Chapter 181: The Thing That Frightens the Heart the Most
[The large door of the mansion inside the Haunted House has been locked by the staff.]
[If you want to leave, you must first find the key.]
[You begin cautiously exploring the mansion.]
[Right from the moment you stepped inside, you had an extremely strange feeling, as if some kind of connection that had gone silent for a very long time was suddenly activated and reconnected to you…]
[What on earth is happening? Could it be that your body is reacting negatively to the Haunted House?]
"Eikou-sama, is your body unwell?"
While exploring halfway through the mansion, Britomart noticed his unusual condition and asked with concern.
"It's nothing..."
Eikou shook his head with a serious expression, trying to touch his right hand,
"It's just that for some reason I have a very bad premonition, the back of my hand feels a little hot."
"Could it be that you're scared and trying to make excuses to save face?" Baobhan Sith smirked mischievously, teasing.
"How could that be? I – Eikou – have never been afraid of anything in my life."
[You continue moving forward to explore.]
[Two hallways appear before your eyes. On the peeling walls, written in smeared blood, were the words: "Only one person may pass."]
"In other words, we have no choice but to split up and go separately?"
Looking at the bloodstains smeared across the walls, Eikou spoke with his arms crossed.
"That's the only way," Baobhan Sith nodded, "Last time we entered a Haunted House and didn't follow the rules, they threw an entire wild Tezcatlipoca at us as punishment. I may not like being ordered around, but this time we should behave."
True enough, he really didn't want to be uploaded to the meme page again.
It was just a bit regretful that he wouldn't be able to walk with Baobhan Sith temporarily.
No, there was an even more important problem…
"Baobhan Sith, if you run into danger while walking alone, call me anytime. If you're really scared, you can ignore the rules, I will definitely run to protect you." Eikou said seriously.
"You think these childish scare tricks can frighten me? No way, worry about yourself."
Baobhan Sith only let out a cold, disdainful laugh, completely unfazed by the eerie atmosphere of the mansion.
"Umu, I think so too…"
Eikou nodded,
"But as your boyfriend, I will give you the most basic sense of safety. What I mean is, no matter what happens, you can rely on me — that's what I wanted to say."
"..."
Hearing that, Baobhan Sith instinctively looked away, as if avoiding him.
Eikou immediately noticed, so he casually dropped a joke:
"If you're in danger… I will instantly use Disaster With Women to pull you into the mech, guaranteeing absolute safety."
"If you dare do that, I'll kill you on the spot!"
[You split into two directions, Baobhan Sith turning into the hallway on the left.]
[You watch her place both hands behind her back, walking in the desolate, gloomy hallway as if strolling through a garden, the sound of her high heels ringing sharply on the cold tiles.]
[You worry about her a little, so you follow that silhouette for a moment. Only when her figure is completely swallowed by the darkness of the hallway do you turn toward your own direction.]
[For some reason, the strange feeling in your body grows more distinct.]
[You, Jeanne d'Arc, Britomart — all three of you operating the mechs carefully walk along this hallway.]
[To be precise, the atmosphere inside the mansion is eerie enough to make one's skin crawl, but since you're all riding mechs, the sense of fear isn't very strong.]
[At the corner of the hallway, you discover a strange mirror — this is also the first mechanism inside this Haunted House.]
[The mirror is covered in bloody handprints, along with a string of twisted words written in fresh blood…]
"'This mirror will reflect the thing you fear most in your heart'?"
Eikou curiously read the blood-written line,
"Is this some kind of new Reality Marble?"
The moment he finished reading, the surface of the mirror immediately twisted, turning into a semi-liquid form like artificial droplets, then rapidly transforming into the thing they feared the most inside their hearts.
Eikou and Britomart instantly heightened their vigilance, stepping back.
Only to see the mirror… quickly form the shape of a Servant.
A tall, voluptuous female body, smooth brown skin, a slender waist and a pair of unbelievably ample breasts — she was even wearing an extremely bold and provocative cheerleader-style bikini.
That was… Summer Ibuki-Douji?
The super huge chest far surpassing all other female Servants immediately assaulted Eikou's eyes!
"???!!!!!"
This is supposed to be the thing Eikou fears most? Clearly this is the big-boobs onee-san he's been drooling over for ages instead!
"Big sister is about to eat you up~?"
The Summer Ibuki created by the mirror licked her lips seductively, her crimson eyes brimming with the desire to devour Eikou.
"!"
Damn it, right now he actually wanted to climb out of the mech to face this weak, desire-filled heart of his head-on, to bravely confront his own… fear!
"Sorry…" Jeanne raised her hand, blushing, "I think this is something I'm more scared of."
"Huh?"
Eikou froze,
"Why would you be scared of Ibuki-Douji? You two have nothing to do with each other."
"It's a bit embarrassing to say…" She twisted her fingers, speaking awkwardly, "It's just… thinking that in the school, there's another Servant who also calls herself 'big sister', and she happens to be the exact type that little brother like the most… From the perspective of a manga author, just her appearance alone would steal my role. So I get a bit scared."
"???"
Don't worry, sis, your type — the serious character who sincerely does ridiculous things — is absolutely irreplaceable!
Even so, Eikou genuinely felt relieved.
What Jeanne feared now… were just some lovey-dovey insecurities, not burning at the stake, betrayal, or any of the tragic things from her lifetime — which meant she had completely let go of all the grudges of a Servant.
On this point, Eikou truly respected and admired her.
"It's really unfair, why does only the thing I fear get reflected, while the two of you don't…" Jeanne pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Probably because this mirror can only reflect the 'inner demon' of one person each time," Eikou smiled brightly, "but it's also possible that… me and Britomart simply don't have anything to fear. Right, Britomart?"
"Right right! If something scary appears, just punch it away with the mecha and it's done!"
The cute fairy girl nodded confidently.
[The mirror returned to its original form, making you deeply disappointed… because you wanted to admire Ibuki-Douji's bikini a few more times.]
[You continue advancing through the hallway.]
[While walking, Jeanne still found it unbelievable, so she asked you a question——]
"Little brother, is there really nothing you're afraid of?"
"I'm sure there is," Eikou thought, now too lazy to argue about the little brother title, "there are quite a lot of things I'm scared of. Homework I haven't done, being called in with my parents, or those sudden jumpscares in horror movies, and I'm also pretty scared of tight enclosed spaces.
"But if you ask whether there's anything that truly frightens me to a special degree… I can't really think of one right away."
"Then let me change the question. When was the last time something genuinely scared you?"
"Um…"
Hearing this, Eikou frowned, trying to recall.
There was indeed a time… when he was terrified to the point of shaking, almost suffering mental shock.
When was it…?
Suddenly, at the end of the hallway where the light flickered, someone seemed to be standing there.
"..."
Eikou narrowed his eyes, trying to see the figure clearly in the dim lighting.
The instant he recognized that face, his eyes shot wide open, expression filled with shock.
[At this moment, you finally reach the end of the hallway.]
[And then—you see the staff members of the Haunted House, who are also the NPCs of this area.]
[…Rumor has it that previously, Cú Chulainn working here had been bullied by Heracles, so recently the Haunted House hired an entire group of actual "experts"—those with terrifying combat power who can handle any kind of trouble.]
[And what you're seeing right now… is ten times more terrifying than Tezcatlipoca!]
Under the flickering red lights, their faces slowly came into view.
Eikou's heart pounded uncontrollably, his complexion instantly turning pale — all the terrifying memories rushed back and slapped him in the face.
They were…
Pollux — the younger sister of the Gemini twins.
Medea — the Greek witch.
And…
Kriemhild — the queen of vengeance!
Oh crap, why are they here?!
He finally remembered everything.
The thing he feared the most deep inside… turned out to be this group of married woman that kept haunting him nonstop!