episode_0064

At Bernatien’s earnest request, Ashe folded her arms proudly.

“Huh, I was planning on doing that even if you didn’t ask me to!”

“That’s reassuring.”

A beautiful smile attacked Ashe’s eyes. Ashe couldn’t open her eyes straight because the light from the other person’s face was shining.

“But… how can I get it?”

“The princess already has all the conditions.”

“Me? I guess I have everything I have now…”

There will probably be nothing but diaries, coins, and spellbooks.

That was when.

As Asher was feeling around, he found a hard foreign object in his pocket.

“This is… a key? Why is it here… Ah!”

Asher recalled the recent past. The reward for the ordeal on the third floor, where he had faced a series of life-or-death crises, was the [Old Key].

Its function is to… give you one free chance to open any door.

It was an item that the butler had put in her pocket when she passed out earlier, but Asher, who had woken up after suffering serious injuries, had no way of knowing about it.

“Did you get a sense of where to go?”

“… Yeah. I understand. But… what should I do? The path got cut off halfway…”

There were many sections of the mansion that were physically impossible to cross because the butler had destroyed parts of it. If the mansion had regenerated itself like it used to, this wouldn’t have been a problem…

“Don’t worry about that part.”

“Is there a way?”

“Yes, so please trust me and… run with all your might?”

“Ugh, it’s scary, but there’s nothing I can do. You’re not lying, are you?”

“She’s not such a wicked woman that she’d prepare a lie for hundreds of years.”

“Ahem…! Okay, I got it.”

Asher blushes. As the conversation was coming to a close, black noises began to erupt from all over the painting world. The noises, which erupted like firecrackers, were gradually eating away at the painting world and putting pressure on them.

“Really… Are you trying too hard, Letia.”

Concern was evident in Bernacien’s eyes. No matter what, her maternal love as Letia’s biological mother seemed to remain unchanged.

“Then, I beg you. Our savior from the future.”

In front of the entrance of the mansion, where Bernacien pushed Ashe hard out of the entrance door. As a result, Ashe lost her balance and stumbled, falling out of the mansion in the painting world.

Left alone, Bernacien volunteered to go into the world that was turning dark.

“Do you really have to be this angry, Letia? Enough to squeeze the life out of yourself…”

It is thanks to Letia’s power that the mansion that was destroyed in the past is rebuilt and maintained. However, since even witches cannot completely escape providence, their limitations are obvious.

Letia’s powers were nearly at their limit as she froze the mansion’s time for 500 years. From the moment Ashe visited, the cursed mansion was no different from a sand castle before the waves.

However, with several years still to come, things changed abruptly.

During the third floor trial, Baekryeon, who had regained part of her body, tore down the entire mansion.

As the aftermath was dealt with and the mansion was rebuilt, Letia’s powers were stretched to their limits.

[Gives a time limit to visitors to the mansion.]

[At midnight on the next full moon, all living things inside the mansion will die.]

The notification that urged Baekryeon at that time came from that context. The only time that Letia could earn by cutting her soul was until the next full moon.

Reflecting on these facts, Bernacien opened his mouth.

“Can you help me?”

Then the two beings behind her nodded and disappeared.

“Thank you.”

Bernacien expressing his gratitude.

Make up your mind.

He has already been gone for hundreds of years as a dead man.

If there was a time to offer up a worn-out soul, the time was now.

◇

“Wow!”

Degururur!

When she entered, she was Ache through Bernacien’s portrait, but the portrait she actually appeared in was an odd landscape painting.

Asher could immediately see why.

“Ugh… crazy!”

The butler and Letia are waiting right in front of Bernacien’s portrait. For a moment, my spine tingled and my mind became dizzy. If I had come back out the way I came in, I would have gotten the bad ending right away.

“Ugh…!”

Asher ran with all his might.

The objective is clear. You must climb up to the fourth floor of the mansion again.

Fortunately, I avoided instant death thanks to Bernacien sending me up to the second floor. So now is the time to not miss this opportunity, and just look up and move your legs.

“Haa… Haa…”

Asher was just about to reach the stairs leading to the third floor.

Kwarrr!

Suddenly, the floor caved in.

The ground was weakened as the butler’s slash traversed the mansion.

“Ugh…!”

Asher barely managed to hold on to the edge of the collapsed place and revive himself.

But it is too early to feel relieved.

Even in these difficult times, the butler is steadily closing the distance.

“Gaaah!”

I screamed and tightened my fists and arms. I tightened my fists so much that I thought my eyes would pop out.

Chin, chin!

As a result of his efforts, Asher managed to pull himself up and stand on the marble floor with both feet again.

She was already exhausted. She was running with all her might, but her speed was not as fast as before.

Kkwaddudduk!

The tragedy passed by just a step or two behind.

WHACK!

The stairs Ash had come across had collapsed. To make matters worse, the sight Ash had before his eyes was a section of about 6 meters that the butler had broken while coming down.

Ashe is left isolated and helpless.

She gulps.

“Let’s go!”

The first section tests your courage.

Ashe believed in the promise he had made with Bernatien and jumped up without thinking.

I felt the movement of the air brushing against each and every hair. When I saw the magnificent floor of the distance, my stomach trembled and my red eyes grew moist.

Asher’s mere tiptoeing wasn’t enough to reach the other side.

“Ugh…!”

At that moment, Asher tightly closed his eyes.

Po-ok!

Something warm wrapped around Asher’s buttocks and pushed her upward. Asher was then astonished by the soft sensation she felt with her entire palm.

“Wow!”

A large, soft, gray-haired dog – Hailey barked cheerfully.

Hailey’s appearance was the same as 500 years ago, but her physique was as large as when she first encountered Ashe.

Asher couldn’t help but be surprised by the surprise appearance of a helper from the past.

“Are you…the ‘method’ that Bernacien was talking about?”

“Awww!”

Hailey howled cheerfully. A beautiful blue scarf was tied around Hailey’s raised neck.

Asher felt her heart pounding as she looked at the blue scarf adorning Hailey’s neck.

She cried out in a voice filled with emotion.

“Okay, let’s go! Hailey!”

“Woof! Woof!”

The first monster I encountered in this mansion.

A vengeful spirit that tore at oneself without question.

And in the end, the pure soul that had been saved was now holding onto Asher’s lifeline tightly.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Hailey’s large body steps forward briskly. The stairs leading to the fourth floor are right in front of us. At this speed, we can reach our destination in no time…!

At a time when we were full of hope and were predicting the future.

A meteor flashed from the butler’s hand a long way away.

A silver sword rushed forward, leaving behind an afterimage like a comet’s tail.

Even when he simply threw a fatal blow, the butler was almost certain to make a mistake. Given Haley’s size, he would hit every shot with a perfect accuracy.

“Haley…!!!”

“Really…!”

In an instant, a familiar voice steals my attention. Then, a metallic sound rings out ominously, scattering like shrapnel from an explosive device.

Wow-!!!

A figure who appeared out of nowhere knocked away the sword thrown by the butler. In fact, it was not a complete knockback, as the aftereffects left the surrounding area in shambles, but at least it was clear that Asher and Hailey had been successfully saved.

Meanwhile, the figure who was about to be slammed into the wall by the force of the sword that flew in like a comet instead stepped on the wall and flew up, landing with an elegant step.

It was a movement that was almost like watching a Peking opera.

Asher says the intruder’s name.

“Mirelda…!?”

Mirelda gave a short bow, as if confirming Asher’s guess.

“You can’t stop it for long. That thing is a monster. It’s not even comparable to my cursed husband.”

“… Thank you.”

“Let’s consider it a way of repaying the favor of receiving my grudge properly.”

Mirelda raised her sword in a graceful gesture from the middle of the stairs. As Haley entered the fourth floor, a murderous metallic sound began to mercilessly assault her hearing.

Meanwhile, Asher’s chest, riding on Hailey’s back, was heaving with an emotion that was difficult to define.

“Why, why?”

Asher’s tears trickled down her porcelain-like skin.

weird.

I feel like I know why I’m crying, but I have no idea.

Right now, my heart just aches.

It was a strange feeling.

Sadness and joy coexist, but they are not disharmonious at all. Rather, they are in harmony, making Asher’s heart beat faster.

‘I… have really gained a lot from this mansion.’

He fought and interacted with the souls who had fallen into the irrational and absurd history. Through that ordeal, the human named Asher leaped forward to a more desirable future.

The Ash of that time, drenched in a storm and looking shabby, and the Ash of the present were clearly different people.

Every single footstep she left behind became a symbol of growth.

“… Good job, Hailey.”

“Wow!”

Ash, who had reached a dead end, stroked Hailey’s head.

In return, Hailey stuck out her tongue and licked the back of Asher’s hand.

The breakup between the two, who had been bound by bad fate, ended in that way.

“It’s time to end the tragedy.”

Ashe’s eyes light up.

There are two doors on either side of her.

One was the shabby door of the attic where Letia had grown up, and the other was a pristine white door locked with a padlock.

“Wait a minute, butler.”

Asher held the [Old Key] in his hand.

It’s time to put an end to the long journey.

Finally, [the old key] picked the lock on the white door.