Chapter 21
My trembling pupils and lost fingers hovered in front of the choices.
Standing at the crossroads of death, I couldn’t bring myself to choose and lowered my hand.
No matter how I looked at it, this time—whatever I picked—my ending was death.
Option 1 looked decent at first glance, but if I went “Ta-da!” in front of a demon sensitive about his blindfold, my head might go “Ta-da!” and roll on the ground.
Option 2? My wrist holding the gun would probably get sliced off and roll away… and so on.
And option 3…
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
Every path led to death anyway.
So… how about punching that bastard once and going to the afterlife with no regrets?
I asked the empty air for its opinion and nodded to myself.
You agree? Great. Let’s go with that.
After taking a deep breath, I firmly pressed option 3.
Then, my hand, which had been moving slowly, suddenly swung upward and—
SMAACK!
A sharp, satisfying sound rang out as I slapped Dilaph’s left cheek as hard as I could. My lips moved on their own, spitting venom.
“Are you doubting me? How dare you?!”
“You just hit me?”
“Seems like it.”
My unhinged answer made Dilaph exhale in disbelief.
But… dying just like this felt too unfair.
If I was going to die, I at least wanted to cause some chaos first. That way I could close my eyes in peace, without regret.
Dilaph couldn’t hide his fury as he stared at me, the woman who slapped him.
“You little—!”
SMAACK!
I’m a fair person. I cut him off mid-curse and slapped his other cheek too.
Because I’m delicate and kind, I hope he’ll let me live.
Facing death head-on must have messed with my sanity—nonsense thoughts kept filling my head.
Dilaph’s head snapped to the side; both his cheeks were now bright red.
He looked so shocked that he didn’t even turn his face back toward me at first, just stared down at the floor.
Then, when he finally did turn, he touched his cheek gently.
His reaction was strange—totally different from his earlier rage.
He looked at me, dazed, and clutched his chest near his heart.
That reaction… felt weirdly familiar.
Dilaph’s face was red from my slaps.
Please, let it be only because of that.
His lips parted slowly.
“You’re the first woman who’s ever slapped both my cheeks.”
Good thing I slapped both.
If I’d hit only one, that would’ve been a problem.
“Thrilling.”
Oh my god, he’s insane.
I stepped back as his grin stretched to his cheekbones.
“Hit me again.”
He’s completely lost it.
He grabbed my wrist as I tried to pull away.
“I said hit me again!”
Ah, seriously—!
“Fine!”
I don’t refuse requests.
I was annoyed already, so this was perfect. I spread my palm wide, ready to stir up some dust on this rainy day.
And I kept slapping him just the way he wanted.
Smack, smack-smack-smack-smack!
The sound was almost musical, like clapping.
Turns out slapping someone’s cheeks makes a louder sound than clapping your hands.
“Ah—wait! I said once—ah! Stop! That hurts!”
He covered his face with his arms, pouting, as my barrage of slaps rained down like a summer storm.
“I said once!”
As he snapped at me, he swatted my hand away—accidentally hooking his blindfold on my finger.
The blindfold slipped and almost came off. I quickly yanked it back into place before Alhulf could see.
Phew. Thank god. He didn’t see his eyes.
“That was close…”
Close to death, I mean.
Almost got my eyes gouged out right after nailing the “You’re the first woman to hit me” cliché.
Dilaph felt around for his blindfold and asked,
“What the hell did you just do?”
“What do you mean? Your blindfold almost came off.”
“Weren’t you pretending to hit me so you could take it off?”
My blood pressure spiked.
I was just about to deny it when—
[Dilaph’s fleeting affection turns into murderous intent again. You must change his mind.]
[What should you say?]
Ding-dong! I’m sooo curious what’s under that blindfold! Take it off—hot and fast!
You know what’s under there and you’re still wearing it? Tick-tock, take it off already!
I’m not interested in stripping blindfolds off people. I’m interested in stripping clothes off strong, handsome men!
Well, since the “correct” answer was already obvious, all I had to do was choose.
And honestly, this one was easy.
I gleefully pressed option 3.
“I’m not interested in taking off your blindfold. What I am interested in is stripping clothes off muscular men!”
Everyone stared at me, touched by my heartfelt sincerity.
“If you want, I’ll take off more than just the blindfold. Just say the word.”
Now maybe he’d finally realize I don’t want to remove it.
Even a passing pervert would flinch at that line. Dilaph crossed his arms over his chest.
I heard Halloway laughing quietly behind him.
[Dilaph is flustered—he’s never met such a boldly perverted woman before.]
Yeah, this guy’s not normal either.
Amazing how ancient clichés still work.
[Congratulations!]
[You’ve survived a death scenario.]
So I lived… under the title of “pervert who loves naked men.”
[‘Wrathful Demon’ Dilaph’s danger level has changed to: ‘I’ll let this one slide.’]
[Because you are pursuing ‘Future Conqueror of This World’ Halloway, other characters’ stats will not be displayed.]
[You’ll be notified whenever his feelings toward you change.]
[‘Wrathful Demon’ Dilaph’s feelings toward you (´罒`*)✧: ‘You’re the first woman who’s hit me.’]
[You cannot pursue more than one character at a time.]
Why did they have to force the final boss, Halloway, as my target route?
Couldn’t I just switch?
But my hope was crushed instantly.
[Character switching not available.]
I knew it.
This system really has it out for me.
[Currently, Dilaph’s cheeks are burning from your slaps.]
You don’t need to tell me that. I know.
Halloway crept closer and tugged my sleeve, his face full of fake concern.
Is there no option to hit him too?
But he looked like a kid right now, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
If he were in his adult form, I would’ve slapped him without hesitation—just like Dilaph.
“Are you okay, sis?”
“You’re asking now?”
“Well, I’m just a kid.”
Using your age as an excuse, huh?
And he knows I’ll fall for it.
“My stubborn will to live saved me.”
“Seems like it.”
Don’t say it like that.
Then Alhulf murmured in awe,
“Lady Evelyn, you’re terrifying… You actually slapped someone’s face…”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone who used Moran as bait and ran away.”
My blunt remark made Alhulf tear up.
“I-I was just so scared back then… I’m sorry, truly, I am…”
“Don’t apologize to me. Say it to Moran. What good’s my forgiveness? She’s the one you wronged.”
Though honestly, knowing Moran, she probably would forgive him.
If she didn’t, what would that make me—the only one who got punished?
It’d be nice if Alhulf got scolded too, for fairness’ sake.
Anyway…
Just standing was making my ankle throb.
When Alhulf had suddenly grabbed me earlier, it made the injury worse.
If I ran into a monster now, I wouldn’t even be able to escape.
Those three would probably abandon me as bait again.
“I wish I had a bandage to wrap my ankle.”
“H-how did it happen?”
“It was already injured, but it got worse when you jumped me.”
“Oh…”
I’d filled him with enough guilt that he was practically sniffling.
We continued up to the third floor.
Well, I walked up, and the others trailed behind like ducklings.
Dilaph followed sluggishly and asked,
“Hey, why haven’t you asked why I’m sensitive about my blindfold?”
“Because if I do, you’ll kill me.”
“…”
See? No response. Proves my point.
I almost fell for it and asked, damn it.
I pushed Halloway’s hand away as he tried to hold mine again. His frown deepened.
He really wasn’t trying to hide his identity anymore, huh?
At this point, it felt like he wanted me to notice.
“Why don’t you ever hold my hand? Or let me hug you? Or even touch you?”
Aren’t those all the same thing?
Still, since I’d just barely survived, I chose my words carefully.
“Because when I was getting scolded by that guy, you just stood there laughing. That hurt my feelings.”
“But…”
Halloway straightened, as if making up his mind.
“He’s the one who got scolded, not you.”
Let’s just ignore that for now.
“Yeah, my cheek still stings.”
“See? So you’re not rejecting me anymore, right?”
…He kinda had a point.
As I limped up the stairs, Halloway smiled brightly and reached for my hand.
But then—the stairs rippled, and everything went black.
When the light returned a few seconds later, I was alone.
“…?”
Before I could even process the sudden change—
[‘????’ has distorted space. For the next 30 minutes, your position cannot be accurately tracked.]
The system window had always named who acted—but this time, it showed only question marks.
Who did it?
Maybe it was one of the demons I hadn’t met yet.
“Then… this is my chance.”
With Halloway and the demons gone, I could finally check under the sofa in that unlocked room—the one he’d kept me from seeing.
There had to be a reason he’d hidden it.
Given how little we knew about the hotel, I needed every clue I could get.
The door in front of me read “Room 201.”
I was standing right in front of the unlocked room.
Trap or coincidence?
Either way, I opened it.
Inside stood Alhulf, looking around in confusion.
I swore without thinking.
“Ah, crap.”
“P-please don’t sound so disappointed…”
Ignoring him, I stepped inside.
“What are you doing here?”
“There was a blackout, and then I was suddenly here… Wh-what is this hotel, really?”
I ignored his trembling voice and sat down.
He kept glancing guiltily at my ankle.
“S-sorry.”
Yeah, yeah.
“I’ll f-find a bandage!”
He started rummaging through the desk drawers. In the last one, he pulled something out.
“I found a compression bandage!”
“Thanks.”
I took it from him.
[You obtained ‘Compression Bandage’!]
Effect: You feel no pain. If worn consistently for a week, your leg will fully heal. After that, the bandage quietly disappears.]
Nice.
I wrapped it tightly around my swollen ankle.
Then Alhulf tilted his head and crouched down.
“What are you doing?”
“Something’s shining under the sofa.”
“Huh?”
Before I could stop him, he pushed the sofa aside.
A red knife blade was embedded in the floor.
“A knife…?”
He leaned closer.
“Wait—there’s a drawing here.”
“A drawing?”
I got down beside him.
The floor beneath the knife showed four figures.
All their faces were painted red.
“Two adults and two dwarfs,” I said.
“Most people would say children… Though they don’t look that young—maybe teens, just before adulthood.”
Anyway—
The knife was stabbed into the face of one of the adults.
Creepy art like this was a staple of horror games by now.
As I reached out and touched it—
[You obtained the painting ‘Happy Us’.]
[You have collected a ‘Fragment of Existence’.]
A new window popped up as the fragment slotted into a broken hexagon.
A clicking sound—and then, like ink spreading, an image formed on the fragment: countless eyes staring out from the dark.
It clearly meant something, though I didn’t know what yet.
Maybe when all the fragments were collected, it would become clear.
The painting, “Happy Us,” was now archived under Clues.
I thought about that word—Existence.
What existed? Demons? Something else?
But the eyes didn’t look like demons’.
There wasn’t much to glean from it, so I studied the painting again.
Despite its simple form, a chill crept up my spine.
Two adults, two teens—likely boys, standing close together.
There were five demons, counting Halloway, so these weren’t them.
Then who?
The game had always been about survival, slaughter, and romance. There was almost no lore about the demons or the hotel.
“What do you think it means?”
Alhulf asked, staring at it beside me.
We were so absorbed that we didn’t hear anyone enter—
Until a flat, calm voice spoke.
“So you did move the sofa.”
I froze.
Turning my stiff neck, I saw Halloway’s indifferent face.
His sharp gaze dropped from me to the painting.
“So you saw it.”
His quiet words almost made my knees buckle.
Before I could respond—
Ding.
[Painting: ‘Happy Us’]
Trait: When someone views it, Halloway and the demons become enraged.]
[Halloway has caught you looking at ‘Happy Us’.]
A chill spread through the room—not from fear, but because the temperature had plummeted.
[Halloway’s emotion levels are dropping.]
The air grew even colder. Notifications flooded my view.
[Affection -4%]
[Attachment -11%]
[Possessiveness -13%]
Affection: 5.5%
Attachment: 5.5%
Possessiveness: 5%
Before I could even despair over the massive drop—another alert appeared.
[‘Future Conqueror of This World’ Halloway has initiated a hunt.]
A hunt?
My hands trembled against the cold floor. My breath came out in white puffs.
Halloway’s expression was as calm as ever—but the atmosphere around him was utterly different.
Then—
[Target: You.]
A quote from the drama “Run On” was partially referenced.
