The Bronze Corridor

"The chance is here!"

Dust, noise, fallen toys, and scattered papers suddenly filled the room, which was already thick with strange sounds.

The Pale Giant outside the door roughly shoved it open and eagerly squeezed its bulky body into the room. It didn't even have time to look around, hurrying straight toward the depths to see the screaming dolls.

Its eyesight was poor, but it was very sensitive to the dolls' reactions.

But just as it rushed inside, Han Su darted out from behind it.

The monster had violently torn off most of the door, leaving it unable to close. Taking advantage of the opening, Han Su quickly approached the monster and reached for its waist, shouting at the same time:

"Go!"

He had already explained the route to Manman: she should circle around to the left, while he would try to lure the monster to the right, giving her as much room as possible to escape to the door.

She should be able to make it across these ten-odd meters, right?

The girl was young, but she had always been sensible and well-behaved.

Whenever he told her what to do, even if she didn't understand, she could always do it properly...

But as Han Su shouted and grabbed at the monster's belt, already preparing to dive to the right, he suddenly froze.

As soon as he had entered this bunker, he'd noticed the brass key hanging from the Pale Giant's waist. That was why he'd decided to escape on the very first night: with the key on the monster, it would be easiest to get.

But now, when he looked, the monster's waist was bare. There was no key. Nothing at all.

Just a few hours ago, the key had been hanging neatly from the Pale Giant's waist.

"Damn it!"

Han Su was stunned. Was the wretched Mysterious Will messing with him, or had some kind of rule caused the key to move to another monster during this time?

"Fuck!"

Han Su only had time to curse before he pushed off the ground and swiftly darted out of the room.

Behind him, the Pale Giant had also spotted Han Su. It grew furious and strained to turn around, trying to grab him. But Li Manman, remembering Han Su's instructions, rose higher onto her toes and held the mirror up to another doll.

The second doll broke down too, shrieking in despair.

The sound made the Pale Giant hesitate for a moment. Then it turned and walked toward the glass cabinet. Amid the doll's desperate sobs, its huge figure gradually blocked the terrified Li Manman from view.

She stared blankly toward the doorway. The older brother had said he would take her outside.

But he seemed to have left already...

Before her stood the huge, savage Pale Giant. Beside her, the two plastic dolls in the glass cabinet pounded on the glass, cursing the Pale Giant and Li Manman, who had made them see what they looked like.

Li Manman had just worked up the courage to help Han Su do all this, but now fear overtook her once more. She slowly hugged her knees and crouched down.

"She'll be punished..."

Meanwhile, Han Su had escaped the room, his heart clenching uncontrollably.

He hadn't expected the key to move in such a short time. His plan had fallen apart all at once.

Manman had angered the two dolls in the glass cabinet, and she'd angered the Pale Giant too. What would happen to her now?

But just as guilt began to well up inside him, he clenched his teeth and ruthlessly shoved those useless emotions out of his mind.

"There'll be another chance. There's always another chance..."

"..."

"..."

"Fifth floor!"

He ran with all his might to the end of the corridor, leaped onto the stairs, and charged up to the floor above.

He remembered the pattern.

After Xu Ji had been rescued, the key appeared. But every time Han Su returned, it was on a different monster. Usually, though, once it was on a monster, it stayed there. It didn't move in between.

Why had it suddenly changed this time?

Was it because this time he'd returned sooner than usual?

Han Su had no time to think it over. He recalled the pattern from the previous times he'd seen the key and guessed that it should be on the floor above.

The key had moved like this before. One time it had been on the Withered Butler on the first floor, the next time it had appeared on the mysterious Meat Horn Madam, and the time after that, it had been on the mad and bizarre Half-Woman on the third floor.

By that pattern, the key was most likely on the fifth floor now.

He couldn't be sure, and even if it was there, he hadn't figured out how to get it. But he had no way back, so he could only head to the fifth floor first.

Han Su had never been up to the fifth floor before, and the monsters from the fifth floor had never come down.

But he had no time to wonder what was up there. He quickly darted up the thirteen steps and reached the landing. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Pale Giant chasing after him.

Watching Han Su turn the corner and step onto the fifth-floor corridor, it let out an angry, disappointed roar and slammed its fist into the wall beside it.

As soon as he entered the corridor, Han Su quickly looked to either side of the fifth floor, but saw only an eerie, deathly silence.

It was completely quiet here. No monsters wandered about. He couldn't even see a single living thing!

So where was the key?

Han Su pressed a hand to his chest, forcing down his pounding heart. He slowed his pace and walked forward, step by careful step, across the thick, damp carpet.

At the same time, roars still echoed faintly from the fourth floor. The Pale Giant down there was raging. Unable to come up to the fifth floor, it pounded on something, the tremendous noise seeming to shake the whole Ancient Castle.

Thump, thump. The smell of rotting dust flooded his nostrils, and cracks appeared in the walls on either side.

Something emerged from deep within the cracks, shooting straight out.

Tense and alert, Han Su scanned the area. When he saw what they were, he realized they were copper-colored statues.

They wore strange, intricately detailed armor. Each had a long, scaly neck, a flat and sinister head, and eyes set on either side that glimmered with a faint red light.

They were unmistakably statues cast in copper.

What was more, they looked so bizarre that the armor seemed not to be made for people, but for monsters with snake heads and human bodies.

They were embedded in the walls on both sides of the corridor, and at a glance seemed to be part of the walls. Now the castle's shaking had loosened them slightly, and one had lurched partway out, blocking Han Su's path.

"What the hell?"

Han Su wasn't the sort of person who immediately jumped back or had some other reflexive reaction when startled. Instead, he stood still and stared at the copper armor, confirming that it was lifeless.

Only then did he slowly circle around it and edge past.

His gaze swept over both sides of the corridor. Row after row of copper doors were embedded in the walls, looking extraordinarily sturdy.

Beside each door stood a copper-armored statue, one arm extended to grasp the door, like some kind of ancient yet intricate machine.

Han Su had no interest in admiring this mysterious technology. He only walked briskly toward the faint light spilling into the corridor ahead, his heart gradually climbing into his throat.

When he reached the light, he saw a room with its door half open. Holding his breath, he peered inside.

The room was decorated as luxuriously as an ancient palace, though every object looked incredibly old.

In the very center of the room stood a coffin.

Two enormous white candles burned quietly beside it.

By their light, Han Su's gaze sharpened. The brass-colored key was hanging beside the coffin.

"Found it!"

Han Su's heart gave a little leap. Bracing himself, he lightened his steps and entered the room.

He silently surveyed the room. There were no other living things. The only thing inside was a black coffin, adorned with intricate, bizarre copper inlays.

He drew closer. Every step felt like a gamble with his life, but Han Su still made his way slowly to the coffin.

Slowly, he took the key hanging beside it.

Nothing happened.

"Thanks..."

Han Su said it to himself, then backed out of the room. But just then, the coffin lid suddenly cracked open, and a ghastly pale, emaciated hand shot out and seized his left hand.

The cold, rigid touch was like iron. His left hand felt as if it had been trapped in a pair of pliers.

A chilling sensation spread through his body, freezing him solid. He couldn't move at all.

The thin hand slowly turned, as though caressing something.

Its thumbnail glinted with a strange coppery sheen as it slowly scraped across the back of Han Su's hand. Without a sound, it cut a wound into his skin, and blood immediately welled from the torn flesh.

As the blood flowed, Han Su suddenly felt his body loosen. The part of him frozen in place seemed to regain a moment of freedom.

"Goddamn it..."

Han Su's skin crawled as he cursed under his breath.

Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he clenched the key between his teeth, then raised the weapon Irritable Kid Brother had given him and hacked down hard at his left wrist.