually increased.

At that time, a message was printed out at the butler’s eye level.

=====

I lived a worthless life.

A life trampled by the world’s peace and justice.

A life where nothing is left behind, and no one remembers it.

A life where you have to bury your betrayed heart with blood and tears.

Ah, fortunately, the noble lady gave me a chance.

He also informed me.

We, who have been toyed with under countless happinesses and enduring eras, have the right to revenge.

I hope that at the end of revenge, there will be someone who remembers us…

-Reward: Gift Box

-Special Reward: Star Fragment

=====

Suddenly.

Pale hands lifted the frame of the picture of the lost soul. Then, slowly, a strangely shaped woman stepped out of the picture and into the real world.

That guy. His chest is pierced by a sword, and cold water drips from his wet hair. The water drops falling from his hair freeze on the marble floor, forming frost.

The facial features that have lost their human-like form are nauseating.

The smell of rotting corpses permeated the surroundings.

Thud.

It, in the shape of a woman, grabbed the hilt of the sword that had pierced her chest.

Sugarac!

A piece of flesh flew out from the blade that had been pulled out. The spot where the sword had been stuck projected the scenery behind it.

“Ah, Miss…”

Again. Again. Again. Again.

As he walked, his high heels clacked elegantly against the marble floor.

“Thank you for the grace you have given me…”

The woman muttered to herself and aimed her sword at them.

It starts.

The butler, sensing the future, urgently took it upon himself to act as Ashe’s shield and pushed her back with all his might.

“Ashe!”

“Huh?!”

Pfft!

First of all, Ash is out of the attack zone. If he is bare-handed, it may be okay, but if the opponent uses a sword, it is not a problem.

This mansion won’t tolerate even the slightest harm to him.

The woman’s sword met the butler who was making that judgment.

Peet!

It was a sword aimed at Ashe.

It was a blind tragedy because the butler evacuated her without permission.

That’s why the distance between them, barely brushing his cheek, was so wonderful─.

“… Butler?!”

─The result was enough to cause Asher to scream.

Gulp.

A red liquid flows down the butler’s cheek. He unconsciously put his palm to his cheek.

It was shocking to see my own red blood for the first time in hundreds of years.

‘… It stings. It hurts? Me?’

Feeling the pain was also an unfamiliar experience that I was experiencing for the first time in hundreds of years.

“That’s ridiculous… How could you hurt a butler…!”

The reason is unknown, but either way, it is dangerous.

That monster is different…!

Turup!

Asher immediately grabbed the butler’s wrist.

He never dreamed that he could get hurt. Moreover, this was the first time he had seen the butler react like this. Even in a life-threatening crisis, the butler’s face, which had been calm and composed, became cold and hard.

“Let’s go, butler! Quickly!”

“…”

“What are you doing!!!”

At the sound of Asher’s loud cries, an essential question arose in the butler’s mind.

‘Why should I… run away?’

The opportunity to fulfill his wish moved quickly toward him.