Chapter 1458 The Dread Mansion II



"Is there something wrong?" Peridot asked Creepysoo as both of them have finally reached the village.

"Its nothing. I think my nose in the real world might be itching or something." Creepysoo stated as he felt something unnerving when they entered the village, but he got over it as it was only a slight moment.

Peridot and Creepysoo reached the village, and they could see that it was already quiet. There were not many villagers roaming about and even the children have adults escorting them. They were also a bit wary of Peridot and Creepysoo, but they were not entirely ignored.

"Excuse me… can we ask you something?" Peridot asked the stall owner of a potato shop.

"It seems that you are not from around here. The atmosphere is bleak because of a monster menace lingering around the forests. Even adventurers like you are not coming to our quaint village because of this. Fortunately, some of the hunters that live here could still get some game, but they cannot go outside when it gets dark." The potato stall owner stated.

"What happens when it gets dark?" Creepysoo asked.

"The whole forest becomes something that kills indiscriminately. We had to go to bed the moment the sun goes down as we fear that coming out in the streets itself is dangerous. If I were you, you should already book a room at the inn before it gets dark." The potato stall owner stated. 

"If you are in trouble then why are the churches in this village sending request for help?" Peridot asked as she knew that churches would definitely send aid when a place that they have a physical church is in trouble.

"Do you think that they did not try? The Church of Light priest has already sent a letter detailing the hardships of everyone here. The main church has sent their aid, but we saw them dead outside the village when morning came. The other smaller churches here tried but their aid ended up the same as they all arrive before dawn." The potato stall owner stated.

"When you mean all of them end up dead, do you really mean all of them? Did anyone witness the way they died?" Peridot asked.

"We did not witness it because we are already too scared to even peek out our windows. The fact that they died when no one even heard screams means that a powerful monster is lurking about. Some in the village wanted to leave as well but we also found them dead on the very next day. 

We just learned to cope with being stuck here until a demigod or something aids us. I also pity the both of you because you are also trapped here unless you have a way to escape like the other adventurers that passed by here. They ripped a piece of paper and they suddenly turned to light and vanished from their spots." The potato stall owner stated.

"They must have gotten a teleportation scroll. If some adventurers passed by her then someone must have posted it on the forums at the very least." Peridot muttered.

"Is there a Church of the Twin Gods here?" Creepysoo asked.

"There was a Church of Life here, but the priest has already died two years ago and now it is empty. It is a good shelter though and adventurers that pass by that do not have money often sleep there." The potato stall owner stated.

"Has anyone seen the monster? We might be able to defeat it or at least scare it away so that all of you will not be hold up here in your village." Peridot stated.

"I have not personally seen it, but you can ask the others. You can ask the inn owner as they are usually the ones that have all the information in the village." The potato stall owner stated.

"I see. Thank you for your help. We appreciate it very much. Please have this for your troubles and accommodating our questions." Creepysoo stated as he passed one gold coin to the potato stall owner.

"My! You are rather generous! Heed my warning and book a room at the inn immediately before it gets dark. I would not want you to be killed by the monster." The potato stall owner stated as he waved goodbye to Peridot and Creepysoo.

"Did you feel the same thing that I felt during that conversation?" Peridot asked.

"I did. All the circumstance in the village seem to align perfectly on a monster that cannot be seen but is extremely powerful. To make it even more unbelievable, the monster does not let any villager escape unless they can teleport. Even the help that was asked from the outside were all dead and found outside of the village." Creepysoo stated.

"What bothers me the most is that he was not even unnerve by the fact that they are trapped here. As if he already accepted his fate at the hands of the monster." Peridot stated but she suddenly saw that Creepysoo is being weird.

"Why are you suddenly becoming shifty?" Peridot asked.

"I have this feeling like I am being watched from all angles. It is very unsettling as I do not like this feeling. This is the same feeling I felt when I learned that the wraiths were all hiding in my room to guard me." Creepysoo stated.

Peridot scrunched her brow as she did not feel the same thing that Creepysoo feels but he was more familiar with this feeling. She did not dismiss the things that Creepysoo experiences without a doubting. She knew that the Prince of the Undead would be more sensitive to the gazes of undead compared to her which suddenly sent alarm bells ringing in her head.

"This is bad! We need to get out of this village. Hurry!" Peridot stated as she suddenly grabbed Creepysoo's hand as she suddenly made a realization.

In fact, Peridot did not have this realization on a whim, but she was already investigating the entire village as soon as she entered it. She used a spell called Tracing Wind and sent a gust of wind to sweep the entire village to see the overall layout. It was only when she received the information back and Creepysoo's remark that she knew that they needed to get out.

Peridot grabbed Creepysoo's hand and transformed herself into her Ryujin form as she needs to get out as soon as possible. Creepysoo did not expect that Peridot would suddenly do such a thing, but he cannot complain as she looked panicked. If there is one thing, then that would be to trust a woman's intuition.

As if something reacted to Peridot's emotions, the whole village suddenly became dark as if night immediately has fallen. Peridot and Creepysoo suddenly felt creeping fear in their bones. Even Creepysoo felt it and he was an undead which are known to not know fear. A wave of darkness suddenly crashed on both of them just before they reached the village entrance.

==

Adrian and Levin Cloud scoured the forest for about an hour, and they covered all of it. The forest outside the village was not even that large but they could not even find any trace of the Dread Mansion. They rendezvous back to the area they were at the beginning to see if they can get a reaction.

"Did you find anything?" Adrian asked.

"Nothing. I only saw monsters in the forest, and they were not even that powerful to begin with." Levin Cloud added.

"The forest is not even eerily quiet which means the Dread Mansion is no longer here. Could it have gone to another place?" Adrian stated.

"I do not know but the Undead King Arthur stated that the Dread Mansion will not move locations easily as it is not a mobile undead. It would integrate itself to an area first as it grows by feeding on the emotions that it gives to its victims." Levin Cloud stated.

The Undead King Arthur had told them that the Dread Mansion is not an undead that likes to feed on the living completely. He said that the Dread Mansion would rather lure visitors inside its abode and use illusions to sap the fear in them. When the Dread Mansion has absorbed a lot of negative energy then it would evolve into another being.

Adrian asked the Undead King Arthur what the evolution of a Dread House was, but the latter does not know. Even the Undead King Arthur is afraid that an undead monster like that is already akin to a world ending disaster. If a Dread Mansion were to evolve into a Transcendent type being, then it would be equal to a demigod, but monsters are often more powerful than humanoids.

Just as Adrian and Levin Cloud were about to contact Peridot and Creepysoo, the two of them suddenly felt the powerful energy that fluctuated in the direction of the village. The two of them did not even need to speak as they hurried to the village.