Volume 11 - CH 5

Chapter 5: The Fifth Floor

Location: Atlantis  Time: 10:21 AM

I need to take a deep breath.

Inhale, then exhale.

The next thing I need to do is to return to my room, sleep, and forget everything in reality. After I wake up, the world will become beautiful, and there will be no suffering at all.

“Chu Ming Yang, you actually found it.” Looking up at the hole in the ceiling, Liliya said, dumbfounded.

I followed and raised my head.

A large hole appeared in the ceiling. It wasn’t the kind of broken pit caused by bad construction, but a strange deep round hole that went up, as if someone deliberately dug it out.

What wasn’t so normal about it was the rope ladder inside the hole that seemed to lead upward. That passage was very narrow, barely big enough for a person to pass through. Simply put, it kind of felt like a chimney. The entire top was dark, making it completely impossible to tell where the rope ladder leads to.

“Go up and look.” Liliya kicked off with her foot, and directly flipped herself up with a swish. Grabbing the rope ladder with one hand, she silently slipped up like a cat.

…Then what should I do?

“Hey! I can’t climb up.” It’s impossible for me to just jump up there!

“Jump up!” From above came the sort of answer as if that was the only natural thing to do.

If I could jump up, why would I still have to call you!?

“I’ll lend you this.” A high chair was passed over from the side.

“Oh, thank you.” I took that very tall chair, feeling touched as I climbed up.

Wait a minute…Who just gave me that chair?

As soon as I turned my head, I saw that human model, who was on the ceiling just now, holding an electric lamp and standing beside me.

…Illusion…It’s all an illusion.

I know it’s impossible for the human model to have come down from the ceiling. It absolutely does not have the ability to move on its own; otherwise, you think I locked that other one in the bathroom for fun?

So everything that appeared before my eyes is an illusion. As long as I look again, it definitely won’t be in that place.

I shut my eyes hard, then opened my eyes. Sure enough, that human model was no longer beside me.

It was now embedded in the door, holding a chandelier in its hand.

…It should have been there from the start, right?

I immediately put the chair securely, got on it, grabbed the ceiling and climbed up, “Liliya, wait for me!” I wouldn’t want to be in the same place as the human model even if you beat me!

Did Senior forget to tell me that the human model in my room can move?

Then that human model in the bathroom…I don’t dare to continue thinking; thinking more would only make me more afraid.

The rope ladder was very short. It didn’t take long before I climbed to the end. At the top was a black empty space and Liliya stopped at the interval, “What are you being so noisy for?” She glared at me, and with a snap of her fingers, the surroundings brightened slightly.

Another Light Shadow Village enthusiast.

What appeared before us was a retracted staircase. It looks like it should be a mechanical stairs. Maybe there was a button in that room just now that would’ve let it down if we pressed it. But because we forcefully broke through, that staircase folded itself up. The tiers upon tiers of steps blocked the way ahead, leaving only slight subtle gaps.

I really wanted to tell her that since there’s no way ahead, let’s just stop here…

“Looks like we’ll have to climb over it.” The very proactive Liliya did just as she said; as soon as she put away the compass in her hand, she climbed through the gaps in the stairs.

I swallowed, and could only follow  her up.

To be honest, I keep having a very bad feeling about this, as if we’re about to reach somewhere we shouldn’t.

I really do have a strong premonition; there’s definitely something up there.

The whole mechanical ladder wasn’t that easy to climb over in fact, because the spaces were very small; there were several times when we almost got stuck or tore our clothes, but fortunately, the gaps were still big enough for one person to barely pass through. There wasn’t the legendary becoming smaller and smaller, or else it would’ve been hilarious if we got stuck halfway.

After climbing over the stairs, what appeared in front of us was another path leading up, like the chimney pipe from just now, with a rope ladder. There was dust everywhere. After we finished climbing, both of us were dusty and dirty. It could be seen that this place really hasn’t been discovered for a long time; even the others haven’t come up here before.

Watching Liliya continue to climb, I could only follow behind her.

The chimney pipe was filled with dust and cobwebs. I was suddenly glad that I was the second person climbing; the person in front of me definitely has it even worse than me. All the dirty stuff are rubbed off by her first.

A couple of minutes later, Liliya stopped. A knocking sound was echoing from above, “Looks like we’re already here.” She said, knocking the top several times, “This is the door.”

Saying that, she immediately pushed up hard, and a bang abruptly sounded. The entire top board was flipped over by her, and dust fell on my head. Then Liliya jumped up, standing right above me.

I also climbed up behind her, then stopped after I saw the scene in front of me.

It was a huge attic. Just like the space downstairs, this attic’s floor space should be pretty big too. What appeared before us two was a large derelict area. All around were pillars and compartments, but I don’t know what happened in the past for the paint on the compartments to have already fallen off and a majority of them ruined; the pillars were also badly damaged. Completely different from downstairs, it was a desolate scene.

There were dust and rock fragments from collapsed compartments all over the floor.

Senior and the others really don’t know about this place?

For some reason, in that moment, this doubt appeared in my mind. I keep feeling that there was something strange about it, but I couldn’t say where. This place seems…

“That’s strange, why would there be this sort of thing here?” Liliya’s voice made me come to my senses.

Taking a closer look, that missy had walked to the end of the attic at some point, and was now intently staring at the wall at the end.

“What thing?” I looked at the path we took to get here; it was dark and a little creepy. If you told me to climb down now, I wouldn’t dare to do it. I could only follow her gaze over to see what the strange thing was.

The wall at the end had a thick layer of dust, and more than half of it had been wiped away by Liliya to reveal an ancient array.

At the same time that I saw that array, I suddenly froze.

I know what this is.

In that instant, many things raced through my mind, as if something unknown had invaded my mind.

A booming noise immediately isolated me from the quietness outside.

“This is our world.”

A man said, with his back facing the light. In the middle was a black shadow, its outline drawn at the side. I couldn’t make out his actual appearance at all, “Time Clan, Elf Clan, Fairy Clan, Neptune Clan, Beastmaster Clan…No matter which clan, they are not our opponent.”

That man was laughing, his voice sharp like it was cutting into my nerves, making my whole head hurt as if it was going to burst.

“This is the passage I set up, to let my clan come and go as they please, to let them spread to every corner of the world, until not a single clan can evade us. We want to kill, to use a bloodbath to open our…clan’s world.”

Don’t say it, don’t say it anymore!

My head hurts; it hurts so much that I want to scream. That man’s voice was like knives as it continued to scratch and cut. My head hurts as if it was going to split open, and my mind was completely blank. All I could see were the shadows of those people.

Just as my consciousness almost turned fuzzy, I saw someone crouching down in front of me. The shadow seems to be a woman. Her golden-red eyes curved into an icy smile, “The time to declare war has come, what do you say?”

She seemed to be talking to me. But I know very well that she’s not talking to me. She’s talking to this strange guy in my memories. Her golden-red eyes passed through me and looked at someone else.

“We want to borrow your power; you and us are generally banished to the eternal darkness. What do you say?” She reached out a hand. Her sharp nails drew past my face, and the icy-cold made me recoil, “The third prince of the Ice Fang Clan is your friend. When you encounter him after the war begins, what do you say?”

“I’ll curse him.”

A voice rang out beside me, but I didn’t say it, “There are no friends in war…If he blocks our path, I will curse him. With my desire as my spirit, I will let him disappear in front of us, using his bloodbath to open our world. So I will curse him, if he wants to hinder us.”

The woman laughed, “Very good…Hahahaha…Very good, you just keep your eyes on this war.”

Then that woman’s face distorted, and the surroundings suddenly turned black. Everyone disappeared.

In just a blink of an eye, another voice drifted over.

This time it seemed to have come from above. Softly, unlike the voice just now. It was low, as if the person was chanting something.

I couldn’t see who it is.

There was a hand in the dark that gently covered my forehead. It was cold, and yet reassuring.

“Sleep, sleep peacefully. No one will come here to disturb you guys. Whether it’s an evil spirit or a kind spirit, they will all return to the Lord God’s side. Then you will be able to sleep at ease, without having to worry about all the changes anymore.”

A bit of cold drew across my face, like drops of water dripping from above.

Who’s crying?

“My beloved friend, may you willingly accept the Elven prayers to accompany you back to God.”

I slowly opened my eyes and saw silvery hair falling on my face. Silver eyes gazed at me from high above. The surroundings glowed faintly and yet was gloomy enough to almost be tragic. I saw that face…

He is…

“Chu Ming Yang!”

A shrill voice suddenly cut through all the scenery.

I abruptly came to, only to see Liliya’s face appear in front of me. All the sounds and images from just now had already disappeared. Even my head had stopped hurting too, “Aih, aih? Did something happen?” Stunned as I looked at Liliya in front of me, I asked reflexively.

“You fell asleep standing up just now!” Liliya pointed at me and said in an incredulous tone, “You actually fell asleep standing; I called you several times and you only woke up now!”

“I fell asleep standing up?”

The hell, why did I fall asleep standing up for no reason?

Liliya narrowed her eyes, moving closer in front of me and looking me up and down, causing me to step back on reflex, “What, what are you doing?”

She stood back, folding her arms as she snorted, “Nothing, it’s the first time I saw someone falling asleep standing up and I thought it was funny.”

I don’t think it’s funny at all.

What were those fragmented images just now?

And that last person I saw, silver hair, silver eyes, and his face…

…

What did he look like again?

I obviously saw it so clearly a moment ago, but now I suddenly can’t remember it anymore.

That person, what did he look like?

“What kind of array is this?”

Liliya’s voice once again made me come to my senses. She was standing in front of the wall carefully looking at the large array that almost took up the whole wall, “That’s weird, how come I can’t tell what kind of array this is?”

Following her question, I also looked at that array. This time I didn’t get any strange images. The ancient array that appeared before me was entirely crimson-red. Because of how old it was, the color was a little dull, but the whole array was almost completely preserved and there was nothing missing at all.

For some reason, I feel like I should know this.

I’ve seen it before.

Unfamiliar, but also very familiar.

Why?

That memory shouldn’t be a memory that I should have, so whose is it?

I keep feeling like those weird memories seemed to have increased after arriving at this school. Sometimes they’re strange dreams, and sometimes they’re weird memories; and yet I can’t explain why I have them.

“Nine-Door Shield.” Liliya’s compass appeared on her hand. It looks like she probably put it away temporarily just now and didn’t turn it back into an illusionary soybean, since she didn’t even go through the summoning procedure, “Search the array’s elemental composition.” She stuck the compass on the array, and that slightly strange compass glowed faintly. Then it quickly rotated.

Looking at her actions, I suddenly suspected that Liliya might not be a robe level that specializes in combat like Senior and the others. Her Illusionary Weapon really doesn’t look like a weapon and instead looks like an auxiliary tool.

Ten seconds or so later, the compass stopped. Liliya took the object back and looked at the indication on it, “…What is this?” She cried out.

“What’s wrong?” I hurriedly moved closer to see. The compass had illegible words all over it. I looked at it without understanding any of it.

“This array wasn’t made using the elements.” Liliya withdrew her compass. It was only then that I saw that a black burn-like scar had appeared on her palm, “This is a cursed door.” She blew on her wound, giving the feeling that it was very painful.

Looking at that crimson array pattern, the more I looked, the more unsettled I felt.

Something is definitely going to happen.

A voice that felt something was very wrong shouted this in my heart, shouting until even my scalp grew numb, “Let’s stop looking and get down quickly, or else Senior and the others might get upset if they find out.” Hastily pulling Liliya’s hand, I felt that it was best not to continue staying here. This place is really weird.

Probably also sensing that something wasn’t right, Liliya nodded. It was rare for her to not resist at all as she let me pull her along.

Just as I took a step, the entire attic floor suddenly shook. All the rock fragments and dust on the ground jumped up and down, and the tremors became more and more intense.

Liliya and I simultaneously turned our heads. That crimson ancient array actually began to glow slightly.

It’s the foreshadowing of the array’s activation.

This is wrong. This is really wrong.

Something’s going to happen!

“Chu Ming Yang! Hurry up and run!” Liliya pushed me, summoning her compass with a flip of her hand, “Nine-Door Shield, Sealing Demon Technique!” She bit her finger, and a drop of blood fell on the compass. Half a second later, the compass suddenly emitted a strong beam of light that shot toward the array on the wall. The strong light drew out another array.

Should I run?

Liliya’s back looks so small.

The glowing array only lasted ten or so seconds. At the same time the crimson array started to rotate, that light array was like glass as it let out a weak sorrowful cry and shattered into a hundred pieces.

A pair of grayish-white eyes opened in the middle of the crimson array.

I recognized that pair of eyes. Once, I was too powerless to resist it, and up till today, I still felt some fear toward this.

[The one who signed a contract with me, allow the attacker to witness your valor.] The sound of water drops falling on the ground. I tightly held Minas and without any hesitation, I fired straight at the center of the crimson array.

The first grayish-white-eyed evil spirit to leap out had its head blasted by that shot. Greenish white sludge splashed everywhere, and a disgusting weird smell immediately drifted up, “Liliya, run!” I grabbed Liliya’s hand, and directly ran toward the passage.

The tremors in the ground became increasingly strong. Many rock fragments bounced off our feet and knees. In our rush, we were hit several times, causing slight stinging.

From behind came the sound of even more feet dragging on the ground.

Liliya seemed to have been scared by the scene behind us. Her whole face was pale, “Impossible, impossible…Why would there be evil spirits…”

“Let’s get out of here first!” Once we reached the passage entrance, I kicked off the lid that had been placed back at some point, wanting to return to the fourth floor before doing anything else.

As soon as the lid opened, both of us froze.

Weird white things had started growing all over the inside of that narrow passage, slowly about to clog up the passage like sponge.

I turned my head and saw that those grayish-white evil spirits had begun increasing as they closed in on us.

What do I do? At this time what am I supposed to do?

”Fire attack!” With her compass facing down, Liliya shouted. A flame immediately sprang out from the compass and spurted directly down into the passage. Many of the white cotton was burned along the way, just barely clearing away the path, “Hurry! It’s growing again!” She screamed.

I saw those weird white things slowly reappearing inside the passage. Not caring whether Liliya would resist or not, I pushed her right into the passage, “Go down quickly!” I once again fired a couple of shots at the evil spirits about to surround us. Once I made them retreat a good distance away, I immediately went down before the passage clogged.

The passage became completely blocked a few seconds after I climbed down,

I saw a corpse-white bloated hand penetrating the middle of the white cotton. The grayish-white fingernails almost hit my eyes, giving me a huge scare. That hand groped around for a while before withdrawing. Then the whole passage started filling up again.

“They’re also below!” Liliya’s horrified voice came. It wasn’t just the passage’s entrance, but the entire passage had those white cotton constantly appearing in it. The path down was starting to become difficult too.

“Hurry up and run down! Just ignore it!” I was very nervous. I was really nervous. I was afraid those evil spirits would also climb down.

Senior and the others are all still resting. If they get attacked, what am I supposed to do!?

I regret following Liliya to find that damn passage up.

Reaching the middle layer, that mechanical staircase was also stuffed with the white cotton. By relying on Liliya’s compass, we managed to climb over the mechanical stairs again with difficulty, and headed down after similarly clearing away the passage. Then the two of us fell down from the ceiling and landed in the room on the fourth floor.

“Just what the hell are those things!?” Watching as the passage in the ceiling got stuffed with the white cotton, Liliya was still horrified as she looked at me.

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know either!” She was even more scared than me. As if she had come into contact with some kind of terrifying taboo, she was  trembling nonstop and her face was pale, “Hurry, we can’t stay here!” I don’t know if it was because I saw too many scary things when I went on missions with Senior and the others, but instead, I wasn’t as frightened as she was. The only thought in my mind was to quickly seal off this place.

At the same time that I pulled her up and was about to get out of the room, the whole ceiling was filled with huge strange noises, and there was a sound of things moving around everywhere.

Then, there was the sound of something coming down with difficulty.

I exchanged glances with Liliya. There was a chill in our hearts. We both knew what had followed us down.

The first face to squeeze through appeared in the ceiling’s passage ten or so seconds later.

The white cotton was still growing nonstop. The evil spirit that forcefully squeezed down from above had its head and skull crushed open. Half of its brain was dripping down, falling on the dirty floor.

That pair of grayish-white eyes was laughing.

I heard Liliya gasp.

Then, two right hands sprang out beside that head—it wasn’t just one evil spirit that came down!

“Lil, Liliya, hurry and get help!” I gulped hard. It’s nothing, this really is nothing; I’m not afraid at all. No matter how scary those evil spirits are, they can’t be any scarier than Senior and the face-changing person; it’s really nothing, I won’t be afraid!

Psychological hypnosis, psychological hypnosis, right now I need to hurry up and hypnotize myself; that way, I won’t be afraid anymore.

“Al, alright…Don’t let anything happen to you. I’ll be right back!” Clearly very frightened, Liliya tried hard to calm herself, then nodded and put her compass in my hand, “Nine-Door Shield will protect you. You must not let anything happen to you.”

The compass emitted a silver glow, and an array immediately appeared on the ground.

“Don’t worry, I, I won’t be afraid.” Forcefully pushing Liliya out of the room, I instantly closed the door and locked it.

I promised Yado already; I definitely won’t run away again.

Firing two shots at the ceiling, those hands and head all fell off. A disgusting smell immediately filled the area, causing me to feel slightly faint.

Liliya’s compass was continuously glowing. As soon as the head fell and was about to touch the ground, it was caught by the light array and turned to ash.

The white cotton suddenly bulged, as if there was something constantly pushing them inside.

I heard the noise in the ceiling becoming louder and louder. It was complete turmoil above the ceiling, as if they wanted to break through the ceiling.

Minas was trembling.

Looking at the silver gun, I found out that I was actually the one trembling.

I’m afraid; I’m really afraid.

In just a few seconds, another head squeezed through the white cotton and slowly turned around. Its grayish-white eyes looked at me, and he revealed a grin: “Found you!”

For a moment, I thought I would stop breathing.

Inside the white cotton, that head’s body slowly dug himself out, then landed outside of the light array, grinning at me.

I heard the sound of the ceiling about to crack.

At the same time, the French window facing me suddenly issued a huge noise, and the entire window shattered.

A beast-clawlike hand swiftly grabbed the evil spirit’s head, and without giving him the chance to turn his head, the beast claw tightened. The evil spirit didn’t even get to scream before his head was abruptly crushed in front of me, his brains spraying everywhere like a watermelon. Then he fell on the ground.

Standing in front of me wasn’t the five-colored rooster, but rather someone else—

“Nile!”