Chapter 47 – The Day Of The Violet Full Moon (2)

Crackling, the weak campfire, with its burning firewood, struggled to push back the darkness, and I was the only one around. I surveyed the campsite. …This is our campsite, right? Where did everyone go? It felt like I blinked, and they vanished in that short moment?

“Diana! Irian! Karsilla!”

I stood up and called out, but my hollow cries seemed to be swallowed by the dark mountains, and no response came back. Seriously, what is this? Did I fall asleep with my eyes open?

I circled the campsite, even peeking into the small tents, but there was really no one there. …What’s going on?

Looking up at the sky, a bright full moon was shining brightly. But the color of the full moon was strange. Watching the moon cast a violet hue made me feel dazed. I haven’t even had a drink, did the moonlight get me drunk?

I sat down and stared blankly at the moon for a while, but no one appeared. Even though it was in the mountains, it was so quiet that it felt out of place. It was a strange, unsettling feeling, as if I were the only living thing in this vast mountain. Why can’t I hear any insects or birds?

‘How can it be this quiet in the mountains?’

Only then did I realize something was wrong, and I cautiously grabbed my weapon. …How could I only realize this now? Was I really asleep? Or is my head just foggy from exhaustion?

I stood up and moved my body lightly. My physical condition was fine. Not bad.
I should look around instead. Waiting here like this only makes me feel more uneasy with this strange atmosphere. If I move around, I might find some clues.

I left the campsite and wandered through the mountains. I made small marks on the trees I passed so I wouldn’t get lost, and even then, I was careful not to go too far, feeling uneasy. As expected of a mountain untouched by human hands, it was overgrown with trees and grass.

‘There are no bugs.’

How can there be no bugs in such a lush mountain? This is definitely strange. Realizing that this was not a normal situation, I turned around to go back to the campsite, and that’s when I found a small path.

…Was there a path here?
I couldn’t remember. I hadn’t properly looked around when I was rushing to find the campsite in the first place, and besides, Irian was the one who patrolled the area while we were busy preparing the campsite, so the surroundings felt even more unfamiliar.

But there was still something strange. I was sure I had carefully looked around as I came, so how could I have missed such an obvious trace? I bent down slightly and examined it, and there were patches of grass that had been pressed down.

‘The grass is pressed down. Footprints…?’

When I placed my foot next to it, the pressed marks were smaller. Judging by the different sizes, it seemed like quite a few people had passed by… But why are they all pressed down in one direction? There were only traces of people walking from this side, and no traces of anyone coming from the opposite direction.

‘If they’re this size, they’re women’s feet. One is particularly small, either because they’re small or young. Could they be the footprints of Diana, Irian, and Karsilla?’

If I hadn’t known, I might have pondered it, but now that I thought they might be the footprints of the three of them, I couldn’t ignore it. If this was intentional, then the person is quite clever. Damn it.

Let’s think positively. Considering that I haven’t found any clues so far, it’s not like I have any other options if I don’t follow these traces. I might as well consider this the only clue I’ve found in this frustrating situation. Since I’m just following the traces, at least I don’t have to worry about getting lost.

As I followed the traces, the sound of the grass crunching under my feet was unusually loud.
No bugs, no birds, no animals… not even the wind in this silent space. The only sounds were my breathing, the sound of my feet on the grass, and the rustling of my clothes. All I could see was the endless, dense forest stretching out to the left and right, and the faint traces barely visible in front of me. It was an unsettling space.

I guess it’s a relief that it’s not dark thanks to the bright full moon. Looking up at the sky again, only one huge full moon was shining eerily. I wanted to keep looking at it, but at the same time, I felt uneasy about the violet full moon, so I tried to ignore it and kept walking.

I walked and walked, and walked for a long time, but there was nothing. The faint traces continued, and the lush bushes on either side still blocked my view.

How long have I been walking? How much time has passed?
In this strange silence, with the same scenery, my sense of time gradually dulled.

“Shit. What is this? Did I really get possessed by a ghost or something?”

Come to think of it, I was telling the kids scary stories, adapting ghost stories and horror movie plots I had heard in the past. Thinking about that suddenly made my spine tingle. Could a real ghost appear?

‘……Ah, shit. I’m really scared of ghosts.’

In this fantasy world where divine power exists, I’m a priest with the ‘Saint’ trait, but I’m still scared of ghosts. No, rather, it’s even more chilling that ghosts could appear in this world where all sorts of supernatural powers exist. What if one really appears?

I’d rather face zombies or ghouls, or even the trendy running corpses. At least those are based on physical bodies, so I can hit them or run away.

But how am I supposed to deal with ghosts that can pass through walls, appear and disappear at will, and jump out of nowhere? It’s really disgusting. It’s really scary. Just imagining it makes my knees tremble.

‘Please don’t appear. It’s not a ghost, right?’

I was about to wipe my sweaty palms on my clothes when I realized I was holding a dagger.
‘Frostfire Dagger’
As a unique item, it boasts excellent options… Maybe I can cut a ghost with this?

I took out the Frostfire Dagger, and with a sharp sound, the blue blade appeared. Seeing the blade emitting a pale light under the moonlight, I felt like I could cut a ghost in one blow… but that’s bullshit. If I’m at the point of slashing at a ghost, my mind will already be gone.

“Hallelujah. Amen. Namu Amita Buddha, Maha Prajna Paramita. Allahu Akbar.”

I tried to recall all the religions I knew. As an atheist, I don’t really know anything. I mumbled the prayers I had heard, wondering if I was doing it right, but it was better than nothing, right? At least it was comforting.

I walked for a long time again.
Thanks to the power of the three great religions that divide the modern world, the same endless scenery finally disappeared, and a different landscape unfolded.

‘What is this? A mansion in the middle of the mountains?’

And it’s huge, and it’s also incredibly old.
……I have a bad feeling about this.

Night in the mountains. My companions suddenly disappeared. In the sky, only an ominous violet full moon hung alone, and despite being in the mountains, there was an unusual silence and the same repeating scenery. And after wandering and wandering, I came across a large, old mansion.

……This is some B-grade horror movie shit. This kind of outdated cliché doesn’t work. It shouldn’t work… but experiencing it myself is really scary.

I hesitated in front of the old gate for a long time. I was too scared to go in, but just standing still was frustrating. I paced back and forth, looking over the mansion beyond the low wall.

It was a typical wooden building made in the common style of this game world. It had the classic look of a European-style wooden house, which was quite familiar to me. I glanced at the large windows that were closely packed together, and something moved.

“……What is it? What the hell is that?”

I don’t want to go in any further. Let’s retreat strategically here.
I quickly turned around and went back the way I came. My companions aren’t idiots, there’s no way they would go into a place like that, right? It looks suspicious as hell, if they went in there willingly, they’d be morons.

I walked back the way I came at a fast pace for a long time. I wondered if they might be waiting for me at the campsite, and I walked with that hope, but I arrived. In front of the mansion.

No, you’ve got to be kidding me. I kept walking the way I came, but I’m back here again? Did I take a wrong turn in the middle? No, it was a straight path.

“I’m going crazy.”

I turned around and ran. The ‘Undying Archduke’ debuff made me a little slower, but the item I got this time more than made up for it, so I sprinted like Usain Bolt for a long time. I was panting heavily, and I thought I had finally escaped, but I was in front of the mansion again.

Are you kidding me? If you were going to do this, you should have appeared before I got out of breath. It’s not even a dog training exercise, I stop because I’m tired, and then you appear.

At this point, the intention is so obvious that I can’t not know. You want to drag me into the mansion that badly? Fine, I’ll go in.

I kicked open the old iron gate that I had been hesitating in front of and stepped in confidently. I passed through the neglected garden and even past the window where I had seen something moving. I was worried that something might pop out, but the only thing moving was me.

I stood in front of the tightly closed front door of the mansion and gently pushed the old wooden door. With a creaking, chilling sound, the door opened. Yeah, it wouldn’t be right if the door didn’t make a sound at a time like this. I didn’t want to hear it, so I pushed it open and stepped inside, and a cold air brushed against my face.

It was a cheap haunted house effect from an amusement park, but experiencing it myself made my spine tingle. Clichés are clichés for a reason. It works very well.

Looking around from the entrance of the mansion, there was a staircase leading to the second floor in front of me, and on either side, countless rooms stretched out endlessly.

‘Is this also a subspace? It’s big, but there can’t be this many rooms.’

I was uneasy, but I approached the place where I had seen movement beyond the window to check it out. It wasn’t far from the entrance, so I arrived quickly and looked around, but there was nothing special. What did I see? Did I see it wrong?

I stood by the window and looked back at where I had been, and I felt something brush against my back. I quickly turned around, and in the air, there was something… a rope?

A rope was swaying from side to side in front of me. I grabbed it and pulled, but it only became taut, as if it was tied to something. But the shape of the rope was like… for suicide.

‘Is this the part that goes around the neck?’

It even had a loop-shaped knot, so it was perfect. It definitely wasn’t there a moment ago. At least not in plain sight. They must have been waiting for me to turn around.

“Stop with the childish tricks and come out.”

I spoke nonchalantly, pretending not to be scared, but my words only echoed inside the mansion, and there was no response.
Who the hell is it? I slammed open the door right in front of me, but it was an empty room. The door next to it, the next door, and the next door… I kept opening them, but they all had the same scenery. Small, empty rooms that were so desolate that they looked like they had been stamped out.

I had opened at least dozens of doors, but there were still so many rooms that I couldn’t see the end, so it wasn’t going to work to open them one by one.

It would be better to go up to the second floor than to keep checking the same rooms, so I headed for the stairs. I was even starting to wish something would appear. Who the hell is it?

I started to climb the stairs to the second floor… but it was endless. It was clearly a staircase leading to the second floor, but when I climbed, I would return to the same spot. I walked, I ran, I even skipped steps and climbed the wall, but when I came to my senses, I was back on the first floor.

I hate these loop things. Let’s think. In the game, has there ever been an event like this? Or is there someone with the ability to do this… Wait a minute.

I might not know, but even the sensitive Diana was fooled? And Irian is even more sensitive.
I was wrong from the start.

They didn’t disappear. I should have been suspicious from the moment my companions disappeared in front of my eyes. It was all a misunderstanding.

“Stop it now, will you?”

There were many clues, but I was just too stupid to realize them.
I should have remembered when I saw the violet full moon.

“It’s a boring dream. Lilith.”