When the knights returned to the original stone platform, the dawn was faint. Eugene's deep green cloak had been dyed dark red.
The Lord of The Manor was like an extremely wicked psychopath. Merely fighting in an enclosure would have been bearable, but as Eugene fled downward, he encountered countless tests of humanity.
He had to abandon companions, limbs, and faith… The cruel traps were interlinked, and it was evident that the people of The Manor had a vivid imagination when it came to "torturing the human spirit".
Eugene, of course, didn't comply easily.
He escorted Knight Marion and Damori, forcefully breaking through the traps and safely returning them to the starting point.
Compared to the two who only suffered minor injuries, Eugene's condition was far worse—his left leg was broken twice, his right thrice, and his left arm was severed by a trap. His lungs were pierced by ribs five times, and his abdomen was punctured twice.
The effects of the anti-magic crystals were everywhere, and healing spells were ineffective, so all healing potions were used up on Eugene. In the end, Eugene's right leg was still limp, and his abdomen bore rough sutures.
Fortunately, they managed to escape back as a whole.
Returning to the main force, they planned to treat themselves with the remaining medicine and then have some hot water with soft bread. This thought helped them endure the night. Their noses were numbed by the smell of blood.
But what awaited them at the bottom was an even more intense smell of blood.
The six knights who stayed at the lowest level were all killed, and Sean was missing.
The knights' bodies were torn to pieces, their swords still sheathed, not having had the chance to draw them. The chunks of their bodies were left out overnight, becoming cold and shriveled, and the pools of blood turned into a sticky, hardened mess.
Seeing such a scene, Knight Marion swayed on the spot. She kneeled on one knee and began to pray to the Goddess. Damori's mouth fell open in shock, and he stumbled over the cold bloodstains, falling to the ground.
Eugene stood in silence, bracing his injured leg. Behind him, the sunrise split his shadow nearly in two across the stone platform.
Below the platform, the dark chasm was like a toothless giant mouth, sneering at them menacingly.
"What do we do! What do we do!" Damori said incoherently, struggling to stand up. "Where is Sean? God, Drake isn't here either… Sir Eugene, Sir Eugene, we…"
"God has led us here, surely not for us to be completely annihilated."
Eugene spoke solemnly. He hadn't yet wiped away the bloodstain on his face, and it crossed his right eye like a scar.
After completing her prayers, Knight Marion looked at the scattered remains of their comrades, her face turning pale. "Captain, should we use the emergency contact marker?"
The emergency contact marker, made of special materials, was a colored signal flare.
It exploded in the air into an emerald-green emblem, resistant to the wind and very conspicuous. This device wasn't triggered by magic but purely by craftsmanship and was thus suitable for such situations.
"No," Eugene said.
"What?! These knights didn't even have time to draw their swords, and you're injured… If The Manor attacks again…" Damori was close to tears when he heard Eugene's refusal.
"First of all, if I can't deal with the ambushes here, calling more Investigation Knights would be useless."
Eugene smiled at Damori.
"Moreover, there are many temporary knights below. They are the eyes of the residents of Eternal Day City." Eugene continued leisurely, "Running away like a beaten dog in front of them would tarnish the glory of the Goddess."
Damori looked at him in disbelief. "Can't we at least try? Have them ready to assist from below? Is the glory of the Goddess really more important than life?"
Eugene: "Yes."
"But it was you who saved us all the way! You're so badly injured, you—" Damori's lips trembled. He even forgot to use honorifics.
"Your lives are extremely precious." Eugene continued with an infuriatingly gentle tone, "But the trust of Eternal Day City in the Goddess cannot be traded for three lives."
Marion lowered her gaze sadly, as if she had anticipated the current situation. "Yes, my lord. I will go clean up the camp and collect the remaining supplies. At the moment, it looks like we can hold on for about another week."
Damori could no longer care about religious reverence. "Wouldn't Eternal Day City feel disgraced if we were to die trapped here? It's clear we can't win. Shouldn't staying alive be the most important thing?!"
"'To sacrifice in struggle' and 'to run away with tails between our legs' are two completely different things." Eugene looked at Damori almost pityingly. "I assure you. If later you are truly afraid, I can kill you without pain. If you are willing to try until the end, I will give you an additional reward of a hundred gold wheels."
"Lunatic." Damori stepped back half a step, muttering, "…You're all mad."
Unfortunately, he could only step back so far. A few more steps would lead him into the terrifying abyss.
Eugene raised his head, looking towards the splendid morning glow, his gaze almost warm.
"God has led us here, surely not for us to be completely annihilated."
He repeated, slowly closing his eyes. He made the standard prayer gesture with both hands, his gauntlets stained with mottled blood. "It seems that this time, the one to offer victory to the Goddess isn't me…"
"Supreme Lady Tilia, thank you for granting me the honor to witness by your side…"
Knight Eugene devoutly kissed the base of his thumb, where he often wore the ring of the holy emblem.
...
Knight Teest pressed a particularly loud kiss on Nol's forehead.
"Morning… yawn… prayer." Teest avoided the increasingly strong light, squinting his eyes slightly. "Dear Lord Nol, time to get up…"
In his arms, Nol struggled weakly. He slapped Teest's shoulder with one arm, as if searching for the snooze button on this person.
"Just a little longer…" Unable to find it, Nol hummed in distress.
"Oh… okay then…" Teest laid his head on Nol's shoulder, going limp once more.
The [Lost Last Wish] ensured that Nol wasn't targeted and corrupted by the Demon King, but it couldn't eliminate all effects.
Last night, like a snake shedding its skin in a frenzy, Nol renewed his flesh three or four times in Teest's arms until the last trace of corruption was expelled from his body.
Renewing flesh was a time-consuming and strenuous task, and during it, Nol was incredibly vulnerable. Teest stood guard without closing his eyes, only dozing off for a moment in the early morning.
To be honest, Teest didn't sleep well.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Nol falling on the stone steps.
One second, that person was helping him overcome thousands of obstacles, and the next, he fell on the steps, blood pouring through his fingers. The two images kept interchanging, making Teest feel suffocated, wanting to punch something.
Teest realized a simple and terrible fact—he seemed to have never considered "leaving this place alone".
The moment he took Nol's hand to move forward, Teest hadn't thought about what awaited them, how to preserve their lives, or how to retreat safely—something he should have considered before acting!
It was awful. He shouldn't be this careless.
The moment Nol fell, panic, helplessness, and fear overwhelmed him. It was definitely because he had no backup plan, Teest solemnly considered.
At the same time, his brain tirelessly replayed the scene of Nol falling.
Thus, the remarkable Mr. Mad Monk still hadn't thought of a plan for "leaving here alone". He chose to open his eyes and carefully check Nol's physical condition.
His complexion was fine, magical fluctuations were normal, and there was no unusual stiffness in his body. Nol, with his face buried in Teest's chest, was wholly reluctant to get up, looking just like the usual Nol.
"Let's go back," Teest said.
Nol immediately pulled himself up, rubbing his eyes hard. "I'm awake. I'm fine."
Teest deliberately looked him up and down, drawing out his words. "I forgot to say last night, if something happened to you, wouldn't I be trapped alive here? Too risky. I don't want to continue—"
Nol paused, his expression ambiguously relaxed. "You 'forgot to say' last night."
"Am I so perfect in your mind?" Teest clicked his tongue. "Everyone forgets things sometimes."
Nol chuckled. "I thought that was one of the things you cared about the most. Don't worry. If I dared to bring you up here, I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
Teest looked at him doubtfully.
Nol hummed twice. He pulled out a folded piece of parchment and waved it in front of Teest, then patted the magic staff in his hand.
"I've been waiting to tell you—two mid-range teleportation spells. They took me a lot of work, and there's a spare one in the staff."
Nol introduced earnestly. "Kando's movement takes time to prepare, but this can be used to escape instantly. I indeed like to take risks, but I would never storm The Manor barehanded."
Teest was stunned for a moment. This was one of Nol's trump cards, and he was talking about it so openly.
"Just like that, you're not afraid I'll snatch them away at a critical moment?" he asked bluntly.
"Do you need two for yourself?" Nol raised an eyebrow.
"But there are anti-magic crystals nearby…"
Nol shook his head. "Anti-magic crystals can be temporarily neutralized by 'a short, intense burst of magical power'."
"And—" Teest tried to find any safety concerns.
"When did you become so cautious?" Nol looked at him oddly. "With things being so strange, I thought you'd grab me and rush into the castle."
Teest snapped his mouth shut, looking a bit aggrieved. "Okay, then we won't go back yet."
"We'll keep a low profile and go as far as we can." Seeing Teest in a bad mood, Nol had to reassure him repeatedly.
The sun had risen completely, and the light piercing through the mist gave The Manor a sacred touch. Unfortunately, there were no green trees or birds chirping nearby; only dead silence, and this hint of divinity became as solemn as a tombstone sculpture, cold and forbidding.
The two returned to the base of the stone stairs.
The closer they got to the center of the castle, the weaker the protection of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" became, and who knows when it would fail. They climbed cautiously, shaking their heads with every step, fearing that enemies might suddenly emerge from any crevice.
The Demon King's aura here was still strong, but it only swirled in place, not gathering crazily and targeting Nol like the night before.
Oddly, from beginning to end, they seemed less interested in Teest. With just a little protection, he could keep them at bay.
All these phenomena were new, and Nol had to keep a mental note of the abnormalities. Anyway, it was better for him alone to be unlucky than both of them.
They reached the castle gates unscathed.
The castle doors were wide open, with no guards on either side nor the monsters Nol had imagined. After careful confirmation, Nol also didn't find any suspicious armor or shadows.
He cautiously stuck out his toe, crossing the threshold of the castle gate.
"…Haa."
A sad sigh sounded in Nol's ear.
At the moment the sigh was heard, Teest grabbed Nol, and they both jumped to the side. In the place where Nol had been standing, a hand appeared, clutching a dagger.
The dagger was smeared with a black liquid that clearly looked poisonous.
A phantom monster?
No, how could a phantom be so strong?
"You guys dodge quite quickly."
An ethereal sigh sounded again, and a young woman's ghost slowly became visible in the air. She wore a spiderweb-like torn and tattered dress. Her silver-white eyes were wide open, making it hard to distinguish the pupils from the whites.
But Nol's attention wasn't on her appearance.
Unlike other translucent ghosts, the hem of her garment was gradually turning black, the edges sagging with stringy mucus, like a mature ink cap mushroom. That was clearly the corruption of the Demon King, giving her powers an added eeriness and chill.
The dagger was no ordinary tool either. Its blade was embedded with some kind of black and red shard, emitting an ominous black aura.
Nol had seen ordinary people corrupted, as well as unthinking corrupted monsters like the Thousand-Hands Nightmare and the guard in the garden. This was his first time seeing a creature still capable of communication after being corrupted by the Demon King.
"Don't hide anymore." The ghost murmured sadly, with a certain rigidity and neurotic tone. "I don't want to be too cruel. I don't want to kill… I just want to go home. I've done nothing wrong…"
Her figure flickered for a moment, then suddenly appeared in front of Nol, raising her knife to stab.
Nol crossed his staff in front of him, barely blocking her attack—the ghost's movements were very amateurish, evidently lacking experience in violence, even on par with Nol, the office warrior.
"Wait!" Nol reflexively protected Teest while saying rapidly, "Earthling? Joy Garden in City A?"
"Ah." She revealed a desolated smile, her grip slightly lighter. "My own kind, huh? I knew this day would come…"
"We're all kin. There's no need for us to fight." Nol kept his guard up. "We're looking for a way home. If you're willing, we could have a talk."
Even if The Manor's situation was bizarre, after all, it only rose to prominence in recent months. There couldn't be that many people. It seemed they still had a chance for negotiation, as long as communication was possible—
"Talk?" The ghostly lady responded with a laugh that was more like a sob. "How sad. You still know nothing… Poor kin…"
She withdrew her dagger and struck at Nol again. Nol narrowly dodged. Behind him, Teest took the opportunity to thrust with his sword—only for it to pass harmlessly through the ghost's body, causing no damage.
Damn it.
If they had come by the official route, they would be dead or severely injured by now, their equipment thoroughly depleted.
And like will-o'-the-wisps, ghosts were immune to physical damage. The area was also surrounded by forbidden magic crystals, giving the ghost home field advantage to an overwhelming degree.
It was like…
It was as if someone meticulously set this all up, turning it into a one-sided "leveling field". The planner, filtering through layers, was just waiting for the exhausted high-level prey to fall into the trap.
So very safe, yet extraordinarily cruel.
"I live in Building 7, surname Xu. What's your name?" Nol's mind raced as he tried to stabilize the other with kinship. "What don't we know? Why are you guarding this place alone? You have to tell us first…"
Her gaze upon them grew even more pitiful, and the ghost opened her pearl-white lips, her voice echoing hollowly.
"This world is a lie. Everything is just a game—merely a game." She spoke solemnly, her gaze empty. "We must clear the game. Only by clearing it can we go home… Only by clearing it can we go home…"
Nol's pupils shrink. He almost lost grip on his magic staff.
How did The Manor's people confirm this?!
Even he, the designer, had to expend great effort to understand the situation. Not to mention, the answer derived by The Manor was completely opposite to his!
"Our factions are different. What a pity."
The ghostly lady picked up her skirt with one hand, curtsying in a bizarre manner, her gaze drifting slightly to a spot. "We must defeat you, Mr. Xu… We all need to level up…"
She said "we".
This meant she wasn't alone in guarding this place.
"Teest!" Nol called out directly.
Teest wrapped his arms around Nol's waist, kicking off with all his might. In an instant, they flew tens of meters away, with an explosion following closely behind—sand and stones flew at the castle entrance, and the entire gate was blasted away.
The stone steps peel away, revealing the dark red "soil" beneath, and the stench of decay in the air grew even stronger.
"…Haa."
From within the smoke, a light sigh was heard.
The ghostly lady was immune to physical damage. She still stood quietly in her place. Seeing Nol evade successfully, she cast a disappointed look.
Teest sharply turned his head, pinpointing the source of the attack—it was a bizarrely dressed lizardman, shouldering an odd-looking magical device.
Lizardmen were generally of low intelligence, but this one's gaze held the same sorrow as the ghost. Its tail and arms, revealed from the armor, showed an abnormal black-red color, and the Demon King's aura on its body was equally intense.
"Give up." The ghost sang in a low whisper, her voice piercing directly into their ears. "We will chase you day and night… I have my dagger, and he has his artillery. Give up. Let's all make it easier… It's just a game, only a game…"
"What to do, honey?" Teest dodged another explosion. "If you insist on not harming them, we're really going to die here."
Nol didn't respond.
The ghost reappeared in front of them, slowly raising her dagger. Nol sidestepped, pulling Teest out of the way.
"Or do you plan to retreat now?" Teest took the opportunity to look back.
Nol still didn't respond. He looked towards the lizardman; his face never having been so pale.
The weapon of the lizardman was very old. Its material was somewhere between metal and plastic.
There were highly industrialized, neatly designed energy grooves on its surface, within which black-red crystals could be seen. Blue light poured from the crystals, spreading along the patterns covering the weapon.
Its light, pulsating like a breath, was completely consistent with the previous teleportation effects.
The light flickered like breathing, emitting the decay of the Demon King's corruption. That fluctuation was somewhat close to Tahe's magic, yet not quite the same. The forbidden magic crystals worked diligently, yet it remained completely unaffected.
Nol didn't recognize the material of the weapon or the kind of power it wielded, but he did recognize the basic shape of the weapon.
It was a xenomorphic rocket launcher.
The author has something to say:
Following the previous chapter: Not as many as 300 chapters! Should be less than "Stray"?
I've been following the main storyline recently…