Chapter 374 - Haunted House (2)

Chapter 374 - Haunted House (2)

“Constellation of Fear.”

“Yes, Master of Despair.”

“Will this really be able to change the flow of fear?”

“Hahaha. There is no need to worry. Human fear comes from the unknown. No matter how much they fear the Evil God... People merely know his name.”

“Oh?”

“Give it some time. Soon... The entire continent will be plunged into fear of the Constellations.”

***

“... It certainly is worth an investigation.” Kim Si-Hun, who had been told of the missing people in a town on the outskirts of the empire, nodded.

It was far too optimistic to think that there was no relationship between the mansion that suddenly appeared outside the town and the disappearing people.

“Let’s set out right away. Oh, are you in the middle of anything?” Oh Kang-Woo asked as he stood up from his chair.

He had spent an entire week buried under a pile of paperwork, so he wanted to move around.

“I had plans with some noble ladies, but... I didn’t want to attend anyway, so I will cancel them,” Si-Hun replied as he sighed.

The greater the people’s fear of Lucifer grew, the more popular Si-Hun became. He was starting to be revered as the hero who would save the continent from the hands of the filthy Lord of the Flies. Those of power from all over the continent were flocking to the empire to make connections with Si-Hun.

“Got it. In that case, bring Layla with you on the way and brief her on the incident as well,” Kang-Woo stated.

“Will Layla be coming with us as well?”

“Yeah.”

Layla was Gaia’s incarnation; they might be able to gain some sort of clues if the power of a god were to make contact with the suspicious mansion.

‘Not all gods are righteous and kind, after all.’

There were likely some gods that were cheering at the appearance of Evil God Lucifer, or were trying to take advantage of the chaos and come up with ways to raise their own Deific Essence. Some might be enraged at Lucifer on the outside, but were thinking otherwise.

‘We can only trust our beautiful and intelligent Lady Gaia. Yup, yup.’

“Got it. I’ll be right back.” Si-Hun left the room.

Kang-Woo turned to Lilith and said, “Lilith. You get ready too.”

“Pardon? Me too?”

Lilith’s eyes widened, not having expected for Kang-Woo to nominate her as well.

“There’s no one more skilled than you in search and detection. Plus, you’re the one who found out about the incident.”

Rather, there was no reason not to take her.

‘I shouldn’t take any more than this.’

There was nothing more foolish than bringing a crowd to investigate a suspicious incident.

“Uhh... Mm.” Lilith slurred with an awkward smile and then nodded. “I understand. In that case, I will guide you to that mansion.”

Kang-Woo had expected her to love getting the opportunity to go somewhere with him, but her reaction had been a lot more lukewarm.

‘Is something going on with her? Well, I’m sure I’ll find out eventually.’

Kang-Woo stood up.

***

“Yeah,” Kang-Woo muttered.

They arrived at the town located on the outskirts of the empire. The small town that would likely have a town chief instead of a governing lord was covered in fog. The streets were deserted, and the sound of horses neighing, commonly heard in the continent, could not be heard at all. No one would be able to tell that the town was inhabited if not for the lights visible through the windows.

Kang-Woo continued, “This is suspicious as fuck.”

‘Is this Lothric Castle[1] or something?’

“That is where the town chief lives. He is also the one who first reported the incident,” Lilith said as she pointed at a house.

It was a house that the town chief resided in, but it was no different from the other shabby houses around it.

“I don’t really feel any vitality in this town.” Layla frowned as she looked around.

She carefully grabbed Si-Hun’s hand, unsettled by the ominous aura surrounding the entire town.

“Let’s enter,” Kang-Woo said as they headed to the chief’s house.

Knock, knock.

Creak. The door slightly opened, and an elderly man with a very wrinkly face peeked out. He glared at Kang-Woo and the others with caution.

Kang-Woo turned around and went down the other hallway.

Kang-Woo noticed that Lilith was not following him. “What’s wrong? Did you find something?”

Lilith bit her lip without answering. “I-It’s nothing, my king.”

She swallowed her saliva and hugged Kang-Woo’s arm tight.

‘Huh? She’s been acting weird for a while now.’

Kang-Woo stared at Lilith while narrowing his eyes, thinking of a possibility.

“Lilith, could it be you’re... scared?”

“O-Of course not! There’s no way I would be scared just because I entered a run-down mansion like this!!” Lilith shouted.

Kang-Woo smiled. Her reaction only solidified his suspicions. “Man, how unexpected. I never thought you’d be scared of something like this.”

He had been with her for a thousand years, but this was the first time he had seen her act this way.

“I told you, I’m not scared!” Lilith shouted as her face was as red as a tomato.

Kang-Woo softly laughed. “If you’re so scared, should I investigate on my own?”

“N-No. Like I said, I’m not scared in the slightest.” Lilith pulled on Kang-Woo’s arm. “Let’s go, my king.”

“Okay, okay.”

She was obviously pushing herself, but he paid it no mind.

‘This is new.’

It had been a while since he had seen this side of Lilith; no, it had been the first time.

‘I never thought she’d be scared of stuff like ghosts.’

It was entertaining to see a flustered Lilith compared to how relaxed she always was. Kang-Woo suppressed his laughter and continued investigating the mansion. Their steps echoed throughout the hallway.

“Urgh.”

Lilith’s expression was getting darker by the second. Kang-Woo laughed in silence while looking at her reactions.

‘What’s so scary about this?’

Ghosts had no way of harming them even if they appeared, so he couldn’t understand her reactions.

‘But it’s fun to watch, at the very least.’

Kang-Woo could now understand why people loved watching horror films with others who couldn’t handle it, and watching their reactions to the scenes. He thought that having brought her was worth it just for her reactions alone.

Boom!

Just then, a large drawer that had been in the hallway suddenly fell. One of the cabinets opened, spilling what looked to be human eyeballs, intestines, and blood.

Kang-Woo chuckled. “What a cute contrapt—”

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Lilith screamed.

She held Kang-Woo's arm tight and leaned her head on his shoulder. A sloppy and sticky sensation traveled up his arm.

‘Huh? A sloppy and sticky sensation?’

“Hyaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

Lilith’s hair floated and turned into green tentacles spewing pus that wrapped around Kang-Woo. Tears flowed down Lilith’s eighteen eyeballs.

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Kang-Woo screamed.

“M-My king!”

Lilith’s green tentacles dug into his clothes. No, not just his clothes, but they even dug into his mouth, nostrils and ears.

“Urrrrggggghhhhh.”

‘What the actual fuck?’

“I-I’m so scared!!”

‘Me too. I’m fucking scared too.’

“S-Save m...”

‘Urrgghhh.’

1. Lothric Castle is a location in Dark Souls III. ?

2. Tian Wuchen’s title was also Sword Emperor, but that is a direct translation of the title commonly used in wuxia novels. However, Si-Hun’s title is one that phonetically spells out the English words Sword Emperor in Korean, which sounds very cringe. ?Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)