“Sorry, what did you say?”
The term “Original Sin Scholar” was not in the Delarion language; it took a moment for Shad to react before he barely grasped the meaning
“What is an Original Sin Scholar?”
“Then you are not one.”
The eerie old man shook his head and led Shad back toward the foyer
“Your sins are high enough to reach the highest floor. Guest, please follow me; you shall receive what you desire.”
Having said this, he ignored Shad and headed back toward the stairs. Shad followed immediately; in the [Sin Manor], wandering aimlessly without a guide made one extremely susceptible to attacks from the things residing there.
The interior decoration of the building was quite consistent, resembling an old aristocratic manor after gas pipes had been installed. The gold decorations on the stairs and the oil paintings on the cracked walls spoke of the grandeur the place held when it was still an ordinary house.
However, the red carpet on the floor gave Shad a strong sense of unease. Through the observation of [Blood Echo], almost every inch of the carpet emitted a red glow, indicating that this carpet had practically been dyed this color with blood.
Before long, they reached the third floor, where corridors extended to the left and right from the stairwell. One side of the corridor was lined with windows, and the other with rooms. Every door had a rusted yellow metal nameplate, but the plates were blank.
But before the lantern-bearing old man could lead Shad to choose a direction and turn, the ground suddenly shook.
“An earthquake?”
The vibration wasn't particularly strong—it didn't even affect one's balance. However, along with the vibration of the building itself, Shad heard what sounded like an explosion coming from the second floor. Simultaneously, the faces in the terrifying portraits on the walls all turned downward in unison, as if something had gone wrong downstairs.
“What’s happening? Another earthquake in the Sicar Mountains? Or did something happen to the house?”
[New changes have appeared in the Sin Manor. Along with the ground shaking, the malice here has deepened.]
“This way.”
The old man with the lantern paid no mind to the strange vibration, and Shad’s inquiry received no answer.
He led Shad to the left and, after opening the third door, motioned for him to enter and wait
“The manor's trader will be here shortly. Please wait a moment, guest.”
Once Shad stepped inside, the hunched old man closed the door.
Shad observed the room. It was a fairly large bedroom, fully equipped with antique-looking furniture: a four-poster bed with pink curtains and gauze, a desk, and a wardrobe. There were even two small doors on one side leading to a washroom and a dressing room; Shad had seen similar room layouts in Miss Galina's estate and Aurora's mansion in Coldwater Harbor.
The room remained dim, with only the gas lamp on the desk lit. The lamp's design was quite classical, entirely different from the popular styles of 1853. Shad did not approach the desk; instead, he turned and gripped the doorknob. After testing it, he found the door was locked, though he could open it if he used the [Key of Doors].
“Now comes the waiting. Based on the experiences of Ring-Wielders who have left this place in the past, a trader will soon ask me what I wish to obtain from the manor. And among the inconspicuous middle options of the list, there is an option to leave this place at the cost of increasing one's own sins.”
Thinking this, he walked toward the desk. A piece of white paper lay face down under the lamp. Shad paused; when he had entered just now, there seemed to be nothing under the lamp.
His eyes caught the marks on the paper. Fine pencil lines sketched a long-haired woman sitting in a rocking chair.
The woman's body occupied less than one-fifth of the paper, but her hair took up nearly a third of the page. Because it was sketched with simple lines, the woman's face had only basic features. As Shad gazed at that face, it actually began to smile.
“Hmm?”
A fatal sense of crisis made Shad instinctively raise the sword in his hand; this time, he was faster than the sword's own reaction speed.
*Clang!*
The ends of that pitch-black long hair actually shot out from the drawing, attempting to pierce Shad's forehead like an arrow, but they were blocked by the blade of the Night Watchman longsword.
“Something's wrong. Didn't the records say this stage is completely safe? I haven't done anything against the rules!”
Thinking this, his left hand thrust into the air, drawing the bright yellow longsword. With a flick of his wrist, he sliced through the black hair attempting to envelop the Night Watchman. Compared to the greatsword, this longsword was better suited for such movements.
Shad stepped back quickly, narrowing his eyes at the paper
“Ignite!”
The basic spell *Ignite* was no longer limited to making paper smoke as Shad's Ring-Wielder level increased. Furthermore, because the [Sin Manor] enhanced Shad's strength and the Elemental Wine he drank at the God's Banquet greatly boosted his spell power, the paper—which contained elements of whispers—was instantly ignited.
But as billowing black smoke rose, a withered, cyan-colored hand actually reached out from the page
“This is clearly not the normal trading process of the [Sin Manor]. What is going on? Has the relic lost control?”
Chains extended from Shad's right sleeve, wrapping around the hilt of the longsword. [Night Watchman] shuddered violently, as if repulsed by the [Great Sin Chains], but it did not break free in the end.
“Hah!”
He violently hurled the silver sword, the blade piercing precisely into the palm of the hand emerging from the paper.
A piercing shriek nearly ruptured Shad's eardrums. Black ink flowed from the cyan hand, the surging ink even extinguishing the burning paper.
The hand violently tore itself away from the blade, and the white paper, now scorched with black edges, swayed violently as it flew high into the air. Along with the violent trembling of the page, black hair surged out like a flooding river.
“While I like girls with long black hair, it's clearly not this kind.”
Pulling the Great Sin Chains to retrieve the longsword, he quickly retreated to the wall to avoid the writhing hair that had already landed. This was a physical entity; it would be difficult to cause significant damage with an explosive burst of moonlight, and none of the other moonlight-series mysteries Shad currently mastered had wide-area damage capabilities, so—
A steam whistle roared, and a bell tolled. Amidst the surging steam mist, a corner of the Life Ring revealed itself, and the [Witch's Light] spirit rune flashed with a brass glow
“Felianna's Witch's Light!”
He extended the fingers of his right hand forward, and a golden light shone upon the surging black hair with a posture that melted everything. As black smoke continued to rise, the hair rapidly vanished.
Simultaneously, Shad raised his left hand, slashing a silver crescent of moonlight toward the paper in the sky. The moonlight severed the hair entwining the page before disappearing, and immediately after, [Night Watchman] was hurled once more.
And this time, the blade completely pierced the paper.
Another ear-piercing scream rang out. Just as Shad felt a sensation of tinnitus and a headache, the paper exploded into fragments, and the black hair vanished. After the longsword clattered onto the floor, silence returned to the room.
The chains contracted on the floor with a clattering sound, and the hilt slid back into Shad's sleeve along with the chain, where he gripped it once more.
He vigilantly scanned every part of the room to prevent further attacks, but there were no other anomalies.
Only the fragments of paper spontaneously combusting on the floor proved that something had indeed actively attacked Shad.
(End of Chapter)