Chapter 194

Chapter 166 The Blood Pool

…They were all dead.

Tarnis, the clergy, they were all dead…dead in such a miserable way. Like useless rotten meat, thrown into the dark depths of this dungeon, quietly awaiting decay.

My stomach churned violently.

The discomfort after vomiting welled up, my vision blurred with tears, obscuring Tarnis’s cold, stiff face.

I turned my head away, unwilling to look at her, unwilling to see any more corpses.

I feared finding more familiar faces inside.

Who…

The question in my mind already had an answer deep down.

But I must see it for myself.

Wiping my mouth, I wiped away the drool trickling down, then turned around, gripping Captain Gray tightly in my right hand, and walked briskly towards the light.

A faintly open wooden door could be seen. Not long ago, when the lights around hadn’t been lit yet, the flicker of firelight I saw was from the gap in that door… though it wasn’t so obvious now, there should be someone, or something, inside.

Carefully, I moved closer…

My steps didn’t stop. I kept my eyes fixed on the door, and as I moved a distance, a sudden wail shattered the silence.

“Cough… uh… uh aaaah—!”

I froze.

The sound clearly came from inside the room, a man howling inside.

“Is anyone there! Who’s there—!”

“Help me, save me, who will save us—!”

…There were still people alive inside!

Realizing this, I instinctively rushed forward several steps, then abruptly stopped, realizing something was wrong. Taking a deep breath, I suppressed the urge to rush in and save them, forcing myself to stay calm.

Don’t be rash… Sylvia… especially now, you need to stay composed.

This dungeon had been quiet until now, why would someone suddenly cry for help? Clearly, it was a trap. The enemy might be hiding nearby; I needed to be careful.

Thinking this, I slowed my advance, both hands gripping the end of Captain Gray, body slightly bent, nerves taut, ready to strike at any moment.

One step… two steps…

“Help—! There’s someone alive here! Help!”

“I don’t want to die—!”

The voice was hoarse, and I could clearly sense the despair in the person speaking.

But I couldn’t let it sway me.

I had to face the enemy who killed Tarnis. If she really wanted to kill the one crying for help, why would she let him say so much? Without a doubt, she was luring me in.

“Save him—”

I wouldn’t fall for it…

“Save…”

“the children—!”

Children…

I took another two steps forward out of habit.

Then, “Zzz—” my mind went haywire.

What… what did he say… No, I won’t fall for it… This is the enemy’s trick… How can children be here… but the little lover said Ellie left… many people left… No, it’s impossible, it can’t be… she’s not like that… this must be a trick…

…To hell with their trick!

Whirl—

I leaped into Moon Step.

The walls beside me blurred past in a rush, the lamps on the wall merging into a line, the black hem of my dress fluttering wildly, stirring up a gale that extinguished two rows of candles behind me.

Clang!

Captain Gray transformed swiftly into a sharp, jet-black spear in the sound of tiny gears turning.

I gripped the handle firmly, leaning back, preparing to strike.

The spear, held horizontally, sliced through the air with a sharp, ear-piercing screech. With the momentum of the Moon Step, it lunged forward towards its target.

Bang!!!

In an instant, the wooden door shattered.

Clatter…

Amidst the splinters, I swiftly darted into the room, sliding forward another four or five meters before coming to a halt. Then, with my left hand slamming against the ground, I flipped agilely to my feet, tightly gripping Captain Gray’s saber which let out a metallic ring. The massive blade folded back, transforming once again into the shape of a scythe.

I raised it high, my gaze sweeping cautiously from left to right: blue brick walls, a lamp, a blood-stained wooden table, a pile of empty bottles in disarray, a ground riddled with gouges… No sign of the enemy, but someone was sitting there… It was the top-hat man; he was still alive… Behind him lay several people… No, they were corpses… Heads… Many heads… Blood…

…All blood.

The scene inside the room gradually took form in my mind.

My eyes began to glaze over.

What is this…

What is this…

At this moment, I stood before a pool brimming with blood, my mind blank.

I did not know what I was seeing. This was something completely beyond my understanding. I could only clumsily replay the hellish scene before me in my consciousness.

Time seemed to freeze.

I saw dark red blood splattered on the walls of the room.

The rocky ground beneath my feet was marked with chaotic gouges, slashes made by some weapon, with bits of flesh and fresh blood clinging to the edges.

Charles, the top-hat man who should have been taken to the underground prison long ago, was huddled a short distance to my right.

His clothes were tattered, his face pale, his body trembling like a sieve. His sunken eyes stared at me in terror, his cracked, peeling lips quivering as if he wanted to say something. Behind him, I saw dozens of corpses.

These corpses had all been decapitated and carelessly stacked together— their bodies looked so emaciated, like malnourished children.

No… They were children.

I soon saw their heads piled up on the other side of the room. Among them, I immediately recognized Abel, whose head was placed on top, facing me.

Abel’s eyes were wide open, his hair matted with blood sticking to his scalp. His expression was grotesque— so much so that I could sense the emotions he felt before his death.

He must have been terrified and in great pain.

Then I saw Lucas’s head. I almost failed to recognize him; his mouth split from chin to jaw— it looked like someone had forcefully smashed it open… I was sure of it.

I… I couldn’t bear to look any further.

My limbs were cold, my heart trembling. It felt as though all the blood in my body had stopped flowing, even my breathing became difficult.

The entire room was suffused with a foul smell, faintly mixed with alcohol.

Then, I directed my trembling, unfocused gaze toward the blood pool just in front of me.

I saw a small, headless corpse lying upside down at the edge of the square pool, its red liquid dripping from the severed neck into the pool.

Submerged in the blood pool was a blackened spinal bone… I wasn’t sure what kind of creature this bone belonged to. It was too large, nearly filling the entire pool.

The spinal bone trembled slightly.

Due to its vibration, the blood in the pool seemed to come alive, constantly writhing and boiling, surging upward directly above the bone where it gradually coalesced into a crimson bead.

I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing.

I just stood there, at a loss.

In the next moment, time resumed its flow.

Charles beside me opened his mouth, struggling to shout at me: “Watch out above your head—”

It was too late.

The massive black axe, accompanied by a loud crack, descended straight for my head.