Chapter 57 : Two Moons
“Ahh, this isn’t fair! Why is it following us again?!”
Alina shouted as she looked over her shoulder at the monster chasing them as if its life depended on it. No matter how fast they ran, it showed no signs of slowing down.
“We were quite loud, so it makes sense that it’s following us again,” Nuri said, glancing back as well.
By now, the creature was clearly visible.
Its face... it was human. Deformed, twisted beyond recognition, yet somehow, there were still remnants of something human beneath all the distortion. It was actually creepy.
Its features seemed no older than those of a child around fifteen, yet they had been deformed so horribly that looking at its face made it impossible to maintain a normal expression.
Nuri could feel it. It was in pain.
Damn it. The more he thought about it, the more his stomach twisted. This wasn't fair. He didn't know what had happened to this creature, but... no one deserved this.
Nuri suddenly turned around. But this time, instead of blinding the creature, he took a much calmer approach.
He raised his hand and summoned a small chain. However, this chain wasn't simply meant to restrain; even though its healing properties were limited, it should still be enough to ease some of the creature's pain.
The chain wrapped around the monster. For the first time, Nuri had managed to use such a complicated spell without calling upon the God of Fate. Yet he didn't even notice the significance of what he had just accomplished, he had truly grown.
Thanks to his quick thinking, the siblings managed to get away. Once they were far enough, they slowed down.
Alina bent forward, taking a long breath as she tried to recover. “Finally... We got away. Now, where are those stairs?”
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“They should be around here if I'm correct, so it should be fine,” Nuri replied, wiping the sweat from his face.
“Then let's get going.”
With that, she followed Nuri as he led them toward the third floor. Just as he had predicted, they found the staircase soon enough.
As they climbed higher, a strange light began to appear in the distance. It was magical.
The light illuminated everything around it, and even from afar, the siblings could tell that this floor was completely different from the one below. The drastic difference left them perplexed, and they exchanged glances, neither of them understanding how such a place could exist inside the same mansion.
“They are... probably dead by now.”
The voice suddenly reached them. Both siblings immediately froze. Their guards went up as they slowly approached the third floor, doing their best to remain hidden.
“I am sure, Madam. But do you really think this is a good idea? If the captain of the Knights finds out about this...”
“Don't think too much about it. I'll handle it.” Talia waved her hand dismissively.
Both of them immediately realized something was seriously wrong. If they didn't return soon, Captain Caelan would probably come here personally and investigate the entire mansion until he found them.
Technically, they could simply remain hidden until then. But... was that really the right choice?
“How's Turman?” Talia asked the butler.
“He's doing worse than before.”
“Damn it...” Talia cursed under her breath as she stared ahead.
Turman. That had to be the young master Lucien was talking about. It seemed like he was actually sick.
The siblings waited until the conversation had ended before carefully moving forward.
Eventually, they reached the third floor. The moment they stepped onto it, both of them were stunned.
This was the most lavishly decorated part of the mansion. Every wall was covered in golden ornaments, each one reflecting the moonlight and making the entire floor shimmer.
Which meant... it was still nighttime.
“Wait... how is it still nighttime?” Nuri suddenly asked.
Alina looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I counted it. It should theoretically be at least eight o'clock by now. One of the moons should have disappeared already...” He looked toward the windows. “But both of them are still there.”
Alina's eyes widened. “You're right!” She stared at the two moons outside. “Are you sure you didn't count wrong?”
“I have no idea...” Nuri's expression became increasingly dazed as he stared outside.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Alina watched him for a moment before deciding that there was no point standing around thinking about it. “Let's just follow the direction Talia went.”
Nuri slowly nodded.
The mansion was hiding far too many secrets. And if they wanted to uncover them... they would have to do it one at a time.