Chapter 63: The Chained Woman

After resting for a while, the group decided to continue exploring the eerie house. The wooden stairs creaked under their weight as they ascended to the second floor, lanterns in hand, casting dim flickering shadows on the peeling walls.

"I swear, if we run into something creepy again, I'm throwing Heizou in front of it," Furina muttered, gripping her lantern tightly.

"Hey! Why me?!" Heizou huffed.

"Because you keep saying there’s ‘nothing to be scared of,’ yet you scream the loudest," Furina shot back.

Aether sighed. "Can we just focus? This place is already unsettling enough."

The hallway was lined with old portraits, their faded eyes seeming to follow them. The air was thick with dust, and the faint scent of something rotting lingered.

As they turned the corner, Furina suddenly stiffened.

"Do you hear that…?" she whispered.

Aether and Heizou froze.

A faint rattling sound echoed from the end of the hallway. Like metal scraping against wood.

Then…

A quiet, distorted sob.

The three turned their lanterns forward—

And there, at the end of the dim corridor, stood a woman in a white dress.

Her long, disheveled black hair draped over her face, her head tilting slightly as if listening to them.

But what froze them in place was her mouth.

It was bound shut with chains, blood staining the metal links. Her entire body seemed to twitch unnaturally, as if she was struggling against an unseen force.

"Oh… hell no…" Heizou breathed.

The woman let out a strangled gurgling sound—

And then she lunged.

"RUN!" Aether shouted.

The three barely had time to react before she charged forward, her movements unnatural, her feet barely touching the ground as she sped toward them.

Furina let out a shriek, shoving Heizou forward as they bolted down the hallway.

"WHY IS SHE SO FAST?!" Heizou yelled.

"DOES IT MATTER?! MOVE!" Aether barked, grabbing Furina’s wrist and dragging her forward.

The woman’s chains rattled violently, her bloody fingers reaching for them.

Just as Heizou yanked open a nearby door—

The woman slammed into it.

The impact sent them stumbling inside, crashing onto the wooden floor. The door shuddered violently as the entity outside clawed at it, her muffled shrieks sending chills down their spines.

Furina was panting, clutching her chest. "I—I think I almost had a heart attack—"

Aether quickly pressed his ear against the door, listening. The rattling chains slowly faded…

Then—

Silence.

"Did… did we lose her?" Heizou whispered.

Nobody dared to move.

And then—

SLAM.

A bloody handprint appeared on the door.

The three stiffened.

The woman’s distorted breathing echoed through the crack in the door—

And then…

She started laughing.