Chapter 74: Little girl [3]
’Thank god I previously looked through all the rooms.’
Having investigated the place in advance, I knew exactly where I needed to go.
It had to be that room...
Of everything that I had seen during my first sneak peek of the place, that was the only room that I found to have been locked.
Not only that, but the more I moved, the more convinced of my judgment I was.
That was because I could hear the crying draw closer and closer as I followed the familiar path that led to the room.
Hick... Hick...
There were seven bedrooms on the second floor. Each room was connected to another in some way, with the room I was looking for located near the master bedroom.
’Here?’
The place was enormous, and even though I knew where to go, for brief moments, I almost found myself going the wrong way.
Thankfully, I re-directed myself to the right path.
There was only one problem, however..
"Where is he?"
"...Where did he go?"
Yes, I was currently being chased by multiple faceless servants.
’This feels like déjà vu.’
It reminded me a lot of the time when I was being chased by those strange cult members as I ran around the abandoned museum.
This time, however, there were no cops to help.
No Nightwalker either.
...The only one I could rely on was myself.
As such, overhearing the voices of the servants, I picked up my pace while making sure my steps made no sound.
Holding onto the teddy bear, I surveyed my surroundings.
I was currently walking inside one of the bedrooms that seemed to belong to one of the children. The room was quite big with a large bed sitting in the middle, a lot of toys, alongside several wooden furniture pieces that I thought were perfect hiding spots.
"Should I hide?"
I shook my head shortly after.
I didn’t know the number of servants that were chasing me, but I knew that there were quite a few of them. The number was also probably increasing, meaning that I couldn’t afford to waste time hiding while waiting for them to leave.
Therefore, staring at the furniture, I could only dismiss it and reach for the door.
Feeling the cold touch of the knob, I yanked the door open, ready to rush forward when...
".....!"
My eyes widened in shock.
A faceless figure stood before me, holding a knife, its blank features staring straight through me.
I froze.
’Shit, shit, shit...’
"Found you."
The servant wasted no time. It lunged forward, the knife slicing through the air toward me.
I reacted just in time.
"Uah, ah....!"
I scrambled back while waving my hand as a shadowy figure appeared right in front of me.
"Hiek!"
A screeching sound echoed right after as the knife plunged into the Nightwalker as its hands reached for the servant, grasping onto its face.
’Go!’
I didn’t waste a single second.
Seeing the situation turn like this, I dashed past the servant and Nightwalker before turning back and kicking with my foot.
Bang!
The servant stumbled forward while the Nightwalker continued to cling to it.
I didn’t look back and closed the door right after.
CLANK!
"Haaa... Haaa..."
My breath came in ragged gasps, sweat dripping down my forehead.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened
’I might really need to consider getting a replacement for the Nightwalker.’
If it already hated me before, right now it probably wanted to do nothing more but kill me. I could only silently pray for it while thanking it for its sacrifice.
...It had yet again saved my life.
"Hoo."
I exhaled and glanced around, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light.
And then I saw it.
The door that I had been looking for the entire time.
Hick. Hick.
The crying was louder than before.
It was hard for me to ignore as I unknowingly started to shiver.
Besides the crying, the surroundings were strangely quiet. The air was dusty, and the world around me felt colder than ever.
I clutched the teddy bear tighter and walked toward it.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew this was the key to finishing the hidden scenario.
I didn’t even try to consider that it was locked like before.
....I didn’t care if it was locked.
’I just have to get the little girl to open the door for me in case it’s locked.’
Holding my breath, I walked towards the door, my heart pressing tightly against my chest as I tensed up the closer I came to the door. I couldn’t hear a single thing besides the muffled crying of the little girl.
The servants who had been searching for me moments prior almost seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Why was that?
I was confused, but I pushed those thought aside as I reached for the knob.
"...I’m really hungry. I—"
And the moment my hand touched the knob, the crying stopped.
Now it was really quiet.
It was as if the world around me had suddenly frozen.
"....."
My hand paused.
However, it was only for a brief moment before I grabbed onto the knob and pulled.
Clank!
The door swung open, revealing a small girl sitting on a bed, dressed in a fine white dress. Both hands were clutching her head as she started trembling.
Hick... Hick...
Don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt me...
Her whimpers were the only sound now, growing louder as she slowly raised her head to meet my gaze. The rope marks on her neck were still visible.
Her eyes were black.
As black as the night sky itself.
...And the moment her gaze fell on me, I found myself freezing on the spot.
"I’m hungry. Do you have food?"
She no longer seemed to be whimpering as she looked at me.
In fact, her face was cold.
So cold that it made me unable to move.
"....Food."
I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t say yes to her.
I didn’t have any food.
"No food?"
Her voice grew colder, and I felt my heart starting to sink.
I could see things were starting to turn for the worse.
Rattle! Rattle!
The room trembled.
The ground shook.
The curtains swayed violently, and the cabinet rattled.
Her eyes...
Her eyes grew darker, until the blackness swallowed them whole.
’Oh, shit...’
I shuddered, feeling every muscle in my body tense.
But—
I wasn’t completely helpless.
I didn’t just purchase the teddy bear to help me sneak past the servants. There was another reason for it, and that reason was right before me.
Gradually, my mouth parted as I began to speak.
"I don’t have food," I began slowly, "but I have something else."
"Something else?"
The rattling stopped, and the little girl looked at me.
I held my breath and stepped forward, offering the teddy bear in my hands.
"A teddy bear..."