Chapter 96: When the Flower of Sin Blooms (Part Nine)
Before us stood a gigantic double door, counting about three of me high and at least four meters wide. It was ancient and decayed, ensnared by a multitude of moss and vines, having long lost the sheen of its timber. One look, and you were greeted by the dreary, bl**d-like color that seemed to mock our very existence.
The heavy door was not fully ajar but wasn’t tightly shut either; someone had cracked open the right side just enough for a strong man to shuffle through sideways. It appeared those knights had beaten us to the punch and ventured inside.
“…Stop.”
I didn’t rush forward. Instead, I awkwardly raised my hand to block the eager Sword Demon Miss, my eyes glued to the gap in the door as I perked up my ears to catch any sounds from within.
“Grr…”
I distinctly heard something…
“Grrr…”
“Grr…”
It sounded like some beast’s heavy breathing, or maybe a low m*an, unmistakably in pain. It was faint, lingering from the far-off dark behind the door, and I had no clue what it was… but it didn’t seem human.
“Did you hear that?”
That gasping sound sent a chill down my spine. I unconsciously lowered my voice again. “There’s something in there…”
Meanwhile, in the flickering dim light, Sword Demon Miss tilted her head, listening intently.
“Something… still alive…”
She murmured, her expression suddenly serious. She repositioned her sword in front of her, thumb pressing against the hilt, and with a click, she protruded the blade from its sheath just a little. “But it’s already on the brink of d*ath…”
“Can you tell?”
I asked back, swallowing nervously.
“Not too sure… should we go take a look?”
“I’m starting to think about leaving…”
Yet, leaving was not an option now that we were here. No matter what secrets lurked behind this grand door—be it a half-resurrected Deity Body or something equally terrifying—I had grown powerful enough to face it without fear. I had no reason to back down…
I simply loathed this feeling…
This oppressive darkness and uncertainty… This wasn’t my first rodeo with such a situation, and based on past experiences, I always felt something was about to leap out at me.
I wouldn’t say I was scared…
But I truly despised the sensation.
Luckily, I had a trusty sheepdog by my side.
With that thought, I felt slightly more at ease…
“Phew—”
After a moment’s hesitation, I sighed and started tiptoeing forward, steeling myself before the immense door.
“Grr… Grrr…”
In the shadows, the gasping sound was still very much alive.
That eerie noise was indeed what Sword Demon Miss described—it sounded like something was nearing its last breath, damaged vocal cords gasping for air like a broken bellows, “Huff huff,” desperately struggling to inhale, yet oddly slow and drawn out… filtering in from a distance behind the door.
Whatever that thing was…
At least it wasn’t hiding nearby, waiting to ambush us…
It probably hadn’t even noticed us yet.
With that reassuring thought, I tiptoed closer to the door, pausing slightly, before turning to the Sword Demon Miss and making a silencing gesture with my finger.
Perfectly…
Perhaps we could surprise it!
That juvenile prankish thought whizzed through my mind.
I then held my breath, reached under my cloak to grasp the hilt of the Dragon Claw, while raising the torch in the other hand, angling my body into the doorway, watching as the flame illuminated the darkness gradually…
Thump, thump…
I could hear my heart pounding clamoring in excitement.
“Torch…”
“Yah!”
Suddenly, the Sword Demon Miss snuck up right beside me, her breath tickling my ear, shocking me out of my wits. My scalp tingled and my eyes blazed red, flames bursting to life in my left palm!
Whoosh—
“Did you want to scare me to d*ath?!”
I spun around and swung a punch.
In that blink of an eye, I saw the confused expression on her face that had just registered late. The blazing flame on my left fist quickly died down as I instinctively wanted to pull back, but the irritation simmering in my chest just wouldn’t fade, so my reaction lagged a tad…
Bam!
That punch landed squarely on her face.
“Ugh…”
Sword Demon Miss let out a muffled groan. Concerned about making too much noise, she didn’t dodge or evade—I thought for sure she would’ve! Instead, her head snapped back as her upper body teetered, one hand still gripping her torch while the other flailed with her sword, bumping around in the air wildly, “Thud thud thud,” before she stumbled back several meters.
“Ah…”
I stood in the doorway, retracting my fist, slightly dazed.
She, too, was standing there in a daze.
Barely regaining her footing, under the light, her hit nose started to turn red, and soon her eyes gleamed with the threat of tears. Though clearly stunned by the blow, her expression wasn’t one of pain. After shaking her head, she blinked at me for a moment, and just as tears began to spill from her left eye while bl**d flowed from her nose, she seemed to suddenly grasp the situation. She let out a soft whimper and promptly dropped the torch, crouching down while covering her nose.
“…It hurts.”
Her tone was weak, as though she were the innocent victim of a bully. There was not a hint of grievance or anger, just a simple expression of her feelings.
“Haha, I’m so sorry!”
I felt slightly embarrassed and quickly apologized, but my residual annoyance wasn’t totally gone. I couldn’t help adding, “Who told you to sneak up and scare me?”
“Tor… torch…”
She remained crouching, clutching her sword, and because she was covering her nose, her voice came out oddly muffled. “I wanted to remind you about the torch…”
…Torch?
I instinctively glanced at the one in my hand.
And like a light bulb flicking on, I turned to peer into the dark behind me.
“…Oh.”
The torch was way too bright…
We’d definitely be discovered the moment we stepped in.
…But if I tossed the torch away, I wouldn’t see a thing!
How terrifying…
No, how dangerous.
In any case, realizing she wasn’t trying to scare me on purpose, I felt a little awkward and scratched my head, moving beside her to squat down too.
“You’re bleeding…”
But thankfully…
At least I pulled my punch, or else she’d have been knocked through the wall…
Looking down, I rummaged through my pockets, wanting to find a clean handkerchief to lend her, but came up empty—must’ve lost it somewhere… When I looked up again, she had already managed to stop her bleeding, shoving some torn fabric she must’ve ripped from somewhere to block her nose.
“…Hehe.”
She looked rather silly, which made me chuckle despite everything.
“Sorry, sorry.”
I apologized again as I stood up.
“Next time, please don’t sneak up like that—I’m very sensitive…”
“…Mm.”
Her casual reply didn’t seem to denote any concern about the punch; she wouldn’t hold a grudge. As we returned to the crack in the door, she didn’t bother picking up the discarded torch, instead keeping her gaze fixed on my torch in hand.
“…Torch.”
After a moment, seeing that I was ignoring her on purpose, she couldn’t help but chime in with a reminder.
“…We can’t toss this torch.”
Of course, we couldn’t toss it. I needed to keep it firmly in my grasp…
Otherwise, if plunged into complete darkness, my anxiety would spike, and I’d feel compelled to create my own light, and who knows, I might explode this place…
Though I knew I had to eventually light things up, before that, I had to figure out what was happening here… or else what was the point of creeping through this darkness?
“Without the light, I can’t see anything… I’m not like you. I can’t move freely in the dark.”
I lied.
At worst, it would just mean that whatever spooky thing was lurking behind the door would notice us…
Weirdly enough, I actually hoped it would see me right away and make a loud reaction, then I’d know immediately what it was… I was confident whatever it was couldn’t take me.
But it could scare me…
…Wait.
As I sat lost in a swirl of half-baked excuses, trying to convince myself completely, my expression suddenly froze as I stared into the dark behind the door.
That breathy sound, reminiscent of a broken bellows…
I heard it loud and clear…
But now…
It seemed to have vanished.
