NOVEL NEXT Ch. 86
Chapter 86: A 100% Safe Route?
No matter how tense Han Su felt inside, this black cat clearly did not care at all.
It didn’t even bother exchanging a glance with Han Su. It only let out an impatient meow, then swayed its fat behind and walked straight toward the staircase.
Han Su looked around in all directions and had no choice but to tiptoe and follow it.
“Monster, come on, let’s see if I’ll chop you or not…”
“Damn, you really came…”
When he arrived on the third floor, from a nearby room, he could hear the eerie yet cheerful laughter of the Half‑Body Woman and the brazen cursing of the Bandaged Little Boy, who was full of a fearless attitude. Han Su's heart tensed once again.
This guy never disappointed—still fighting…
But the black cat paid no attention, heading straight into a nearby storage room. It walked behind a cabinet, slipped in, and passed through a deeply hidden half-sized low door.
Han Su's heart stirred slightly. The route this cat took was one he had never noticed before—hidden passages or gaps.
This ancient castle was strange. Though it appeared clearly divided floor by floor, with staircases on both sides leading upward, Han Su had already discovered that bizarre and massive rooms often appeared within the castle.
For example, on the same floor, one room might be three meters high, while another hall could reach seven or eight meters.
There were even numerous eerie and strange rooms with odd designs—some housed machines whose functions were incomprehensible, while others displayed unknown objects like exhibitions. Walking through them felt like traversing a chaotic and indescribable nightmare.
Han Su's principle for escaping had always been to stay away from these strange things, only following logic he could understand to find a possible escape route.
But now, following this fat cat felt like a secret, unknown path was being fully revealed before him.
He saw countless bizarre parts of the ancient castle that seemed to exist beneath an orderly layout—rooms that theoretically shouldn’t exist based on spatial logic, and hidden passages that logically shouldn't have been constructed, yet somehow were.
Normally, even if he had discovered these passages, Han Su would never have dared to enter, lest he get trapped inside by a monster.
But this time, he had no choice but to follow behind the Black Cat Duke, trailing it through room after room of vast exhibition halls. There, he saw countless damaged machines, dim crystals, and a series of large, hollow paintings.
There were instruments of torture laid out on tables, stained with blood from unknown owners.
Chunks resembling clay casually discarded—human body parts. Han Su examined them closely and felt they looked strikingly similar to the Impostors he had seen during the assessment at the Disaster Management Bureau.
‘Are these part of Grotesque Fragments?’
Even amid this tense escape, Han Su felt a chill: ‘Why are there so many Grotesque Fragments related to reality in this ancient castle?’
The questions in his heart swelled uncontrollably during this brief tour.
If the surface of this ancient castle merely appeared sinister and mysterious, then these hidden corners and spaces held endless cruelty.
What a pity—his only companion was a cat. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even know how many questions he wanted to ask…
Yet just as the initial horror started to slowly fade from his mind, Han Su suddenly realized a crucial point:
“This path the cat is taking me on… it's extremely important…”
“…”
Too many hidden corners—without the cat guiding him, even revisiting this place ten more times, he wouldn’t have found them.
Moreover, these passages seemed to be part of the castle itself, unlike the previously damaged areas he had used. Theoretically, these places shouldn’t be repaired by the mysterious will.
Every time he tried to escape the castle, there was always a risk involved, because the places he could use were things like staircases and exterior pipes—always unable to evade the monsters and often forced into direct confrontation.
“With so many hidden passages, if I can understand all their locations and functions, and combine that with the Invisibility Spell I’ve mastered, then next time…”
“Could I bring a child out without taking any risks?”
“…”
He couldn’t help feeling a rush of excitement at this thought.
He even instinctively began matching his knowledge of the castle in his mind, piecing together and connecting it into several possible escape plans.
A few of those plans, at the very moment they were formed, stirred an impulse in him to test them…
He had always felt that being in this castle was like a child playing hide-and-seek with an adult.
In this game, space was key.
Yet the mysterious will of the castle had destroyed his advantage—until the cat’s appearance seemed to restore it.
With a feeling almost like astral travel, Han Su followed the cat through all sorts of hidden corners in the castle. Occasionally, he could faintly hear sounds of madness drifting over.
There were faint giggling and chattering—that was the Doll Girl on the fourth floor bullying Li Manman.
There was the sound of an old phonograph—that was the Pale Giant listening to records.
There were faint, frenzied curses—that was the Bandaged Little Boy getting caught.
Han Su didn’t know how many heart-pounding moments he had experienced—he had gradually grown numb. Instead, he found the composed and lazy cat increasingly familiar, with an inexplicable strangeness:
“Have I raised it before?”
“Probably, right? The more I look at this fat thing, the more familiar it seems. But why don’t I have any memory of it?”
“…”
Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
He quickly halted and turned his head. He was currently within what looked like a secret passage between the walls, with some holes ahead leaking faint light.
Holding his breath, he looked out through the hole and saw a thin, upright figure.
It was the Withered Butler who had just returned to the castle. At the moment, he was speaking toward the front.
The layout of that room was familiar to Han Su. Looking closely, he realized it was the same room where he had found the Brass Key during his previous escape.
The Withered Butler was facing the Bronze Coffin that had left him with the Cross-shaped Scar and said with a smile, “The Mechanical Fragment you’re concerned about—I’ve fetched it myself. It wasn’t convenient to bring it back here, so I left it at the Lilac Courtyard.”
“When your divine power descends upon reality, that Mechanical Fragment will naturally reveal itself.”
“…”
After he spoke, he paused and listened. A strange sound echoed in the air, like metal scraping.
The Withered Butler replied with a smile, “You need not doubt the sincerity of the Great Emperor.”
“The traitor’s lies will eventually fade. There will always be wise ones who hear the true voice within history. When the time comes to rule the world, believers will already be kneeling across the steps.”
“…”
Hearing these words, Han Su suddenly shivered inside, overcome by a strange feeling.
He knew the Withered Butler would leave the castle the first night—but never the reason. So, he had gone to fetch some Mechanical Fragment?
Mechanical Fragment, Mechanical Fragment…
The more he thought, the more confused he became—until suddenly, a jolt hit his mind. He remembered the news from the Black Rose: the Mechanical Fragment exhibited in the Central City’s Science Museum was stolen the same day as the kidnapping case.
Could it be… that the instigator of that theft was none other than this Withered Butler from the castle?
A possibility he had never considered suddenly appeared before him. Han Su found it difficult to connect all these pieces together.
But he instantly realized the importance of this information and committed the name “Lilac Courtyard” to memory.
Amidst his shock and doubt, he couldn’t hear what the Bronze Coffin said. The Withered Butler laughed proudly: “Seven days from now is the Night of the Descent of the Gods. This is the Great Emperor’s promise.”
“All you need to do is patiently wait for these seven days and select the right person.”
“…”
‘Night of the Descent of the Gods?’
That strange phrase once again pulled Han Su from his doubts.
It was his first time hearing those words, but he knew that ever since the first day the children were kidnapped, there had been the Night of Tears, the Night of Deathly Silence, the Night of Pleasure, and the Night of Transformation—each day marked a shift in the monsters’ attitude toward the children.
The Night of Tears was indulgence—letting the children’s fear spread, their cries bloom.
The Night of Deathly Silence was despair.
The Night of Pleasure was a welcoming feast thrown by the monsters for the children, who, after being imprisoned for three days, would gather again to enjoy rare delicacies.
And the Night of Transformation… that was when the true nightmare began…
Beyond that, Han Su knew nothing. His latest escape was after the Night of Transformation and before the fifth night. So, he didn’t know what the children faced afterward.
As for the Night of the Descent of the Gods—he understood even less, not even able to imagine anything from just those four words.
“As for the request you raised…”
While Han Su was thinking rapidly, the Withered Butler paused slightly, ending his proud speech with a sigh, “There’s no time to search anymore. If you’re not satisfied with this one, then this is the most suitable one we have.”
As he spoke, he gently patted the shoulder of a Little Boy beside him and pushed him forward.
The boy, timid and shrinking next to the butler, even showed a flattering smile out of instinct—though it looked more pitiful than crying.
The Withered Butler gazed at him with some appreciation, even reaching out to brush dust off his shoulder. Smiling, he said, “This child’s compatibility might not be the highest, but as a servant, he should suffice.”
Han Su was slightly stunned as he watched.
He hadn’t noticed earlier that there was a child hiding beside the Withered Butler. Looking closely now—it was the child of Secretary No. 2, still bearing the footprint left by Han Su’s own kick.