Chapter 82

Carinne had spoken the truth.

When she visited the ruins that afternoon, guards were stationed there. However, for the skilled dark mage, these guards were no obstacle. What hindered him was none other than a protective barrier. The entire ruins were surrounded by an elaborate magical shield.

Ian had spent the entire afternoon trying, but he was unable to break through the barrier.

Since even dark magic couldn’t break it, whoever had set it up must have been quite skilled. Why did the barrier have to be installed now of all times? In his eyes, the ruins were a vital clue. Still, the books on the ruins were strangely sparse, and he couldn’t even investigate the ruins directly.

‘It’s not like there’s no way to find out.’

If he was curious about whether or not there was a cat in the box but couldn’t open the box, all he had to do was light a fire underneath it.

* * *

From the start, the day was unusual.

When Carinne opened her eyes and rubbed them, Archen was not beside her. This much was normal. Archen always woke up early and stayed in his study, but something was different as she went down to the dining room for breakfast.

The maids were scurrying around, causing a commotion. Their appearance was reminiscent of a field hospital in a war zone.

Carinne stopped Marie, who was walking briskly with a plate of food in her hands.

“Where are you going?”

“Ah, that’s…”

She started to explain but stopped when she saw Carinne’s eyes.

“Would you like to come see?”

So, Carinne followed Marie to the entrance. The front door was wide open, and maids were standing guard beside it. And what was freely weaving between the maids’ ankles…

“Cats?”

There were two bright yellow cats. They were the cats that the mansion had decided to raise. Perhaps the maids had taken good care of them, as both cats were plump and looked healthy. Marie stomped her feet at the sight of the cats.

“They’re so cute.”

“Yes, they are cute. So that’s for the cats?”

“Yes. It’s a special meal prepared for the cats.”

Marie said with shining eyes.

The bowl was filled with delicious-looking food that appeared to be meat. The meat was steaming as if it had just been taken out of the oven, so the maids had caused such a commotion because they were preparing a special meal.

Carinne nodded, and Marie approached the entrance with the bowl. The cats, who had smelled the food, followed Marie closely.

As soon as she placed the bowl on the floor, they buried their heads in it.

The two cats were surrounded by maids and enjoyed their special meal. The maids patted the cats’ backs as they left. They all had smiles on their faces, looking very happy. Judging by the purring sounds, the cats seemed to feel the same way.

How much time had passed?

The cats, who had emptied the bowl, were lying on their backs, showing off their bellies, enjoying the attention. They seemed to know they were cute.

Little rascals.

But then, the cats, who had been rubbing their backs on the floor and purring, suddenly got up. The two cats trembled and flattened their ears. They let out anxious cries and dashed out of the entrance.

Before she could wonder why the cats had suddenly run outside, a scream rang out from outside.

“Help me!”

The peaceful morning atmosphere was shattered. It seemed like something troublesome was going to happen.

Suppressing a bad feeling, Carinne looked out the window to check on the source of the scream. Hoping it wasn’t anything serious, hoping it was someone’s prank or a meaningless shout from a crazy person.

Alas, the man running towards the mansion through the large living room window did not look like he was playing a prank or was mentally ill. The man’s face was pale as if something was chasing him, and he was running for his life. He entered the mansion without permission and slammed the door shut.

“M, m, m, mo…”

The man couldn’t speak properly, gasping for breath.

“Calm down first.”

The man was drenched in sweat. Feeling sorry for him, Carinne picked up the glass of water that was on the table, though the man didn’t take the glass of water that she offered him.

In the blink of an eye, the drawing room plunged into darkness as if a cloud had eclipsed the sun. Simultaneously, the maids who were facing Carinne pointed behind her towards the window. Their faces, like the man who had just rushed in, were ashen with fear.

Feeling an instinctive threat, she braced herself and moved aside.

Crash!

Glass shattered, sending shards flying in all directions.

Carinne shielded her face from the flying debris. Then, sensing a movement, she lowered her hand. And the moment ‘it’ came into view, Carinne felt a chilling sensation that made the hair on her body stand on end.

It couldn’t be helped. If the maids hadn’t pointed behind her, and if she hadn’t felt the danger and moved aside, she would have been trampled by ‘it’ and met her end just like that.

So, what was ‘it,’ or rather, ‘that’?

Even she didn’t know. It was something beyond description. No word that Carinne knew could describe it. If she had to express it, she would call it a giant beast, or perhaps a monster, as the man had said.

It was covered in thick fur, resembling a large dog or a wolf. The difference from a wolf was that its entire body was as black as ash. And black smoke billowed around its edges. If there were pets that demons kept in hell, they would look exactly like that.

It shook its body lightly, shedding the glass shards that had gotten caught in its fur. Then, it lifted its head and growled as it approached the group of gathered maids. The maids scattered in all directions, panic-stricken.

Thanks to their quick movements, they were able to avoid it, but not everyone was so lucky. One maid remained in the spot where the others had disappeared.

“Stay… stay away!”

It was Marie.

She was sprawled on the floor as if her legs had given out. Marie frantically backed away, pushing herself backward with her feet.

But soon, she hit the wall.

The creature slowly paced forward, its tongue lolling out. It was like a cat cornering a mouse. Marie looked around as if seeking help, but no one came to her aid.

Most people had fled to the dining room, and those who remained were hiding behind the sofa, holding their breath. Hoping that the creature would be satisfied with one victim, and hoping that if there were another victim, it wouldn’t be them.

As people turned a blind eye to Marie, the distance between her and the creature grew narrower. Marie trembled and couldn’t breathe properly. In front of the creature’s enormous body, she looked like a bite-sized snack.

The creature, its tongue flicking, smacked its lips and opened its mouth wide…

Clang!

It snapped its mouth shut. The creature, its meal interrupted, growled sharply and turned its head. Carinne was standing there, holding a cat food bowl in her hand. Fortunately, it was made of metal. If it had been made of glass or ceramic, it would have shattered.

In fact, the bottom of the bowl where it had made contact with the creature’s head was dented. It was a blow that would have knocked a person unconscious. Yet, the creature merely shook its head once and showed no sign of pain.

On the contrary, it growled even louder at the bowl that Carinne was holding as if to say, “You dare come at me with that?”

Meanwhile, Carinne couldn’t think straight. In her haste, she grabbed whatever she could find and charged forward, but that was it. She had no plan for what to do next. Should she run away? Could she run away? But she should run away, right?

Her mind screamed that she had to run away, but her body wouldn’t obey. Although she tried, all she could manage was to take a few steps backward.

In the meanwhile, the creature approached the frozen Carinne, its four red eyes, like glowing lights, on the protrusions that were presumably its head. Below them, a long line that appeared to be its mouth, with a red, fleshy tongue and dozens of sharp teeth visible through the gap…

She stared at its teeth as if her soul had left her body, thinking nonsensically about how many holes would be in her body if she were pierced by those teeth.

There was a cracking sound as her neck twisted.

The creature lowered its body as if to gain momentum, then lunged at Carinne, its mouth wide open.

—