I could feel my face burning with heat.
‘What am I doing? I almost got completely entranced while spacing out. Wait… did I actually get entranced?’
Honestly, looking at his appearance, it wasn’t completely unbelievable. Just seeing the noblewomen at the start of the game gaping at Basileon’s looks… But that couldn’t happen. Basileon wouldn’t stop killing, and I had to stop him.
‘Our relationship will only get worse from here. I can’t get attached. Besides, I’m not really a part of this game world. I’ll have to leave someday.’
I’ll give just enough affection to maintain the intimacy level, and just enough so his anger doesn’t rise.
‘…I’ve survived this long, haven’t I?’
I somehow managed to survive in a world that tormented me so terribly. I’m a person with a tenacious will to live.
‘I survived all that, so it would be unfair if I couldn’t escape some stupid game.’
“What are you doing?”
Was I so lost in thought? I hadn’t even noticed Basileon had come close.
“Ah. So…”
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a rapier flew in from outside the banquet hall door.
‘Huh, that one! It’s the rapier Adolf left inside the armory!’
Tap, tap!
What’s happening? The rapier expressed urgency with every movement, hopping up and down in front of Adolf.
“What?”
Adolf asked in a serious voice.
“Adolf, what’s going on?”
The fact that the rapier flew over meant that something bad was definitely happening.
“Someone’s broken into the armory?”
“Broken in?”
“We need to go check right now! I can’t let the armory I’ve taken care of my whole life get ruined!”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
* * *
We hurriedly followed Adolf down to the basement. I had a bad feeling. What on earth could have happened? When we reached the dark armory, there was an unfamiliar atmosphere, completely different from usual.
“…Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from somewhere, and all the lights in the armory went out. Because of that, the rapiers couldn’t see who had entered.”
Adolf quickly turned the lights back on to assess the situation.
For some reason, a chill lingered throughout the armory.
“…Oh my!”
At Adolf’s shout, I looked up in that direction. On the wall, there was a pitch-black mark of unknown origin. Next to it, a cryptic phrase was written.
O soul that has forgotten order, return to the darkness.
“…Huh.”
Order, huh… This was definitely similar to the warning I had seen at the cabin where the survivors were before. Back then, my name had been explicitly mentioned, but this time it referred to a “soul.” I carefully examined the phrase, then looked at Basileon, who had followed us in. Somehow, Basileon, standing next to me and reading the writing, had clenched his fist tightly.
“Basileon? What’s wrong?”
The bright atmosphere from just moments ago vanished without a trace, and the air around Basileon grew chillingly cold.
[Basileon Ravenwood]
◇ Intimacy: 54%
◇ Anger: 59%
◇ Anger: 63%
◇ Anger: 67%
And suddenly, his anger level surged uncontrollably. Then…
Thud.
“…Basileon!”
Basileon collapsed.
* * *
“What on earth is going on?”
Basileon, who had lost consciousness, was moved to his bedroom. This was because the ghost servants and monsters of the ducal castle quickly rushed over and carried Basileon away on a stretcher.
“Tch, spirit… it seems you weren’t as close to the young master as I thought, huh?”
“Mhm? I am close! You saw it earlier, didn’t you?”
Adolf was about to say something important, but he noticed the ghost servants and monsters in the room and turned around.
“…Listen, everyone. We’ll stay by the young master’s side, so everyone else, leave the room. We’ll call if we need you.”
At Adolf’s words, they exchanged glances.
“Surely you’re not saying you don’t trust this Adolf?”
It seemed they were persuaded by Adolf’s final words, and slowly, they began to leave Basileon’s room.
“What the… why do they listen to you so well?”
“I’ve always been well-connected in the ducal castle. Everyone liked me, so being a shield doesn’t change that, does it?”
“…Everyone else seems to have trouble with them, though.”
“Tsk, spirit. How foolish. If you want to survive here, the most important thing is to first get along with those affiliated with the ducal castle.”
“Hmm… even if the ghosts seem to envy me, it’s still hard to get close to them.”
Because everyone finds me intimidating just because I’m close to Basileon.
“To obtain important information, you have to put in the effort, spirit.”
Adolf said smugly.
“Don’t tell me you have no idea how the Ravenwood family ended up like this?”
“So, Basileon got cursed, right? By that being called the Evil God. Honestly, other than that, I don’t know the details.”
There were hints about the Ravenwood family in the clues I found during gameplay. But since the game was so unfriendly, it didn’t reveal everything.
“You really don’t know anything. The people of this family believed in the Evil God and did all sorts of bizarre things at its command, only to be betrayed. And this is the result.”
Betrayed? That was the first time I’d ever heard of such a thing.
“…Then, what does Basileon seeing the writing on the wall earlier have to do with all this?”
“The Evil God is warning him. It means not to forget the young master’s duties.”
Adolf carefully walked in front of Basileon.
“Our poor young master Basileon…”
* * *
Thanks to Basileon losing consciousness and not going on his human hunts, the day passed by relatively uneventfully. I couldn’t quite figure out what was happening, and it left me with a strange feeling.
It was fortunate for me that Basileon hadn’t killed anyone, but the fact that he suddenly lost consciousness was definitely not a good sign. Anyway, nothing good ever comes from Basileon’s anger rising too high.
‘Well, nothing is easy.’
After parting ways with Adolf, I headed back to Basileon’s bedroom to check on his condition.
‘….’
When I saw Basileon sleeping peacefully, I also relaxed.
‘His skin is so pale and smooth…’
While thinking that, I absent‑mindedly reached out my hand—as if I were about to touch him. But I can’t actually touch people anyway, so it didn’t matter at all.
‘Ever since I got possessed by the evil spirit, have I finally lost my mind too?’
As I was sneaking a glance at Basileon’s profile, a pang of guilt hit me—I knew I shouldn’t be doing this. I tugged at my hair in frustration, and before I realized it, I had drifted off to sleep. A little while later…
“Uhm….”
When I opened my eyes, something like a notepad appeared before my eyes.
Evien. Don’t come looking for me today.
It seemed to be a note left by Basileon, probably after he woke up.
“Hng?”
Looking around, everything was pitch dark. Until just a moment ago, sunlight had streamed in, but now only the moonlight filtered through. This was the second time I had fallen asleep in Basileon’s bedroom. Both then and now, I had slipped into sleep before even realizing it. Just like last time, I quickly opened the map—and thankfully, no one had died.
“Phew…”
[Map]
! Basileon Ravenwood: 〈6th Floor〉 Hallway
! Mary Crow: 〈1st Floor〉 Banquet Hall
! Evan Martinez: 〈6th Floor〉 Music Room
! Lillith Garrett: 〈7th Floor〉 Laboratory
! Havel Acron: 〈4th Floor〉 Exhibition Room
“Oh my.”
It wasn’t the time to feel at ease. Basileon and Evan were located very close to each other. I immediately flew up to the 6th floor.
Drrrk…
When I arrived on the 6th floor, a chilling sound echoed from somewhere.
‘What?’
The tip of Flamberge’s sword scraped against the floor, producing a chilling, grating sound as it was dragged along. It was the only sound breaking the eerie silence of the 6th-floor corridor.
Basileon wandering around with his weapon drawn in an empty space. My instincts screamed that this was not good. The air around him felt heavy and damp, as if the entire corridor had been soaked in a dreary, oppressive hue.
[Basileon Ravenwood]
◇ Intimacy: 51%
◇ Anger: 77%
His anger level is approaching 80%.
‘…It’s dangerous.’
Watching Basileon’s back made me nervous, so I quickly entered the room where Evan was.
‘If he’s in the 6th-floor music room, he must have come to check the clue engraved on the grand piano.’
When I entered the music room, Evan was hiding, shivering slightly.
◇ Fear: 67%
‘That’s incredibly high.’
That makes sense. Even I find that eerie scraping sound of the sword being dragged around terrifying.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh, evil spirit…!’
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