"Please rest assured, in order to invite you to visit us again, we have not made things difficult for your friend."
The doppelganger dressed as a butler spoke as it gestured for Shade to look deeper into the House of False Men.
Behind it had originally been a foyer connected to a corridor. Now, the corridor visibly began to shorten, drawing the room at its end closer and closer to the foyer. At the same time, the door at the end of the corridor silently opened, revealing a room very similar to the "Unicorn Nest" in Snow Mountain Hall.
Little Liana lay in the middle of the room as though asleep. Shade blinked and saw the Unicorn symbol above Little Unicorn's head. It was identical to the symbol above Ellie beside him. It seemed Little Liana was indeed safe for the moment:
"Let her leave the House of False Men, and I'll go in immediately."
Shade said, but the butler-like doppelganger shook its head.
"I know how formidable you are. Last time, you entered the core room and still managed to leave, which greatly exceeded our expectations. I will not let her go. You need to enter and find her yourself."
The door to the room holding Little Liana closed, and the corridor beyond the foyer extended again. In the blink of an eye, that room vanished.
The doppelganger did not intend to give Shade a chance to stall. It spoke bluntly:
"I know you wish to banish us from the Material World once more. So how about we play a game?"
It pointed behind itself.
"Your Unicorn friend is resting in the depths of the House of False Men for now. Your task is to find her. Find her, and you win."
Shade frowned.
"If you want me to