Go Close the Door, It Can't Get Up.

In the end, Colin chose not to pick up those wooden chairs.

Although as a qualified scavenger, one shouldn't miss anything that "looks like trash but might be useful."

But at this moment, recalling the little girl's final words, he felt a sense of unease.

"It is coming? Who is 'it'?"

Colin remembered that in the soul-vision of Father Kadish, there had been similar words.

Originally, Colin hadn't paid much attention to it because he felt that such things should be far removed from him, but the little girl mentioning it again right before she vanished made him suddenly think of the previous female survivor.

This "it" might very well be that "Bigfoot."

If it really was that thing, then he would undoubtedly die!

Colin's thoughts wandered, but just as he was about to reach the main entrance, his body stiffened and he came to a sudden halt.

The next second, a sound of footsteps suddenly drifted over from a distance outside the door.

The footsteps were clearly at a considerable distance, becoming very faint by the time they reached here.

However, no matter how faint the sound was, the moment you heard it, a single word would involuntarily surface in your mind: heavy.

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it? Colin's gaze narrowed; he could feel a hair-raising aura faintly wafting in through the cracks of the door.

"Lord, that sound doesn't seem to have reached here yet, and it doesn't seem to be walking fast. How about I take a lamp and rush out to lure it away?"

Servant No. 2 wore a look of determination.

He realized how terrifying the existence causing that sound was and wanted to stay behind to cover the retreat, creating an opportunity for his lord to escape.

"No." Colin shook his head, not out of mercy, but because he knew that wouldn't allow them to escape.

Whether it was him or his two subordinates, not a single one of them would get away.

There had to be another way!

Gritting his teeth, Colin gave up on opening the door and hurriedly said, "Go to the second floor first!"

At the same time, the footsteps outside the door moved from far to near; because of its massive size, the sound of each step landing was extremely distinct.

Just as they reached the second floor and Colin was about to look out through the corridor window, he suddenly thought of something, his expression shifting as he said:

"You two take the Hurricane Lamp downstairs, bar the main door, and lock it. It shouldn't be able to get in for a while!"

After the little girl vanished, the main door downstairs had lost its sealing power; if it wasn't closed, it would likely be breached directly.

Based on Colin's guess, the reason the monster hadn't come before was mostly because the Wailer inside the church was still there.

Whether due to an inability to perceive him or some other reason, it hadn't come over to launch an assault on him.

"Yes!"

The two men took the Hurricane Lamp they had obtained from the female survivor and went downstairs.

Colin looked through the slightly open window at the thick white fog, looking toward the place where the sound originated.

Soon, a prompt appeared in his mind!

[Although you have not seen that monster, the heavy footsteps and the terrifying aura make it clear to you that the creature outside is a Lord-level Aberration!]

[It is hunting living things that have entered the forest, and you possess no trump card to confront it head-on!]

[Facing it, you are powerless!]

Lord-level Aberration.

This shouldn't be happening; I'm just an ordinary little hunter.

A sense of powerlessness welled up in Colin's heart. He really should check the almanac next time he goes out, otherwise, he'd run into every kind of "good thing" imaginable.

At this moment, footsteps sounded in the hallway; the two servants had returned.

"The door is locked, Lord!"

Colin nodded and took their Hurricane Lamp to extinguish it. Before he could prepare to say anything, a giant, deformed foot covered in tumors suddenly stretched out from the mist outside the window.

With a thwack, before he could even see what that thing was, Colin slammed the window shut, not daring to continue looking.

He didn't even have the desire to observe the opponent to obtain a prompt.

Because that was clearly a death-seeking act.

For a Lord-level Aberration, an ordinary person would be affected by its negative emotions just by looking at it with the naked eye.

They could even kill enemies directly through their gaze; it was incredibly bizarre.

So, Colin didn't even dare to take a peek.

The next second, a loud bang came from the main door.

Dust fell from inside the church; the monster had arrived at the main door and was slamming against it!

At this very moment, the two sides were separated by only a single door.

Colin led his men back a distance without hesitation, moving away from the window.

"It stopped?"

After stepping back, Colin realized that the next knock did not come.

For some reason, after that single impact, the monster had gone silent, which was somewhat unexpected.

Colin reached the middle of the staircase and looked down; while the tightly sealed door obscured the outside, the gap at the bottom confirmed that something was standing right there.

Colin knew full well that although the door looked sturdy, it definitely wouldn't be able to hold the creature back.

Yet, for reasons unknown, the monster didn't seem to have any intention of breaking through.

It must have some sort of reservation about the church.

Colin made a simple guess, waited on the stairs for a few minutes, and once he was certain the monster wouldn't act for the time being, he led the two people downstairs and headed toward the back of the hall.

He intended to see if he could escape through the underground passage beneath the Lectern; if there was any way to leave right now, this was the only place Colin could think of.

He took off his shoes and stepped onto the floor barefoot, holding his breath and minimizing the noise he made to avoid provoking the behemoth outside the door.

Before long, the three of them arrived in front of the sculpture, and Colin held the lamp, making sure not to crouch down this time to avoid a repeat of what happened earlier.

By not letting his shadow fall outside the light and maintaining sufficient vigilance, Colin would not be defeated by the same trick twice.

Just then, the two servants cleared away the entrance to the basement.

It was a square-shaped opening, roughly a meter in width and length, with what appeared to be stairs at the bottom leading into a deep, dark void of unknown destination.

At this moment, a prompt appeared.

[You feel that this entrance does not lead to a basement in the ordinary sense, but rather to an area filled with numerous dangers.]

[Judging by the direction it extends, you believe it leads toward Crow Mountain, where some unknown treasure seems to exist, likely related to the deceased Father Kadish.]

[However, at the same time, you feel that you are in desperate need of rest and are not suited to explore that place right now.]

[You feel that it is a dead end.]

Feeling the prompt in his mind, Colin felt his body growing cold bit by bit.

This was the first time the prompt had been so "blunt."

Going there meant certain death.