“Holloway, what’s wrong with these guys? Ever since the humans were shown about the island, the flow of magic changed and they’ve gone crazy and wild. There’s no way they’d attack us, though…”
Dilaph, who was seriously assessing the situation, turned his head in confusion at Holloway, who wasn’t saying a word even though he was talking like this.
Holloway was frozen in place, looking somewhere.
“Boss, what are you doing? Are you listening?”
“I’m going to the basement for a bit.”
“What? Are you crazy?!”
Dilaph jumped as soon as he heard the word ‘basement’.
It wasn’t particularly dangerous. However, the demons couldn’t kill the evil spirits in the basement on their own.
That was one of their punishments, and it was also something the evil spirits desperately wanted.
The basement was their own territory.
Although even if Holloway went in, they wouldn’t attack him, that wasn’t certain.
There were too many variables.
Especially the basement…
Dilaph fiddled with his blindfold.
After confirming that the items weren’t there, the demons never once thought of going to the basement on their own.
In the basement, where everything lay hidden.
“You want to go there on your own? We couldn’t find the items anyway! I told you they weren’t there, didn’t I?”
“Evelin is there.”
“…What? How is that crazy woman in the basement? The door to the basement is locked, though?”
Dilaph was confused, Yet Holloway tried to go anyway. Dilaph blocked his way.
Holloway’s eyebrows twitched in displeasure.
“Get off.”
It wouldn’t be dangerous for Holloway to go underground, but…
Dilaph swallowed his words. Then he sniffed Evelin’s scent and changed the subject.
“How did you know she was in the basement?”
Ever since the flow of magi changed, they couldn’t even catch the scent Suriel had left behind.
Although he could sense it by the presence, he couldn’t sense it if it was a certain distance away.
“She touched my item.”
The moment someone touches his item, he feels the energy of the person who touches it. It was Evelin’s energy.
Each human with a soul had a slightly different energy, and Holloway, who had been constantly with Evelin, immediately realized that the energy transmitted to him through the item was Evelin’s.
“…What? Wait, so the item was in the basement?!”
“I have to go find my item.”
“M-Me too…!”
Dilaph tried to go with him, yet eventually closed his mouth at Holloway’s gaze.
The moment saw Holloway looking anxious, he couldn’t chase him.
Watching Holloway disappear in an instant, he habitually fiddled with his eye patch.
The items that each demon has.
No matter how hard they tried to find it, they couldn’t see it, yet it was actually underground.
How on earth did she find it?
***
The items connected to the demons don’t react even if the evil spirits touch them.
They could only notice if a normal human touched it.
No one had touched it for a thousand years, so they couldn’t find it, yet Evelin did.
Something was clearly happening at the hotel.
Although he tried to find Evelin right away, he only knew where she was, not the exact location.
When Holloway arrived at the basement, he took a step without thinking, despite the dust and wet mold that came rushing in.
Because of the distorted magi, the space warped and he was soon transported to another place.
Holloway turned his gaze when he saw ‘Laboratory 11’ written on the door. He couldn’t feel Evelin’s presence nearby.
The evil spirits and the magi in the basement made it harder to find Evelin.
He had to go around and find her himself.
The basement was very wide and huge, and since it was a den of evil spirits, she probably wouldn’t be easy to find.
Even the magi was distorted, and the monsters above the hotel were attacking him, so there was no guarantee that the evil spirits in the basement wouldn’t do the same.
By now, this place was growing more and more distant from the hotel they once knew.
Though he welcomed this change…
[Because people never lose hope.]
Evelin’s words lingered in his ears.
[What are you going to do when that happens? When hope is trampled and there is no room for revival.]
[Hmm… I guess I’ll just try to find it again in my own way.]
[If there’s none?]
[If there’s none, well… I’ll make it.]
Evelin’s face was filled with hope as she said that.
That image was still an unforgettable, intense memory.
She was different from him, whose hope had been trampled.
“Even if there’s none, she’ll make it…”
When he thought of Evelin back then, Holloway unconsciously smiled faintly.
—Krrk…? KwAGGHH!
The evil spirit lunged at Holloway. Its long arm swung like a whip, but it couldn’t touch him.
Holloway reached out his hand toward the spirit. His hand gripped the spirit’s neck. And with that, he slammed it against the wall.
—Keugh, keugh…!
“As expected, you attack.”
—S-Save… me…
The warm eyes instantly turned cold.
His indifferent gaze landed on the evil spirit. Holloway let go. The evil spirit took advantage of the gap and ran away.
Although he could subdue the evil spirits here, he couldn’t kill them.
That was the law of this basement, and there was a compulsion that had to be followed.
The evil spirits in the basement were extremely sensitive to intruders, and Evelin was probably in considerable danger right now.
This basement, out of his control, wouldn’t even listen to his orders, so he had no choice but to pray that she wouldn’t die.
‘…No choice but to pray?’
Holloway wondered.
He felt anxiously searching for Evelin, and there was a part of him that was anxious, if only for the object.
His pace quickened without his knowledge.
***
“…”
She was definitely still holding his item, however…
He couldn’t see her. The evil spirits were moving around like this, and he hadn’t heard a single scream.
Did she go into a room and hide?
The moment he thought of Evelin, who would squat and curse first, Holloway’s face softened.
He stroked the corners of his lips as he walked slowly, then suddenly stopped.
‘…No way.’
There was one room that he could guess.
But could there be such a coincidence?
Holloway brushed back his flowing hair.
The current hotel was different from the original hotel, so he didn’t know.
The same was with Evelin. He didn’t suspect anything. It didn’t seem like she was going to harm them.
But she was definitely hiding something.
Evelin didn’t seem too fond of it, every now and then, she would frown in displeasure.
She seemed quite embarrassed by what she had said…
Ah, that funny face again.
As expected of a comedian, she was really consistent.
Eventually Holloway let out a low laugh.
“Now that I think about it…”
Evelin’s expression grew particularly fierce every time she pressed her hand into the air.
…What if she was being forced into something she couldn’t help but do?
What if she was being forced into something she didn’t want to do, like them…
“Should I save her, I wonder.”
His low voice echoed through the air as his footsteps stopped.
He clearly felt her presence.
The thick iron door had ‘Laboratory 44’ written on it.
Evelin’s presence could be felt inside. Holloway grabbed the handle.
“…”
Even though he pretended not to care, the veins on the back of Holloway’s hand bulged out.
His jaw tightened and he gripped the handle as if he was going to break it.
Memories of that day surged back, and Holloway unconsciously clenched his teeth and swept his face with one hand.
A trembling breath escaped his red lips.
He pretended to be okay, yet this place was still disgusting even after so much time had passed.
“Ugh…”
When Evelin’s moan leaked out through the crack in the door, his heart sank instead of feeling relieved.
“Evelin.”
“…”
She didn’t even respond to her name, lowly called.
He bit his lip and opened the door to the laboratory he thought he would never enter again.
The stench of rotting flesh wafted out.
Holloway staggered and looked at Evelin, who was lying on the iron bed in the middle.
A red aura rippled around Evelin.
“…”
It seemed as if she was seeing another past, not the island’s secret.
Cold sweat dripped down Evelin’s face.
Watching her toss and turn in pain, Holloway placed a hand on his throbbing head.
“What kind of trick are you trying to pull.”
Holloway stood in front of Evelin in one breath with large strides.
This much won’t do.
The moment Holloway put the magi in his hand and placed it on Evelin’s forehead.
Zzzzt, zzzzt!
A strong spark flew and knocked Holloway’s hand away.
“…”
It was blocked. Obviously.
Holloway stayed still for a moment and tried to leave this laboratory with Evelin in his arms.
At that moment.
Ssssssshh…
A red energy surged from beneath his feet and enveloped Evelin.
A powerful force immediately transferred to Holloway and grabbed his ankles, as if to prevent him from leaving this laboratory.
He tried to shake it off, yet his strength didn’t work at all.
The red energy surged ominously, enveloping their entire bodies.
Holloway opened his mouth as he looked at the energy.
“Was this series of events caused by this energy?”
The energy moves with an ego.
Holloway’s face sank coldly at the unheard situation.
“Don’t bring up the past so carelessly.”
Holloway concentrated magi in his hand toward the red aura, which didn’t respond.
“If you don’t want to come out, I have no choice but to force you to.”
The moment Holloway touched the overflowing red aura, it resisted his hand more fiercely than before.
Ssszzzt…
Gray smoke rose from the darkened skin. This aura far surpassed his own power.
There was no way he wouldn’t know that this power was here…
As the soot disappeared from Holloway’s hand, a window appeared in the air and letters were engraved.
Holloway’s eyes narrowed at the sight he had never seen before.
[(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞]
Even though he had never seen it before, he felt like it was denying him.
[※Do not touch※]
Finally, it revealed its identity.
Holloway stared at the crooked red aura and the spear.
“Is that your identity. Did you manipulate Evelin like that?”
[Refusing to answer Holloway’s question. ( ✋. ࡇ . )]
Holloway said just one thing to the strangely enraging sentence and painting.
“Reveal your true self.”
[Refusing.( ✋. ࡇ . )]
“How long can you refuse.”
He poured the gathered magic energy into the red aura, yet it didn’t move.
[Refusing! Refusing!]
[( ⏺_—)ε-/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿( ⏺_—)ε-/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿]
The more he reacted, the more the entire lab shook as if there was an earthquake, yet Holloway didn’t even blink an eye.
“You…”
[Refusing.( ✋. ࡇ . )]
The window that had been repeating the same words, this time spoke in a tone that seemed like it was talking to a person.
[I am not coming out.]
[If you want Evelin to be safe, leave me alone.]
“You showed her the secret about the island. Are you doing this on purpose? What do you want?”
The window answered in silence.
[It cannot be ended yet.]
An answer that is different from the question.
[If you touch Evelin one more time, she will die instantly. Please wait.]
( °ロ°)づ-/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ \( ° ロ ° ”)/]
Holloway’s face hardened at the sight of Evelin being shot by a gun.
The moment he reached out his hand toward the window, the red aura disappeared without a trace, leaving only a warning.
If it were like before, he wouldn’t have cared whether Evelin died or not, however…
Holloway had already begun to hesitate.
He couldn’t kill Evelin. He couldn’t touch her rashly.
Furthermore, the moment he briefly encountered the red aura, he felt it.
This power was mixed with the power of the absolute that he couldn’t do anything about.
“How cruel to the end.”
Holloway muttered quietly as if he was talking to someone.
His eyes were filled with contempt, disgust, and pain, then it vanished. It was the first time he had felt such a strong hatred toward someone.
How nice it would be if he could kill them.
Holloway sighed. In that moment, the thick hatred that had stabbed his body disappeared without a trace.
“It told me to wait.”
Holloway sat down on a nearby chair with a tired face.
He stared at Evelin, who was still suffering, with her eyes closed.
He ran his fingers over the beads of sweat that were flowing down, mixing with blood.
“Then I have to wait.”
Until these eyes opened and he filled them with nothing but with himself.
For as long as it takes.
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Será a própria magia da ilha?