The Uninvited Guest Of The Haunted Mansion (35)

Serenity’s prediction proved exactly right.

As soon as they passed through the vines, a path appeared between the trees.

It was distinctly different from the dense forest they’d been cutting through.

How much farther had they gone with Serenity on Blake’s back?

The oppressive density of the forest gradually thinned, and a plain opened up.

There were almost no trees left.

Standing upright and scanning the darkness, Serenity pointed in one direction.

At the end of the plain, where only a gentle horizon could be seen, something rose sharply.

“There’s something over there. I think we can take shelter.”

Even as she spoke, Serenity thought it was strange.

She had never seen this place before, yet she felt an oddly certain intuition.

Blake steered around the trees, slowing down, and headed in the direction Serenity had indicated.

After running for about ten minutes, they could make out what it was.

It was an archway that looked like rock.

From the outside it was just a massive rock, but a long passage stretched inward.

Its far end could not be seen.

A cool breeze blew from inside.

It was dark, not even a hand’s breadth visible, yet it did not feel malicious.

Blake stopped.

“Your intuition was right.”

“…Yes.“

Serenity agreed with him but couldn’t shake a strange feeling.

Was she just lucky?

Or was it because being trapped in an anomalous phenomenon had left her on edge?

It didn’t matter.

“Now put me down, please.”

Reaching the entrance of the passage, Serenity put her feet on the ground.

Up close, the rock was larger than she had thought.

It almost looked like a cave.

Strangely, there were traces of uneven stones piled to form a foundation at the bottom.

She felt certain there would be an exit beyond this.

“We should go out this way…”

Serenity, speaking as she casually turned, suddenly froze.

The next moment, she opened her eyes wide.

Something had caught her gaze.

“…What’s wrong with your arm?“

Blake’s right arm, the hand that held his sword, was blackened and twisted.

Only then, as if finally noticing Serenity’s stare, Blake clenched and unclenched his hand a couple of times.

A furrow appeared on his otherwise smooth brow.

“Oh dear.”

“Are you hurt?”

He angled his body away, avoiding Serenity as she hurried to grab his hand.

“Not at all. You were on my back; didn’t you see?”

“But why is your arm…”

“It’s being contaminated.”

“…Contaminated?“

“Would you understand if I said it’s assimilating?”

Serenity stared at Blake with a trembling gaze.

And only then did she notice his look was different from usual.

She hadn’t perceived it in the dark.

They were not his usual bright yellow eyes.

A red tint flickered in his right eye.

To be precise, it wasn’t a glint at all but a chilling red hue devoid of vitality.

Recognizing his gaze, Serenity flinched and stepped back without meaning to.

At the same time, something flashed through her mind.

‘The anomalous phenomenon from the legend.’

A world twisted twice.

Anomalous phenomena had a profound effect on Anomalous beings.

That was precisely why Anomalous beings exposed to such phenomena for a long time became more dangerous.

If the man, who had so far behaved differently from the Anomalous beings in the legend, were assimilated, the outcome was obvious.

‘No.’

Her heart plunged.

“This is troublesome.”

Blake frowned as he turned his hand over and over.

His arm twitched and shuddered intermittently.

“What can we do…”

It was the moment Serenity muttered in confusion.

Screech! A sharp sound cut the air as something swept between them.

“Ugh!”

Unnoticed, a thick wooden vine was creeping toward Serenity.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m… I’m not hurt.”

Clutching her pounding heart, Serenity barely answered.

Blake, narrowing his brow and clicking his tongue, swung his uninjured left arm and sliced the vine.

“The scent of blood seems to be spreading this way. We need to hurry.”

Having said that, Blake spoke in a low voice.

He did not show it overtly, but it was clear the mutated arm was causing him pain.

Serenity snapped back to her senses and led Blake further into the passage.

“This way. Quickly.”

Once the two hid inside, the vines failed to penetrate further and lingered nearby before vanishing.

Holding Blake’s hand and holding her breath as she peered outside, Serenity exhaled in relief.

“Luckily, it seems they can’t reach in here.”

A beat later, confusion crossed Serenity’s face.

‘But how did I know that if we went inside the cave, those things wouldn’t affect us?’

Since falling into the anomalous phenomenon in the picture, the inexplicable intuition had continued.

At this point, it felt hard to dismiss it as mere coincidence.

‘For now, focus on getting out.’

Serenity steadied herself and looked around the interior.

The inside was pitch dark.

Occasional drops of water could be heard.

The floor was flatter than expected, making it look more like an artificially made passage than a natural cave.

The cool breeze they’d felt from outside was blowing from the opposite side.

They couldn’t see an exit with the naked eye, but if they went straight through, something would likely appear.

This time she turned to look at Blake.

“…Are you okay?“

“So far. I’m not having any strange thoughts.”

“Strange thoughts?”

“Thoughts of wanting to harm Milady.”

He answered calmly, but his complexion betrayed him.

Despite his impassive face, the faint light revealed cold sweat beading clearly on his ashen cheeks.

‘Thoughts of wanting to harm me.’

More disconcerting to Serenity than the discovery that this seemingly flawless man had a weakness was how rapidly the contamination was progressing.

Come to think of it, the man, unlike the other Anomalous beings in the legend, had an appearance close to human.

If he became contaminated like this, would he take on a grotesque form like them?
Either way, it was certainly bad for Serenity.

“How much longer can he hold on? More importantly, we need to get out as fast as possible…”

“Milady.”

Just as she bit her lip in anxiety, Blake called to Serenity softly.

When she looked back at him with a wavering gaze, he was much closer.

The red tint in his bright yellow eyes stared at Serenity as if scrutinizing her.

“You promised me then, remember, that you’d give yourself up as much as I asked.”

“…Yes?“

Startled by the sudden remark, Serenity was slow to respond.

But Blake’s action was a fraction faster than her thoughts.

“Sorry, this time hands won’t do. I ask your forgiveness in advance.”

What happened next was instantaneous.

He grabbed Serenity’s chin with his left hand and pressed his lips deep against hers.

With her mouth helplessly open, his tongue slid in.

Unlike his cool skin, which was colder than an average person’s, the entwined tongue was hot.

His tongue relentlessly explored her mouth, stealing her breath as if siphoning it away.

“Ugh…”

When Serenity reflexively flinched, Blake tightened his other arm around her back.

Through the thin fabric she could feel the arm’s texture, too rough and sharp to be human.

Serenity involuntarily shivered at her shoulders.

But that was all.

With his body pressed to hers and flesh rummaging through her mouth without a moment’s slack, it was hard to regain her senses.

Each time she instinctively drew breath and parted her lips, he thrust in even deeper.

“Wait,”

Seizing the tiny gap, Serenity gasped.

But before she could finish, Blake shoved his fingers into her hair and pulled her forcefully back.

Her stifled breathing echoed through the passage.

Each time their tongues tangled, a wet rubbing sound rang plainly in her ears.

Serenity’s hand, gripping Blake’s shoulder, went white.

She felt dizzy.

Perhaps from lack of oxygen, her thoughts kept cutting off.

It felt as if not just her lips but her entire body might be swallowed by him at any moment.

At some point, one of his hands had climbed up her back along her spine, kneading softly.

It was an unfamiliar sensation.

Serenity trembled involuntarily.

I can’t hold on.

Just as she thought she had reached her limit, his lips slowly parted.

A long, transparent thread stretched out and snapped.

Serenity forced her tired eyes open and stared at the man nearby with a bewildered look.

“What is this…”

But the sentence never finished.

The man’s face, a hand’s breadth away, was different from a moment ago.

The chilling red hue that had flickered in his right eye had long since vanished.

Only then did Serenity realize the arm holding her waist no longer felt sharp.

She reflexively looked down.

There, as if by magic, she saw a perfectly normal arm.

“How…”

“I told you I needed it.”

Unlike Serenity, who was beyond confused and nearly horrified, Blake remained matter-of-fact.

Blake wiped Serenity’s saliva-matted lips with his thumb, slowly released her waist, and stepped back.

“I’d like to explain, but there’s no time.”

He smiled his usual smile.

He acted as if nothing had happened.

“Shall we move?”