episode_0036

Sniff, sniff.

I wiped my tears away with my sleeve. But as expected, the tears fell one by one along with a sharp exhalation.

She had to stop crying, but her body wouldn’t listen to her. Asher realized anew how much she had been relying on the butler.

“What should I do…?”

The future was uncertain. It might be possible to break through the huge barrier of the butler and stab Arsent in the eye. But even if Arsent was killed, what would happen next…?

“The butler… has already chosen my sister…”

Even if I become a survivor, would they really want to help me? They would not actively help me since I have already become an uninvited guest.

“It’s unfair… It’s unfair…”

The first person to visit the mansion and suffer to death was Ashe. Not Arsent, who had barged in and been sucked into an incomprehensible painting…

But all these efforts were in vain. They were thrown away like old shoes. It was as if misfortune had knocked on the door and enveloped Asher’s frail body.

Thud, thud.

Asher, who had been wandering aimlessly with her shoulders hunched, after a while regained focus in her clouded eyes and realized a sense of discomfort.

The surroundings are blurry.

A hazy air flowed across the floor as if cold air was flowing, and something like fog was gradually encroaching on my vision.

“What’s going on…?”

Asher habitually shrank back. Experience told him that this was a sure sign of impending disaster.

It was just as she was calmly trying to step back.

Turup!

“Huh?!”

He felt a tingling sensation as if someone was grabbing his left Achilles tendon. Asher immediately struggled to shake off the unidentified hand.

“Let go of this…!”

He squeezed his strength to the limit. As if his efforts were not in vain, Asher’s bound ankles floated free.

Although the crisis was averted, Asher was unable to overcome his inertia and floundered until he fell over with a crash.

I thought it was a fatal mistake. Until I looked up as I fell.

Kkakakak…

The blade scratched the wall. Just before it fell, a crack was drawn on the wall at the height of Asher’s waist. Strangely enough, the scar left on the wall quickly healed as if it had never been there before.

Asher opened his eyes wide and realized what was happening.

“A, a person…? No, a ghost…?”

The fog cleared slightly, revealing their new form.

His face was as small as a fist, and his throat was as thin as a needle hole. His stomach was unusually bulging, as if it were an exaggeration of lean obesity. On the other hand, his arms and legs were thin, and his entire body was covered in wrinkled skin.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

The sight of their hideous appearance made me feel sick. If Hayley and Mirelda looked like corpses reanimated, then these guys gave the impression of ‘creatures’ with hideous appearances.

Asher desperately gathered his wits and counted the number of men.

One, two, four, six… yes, there were exactly six of them.

‘There are a lot…!?’

Chae-Ang!

As soon as Asher pulled her sword out of her leather pouch, she quickly drew it and stabbed the neck of the monster that had grabbed her ankle with all her might.

Kwajik!

The neck, which was as thick as a needle’s eye, was lightly cut off. With its breath cut off, it soon turned into a pile of ash and flew into the air.

At the moment when Asher’s momentum was starting to rise slightly.

The monster that was trying to cut Asher’s waist in two swung its sword down with all its might. Asher was not going to be defeated by such an obvious move. She tried to leisurely defend herself against the upper attack and prepare for the next move.

If it had been possible, I would have cut off the neck as thin as a needle’s eye. But reality was not so easy.

Wow!!!

“Keep… What power…?”

It felt like a hammer of enormous mass had been struck down. The force of the blunt strike, with no sign of agility, was beyond imagination.

She’s stronger than Hailey in her spirit state. At least twice as strong. I completely misjudged her because she’s smaller in weight class…!

Wood crack!

“Ugh… euaaaah…!”

The sound of a joint snapping was heard. As soon as that happened, the wrist that had been holding the sword began to feel numb.

The balance of power was broken in an instant.

In the end, Asher had no choice but to throw away his sword and roll around on the ground as a last resort.

The monster took advantage of that opening and swung his sword.

Peet!

Red blood spurted out. Asher flung her body out like a caterpillar in an instant, so she didn’t suffer serious injuries. Instead, she suffered a cut that split the skin on her calf straight down.

“Ugh, it hurts…!!!”

She senses a life-threatening crisis. She doesn’t have a butler to protect her like she did during the chase with Hayley. She doesn’t have the upper hand like she did when she fought Mirelda.

If there was only one monster, I could use my agility to overcome them, but it would be difficult to survive against this many.

“Do, we have to run away… quickly…!”

But my legs wouldn’t move. It felt like my legs had given out after receiving a sword strike that was beyond my imagination.

“Ugh…!”

Thud, thud, thud!

Asher punched his own thighs indiscriminately. He had to do it even if it left bruises. There was no sign of his legs moving without some sort of shock therapy.

Is this the last resort that has finally paid off?

Asher managed to escape on trembling legs.

Fortunately, they were slow moving and couldn’t catch up to Ashe.

I only competed in the sum of numbers and retreated, but I was covered in sweat all over my body.

For fear of being isolated, I don’t even dare to step foot into the room.

After turning the corner of the hallway several times, Asher finally slumped down and took a deep breath.

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

What kind of guys are they that can crush my will to fight so cruelly? I can say for sure that if I had been hit by the monster outside the mansion, I would have been split in two and died.

It was a powerful offensive that truly surpassed human limitations.

Asher took a break, rubbing his numb wrist repeatedly. There was no other way out. He had to face Arsent somehow and win.

That’s what it should be…

“You’re crazy…”

On the other side, pure white fog rose again.

It was a precursor phenomenon just before the monsters appeared.

Asher’s teeth chattered as he was exhausted.

◇

3rd floor – Duke Hereis Arkaden’s bedroom.

Arsent was leaning back comfortably on the bed, with his butler standing by his side.

“Oh my goodness, it’s quite tough, isn’t it? Arcela. One of the demons is already gone.”

She clicked her tongue as if she felt sorry. To the butler, her caring demeanor seemed like nothing more than pretense.

Arsent himself told the reason.

“There are already only seventy-one left… What a shame, huh?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, that’s right. Isn’t that right? I feel like I’m the emperor from 500 years ago. Is this what it felt like to be the omnipotent emperor who ruled over seventy-two castles?”

“Do you want to be? Such an emperor.”

“You call that talking?”

“…”

“Hmm, what’s the big deal? If I can subjugate you, then becoming ‘that kind of emperor’ you’re talking about is not a dream… Let’s move on. For the sake of my hegemony, I need to make sure that Arcela dies as soon as possible.”

Arsent’s eyes were filled with a hint of greed. Although they were clearly the same red as Ashe’s, the difference was stark.

“… As expected.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“Rather than that, I just realized it again.”

“Realize? What?”

The butler hesitated for a moment whether he should be careful with his words or not. Then he came to the conclusion that there was no need to be careful with his words to Arsent.

Even if her body helps her, there is no law that tells her to keep her mouth shut.

“… The child of the era that the mansion has been waiting for is not you. Arsent.”

“You’re spouting nonsense.”

“You probably won’t need to know its meaning in the future.”

The butler felt indebted to Arsent while choosing Ashe, because he considered that Arsent might have been a weakling who only wanted to pretend to be strong like her sister.

But I learned from my short encounter with them that Arsent and Ashe were fundamentally different.

Unlike Ashe, who grumbled but walked the path, Arsent was a person who willingly walked the path when given the power. He was a person who was not even a speck of dust different from the royal family of 500 years ago.

‘It seems my choice wasn’t the wrong one, unfortunately.’

After receiving confirmation of my identity from Arsent, I occasionally recall old memories. I also become aware of who I was. Looking back, I now realize that there were hints scattered throughout.

Thus, he could not embrace Arsent deeply, either as the butler of the mansion or as a part of living history.

“I knew you didn’t like me that much… but as the future owner, I’m a little upset.”

Arsent smiled cruelly and played with his fingers.

“I need to put in more effort.”

“…”

Immediately after deciding to send in the demon, she stared intently at the butler’s face. However, the butler was still facing Arsent with an emotionless expression.

Arsent, still feeling uncertain, took up the provocation.

“You, follow me.”

“Have you had any change in your mind?”

“Thanks to you.”

Arsent took the initiative and opened the Duke’s door, beckoning cheerfully.

“I wanted to personally show you the ruined and defeated Arcela.”