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墨書 Inktalez
As I thought about this, a plan formed in my mind. Just as the monster behind me was about to make contact, I quickly crouched down. The creature suddenly extended a hand, trying to probe ahead for anything in its path. Its long fingers brushed past my cheek, nearly touching my body.
But that slap landed squarely on the face of the monster in front of me, and in an instant, the two creatures began tearing at each other above my head. Seizing the opportunity, I rolled away and escaped from the room.
I tumbled and crawled until I finally reached the end of the corridor. Turning back, I glanced at the two monsters engaged in their violent struggle, blood and limbs flying everywhere. Wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I thought, "These creatures probably rely on touch to sense their targets, which explains their tendency to turn on each other. But why are they here? What is going on with those Vengeful Spirits outside?"
As I pondered this, I scanned my surroundings and noticed a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. "If I stay here any longer, those monsters will finish fighting and continue searching for prey. It would be better to go upstairs and see if I can find any clues."
Muttering to myself, I ascended the staircase to the second floor. This level felt more like a residence for servants or butlers compared to the first floor; the wall decorations were more intricate and refined. Yet something felt off, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
I walked cautiously, my eyes darting around in search of any clues, terrified of missing something important. However, with each step forward, a growing sense of panic gripped me. I slapped my face with my hand in an attempt to remain calm.
But the rising tide of fear mixed with unease made it impossible for me to steady myself. Just then, a powerful sense of pressure surged from behind me, beads of sweat trickling down my forehead and sliding down my cheeks.
Slowly turning around, a massive human face loomed before me, staring intently with a grotesque smile while foul yellow liquid dripped from its mouth.
Its body was stitched together from human remains, resembling a heap of enormous corpses occupying the entire corridor. It reached out with a hand that seemed disproportionate to its gigantic face, attempting to grab me.
In a moment of desperation, I bolted forward as if the entire castle had activated all its defenses due to my intrusion.
As I ran, I grabbed anything within reach and hurled it at the massive flesh creature behind me. But it was like trying to stop a speeding train; nothing could impede its advance. Each movement sent tremors through the ancient structure.
Just as I was about to reach a dead end at the end of the corridor, I tightened my grip on Jiang Ling and thought, "If I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather awaken the Void Spirit and fight that meat mass to the bitter end..."
Just as I steeled myself to plunge the sword into my chest, I caught sight of a door nearby. Without thinking twice, I used my momentum to crash through it. The massive flesh creature rushed past with a gust of wind, followed by violent shaking—presumably it had broken through the wall and flown outside.
I took a moment to catch my breath and stood up while rubbing my shoulder. To my surprise, this room resembled a Torture Room; various Torture Devices hung from the walls. On the left wall, there was also a line of English written in blood that read: "On the way back."
The Blood Writing was clearly fresh; even now it was still oozing slowly downwards. "Someone obviously left this clue intentionally," I thought. "They want me to do something for them while ensuring no one else understands it by writing it cryptically for me to decipher."
I pressed my shoulder as I continued pondering: "The first layer said 'Let her find herself,' and this one says 'On the way back.' Since both layers have messages, if there’s a third layer... should there be something there too?"
With that thought in mind, I hurried out of the room and began searching through the chaotic corridor. I checked every possible location where stairs could be situated but found no way up. "This doesn’t make sense; before entering, I saw there were at least three floors! Could it be that access to the third floor is from another side?!"
Thinking of this, I hurriedly walked down the stairs. As I reached the stairway, I noticed four open rooms filled with rotting blood and viscous fluids, along with a few severed limbs. The chunks of flesh must have been composed of the remains stored in those four rooms. Covering my nose to endure the stench, I made my way to the first floor.
Just as I reached the bottom of the stairs, a monster with a gaping mouth approached me. In my haste to descend, I had forgotten that there might still be monsters lurking below. I had no time to dodge; I grabbed my sword and swung it at its head three or four times.
However, the monster was unharmed and lunged at me. Instinctively, I turned to run but tripped on the stairs, falling flat and causing my nose to bleed.
At that moment, I couldn't care less about the pain; I scrambled up the stairs using both hands and feet. But the monster was relentless and chased after me. Suddenly, a loud "thud" echoed from the Clock Tower outside the castle as the Bell Sound rang out again, causing the pursuing monster to freeze in place.
Seeing my chance, I quickly kicked it down and scrambled to my feet, darting past the fallen creature towards the corridor on my right.
I wasn't sure if it was because the monsters were drawn to the Bell Sound, but none of them came out. Before long, I successfully reached the staircase at the end of the right corridor. A series of desperate escapes, combined with an extended period in this silent environment and those sudden scares, began to take a toll on my mental and physical state.
I leaned against the handrail of the staircase, gasping for breath while glancing at the Jiang Ling in my hand. "Wasn't this thing supposed to be powerful? Why isn't it working now? Does using it require Void Spirit too?!" With that thought, I helplessly looked at the Jiang Ling, letting out a sigh. At that moment, I felt slightly better and began to ascend step by step.
After walking for a while, I found that it took me twice as long to reach the top of that staircase as before. As soon as I saw the structure of the third floor, I was stunned; almost everything was made from human bones and flesh. Even the carpet on the floor was composed of complete human skin.
In this hellish place of blood and flesh, there was hardly any safe footing. Yet for the sake of finding clues, I gritted my teeth and stepped forward. The moment I placed my foot down, the soft ground sank beneath me, making me feel like I could fall at any moment due to instability. However, this time I was fully alert, keeping an eye out for any movement around me.
I cautiously searched through the surrounding rooms; the acrid smell of blood made my vision blur and nearly caused me to vomit. Just then, I inadvertently spotted a table made of white bones with a brown book resting on it—it stood out starkly. Curiously, I approached and picked it up to flip through its pages.
It was written in English:
Karin, perhaps her sweet blood is due to her pampered upbringing; I will cherish her well—may she feel honored by this...
Carola, greasy blood always awakens one's desire for vegetarianism; after a good wash, I think it's time for some greens...
Olawini, bitch, I'll make you understand what happens when you resist me; you can't escape my grasp...
"It looks like this is a list of victims. From what I've gathered here, it seems a child named Olawini has escaped and has yet to be found." With that thought, it dawned on me why someone would provide me with these hints.
Just as I was about to continue reading for more clues, a slip of paper fell from between the pages. I quickly caught it with my hand.
I set down the book and unfolded the note; it was written in English with the same handwriting as those previous Blood Writings: "At the third toll of Bell Sound."
"Let her find herself, on the way back, before the third Bell Sound rings?" I kept repeating these three sentences in my mind, trying to find some answers within them.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck me. I furrowed my brow as I looked at the note in my hand, struggling to remain calm and attempting to connect all the clues I had gathered.
"First, the 'her' in 'let her find herself' likely refers to the owner of this castle. Based on the clues I have so far, it can be concluded that it is the Bloody Count from Hu Fang's story. As for the second sentence, 'on the way back,' I came here from the main entrance of the manor to my current location. Therefore, if I need to return, I will most likely have to retrace my steps, meaning there might be something along this path."
"As for the third sentence, 'when the third Bell Sound rings,' this is quite straightforward. Since I've already heard two of the bells, it means that when the third bell tolls, I must do something to return to my original place; otherwise, what might happen is completely unpredictable. The person who gave me this information is likely the girl mentioned in the book earlier, Olawini."
"If I'm not mistaken, she must have been captured by the Countess at that time and managed to escape but was never able to leave this castle, ultimately becoming trapped and dying within it. Since she wasn't killed by the Countess, she wasn't under her control. The clues she provided me might be an attempt to help me destroy this mirror world created by the Countess after her death due to her powerful resentment."
With this thought, I began to piece together some ideas, but I still had no idea what exactly I was supposed to find or how to escape this damned mirror world.
Suddenly, I felt a chill breeze pass over my neck, causing every hair on my body to stand on end. A hoarse and aged woman's voice echoed beside me: "I... found you~."
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