Salvation Through Delusion C58

Chapter 58

But… there’s nothing here. Where’s the entrance to the Crimson Tide Forest? Don’t tell me this isn’t even a real chamber?

Yet that absurd thought turned out to be true. I circled the walls, examining every inch, but found nothing. Incredible.

“It really does look like the secret room, so why is there—oh?”

Something caught my toe as I crossed the center of the room. There were no lamps here; the only light came from the hole I had broken through, so my vision was dim.

It could’ve just been a loose stone between the slabs—but somehow, it felt different.

What is this?

I crouched for a closer look and discovered a small groove carved into the center of the floor stone.

It wasn’t large—barely the length of a finger—and easy to overlook, yet I couldn’t ignore it.

Wait… this shape—

I shifted my gaze to the staff in my hand, then back to the groove. If the staff returned to its original size, it would fit perfectly—like a key.

“Hey, can you turn back to your original size?”

I asked the staff on a whim, half-joking. Naturally, it didn’t respond. Damn it, Venomous One, if you were going to give me a gift, you could’ve at least explained how it works!

“Seriously, if you’re a key, you could’ve just—whoa!”

Before I could finish, the staff suddenly shrank in my hand. I barely managed to open my palm before it slipped away.

Ah. So it reacts when I speak its purpose aloud?

I decided to test it—if it truly was a key, I had to be sure. I placed the shrunken branch into the groove on the floor. It slid in seamlessly, as though it had always belonged there.

Then, the air above it began to shimmer like heat haze.

Within the distortion, another scene appeared—a glimpse of a different place entirely.

A forest at dusk, bathed in crimson light.

The Crimson Tide Forest.

My throat tightened as I swallowed hard. I took a step forward, but froze halfway. The pond flashed through my mind—the blinding light that had lured me, the moment I’d almost died. If Diamond hadn’t stopped me then…

“Don’t go in without me!!! I came in first and now I can’t get out!!”

Diamond’s desperate voice echoed in my head. I looked down at the key. It was a key—something meant to let me in.

If I entered while holding it, I’d probably be safe… right?

There was nowhere else to go. I might as well try.

I’d just made up my mind and bent to retrieve the key when—

“Adeye Rue?”

A voice. Behind me.

Unfamiliar, but instantly, every muscle in my body locked with tension.

I turned sharply—and understood why my instincts screamed.

A familiar face glared back at me, sharp eyes filled with killing intent.

The same swordswoman who had drawn her blade at me in Club 13th Month—the one with that cold, cutting gaze.

Tap.

She stepped into the secret room, her lips curling.

“Hah. Why are you here?”

“Introduce yourself first.”

“Oh, right—you deserve to know whose hand you’ll die by.”

Her blade moved before her words had even finished. From its tip burst a flare of light, slicing through the air toward me.

I threw myself down, rolling across the floor. The ground where I’d stood split open. She seemed delighted.

“My name is Zend Ottmar. Captain of Duke Borhumi’s guard. And this place—what is it? Here, my power works perfectly.”

Her laughter echoed off the walls. I scrambled to my feet, making sure not to glance at the floor’s center. If she saw the branch, the key, it’d be over.

So instead, I shifted deliberately toward the opposite wall.

Immediately, the tip of her sword followed me.

“Don’t move. How did you get in here?”

“…”

“Who made that hole in the wall?”

Every question she asked was one I couldn’t answer. I forced myself not to look at the key.

The shimmering portal in the air was impossible to hide, but the branch—I couldn’t let her notice that.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to. Ottmar was too busy scanning the chamber.

“This room… wait. Is this the secret room? So it was you who took Baron Ewik. You must’ve learned the route here, didn’t you?”

She raised her sword, ready to strike again—but her question was so bizarre that I hesitated.

Shouldn’t she be more concerned about the gaping doorway hanging in the air behind me?

“Why is there nothing here?” she muttered.

Ah. So she can’t see it.

“Adeye Rue,” she snapped, “aren’t you going to answer me? Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking.”

She looked me up and down with mockery. I said nothing—just edged one step sideways. Toward the shimmering gate.

Whatever lay beyond it—it was my only chance.

But before I could take even half a step, Ottmar’s sword struck first.

Crash!

The floor exploded where I’d been heading. I rolled instinctively the other way. Ottmar, unfazed, strode right through the illusion that she couldn’t even perceive.

Ah. So she can’t enter what she can’t see.

Still, at this rate, she was going to destroy the room—and the key along with it.

“I don’t know where this is,” I said, raising my hands slowly. “I just… fell in here by chance.”

It was an attempt at negotiation, but she only smiled and closed the distance. Then, without warning, she swung the hilt of her sword at my head.

A sharp alert blared in my vision.

[Warning! Frontal upper attack!]

Whoosh—!

The blow missed by a hair’s breadth, the wind of it slicing through my hair.

Shit. That would’ve caved my skull in.

A chill crawled down my spine. I rolled toward the wall, still keeping myself between her and the key.

Thud!

I hit the wall hard enough to rattle the stones.

God, that hurt.

But there was no time to complain. Ottmar had paused, regarding me with faint surprise.

“How did you dodge that? They said you were beaten senseless and never spoke a word—but it’s true. You have changed.”

“Died and came back.”

The words slipped out automatically. Habit—what a stupid thing. Like she’d believe me anyway.

“Liar. I’ve seen plenty come back from death. None of them changed like you.”

While she studied me, I whispered mentally, “Mo, what are my chances of grabbing the key while dodging her attack?”

[If she makes no mistake—none. Impossible.]

“Then I’ll make her slip. Can you predict her next move?”

[Data insufficient.]

“See? You’re looking right at me,” she taunted.

“Yeah, they’re called eyes. You should try using yours.”

The moment the words left my mouth, she swung again—faster this time. A thin wave of energy tore toward me.

[Left!]

A glowing line appeared in my vision, and I threw myself that way.

Boom!

Another crater bloomed where I’d been. The floor shuddered beneath us—harder this time. Why was it shaking so violently? No time to think.

“So the pampered idiot does know how to move.”

“Better than your pathetic hand tricks,” I shot back.

Whoosh!

[Upper right.]

Crash!

Too slow—the debris slammed into my shoulder and arm.

“Tell me,” she said, voice cold, “how do you open the entrance to the Crimson Tide Forest?”

Damn it. I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to memorize her movements. She swung not to kill but to toy with me, each strike a test.

Whoosh—crash—crumble.

Chunks of stone rained down. I rolled twice, lungs burning, before stopping.

Panting, I heard her voice—low, almost curious.

“What are you, really?”

Her eyes sharpened. She switched her sword from her right hand to her left.

I didn’t miss it.

“Mo, did you catch that?”

[Her right thumb and forefinger show unnatural movement. Likely injured.]

A leg wound would’ve been better, but this would do. I eyed her right flank.

My goal was simple: rush past her, grab the key. But she was far from an easy opponent.

“What are you planning?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Smart woman.

“Mo, calculate me a route. I just need to grab it.”

[Probability of success extremely low. Fatal risk likely.]

When has that ever stopped me?

After all, it wasn’t like I had any other choice.