Chapter 26
“What the—? Isn’t this supposed to be a space where neither mana nor aura works?”
Watching Creta panic, I licked my suddenly dry lips over and over.
Now wasn’t the time to be confused. We had to run.
In the game, whenever a situation like this happened, you couldn’t defeat the demon—every single time, it was game over.
[Suriel’s murder gauge has reached MAX. Everyone here, except for Halloway, has been designated as a target for elimination.]
See? We’re screwed!
[Because your life is in danger, the time limit for moving to the 5th floor has been shortened.]
What? How much?
But the system didn’t show the timer—it was deliberately hidden.
And there wasn’t even a status window for Halloway.
That meant… killing him wouldn’t matter.
Damn it, the only one I can trust is myself.
But if only I move to the 5th floor, Cynthia and Creta will become targets.
The system may not care, but my conscience did.
I couldn’t just abandon them.
“Th-th-that…”
Cynthia’s trembling hand covered her mouth.
“I knew it. I knew he wasn’t human!”
“Sis…”
Pathetic.
Just when I wanted to shove away the terrified Halloway clinging to me—
[Five steps behind your current position, there’s a weapon on the sofa in the left room.]
The message popped up right then.
“Gyaaaah!”
Suriel’s elongated claws pierced straight through Alphulf’s stomach. His scream echoed through the room.
Blood poured out in thick gushes.
Ironically, it was Creta who’d ruined Suriel’s face, yet Suriel didn’t touch her—probably because he still liked her face.
So Alphulf became the unfortunate sacrifice.
Suriel pulled his hand out of Alphulf’s gut and flicked the blood off his nails, droplets splattering on the floor.
A wicked grin tugged at his lips.
“If she’d just used her thumb, this would’ve been over quick.”
Now wasn’t the time to stare.
The weapon!
Before the game ends here, I have to do something.
I have to buy time!
Even with the gruesome sight before me, survival instinct kicked in. My body moved on its own.
I took five steps back and threw open the door.
“Kh—E-Evelyn!”
Alphulf reached a bloody hand toward me, thinking I was betraying them, but I ignored him and dashed inside.
Everyone shouted my name in alarm.
“Evelyn!”
“E-Evelyn!”
“Sis!”
Ignoring their desperate cries, Suriel muttered coldly,
“Let her go. Guess she wants to live alone.”
[Affection -2%]
[Attachment -3%]
[Possessiveness -5%]
[Affection: 4.5% / Attachment: 4% / Possessiveness: 2%]
I ignored the windows popping up.
Suriel’s mocking voice echoed behind me.
“No matter how brave she acts, everyone falls apart in the face of death, huh?”
Say whatever you want.
I tuned him out and reached the sofa.
The weapon the system mentioned was there. I grabbed it.
[You have obtained: Nunchaku!]
What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!
[Trait: Attack power and accuracy increase the more you shout “Abyo!” in succession.]
“Abyooo!”
Suriel, you bastard—here I come!
This isn’t how I’m going to end this game!
When I burst out of the room making weird noises, Suriel froze mid-chaos.
“Heh.”
At my confident grin, he frowned.
“…Did you eat something weird in there?”
What do you think I ate?
I strode toward him proudly, but Creta blocked my path.
“Evelyn, you can’t fight him!”
“Abyo!”
I yelled at the top of my lungs and swung wildly—yet somehow struck his ribs dead-on.
“Ugh!”
Creta fell, but I ignored him and kept walking.
Suriel sneered.
“Ha! You think some random stick will help you beat me?”
“Do you think I grabbed this to win?”
How typical.
I could see him biting his lip as I pressed on.
“There’s only one reason I’m standing here with this weapon.”
“…?”
“To buy time for everyone else to escape.”
I didn’t know how long was left, but as long as I kept him busy, I’d eventually be moved to the 5th floor too.
So getting them away from Suriel came first.
That was how we’d all survive.
“You heard that, Cynthia?”
“…What?”
“You’re the only one I can trust right now. Take Alphulf, Creta, and Halloway and run.”
Alphulf was useless, Halloway was just a kid, and Creta would probably throw a tantrum—so Cynthia was my best bet.
“I’m not going, Evelyn!”
See?
Creta tried to run toward me, but I swung the nunchaku threateningly, and he froze.
“…Fine.”
Ignoring him, Cynthia grabbed the badly injured Alphulf first.
Alphulf looked at me with watery eyes.
“E-Evelyn…”
“Halloway, you too.”
Instead of a reply, new messages popped up.
[Affection +6%]
[Attachment +7%]
[Possessiveness +10%]
[Affection: 10.5% / Attachment: 11% / Possessiveness: 12%]
Thank God. At least the balance between attachment and possessiveness isn’t too bad.
“Ha…”
Suriel looked dumbfounded by my self-sacrificial act.
One thing about him—he hated kind people.
He wanted to crush them completely.
So when I told the others to flee, his expression twisted in rage.
“You really think I’ll let them go?”
The classic villain line.
I screamed back,
“ABYOABYOABYOABYO!”
At this point, even shame couldn’t stop me.
I swung like crazy, and messages flooded my vision.
[Attack power +5%]
[Accuracy +10%]
[Attack power +7%]
[Accuracy +14%]
Every time I shouted “Abyo,” I grew stronger—and Suriel got hit more often.
He’d been blocking well at first, but soon he couldn’t keep up.
“Argh! It hurts, it hurts!”
“Abyo! Abyooo! Abyo!”
[Everyone here thinks you have great potential as a comedian.]
Oh, shut up!
Now wasn’t the time for jokes.
Even if it looked ridiculous, I was fighting for my life.
The boosts didn’t increase my stamina—just my power and aim.
My arms were burning with pain, but I couldn’t stop.
If I hesitated for even a second, Suriel’s claws might pierce my heart.
So until the others escaped, I had to keep attacking nonstop.
“Abyo! Abyo!”
Huff, huff.
God, I’m dying here.
Guys, are you gone yet? Because your big sis is about to drop dead!
I couldn’t even look back.
“Stop it already, damn it!”
“I’ll stop when they’re gone!”
My confident retort actually made Suriel flinch and scream when I swung again.
Then—
[5 seconds remaining.]
…What?
“Abyo! Abyo!”
Still yelling, I watched the countdown appear.
[4 seconds remaining.]
[3 seconds remaining.]
[2 seconds remaining.]
[1 second remaining.]
[Transferring…]
“Abyo—ugh!”
Whoosh!
Clang!
The nunchaku slipped from my hands, hitting the floor.
The scene around me flipped instantly—Suriel and the others were gone.
My chest heaved with rapid breaths.
“Huff… Huff… What the hell? Did I actually move?”
I wiped the sweat running down my jaw and frowned.
Before I could get my bearings, a thick, nauseating stench hit me.
It smelled like rotting fish left for weeks.
Even covering my nose didn’t help—the sour, putrid odor invaded my brain.
I gagged.
“Ugh…”
[You have entered the location for Story #09: ‘Set Me Free,’ Floor 5.]
[Before the story continues, dangerous elements are being initialized.]
[The hotel’s difficulty level has increased by 2 stages.]
[Current difficulty: “Try Surviving.”]
“Try surviving,” huh…
As I blinked in confusion, eerie noises began to echo.
Keeeeeek…
Creak… creak… kreeeak…
Slowly—painfully slowly—
Kyaaaaak…
Something was closing in on me from both sides.
