The Black Epitaph remained indecipherable. Even the Dragon Demon Eyes were useless in this regard.
Moon Jiyeon speculated that the inscription had been deliberately crafted to mislead any readers. Still, she suggested that it might be possible to crack the riddle if we could obtain a reliable source of information.
Her theory held merit.
If we could uncover more clues, we might eventually unravel the mystery of the Black Epitaph. But solving it wasn't absolutely necessary.
The Epitaph was a puzzle designed to pinpoint the location of the Crimson Heirloom—a relic containing the heart of the Evernight Witch, along with ten thousand gold pieces.
Assuming no one had left the mansion, it was highly probable that someone from the Valoment family had managed to escape the massacre.
But this would only be the case if they had chosen to remain inside the mansion. Given human nature, however, they likely would have ventured outside if there was a possibility that their lives were threatened, even at the cost of leaving the ten thousand worth of gold behind.
Perhaps they stayed in the mansion, or maybe they were unable to leave.
It was possible that the entire incident had been orchestrated, but at this point, it was hard to ignore the Black Witch's involvement.
I furrowed my brow.
As Moon Jiyeon had mentioned, it was hard to draw a clear conclusion with so much missing information.
Of course, the next step was to bridge this vast gap in our knowledge. The real challenge, however, was determining where to locate the Broken Fragments.
What should we do? Stick together or split up and search separately? Both options felt equally dreadful.
I pulled out my smartphone and began jotting down my theories, meticulously organizing them based on the limited data and information we'd managed to gather. It wasn't much, but every detail mattered. Recording it all ensured I wouldn't overlook anything critical.
After finishing my notes, I closed my smartphone and quietly slid it back into my pocket.
Looking at the group members, I said with a serious expression. "It seems we'll need to dig deeper. However, the real issue is the speed of our investigation."
"What do you mean?" Moon Jiyeon asked.
"You've probably noticed it too. If we continue at this pace, we won't accomplish anything. At this point, splitting into smaller groups might be more effective than staying together."
"But didn't you say we'd only split up if it was absolutely necessary? Isn't it too early to consider that now?"
"I second that." Ryu Yeji added.
Looking at Ryu Yeji and Moon Jiyeon, both of them seemed skeptical of my decision. I explained:
"I understand your concerns, but time isn't on our side. Think about it—there's no set time limit here, and while the investigation is progressing smoothly for now, how long do you think that will last? If we keep stalling, there's a high chance the situation could spiral from bad to worse. Splitting up would give us a better chance of finding something useful before it's too late."
"Even so," Moon Jiyeon interjected, "We don't know what dangers we might face out there. Splitting up would just divide our strength and make us more vulnerable."
She had a point. Splitting up in enemy territory wasn't exactly a wise move—in fact, it was downright reckless in a situation like this.
It reminded me of those horror stories where the protagonists inexplicably decided to split up, throwing away the advantage of sticking together.
This situation was similar, but the difference was that we had the strength to fight back and defend ourselves.
Besides, there would come a point where it wouldn't matter if we split up or stayed together. We'd be attacked no matter what choice we made.
"That's why we need to plan carefully," I said, leaning slightly forward. "If we split up, we'll pair our strengths. Jiyeon-ssi, you're excellent at gathering information and using Divination. Yeji, your combat skills are impressive—better than most—so you won't be easily taken out. If we organize strategically, we can cover more ground while minimizing the risks."
The group fell silent as though there was an heavy gray fog.
Moon Jiyeon finally broke the silence. "Alright. But how... No, wait—where should we regroup? We'll meet back here, in the Entrance Hall, right?"
"Yes."
"And what about the teams?"
She must have sensed weakness in Ryu Yeji. But she decided to tolerate him because of the current situation.
At least, she was cooperative.
Drawing everyone's attention with a fake cough, I addressed the group. "Let's avoid unnecessary conflicts as much as possible. If you run into any trouble, handle it quickly and move on. Our priority is to gather information and solve this mystery before the situation escalates."
"Also, make sure to remember the ten rules of survival. Stay alert and report back here if you find anything unusual."
There was a chorus of agreement from the group as they nodded or murmured their understanding.
"Let's head out, then," I said, drawing a deep breath. "And may the story bless you."
With that, the group split up and entered different sections of the mansion. Soo Jinyoung and Ryu Yeji took the First Floor, Moon Jiyeon and Yoo Rin searched the Second Floor, while Miyuki and I made our way to the Third Floor.
After thoroughly checking the Third Floor, I made sure to note down some points of interest on my smartphone.
The Third Floor housed Reginald's study, a waiting room, and a few extra rooms.
Reginald's study had already been thoroughly checked. We had obtained the Broken Fragment from there, and no additional memories were found.
Marked ✓
The waiting room was the room next to Reginald's study. It was used for receiving guests and contained a few pieces of furniture, but nothing of particular interest. After a quick search, I found a Broken Fragment, though it held irrelevant memories unrelated to the current mystery.
Marked ✓
Afterwards, we searched around the corrider and found a few Fragments here and there. Unfortunately, the Broken Fragments only contained irrelevant memories.
Marked ✓
Our next target was the empty extra rooms, which we searched thoroughly. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any Broken Fragments. No Memories were located in those rooms.
Marked ✓
Experience tales at M V L
Finally,
Step! Step—
We stopped in front of the last room. Unlike the others, this one was locked with several chains and radiated a deadly aura.
Miyuki, standing beside me, shivered and instinctively took a step back. She asked:
"W-What kind of room... is this?"
"I can't say for sure. Hmm... But it seems important in some way."
It was clear that the room had been sealed off to prevent outsiders from entering. If it wasn't important, then why go to such lengths to lock it up?
I recalled the memories where the Family Head, Reginald, had strictly instructed the servants to clean the room and forbid anyone, even his own children, from entering.
Was this place somehow connected to the Evernight Witch or her Epitaph?
But if that were the case, wouldn't the secrecy itself fuel even greater curiosity?
It was definitely suspicious.
I reached out to inspect the chains binding the door, but the next instant,
"!!"
My hand was violently repelled by an overwhelming force.