Chapter 27- Lava Mansion (Part 4)
The piece of paper was the size of his fist, crumbled and in bad shape yet in a good enough condition to be read properly by someone. Rin never expected to find such a thing in a dungeon so he was curious about what was written there.
Picking the piece of paper, he read the content. The language that was used in there was not English but he could somehow understand it. The feeling was inexplicable for him as if he was born with this trait.
'Did Lily give me this ability?' He asked himself.
[The goddess gave you many things, host.]
'True, but she should've told me before. Well, it's useful so I can't complain.'
After that, he shook such thoughts away and focused on the letter. He determined it was a letter from the form of the text and also the information right at the top of it.
It read 'January 14th' and just under it was a name.
"Dear brother, I write you this letter to ask about you. We haven't talked in a while and I frankly miss you so much. You didn't visit me in years or even send me a letter to check on me. I feel quite sad but I know that this is who you are. You like to hide your soft heart and kindness behind that cold front. Anyway, my purpose in writing this letter is to tell you about what happened in my life in the time that you left." Rin read aloud.
The ink had started losing its color and the handwriting was ruined because of it. However, that worked wonders in making the letter feel eerie.
'This doesn't sound bad though.'
[You can't say that with a fake smile, host. I can feel your fear.]
'I'm not scared.'
[It's fine, host. I'm scared too.]
'Really?'
[Yes, scared that you might run away like a chicken at any time.]
'I genuinely hate you.'
Rin sighed under his breath and ignored his system completely. He was eager to see where this letter was going.
"I have finally settled down in the family home after finishing my studies. I couldn't become a mage as I wanted but it's not bad to just live a normal life if you think about it. Our father gave me the opportunity to work on our family business and I was able to make it succeed. I'm also about to marry Lina. You remember Lina? Our childhood friend? She accepted my proposal finally and we will get married in May. Recalling how the three of us used to play together when we were young really makes me feel nostalgic."
Rin's eyebrows rose as he caught a small hint in the letter. However, he quickly forgot about it. There was simply no way he could verify whether his assumptions were right or not.
"I want to invite you to the wedding and I hope you will accept. I know we had our differences but we are still two brothers, aren't we? Let's forget the past and move on."
The letter then ends quickly with the sender wishing all the luck for his brother. If you ignore the fact that it looks like it was written with blood instead of ink, the letter was pretty wholesome and normal.
"Sigh, and here I hyped myself for nothing. Where is the drama?" Rin asked.
*Cack*
Suddenly, he heard a small sound coming from behind him which triggered his instinct and made him turn around quickly. His eyes wandered around the room searching for the source of that sound. But, the room was empty except for Rin. He couldn't see or sense any presence.
'Did I imagine it?'
*CLACK*
'Fuck no!' He immediately pulled out his daggers and readied himself for any attack. Yet, again, nothing happened. He couldn't locate the thing that was making this sound.
"It sounded like something…boiling?" He didn't get why he thought it was boiling but that was the closest thing he could relate that sound to.
*Clack* *Clack* *Clack*
A chain of boiling sounds reached his ear. This time, however, it wasn't merely sound. Looking at the ground under him, a red, thick liquid started oozing out of the corners of the room. The bright red color of the substance made Rin identify it quickly.
"Lava!"
His body instinctively jumped on top of the table as quickly as possible. A few seconds later, the whole room was filled with lava and it was rising at an alarming pace.
Rin didn't know what to do, he was utterly trapped inside. If the lava continued rising, he will be cooked alive.
The hot steam of the lava made the temperature of the room unbearably hot really fast. Rin felt the lack of air inside affecting his body and lungs.
'What should I do?' He thought of any kind of solution.
What did trigger this? Maybe because he read the letter? Or maybe because he entered the room. He didn't know and frankly couldn't care about that.
Picking the letter, he searched for any clues or hints to stop this. He was sure this was some kind of trap inside this room.
His eyes read the letter many times but couldn't find any hint at all. The lava had already started eating away from the table as it started swaying left and right, threatening to make him fall. Luckily, because it was made of some kind of sturdy metal, it didn't melt instantly.
"This is really bad! This is really bad!!" He muttered to himself.
'Help me, system.' He asked.
[I can't do anything, host.]
Cursing his bad luck, Rin threw the letter away in anger and frustration. The paper fell down into the lava and was eaten quickly.
But, much to his shock, the moment the piece of paper was destroyed, the lava stopped completely. Then, at an equally fast speed, it started going back inside the corners of the room. Soon, all that was left was a burned floor and sofas.
"Huh?"
He had to take a few seconds to register what happened.
'Was it because I gave it the letter?'
[Seems like it.]
"Hmm? Why is that?"
Was there some kind of link between the letter and the lava appearing inside the room?
Besides, there was something else that he noticed at that exact moment. After he burned the letter, there was a small scream that echoed in his ear. It was so faint that he wasn't even sure if it was real or merely his mind playing tricks on him but it was worth contemplating at least.
Jumping down, Rin made his way to the door with a confused look. He really didn't get what was going on with this mansion. Something weird was happening and he didn't get what it was.
"I should just leave and check the other rooms before I regret staying here."
The idea of staying inside this room has long left his mind.
His hand extended to the doorknob to twist it. Yet, at that moment, his body froze and his eyes widened to their extreme. He didn't need to look back, he didn't need to do anything as he was sure of it… Someone or something was standing behind him.
He felt a trickle of sweat going down his face, passing on his chin and falling to the ground. For some reason, he saw the droplet of sweat going down in slow motion.
"Honey?" A hoarse, inhuman voice suddenly whispered.
Even though it was certain that there was some kind of creature behind him and that creature was hardly a human, Rin didn't move a muscle. For some reason, his guts told him that his death was set in stone the moment he moved. The pure pressure emitting from this monster was no joke. Rin could barely control his body under such a suffocating aura.
'Fuck! I don't want to move!' Rin wanted to peek behind him but hesitated about doing that.
"Honey? Is that you?" The voice asked again.
As twisted and wicked as it may sound, this voice was carrying an emotion Rin couldn't mistake at all… It was love.
Whoever was the 'honey' this thing was calling for, they loved him.
'Why am I even thinking about that now?' Clenching his teeth, Rin decided to turn around very slowly.
Finally, he was able to see whatever was that made him freeze from fear. But, what he saw made him regret looking back. His curiosity was a double-edged sword most of the time.
[Curiosity killed the cat, host.]
'Don't throw jokes now when I'm facing a monster right out of someone's nightmare!!'
(A//N: Just to make sure everyone is aware. This book is NOT a horror. I may include that element when I need to but it's not a horror at all. Anyway, did you enjoy the chapter?)
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