Han Su knew exactly what to do at a crucial moment like this.
Cutting off the other guy's hand was too risky. These monsters had all sorts of strange abilities. Even if his blade could bite deep enough to cut through, simply provoking the creature might bring him even bigger trouble.
Cutting off his own hand had fewer variables. It would just hurt a little.
Even if he couldn't cut through it, when the monster dragged him toward the coffin, he might be able to break free—or get in another strike.
Very thorough.
Whoosh!
All his calculations took place in an instant. Just as he instinctively swung his blade toward his own wrist, the monster reaching out of the coffin seemed to sense something. It abruptly withdrew inside.
The movement was so sudden that its sharp claws scraped a vertical line across the back of Han Su's hand.
Together with the horizontal cut from before, it formed a cross-shaped wound, blood gushing out.
Han Su reacted just as quickly. As he stumbled backward, he shifted his blade forward and struck the coffin, sending up a spray of sparks.
He froze for a moment, then didn't waste another thought. With the key clenched between his teeth, he bolted from the room without looking back.
As he ran, he frantically thought, The door. That door should appear...
Sure enough, just as it had at every moment of despair, the door marked "EXIT" appeared eerily at the far end of the pitch-black corridor...
But at that very moment, a strange sound seemed to rise from the coffin he'd left behind. The flames of the two candles in the room flickered, as if disturbed by an invisible force, throwing the shadows into disarray.
Along both sides of the corridor, the bronze statues that had been shaken loose from the walls suddenly let out a dense clatter, like scales scraping together.
Out of nowhere, a flat-headed snake, reeking of blood, lunged straight at Han Su's face.
In a flash, Han Su's extraordinary reflexes let him catch sight of it. It was clearly carved from ancient bronze, yet somehow alive. Its jaws gaped open, two fangs bared as it snapped at his face.
And it wasn't alone. One snake after another emerged from the bronze armors lining both sides of the corridor, flicking their tails as they leaped into the air.
They swarmed together, weaving a dense net right before him.
"Damn it!"
Han Su tensed. He rapidly flailed his arms to shake off the snakes crawling over him, then without hesitation raised his palm.
He held it out toward the corridor and shouted, "Sic erat in abysso!"
He'd wanted to test whether this Spell worked inside the Ancient Castle, but he hadn't wanted to invite any unnecessary trouble. Now, in this moment of crisis, he threw caution to the wind and recited it.
If it worked, all the better.
If not, it would at least give him courage.
Buzz!
The instant the ancient Fishing Horn left his lips, Han Su once again felt the Mental Power in his mind surge and churn. It was like something that had been far too still had come "alive" with the disturbance, becoming something he could clearly sense.
Then, as if naturally following its course, it seeped out from the spot where his right eye was.
Rolling ripples suddenly spread in every direction.
The rigid, grotesque bronze snakes that had leaped into the air seemed to be bound by an invisible force the instant they appeared in front of Han Su, frozen in midair.
Some of the snakes twisted unnaturally, then fell to the floor with a clatter.
The Spell had worked?
Han Su couldn't help feeling a flicker of delight. He hadn't been injured in the eye by the monster, so why could he still use this ability?
The feeling was strange, as if he'd brushed against some vital secret. But his Mental Power was rapidly draining as he recited the Spell, and his head felt increasingly hollow. There was no time to think it through.
As he finished reciting the Spell, he ran forward in great strides.
Click, click, click...
But as Han Su passed through the corridor, the layers of rippling air spread out, as if moisture were seeping into the walls on either side.
The bronze armor statues embedded in the walls straightened one after another, forcing dirt and dust to spray everywhere. A faint, eerie red glow even appeared in their hollow eyes, like mechanical monsters roused from slumber.
Those eerie eyes fixed on Han Su. Some of their arms even began to lift, slowly.
They hadn't moved in too long. Their joints were rusted, so they moved sluggishly.
"What's going on now?"
Han Su could clearly feel the Mental Power rippling out from his right eye being absorbed by the Bronze Armor Statues.
Were they using his Mental Power to revive themselves?
That made him even more nervous. Fortunately, he was already fighting through his dizziness and was about to cross the corridor littered with bronze snakes, reaching the door that represented hope.
The key was already in his hand, clutched tightly. He absolutely couldn't let it fall again.
But this time, since he hadn't taken it from the Pale Giant, there was no slime on it, and it didn't seem to have that same urge to slip out of his grasp.
He rushed up to the door in a few strides and raised his hand, about to insert the key into the lock.
But just then, Han Su happened to glance to the side. His whole body suddenly went still.
On the fifth floor, near the far end of the corridor, stood a small, solitary room. Two candles burned inside. He could see that it had once had an iron door, secured shut by a dense array of metal mechanisms.
But now, the Spell he'd recited had changed things in the corridor. The awakening of the bronze armor was one such change, and the mechanical fastenings had loosened as well.
The iron door had opened a crack. From inside, half a face stared at him in terror.
Holy crap!
Whose kid was this?
Han Su froze for a moment before it suddenly clicked. His heart pounded wildly.
There were children chosen on the fifth floor too.
His Spell had caused his Mental Power to seep out, and that in turn had awakened the bronze armor in the walls on either side. That was how he'd spotted the child imprisoned on the fifth floor.
In his haste, he couldn't remember which child had been sent to the fifth floor. Some of them had been taken upstairs directly by the butler.
The child had been locked in that room, and he'd opened the door by accident when he recited the Spell?
Time seemed to stop.
Looking at those frightened yet hopeful eyes, Han Su felt his heart pound. It was as if a frenzied force were pumping his blood into his brain, wave after wave.
Should he simply insert the key and escape before the monsters behind him completely blocked the corridor, or...
"Come here!"
Han Su had little time to think. He stopped so abruptly that he nearly stumbled, then spun around and glanced down the corridor.
The bronze snakes on the floor were still twisting, even trying to crawl again. Three or five of the Bronze Armor Statues on either side already had eerie red light in their eyes. Their hunched bodies were straightening, and they were nearing full awakening.
But there was still time. Just a little...
Without wasting another moment, Han Su darted forward and kicked the door open. He grabbed the long-haired child's hand without a second thought and pulled her to his side.
He tucked her under his arm, dodged the bronze arms reaching out for them, held his breath, and raced to the door.
Keeping the little body close, he stretched the key toward the lock that represented hope.
He could no longer spare a thought for the bronze snakes coming back to life or the Bronze Armor Statues awakening. Whether he lived or died, Han Su could only hold the child tight and reach out with the key.
Click.
The key slid into the lock. He turned it and heard that beautiful sound.
Han Su used all his strength to crash through the door. A cold wind blew in from outside and brushed against his face.
He didn't even look to see what was beyond it. Holding the soft little body in his arms, he threw himself through with all his might.
Inside the Ancient Castle, the awakened Bronze Armor Statues slowly raised their hands, inch by inch. Their eyes glowed with an eerie red as they stared fixedly in the direction Han Su had fled.
Slowly, slowly, they raised their hands to their chests, then bent forward and bowed to the one who had awakened them.
Unfortunately for them, Han Su was long gone.
The moment he slipped free of the iron door's hold, he felt himself falling.
He felt himself dropping from the fifth floor, about to crash to his death in the stone-paved courtyard of the underground fortress. But then his head suddenly swam.
White light flooded his eyes. Han Su stood silent for a few seconds before he could make out what was in front of him.
He was now in a room at the Disaster Management Bureau's base, surrounded by enormous, expensive speakers. The bizarre, chaotic sounds had stopped playing. In front of him stood Zhang Chiguo, a sharp-looking man in a black suit, and a staff member wearing glasses.
They all looked at him strangely. Their expressions were so peculiar that it was as if they were looking at a monster.
"When the Ruins' Whispers were played, some people couldn't take it and went crazy. Some had such high spiritual sensitivity that they heard too many useful Spells, and their brains couldn't hold them all—so they just exploded."
"Some fought to resist the whole time and ended up frozen stiff. Others didn't know how to protect themselves and were contaminated on the spot..."
"..."
Beside Zhang Chiguo, the staff member in glasses looked at Han Su in disbelief. "But I've never seen anyone fall asleep while listening to it, damn it. You're the first, handsome guy..."
Before you continue