Keep the Music Playing, Keep Dancing

Isolde lowered her eyes to the Silver Core in her palm.

It was like a peeled moon, its cold white glow seeping through her fingers and drilling bit by bit into the dark red stitch-like mark on the inside of her wrist.

Then, the bone nail on her chest suddenly lit up, like tiny sparks sinking into her heart and repairing her wounds.

Red mist rose all around her as system notifications refreshed madly.

[Obtained Fallen Fragment: Corpse Throne (1/5). Effect: Unknown.]

[Divine Item: Silver Core fusion in progress...]

[Exclusive skill generation in progress...]

Two lines of scarlet text appeared before Isolde.

[You have obtained the exclusive skill: Strangulation.]

[Skill Type: Damage / Soul Affinity.]

[Skill Description: Consume 20 mana to summon Soul Threads, dealing 60 Soul Cutting damage to marked targets. If the target is in a state of fear, contamination, weakness, or betrayal, damage increases by 100%. If the target's health falls below 20%, triggers a "Strangulation" check.]

Isolde's brow twitched slightly.

Wasn't this an execute skill for low-health targets?

Before she could think any further, another notification popped up.

[You have obtained the exclusive skill: Blood Feast Substitute.]

[Skill Type: Defense / Rule.]

[Skill Description: Within the Castle's range, when the host suffers fatal damage, the damage may be transferred to a guest bearing the "Blood Feast Mark."]

The other three had clearly seen part of the system notifications as well.

Though they could not see the full skill descriptions, the words "BOSS exclusive skill generation in progress" were enough to scare them stiff.

The text before them continued refreshing:

[You have obtained the exclusive skill: Banquet Adjudication.]

[Skill Type: Defense / Rule.]

[Skill Description: Within the Castle's range, the master may begin a special dinner and forcibly draw guests bearing the "Banquet Mark" into the adjudication field.]

[All who enter the Banquet Hall are invited guests.]

A dull rumble sounded from deep within the Banquet Hall.

The crystal chandelier hanging overhead was swallowed by black fog. When it lit up again, its flames had turned a ghostly blue.

The silver candlesticks on both sides of the long table bent on their own. Candle wax flowed down the table's edge, solidifying into slender black vines.

The tiles beneath their feet cracked apart and reassembled, and even the scent in the air changed with them.

The three of them stared fixedly at Isolde in the distance.

The pale white dress on her body gradually darkened from the hem upward, as though night itself were soaking into the fabric.

Its once soft, thin skirt became magnificent, delicate lace blooming along its edges and glittering beneath the surrounding firelight.

Her waterfall-like black hair fell down her back, and a translucent black veil draped over her shoulders, making her look noble and elegant.

Her sleeves hung low as her nails gradually turned black, their edges gleaming coldly like freshly sharpened blades.

She stepped through the black blood and corpses covering the floor. As the hem of her black dress swept over the ground, the bloodstains retreated on their own.

The high-backed chair at the head of the table seemed to have been carved anew by some force. Its back rose higher, bone-like patterns grew along its edges, and thin silver threads wound around its armrests.

The woman they had just cursed as a "quest NPC" and a "plot tool" was now slowly sitting in the host's seat of the banquet, resting her chin on one hand as she watched them with amused interest.

"Then, this time, let me entertain you all."

Zheng Chuan looked at the BOSS name marked red by the system. His throat bobbed, and his voice came out hoarse.

"This has to be fake..."

No one answered him.

Because Luo Qi and Meng Yinyin looked equally awful.

Luo Qi still held his bow. He had originally planned to be the first to lunge for the Silver Core the moment it fell.

But now, his fingers were frozen on the bowstring, and his back was already soaked through.

Meng Yinyin lowered the staff she had raised and forced out an expression uglier than crying.

"Miss Isolde... We were driven into a corner just now, so we said things without thinking. Please don't take it to heart."

"Right." Zheng Chuan stiffly added, "It was all a misunderstanding."

Looking at the woman in black on the host's seat, he forced himself to continue.

"That pervert who didn't treat you like a person was killed by all of us together. Look, we contributed too, right? If we hadn't held him off, you wouldn't have gotten this..."

Isolde simply watched them in silence.

The more silent she was, the more panicked the three became.

Luo Qi was the first to crack under the silence. With a dry laugh, he poured the contents of his backpack out.

"These... I'll give them back to you."

As he spoke, he watched Isolde's expression.

"I never really planned to take them. My hands just got itchy earlier. You're the master of the Castle now, so surely you won't stoop to arguing with people like us, right?"

But Isolde remained seated in the host's chair, still showing no reaction.

Meng Yinyin bit her lip and took out the Undead Afterglow she had obtained, along with several bottles of potions.

"I can hand mine over too."

She looked up at Isolde, tears already swirling in her eyes.

"We really just wanted to survive. This world is too terrifying. We just got here and didn't understand anything, so all we could do was desperately seize every opportunity."

Her voice grew softer. "You should understand that feeling, right?"

Isolde finally smiled, but that reaction inexplicably sent a chill through Meng Yinyin's heart.

Looking at her, Isolde suddenly recalled the bowl of hot soup from her previous life.

Compared to the scene before her now, it felt absurdly ironic.

"Want to survive?"

Isolde repeated softly, and the three of them nodded frantically.

Leaning back in her chair, Isolde looked down at them.

"You can. But you have to keep this banquet going."

All three of their expressions froze at once.

Isolde raised a hand and lightly traced through the air. Dark red formation patterns suddenly spread across the floor.

The black blood all over the ground seemed drawn by something, flowing backward along the patterns beneath the long table.

The shattered silver plates returned to their places on their own. The overturned high-backed chairs rose one after another. Faceless Attendants emerged from the shadows, stiffly pulling out chairs for each guest and forcibly pressing them into their seats.

The Banquet Hall became clean and orderly once more, but its atmosphere was even more chilling than before.

[Banquet Adjudication has been activated.]

[Current number of guests: 3.]

[The master may establish one banquet rule.]

Notifications appeared before the three players at the same time.

[Warning: You have entered a special adjudication field.]

[Please abide by the banquet rules established by the Castle's master.]

Zheng Chuan's expression changed. He instinctively backed away, only to discover that the formation patterns beneath his feet had already sealed off his retreat.

"What kind of bullshit banquet is this?! I'm not taking part! Let me out now!"

Meng Yinyin barely forced out a smile. "Miss Isolde, we can give you everything. There's really no need to..."

"Why not?" Isolde interrupted her.

She lifted her eyes. Blood-red candlelight reflected in them, beautiful enough to steal one's breath, yet too frightening to look at for long.

"Just now, you said you only wanted to survive. Then I'm very curious—just how far are you willing to go to stay alive?"

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