[Monster]

Speed is of the essence in war.

Those who chose to stand here at this time were not the type to procrastinate. After deciding on their next course of action, Smith and Abel headed to the first floor.

Since escape is clearly not an option, it's better to fight that so-called Monster head-on.

However, just as the two of them reached the doorway, before they even opened it, a terrifying scream suddenly came from the Basement.

"The Basement... How is this possible!?"

After a slight pause, Victoria's expression changed instantly. Without thinking, she rushed out of the room before Smith and Abel could reach the hidden entrance to the Basement on the first floor.

The entrance to the villa's Basement is quite hidden; only Shawn knows its location. The others only know that the villa has a Basement, but they don't know where the entrance is.

Mike and his girlfriend were the least timid of the group, lacking both the will to run away and the resolve to confront the Monster head-on.

The Basement was the safest place in the villa, so Mike, his girlfriend, and Victoria had hidden there earlier.

Before leaving the Basement, to prevent any accidents, Moonlit had secretly left some protective gear there. It wasn't anything fancy, but it should be enough to ensure the safety of their Basement.

... But judging from the screams earlier, the attack clearly started in the Basement.

When she hurriedly followed the hidden staircase to the Basement door, she found it tightly shut, and terrifying screams, a mixture of male and female voices, came from inside.

Gritting her teeth, she didn't care about anything else and kicked the closed door in front of her.

What she didn't expect was that her Strength seemed to vanish into thin air, failing to even cause a ripple on the door... even though she had clearly used her full strength!!

While she was still in a daze, the others finally arrived. Under the bright light of the flashlights and amidst the increasingly weak cries for help and screams coming from inside the room, Rohard roared and rushed to the door with an axe in hand, then swung it down without hesitation.

How could a fragile wooden door withstand the blows of an axe? Moreover, Rohard's strength was second only to Abel's, and after a few swings, a large hole was quickly torn open in the doorway.

--And just at that moment, the sounds coming from inside abruptly stopped.

When everyone finally opened the locked door and entered Basement, Mike and his girlfriend were nowhere to be found. All that remained was a pool of blood and a blood-stained drawing on the wall that bore the same eerie smile as the dead Bob's.

The smiles on the wall seemed like a provocation... and a silent mockery.

At this point, of the original 12 people, only six remain.

Rohard, Smith, Shawn, Annie, Abel, and Victoria.

After the incident in the Basement, everyone's mood inevitably became somber.

Rohand and Smith carried all the flour up from the first floor and spread it evenly on the ground. Then, some took their guns and others their axes, standing guard with somber expressions.

From the very beginning until now, a total of six people have died, but those who survived have never even seen the Monster's true face.

As for the four Player in this story... Instant always had a blank expression, while Bai Zhi always looked like he hadn't woken up yet. Xia Wen secretly hid the wine, while Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part was sitting quietly thinking about something.

She tried to piece together all the clues that had appeared in the story so far, but her efforts ultimately came to nothing.

Strictly speaking, there are several points of doubt in this story, but she can't figure out any of them.

The strange smile on Bob's face after his bizarre death, the corpse that appeared and disappeared repeatedly, the car that was clearly destroyed but later rose up and did sit-ups repeatedly, the loss of the Basement, and the dissipation of one's own Strength when it was deflected by the door...

It seemed as if there was a thread connecting all those things, but after thinking about it for a long time, she still couldn't figure out what that thread was.

Formless Monster, eerie supernatural Strength, a cat-and-mouse Game... what is it that connects all these things?

Just as she was racking her brains over these things, Rohard's angry roar suddenly came from the window.

Startled, Victoria's gradually forming train of thought was abruptly interrupted. She quickly got up and went to the window, following Rohard's angry gaze.

In front of the Mountain Villa, a body was slowly hoisted up. Although the heavy snow prevented them from seeing the body clearly, Rohard recognized it as Bob's body at a glance based on its shape.

Then, another body was slowly hoisted up. Judging from the size and clothing, this time it was Eric, followed by Joshua, Claude, Mike... and his girlfriend Mary.

The bodies of the six people were hung up one by one outside the villa.

Even though the heavy snow and great distance prevented them from making a more detailed confirmation, their body shape and clothing were enough for them to recognize the people.

"... This is that Monster deliberately provoking us; don't fall for its trap."

Bai Zhi's deep eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his gaze back from that direction.

"I know."

Rohard closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, barely managing to suppress the anger welling up inside him.

"That damn bastard..."

And then, in that very instant... darkness descended.

The power supply to the entire villa tripped instantly.

However, since Bai Zhi had made special preparations for this matter beforehand, no one panicked. Instead, they immediately turned on the surrounding flashlights and quickly Ignite the Torch that Bai Zhi had made.

The darkness lasted only a few seconds, after which light once again enveloped the room.

In those few seconds when darkness vanished, the previously closed door had been quietly opened without anyone noticing.

Upon seeing the open door, several beams of bright flashlight light Instant shone upon it.

--There were no signs of trampling on the flour piled up on the ground near the door.

"No problem. Although we can't see the Monster, it still leaves tracks when it walks in the snow. The flour sprinkled around the doorway is normal, which means the Monster didn't enter the room."

Slightly relieved, Rohard spoke up loudly.

"That piece of Dog Poop, if it dares to show its face in front of me, I'll blow its head off with this gun!!"

"No, that's not right..."

Staring blankly at the perfectly smooth, unmarked flour on the side by the door, Moonlit felt as if she had vaguely grasped the essence of something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

Since the spilled flour showed no abnormalities, the Monster shouldn't have entered, especially since it left traces in the snow earlier... But why do I still feel uneasy?

It was as if something unsettling had silently infiltrated the room... Traces left in the snow... Traces... Handprints... Wait, handprints!?

Suddenly realizing something, Moonlit felt as if her heart skipped a beat.

The Monster was walking upside down, which is why it left a trail of handprints in the snow. It was outdoors before, but now it's indoors... so where are its feet?

The other person is practically walking on the ceiling!! The flour scattered at the doorway is completely pointless!!!

Unfortunately, by the time she finally understood this, it was too late.

A strange, Black Shadow that seemed to be walking on the ceiling had silently appeared on... Rohard's head.

When the strange, Black Shadow made contact with Rohard, who was intently focused on the door, he experienced the same thing that Claude had gone through before.

Accompanied by a strange, electric shock-like sensation, his body began to go numb, his senses dulled, and his consciousness blurred...

With a soft thud, the Hunting Rifle in Rohard's hand fell limply to the ground, and he was simultaneously grabbed and dragged up to the ceiling by seven or eight hands that reached out from the darkness. When everyone finally reacted and turned their attention to this scene, they saw Rohard's massive body being pulled up to the ceiling and then suddenly disappearing.

--Just like Claude, who disappeared silently in the snow before.

"BOOM--!! BOOM--!! BOOM--!!"

He raised his Hunting Rifle in an instant and fired three shots at the dark creature writhing on the ceiling Instant blinking.

However, the Hunting Rifle Bullet only slightly slowed down the Monster's speed.

A moment later, Smith was grabbed and disappeared just like Rohard was backstage, except that unlike Rohard who was dragged to the ceiling, he was dragged into the floor and disappeared.

However, before that, having taken precautions, Smith had swung his axe and chopped off one of the Monster's hands... but the moment the Monster touched him, he completely lost all ability to resist.

All their resistance seemed like a joke in the face of this unknown and inexplicable Monster.

--And the Monster's third target was Bai Zhi, who was standing there with his hand slightly pressed against his forehead and his eyes half-closed.

Although Bai Zhi never made any decent plans or arrangements from beginning to end, Xia Wen still maintained complete faith in someone, and upon seeing this scene, he immediately rushed out to "rescue the Hero" without hesitation.

Soon enough, Xia Wen followed in the footsteps of Rohard and Smith.

After losing three people in succession, the remaining three finally managed to escape the room in a somewhat disheveled state, and fled downstairs into the heavy snow.

Fortunately, the Monster doesn't seem to be giving chase for the time being.

"That Monster can be damaged, but be careful not to get in contact with it, otherwise you will lose your ability to fight back. Sharp weapons like axes and machetes will do more damage to it."

In a clearing in the backyard, covered with snow, Bai Zhi tossed the axe to the silent Moonlit and began to speak with a solemn expression.

"You should have told me those things sooner, like about the handprint that accompanied Claude all the way, otherwise I wouldn't have been so stupid as to choose an indoor location for the battle... The best place to fight the enemy is an open space filled with snow."

"... Is that enough?"

Subconsciously clenching her fist, Moonlit spoke softly.

"What's enough or not enough?"

Bai Zhi frowned, his words carrying a hint of displeasure.

"That Monster is coming soon, hurry up and prepare for battle."

"Mingming Shrimp... your girlfriend died saving you, but you didn't react at all..."

Victoria raised her head and looked in the direction of Shawn and Abel, who had a blank expression, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Actually, aren't you the Monster?"

"Ah, so I was hung up too... But this thing..."

Slightly conflicted, Xia Wen looked down at the rope that appeared to be tied around his neck, but in reality, all the stress was on his back. For a moment, his expression was quite strange.

With that kind of rope binding, let alone hanging her to death, she could probably even put on a show like a fish leaping out of the water...

Just now, at close range, she seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.

That Black Shadow Monster that walked on the ceiling and sent Rohard and Smith to their deaths, it seemed to be... Shadow Guard?