Ancient Castle

Biodata

Layout and Inhabitants

• Courtyard and cellar: A school bus carrying the abducted children arrives in the decaying courtyard. Children not taken by the monsters are kept in the cellar 6 83.
• Floors: Spiral staircases connect numerous floors, with monsters occupying different levels. Han Su encounters the Pale Giant on the fourth floor, bronze armor statues on the fifth, and the Ghost Princess on the ninth 6 27 89 130.
• Hidden spaces: Secret passages connect rooms and floors. A concealed chamber contains surveillance equipment that lets Han Su observe the monsters 85 86 335.
• Inhabitants: The old butler oversees the children's arrival and selection. Twelve monsters correspond to twelve anomalous powers and bring their selected children to the Night of Joy banquet 6 336.

Mechanisms and Authority

• Secret-prison structure: Han Su identifies the castle as a domain made from spiritual power rather than an ordinary building. Emperor's Book characters lie dormant at key points in its structure 282 337.
• Adaptive obstacles: Han Su finds that a mysterious will closes loopholes he previously used to escape, though passages shown to him by the black cat Duke remain unchanged 131.
• Escape key: Han Su repeatedly seeks a key held by a castle inhabitant; using it, he can call forth an exit door 83 129 131 283.
• Rescue rewards: Rescuing children causes rewards to appear in the hidden chamber. After one rescue of four children, Han Su finds a robe, cup, white mask, and chair there 335.
• Transfer of authority: A ritual on the Night of Joy activates the castle's dormant power. Grotesque Doctor intends a puppet to receive it and become the castle's controlling core, but Han Su takes its place, concentrating the authority on himself 334 337.

History

Han Su first enters the castle during a school trip in 2714. Monsters select children from his class, and he escapes through a hole beneath a rose-covered wall. Investigators later fail to find the castle where he says it stood 2 6.

Through repeated returns, Han Su learns its layout, searches for keys, and attempts to bring other children out. Their rescues alter the resulting life lines: Wei Lan remembers a version of events with 25 missing children and another with 23 6 131 134.

During the Night of Joy, Han Su's ritual draws power from the castle and prompts the old butler to record past pacts involving the Twelve Anomalies and the Emperor. An incantation delivered by telephone then lets the mysterious will intrude more forcefully as a Golden Spear. The castle fractures; on Life Line No. 04, it collapses and its monsters escape 337 338 339. Han Su later returns to the castle on another life line and concludes that his interference left the earlier ritual incomplete 361.

Relationships

• Han Su — Former captive who repeatedly returns to rescue children and eventually takes the castle's authority for himself 2 131 337.
• Old Butler — Oversees the captives and facilitates the Night of Joy ritual; he tries to hold the castle together as it begins to collapse 6 338.
• Grotesque Doctor — Directs the authority-transfer ritual by telephone, intending to control the castle through a puppet 334 337 338.
• Black Cat Duke — Guides Han Su through secret passages that the castle's mysterious will has not repaired 85 86 131.