The Pass to Life

"Another day comes to an end..."

Eve slumped against the edge of the balcony. The sunset's afterglow bathed her face in red, and servants nearby whispered as they watched her.

They said the princess of Phoenix Manor had finally grown up. There was a sorrow in her eyes, like a girl in the throes of puberty, fretting over love and longing for a beautiful romance with some dashing young man... As if!

Eve slammed her hand against the balcony railing and marched back to her bedroom in a huff; she had no desire to keep listening to the servants' gossip about her.

There had to be something wrong with her life! Where were the beautiful boys? The only male she'd encountered was that lunatic, Lorenzo.

What truly troubled her was the Secret Blood surging within her body. According to Lorenzo, Phoenix Manor must have some connection to the monsters. This so-called Secret Blood required purification through alchemy—a technique that, logically, no one outside the Demon Hunter Order should know. A shroud of mystery hung over Phoenix Manor.

Eve had wanted to speak with her father, but the butler said the Duke of Phoenix had departed for the Platinum Palace immediately after checking on her, and he hadn't returned since.

She lay on the soft bed, staring at the chandelier above. Its warm light filled her entire field of vision.

More than a week had passed since that insane night. Eve couldn't quite remember how she had made it home; though she'd tried to hide it, she had been so exhausted that she'd collapsed right at the front gate.

When Eve woke up, she was already in her familiar bedroom. Her wounds had been treated, guards stood at the door, and looking out the window, the once-empty manor was now crawling with armed soldiers.

According to the butler, the Duke of Phoenix was furious—"enraged" would be a better word for it. After he left, the security level of the entire manor had been raised several notches, and Eve was placed under house arrest. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere until the Duke returned.

It seemed her father was truly angry this time.

Ah... how annoying.

Eve could already imagine the conversation when he returned. It would be nothing more than marrying her off to some godforsaken island, only this time, his attitude would be much firmer.

Clutching her quilt, Eve rolled over. She didn't want it to end like this. She hoped to represent Phoenix Manor and ascend to the Hall of Honor. If possible, she wanted to get to the bottom of what this Secret Blood really was.

Like a long-lost friend reunited, the nightmare she had almost forgotten had returned ever since that frantic night.

Eve couldn't help but dwell on the scenery from that nightmare: a woman wailing and struggling in such agony that her very life was being ripped from her body, until finally, the monster tore her apart.

The memory of this nightmare was so abrupt that even Eve couldn't determine if it was real or imagined. Human memory was truly unreliable, like words written on a beach, destined to be swallowed by the rising tide—only to be washed back onto the shore years later like a cruel prank.

The lights in the room flickered. Eve turned to look at the chandelier; there seemed to be a problem with the wiring. After a few flashes, it plunged into total darkness.

Electrical issues were normal enough, but Eve felt something different now. She grew tense, staring into the darkness.

These things were always the same; whenever they arrived, all light retreated.

Footsteps echoed all around her.

Eve reached out to the cabinet, where a silver revolver lay. It was Shrike's weapon, but after that night, Lorenzo had forgotten to take it back, and Eve had kept it.

It was fully loaded. Just as Eve prepared to act, a pitch-black shadow engulfed her.

No strength left...

She couldn't muster any strength at all...

In an instant, Eve's breathing stalled. She knew clearly that the thing was right behind her. She wanted to run, but she had no strength left; it was as if her body had frozen solid in a heartbeat.

It walked slowly past Eve. Every footfall struck her heart like a heavy hammer. Through the moonlight outside the window, Eve could only see a blurred, hideous shape, and then, countless eyes appeared before her.

It was a face covered in eyes. From those scarlet pupils, a substance known as "ominousness" constantly overflowed. It didn't seem to see Eve, its eyeballs rolling wildly as if searching for something, but in the next second, they all turned toward her.

It saw her, and it let out a bone-chilling laugh.

"I see you..."

The voice rang directly in her ear, so clear, so real.

Her frozen body finally moved. The silver Death Knell pointed straight at the monster's face, but just as Eve prepared to pull the trigger, the light returned.

Everything vanished.

Eve held the Death Knell, pointing at the empty space before her. It was her familiar room, as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination.

The eerie, hateful darkness was gone.

Eve fell to her knees, drained of all strength. Large beads of sweat slid down the tip of her nose, her lungs heaving as she gasped for fresh air.

She rubbed her eyes hard. Everything felt strangely alien—perhaps it was a hallucination, or perhaps something else entirely.

Spirit Sight.

The familiar yet strange term rose in her mind. Lorenzo had told her when they parted that as her connection to the darkness deepened, Eve would see some eerie things, and those eerie things would see her in return.

"What... is happening?"

She stood up slowly, feeling the whole world swaying. She held her forehead and finally collapsed onto the bed, powerless. The mental strain this time far exceeded everything she had experienced before; she felt like a small boat adrift in a tidal wave, ready to be capsized at any moment.

An inexplicable fear fermented in her heart. Eve knew that Phoenix Manor's security was indeed high, but it was utterly defenseless against those monsters. Those creatures had already seen her, and she was at a loss.

She sat up, and after a long moment of thought, her gaze fell upon the cabinet.

A business card lay there quietly, the words upon it seemingly imbued with magic.

"Miss, please don't make this difficult for us."

The guards looked at Eve, who was dressed in her nightgown. Beneath the pure white fabric were hollowed-out patterns; her smooth neck stood tall like a swan's, and her long hair was let down, cascading in a way that defied description—she looked like an elf stepping out of the moonlight.

Both guards at the door were flustered. Such an Eve was a rare sight. Usually, Eve carried herself with heroic spirit, and even in a dress, she gave off an air of "do not approach." But now, this cold tigress was like a kitten; anyone who caught the faint, clean fragrance wafting from her would feel their heart tremble.

"I want to go for a walk."

Eve said this with rare gentleness.

"The Duke has given orders; you are not to leave until he returns."

"I just want to go for a walk."

The girl opened her eyes wide as she looked at the guards. Those crystalline pupils were like gemstones; it was hard for anyone to refuse such a girl. Refusing her would even make you feel a strange sense of guilt, as if you had done something wrong.

For a long time, Eve had hidden her own charm. Despite possessing such a perfect physique, she had always protected it with steel and police uniforms to drive away those suitors with ulterior motives.

As the princess of the Phoenix family, every young noble in Old Dunling wanted to meet this future Duchess, but every meeting ended in tragedy. To protect her dreams and freedom, Eve turned every encounter into an accident. Ever since she took an Earl's son out for a carriage race through the streets and caused the poor boy to break his leg, no one had dared to take an interest in Eve again.

She was an untamable phoenix; rushing toward her would only result in becoming a part of the ashes beneath her feet.

"Is even this not allowed..."

As she spoke, Eve slightly lifted her skirt. The guards were stunned, their train of thought completely interrupted. Seeming to expect something, both men stood there blankly.

But the next second, a breeze picked up. With a dull thud, one of the guards felt a wave of dizziness, his vision tilting as he collapsed to the ground. He wanted to say something, but his consciousness could not stop sinking into darkness. In his final frame of vision, Eve was wielding a chair leg, smashing it toward the other guard.

A disguise! It was all a disguise!

At that moment, the other guard's psyche nearly collapsed. This damn girl had been harboring evil intentions from the start. No one knew how she had dismantled a chair leg and hidden it under her skirt.

The chair leg grew larger and larger in his pupils. He only had time to raise his rifle to block the attack, but Eve abandoned the swing and landed a heavy punch into his abdomen. He retched involuntarily, and then the girl swung the chair leg again, smashing it down fiercely.

"What... is going on?"

Another guard walked over from the other end of the corridor. The sound of the bludgeoning had caught his attention, and the two stood at opposite ends of the hallway, staring at each other in awkward silence.

The beautiful young girl stood barefoot in the light, her long red hair burning like fire. How beautiful... if only she weren't holding that chair leg, and if there weren't two colleagues already unconscious at her feet.

Giving him almost no time to think, the girl gripped the chair leg with both hands, held her breath, and arched her body completely before throwing it with all her might.

Only another dull thud could be heard as the guard fell straight down, still holding the iron whistle he hadn't managed to blow.

Looking at the three unconscious guards, Eve tidied her messy hair and let out a long breath. From the disguise to the attack, it had been as smooth as flowing water.

Dealing with demons might be a bit of a struggle, but taking down a few guards was far too simple. The delicate girl from moments ago was gone; the tigress had returned.

After stripping these poor fellows, tying them up, and stuffing them into a closet, Eve straightened her clothes. She pulled her hat down hard to cover her burning red hair as much as possible, then stuffed a few towels into her clothes to fill out her somewhat slender frame. If one wasn't close enough, no one would notice the difference.

Finally, she tucked the silver revolver into the holster at her waist. Everything was ready.

She strode out, but it was then that Eve realized she had been too optimistic. Even at night, the outside of the manor was filled with guards, as if they were protecting a queen. They wore domed iron helmets, and their long, straight rifles with bayonets pointed toward the night sky.

Suddenly, a melodious whistle sounded. A train slowly pulled into the station, and endless steam rose into the air.

The security was incredibly tight. It would be difficult for Eve to reach the train, and if she didn't leave tonight, even she didn't know when the next train would arrive.

Those demons could already see her; she had to find that damn detective.

Just as Eve was at her wit's end, she saw something. In Lorenzo's words, he called that thing a "passport to life."

Surrounded by dozens of long rifles, Eve carried a ladder and swaggered toward the train on the platform. Because her center of gravity was off, she wobbled as she walked, looking like a bloated penguin.

You might not understand the "ladder" meme. It originates from a comedy video called "Passport to Life," which suggests that as long as you are carrying a ladder, everyone will assume you are a staff member and you can enter or leave any place for free.