[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 17: Trapped in Wax (1)
Clink!
Only the quiet sound of footsteps on broken glass echoed. The group was cautiously and slowly moving forward.
"This is a bit strange..."
Daniel muttered, looking around.
Hal agreed with him.
Even without windows, the dressing room was too dark.
The light from the lamps couldn't illuminate beyond a certain distance, as if blocked by sothing.
Just as Hal was feeling even more tense,
—Thud!
Sothing caught his foot.
He reflexively tried to cut it down, but then,
Hal realized it was a human hand.
A white hand.
He lowered the lamp and shone the light on the owner of the hand.
"...That's..."
A woman in a maid outfit was lying on the floor.
No, perhaps it was more accurate to call it a mannequin.
"It's the sa as the one on the first floor."
Daniel muttered from behind.
Hal nodded and touched the mannequin's hand.
A smooth and cold touch.
Wax.
It was a mannequin, just like the exorcist priest's head they had seen on the first floor.
But instead of being resolved, his doubts grew even more complicated.
'Is this really a mannequin?'
The surprised expression, the awkward posture.
It was too lifelike for a simple mannequin.
Hal suppressed his uneasy feeling, got up, and walked further inside.
Again, he stepped on shards of broken mirror with a clinking sound.
Of course, it made sense that there were many mirrors in the dressing room.
But it was still strange that he kept stepping on broken mirrors on the floor.
'Mirrors...'
Hal suddenly recalled the ssage written on the door.
" Daniel, have you seen any intact mirrors in here?"
"No, only broken ones..."
Just as Daniel was about to answer,
A gust of wind blew from sowhere, and at the sa ti,
Whoosh!
The flas of the lamps they were holding were extinguished.
All of them, without exception.
"..."
Hal quickly raised his sword.
There was no way the wind could extinguish the flas inside the glass lamps.
This was definitely the work of a demon.
'The one who would do this...'
Hal frowned and scanned the surroundings.
Rustle, Rustle!
As expected, he saw faint lights moving on the ceiling.
Light Eaters.
Demons that lurked in the darkness, stealing the flas and light of humans.
'Hmm.'
Hal calmly followed the lights with his eyes.
Fortunately, they weren't difficult opponents.
They were completely invisible in the darkness, but they had a fatal weakness.
Imdiately after absorbing light, they emitted a faint glow, as they were doing now.
Hal spoke to Daniel, who was following right behind him.
"There's an enemy on the ceiling. I'll deal with it, so please cover ."
"..."
"Daniel?"
Even when Hal called out again, there was no answer.
The room was silent as death.
Hal gritted his teeth and reached out towards where Daniel had been, groping in the darkness.
Thud!
His fingertips touched sothing.
The cold, hard feel of the helt Daniel was wearing.
Hal lifted Daniel's visor and reached inside the helt.
A cold, smooth touch.
It was definitely wax.
All the blood drained from Hal's face.
"Everyone, close your eyes and run out the door!"
"What? Yes!"
"Hurry!"
The others, though confused, followed Hal's instructions.
No one questioned him, perhaps due to the urgency in his voice.
Thud!
Ugh!
Moving with their eyes closed in the darkness was no easy task.
He could hear the sounds of everyone bumping into things.
But there was no other way.
If they didn't close their eyes, they didn't know when they would et 'it'.
Hal gritted his teeth.
Rustle, Rustle!
To make matters worse, he could hear the Light Eater close behind him.
Cold sweat ran down his body.
How close was it?
Could he fight it with his eyes closed?
What if he briefly opened his eyes and then closed them again?
All sorts of possibilities and questions raced through his mind.
The crawling sound from the ceiling was getting closer.
It was ti to make a decision.
Just as Hal gripped his sword and fell into deep thought,
ow!
A cat's piercing cry ca from ahead.
The sound that had been right behind him abruptly stopped.
"...!"
Before Hal could realize what was happening, he heard the door creak open.
The door opened.
"Everyone, this way!"
The head priest's voice was close by. They ran for a while.
Whoosh!
Light poured in from beyond his closed eyelids.
Hal opened his eyes.
He was standing at the entrance to the dressing room, back in the hallway.
***
"What in the world happened?"
The head priest asked Hal in a flustered tone.
Antonio was holding the door open, seemingly waiting for Daniel, who hadn't co out yet.
Hal wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke.
"Antonio, close the door. You mustn't look inside."
"Huh? But Daniel is still..."
" Daniel can't co out."
"...?"
At Hal's words, the group fell silent as if doused with cold water.
After a mont, Hal approached Antonio and closed the door himself.
Antonio just stared blankly at Hal, unable to even think of resisting.
"Does that an... Daniel is...?"
"..."
When Hal didn't answer, Antonio collapsed.
"That can't be..."
He muttered in a daze, and Hal looked down at him and said quietly,"There are two demons inside. A Light Eater and a Speculoculus (Beholder)."
"A Speculoculus? The Beholder... a high-ranking demon..."
The head priest's already grim expression, saddened by the news of Daniel's demise, beca even more distorted.
Speculoculus was a rare species even among high-ranking demons.
It was difficult to even encounter one because they mainly inhabited dungeons or deep caves and rarely appeared outside.
"It wields the power of wax."
"Then, Daniel..."
"Yes, he wouldn't have even known what hit him."
Hal nodded.
There was no way to counter it if one made eye contact with it and turned into wax.
However, if one knows its identity, there was a way to overco it. That was to,
"Use mirrors."
Hal brushed off the mirror shards from his boots.
The Speculoculus could only turn those who made eye contact with it into wax.
This ant that its power could be avoided by not looking directly at it.
'Gather the broken mirrors.'
The advice on the door was true.
Hal bit his lip, regretting his hasty decision.
But even if they had gathered the mirror shards, the result wouldn't have been much different.
Because that advice omitted one crucial point.
"It's also accompanied by a Light Eater."
The presence of the Light Eater made the mirrors useless, as the surroundings were shrouded in darkness.
In the darkness, they couldn't open their eyes, not knowing when they might et the Speculoculus.
If they opened their eyes, they would fall victim to the Speculoculus, and if they kept them closed, they couldn't catch the Light Eater.
Hal sighed at the impossible combination.
Then, he drew everyone's attention once again.
"I have an idea. First, let's follow the advice and gather the mirror shards from the other rooms."
"...Alright."
Antonio replied with a weary and pale expression.
The others also looked visibly depressed.
The news about Daniel had significantly dampened their spirits.
Hal hesitated, then spoke with a resigned tone,
"We can still save him."
"...!"
The group's intense gazes fell upon Hal.
'Perhaps I shouldn't have said that...'
He felt a slight regret, but it was too late now.
"Thirty minutes. If the workshop is deactivated within that ti... Daniel can be brought back."
The Speculoculus's power was only effective within its habitat.
He had heard stories of people being petrified and then successfully brought outside and restored.
The ti limit for that was roughly thirty minutes, as far as he knew.
This mansion's workshop was currently like a dungeon.
If they could overco the workshop, there was a high chance that the Speculoculus's power would be nullified.
"However, don't be hasty."
Hal said firmly.
He had seen too many people die trying to save their comrades in haste.
When you're in a hurry, your vision narrows.
That's why Hal wanted to be cautious about ntioning this possibility.
"Yes! Leave it to ."
Antonio nodded repeatedly.
Seeing him so enthusiastic, Hal already felt a sense of regret, but he didn't say anything.
It was better than seeing him dejected like before.
Then, he asked what he had been curious about.
"Did you release the cat on purpose?"
"Huh? What do you... Oh?"
The cat he had been holding was nowhere to be seen.
ow!
The cat, which had been hiding sowhere, suddenly appeared and rubbed its head against Hal's leg.
Hal paused for a mont, then gently stroked the cat's head.
"Thank you. You saved my life."
Cats were known for their keen senses.
Nowadays, they were feared because witches often used them as diums for summoning demons or as pets, but it used to be the opposite.
Their eyes, which could see through the darkness, were said to be able to see things not of this world.
They were guardians that protected their owners from evil and warned them of danger, beasts that ward off evil spirits.
Hal, who loathed cats because of witches, had ironically been saved by one this ti.
'Perhaps there are no absolutes, as the priest-nim said.'
Hal, whose life had been saved by the cat, thanked it and stood up.
He had rested enough.
It was ti to head to study.
***
Hal and his companions walked through the ssy study.
Glass shards, once part of flasks, crunched under their boots.
What caught their eyes was...
None other than sealed demons.
'So that's where all those demons ca from.'
Hal's eyes narrowed as he applied holy water to them.
Traces of demons were everywhere.
It was clear that they had all been released from here.
He could see three or four devices that had been unsealed, with only traces of the seals remaining.
There were still about a dozen demons sealed and remaining.
'If a little more ti had passed, the mansion would have...'
It would have undoubtedly beco an unimaginable sight.
'Why did Father collect demons?'
Collecting demons was taboo, going against both Imperial law and the Order's doctrine.
It was a serious offense that could lead to the deprivation of the lord's title and even execution.
What was the lord thinking, gathering demons like this?
Hal shook off the unanswered question and said to his companions,
"There doesn't seem to be any imdiate danger inside. Please proceed with the search."
The group dispersed and began searching for mirrors in the surprisingly spacious study.
Hal, however, frowned and eliminated the sealed demons one by one.
There was no need to leave any future trouble.
Then, David called out to him.
"Hal. Co here."
"Yes, I'll be right there."
Hal smashed the jar containing the last remaining demon with his sword and headed towards David.
"This is..."
Hal muttered as he looked at a collapsed corpse.
The robe with the family crest embroidered on it indicated that he was the mage of this study.
He was clutching a bloodstained book to his chest. Hal carefully pulled it out and flipped through the pages.
It was filled with research materials he couldn't understand.
As he turned the pages, sothing slipped out from the book.
It was a hand mirror, broken in half.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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