Vol. 6 Ch. 41

With the activation of Vengeful Spirits Awaken, the entire atmosphere within the castle shifted drastically.

What were once brightly lit halls, rooms, and balconies were now shrouded in flickering, dim light. The dark, narrow corners occasionally emitted eerie creaks and groans.

The immersion level skyrocketed, as if the players had been transported to a real haunted house.

On the Dragon Daughter Special Ops Team’s side, Helena was “frantically” struggling to stay composed, leaving Noa and Aurora as the only pillars of stability.

They had already started working well together before Vengeful Spirits Awaken, but Helena’s frequent lapses into panic only added to the tension. Her occasional bursts of eerie energy didn’t help matters either.

In the end, Helena could only cling tightly to the task-focused Noa and the ever-cheerful Aurora, assisting them in small ways when possible.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t entirely a good thing for the team. After all, the rule for the Vengeful Spirits Awaken phase was clear: the spirits had an unconditional ability to eliminate one Good Faction player.

Thus, splitting up wouldn’t help much either. Staying together at least provided some degree of mutual protection.

“Big Sis, this room hasn’t been opened yet. Should we check it out?” Aurora asked.

“Alright.”

The Dragon Daughters pushed the door open, revealing a puzzle task inside.

Aurora inspected the puzzle. It wasn’t a physically demanding one—just a mechanical lock to solve.

Without hesitation, Aurora picked up the lock and began fiddling with it.

While she worked on the puzzle, Noa kept their younger sisters on high alert, watching for any sudden intrusions by infected NPCs or other threats.

A few minutes later, Aurora successfully unlocked the mechanism. The castle echoed with the low voice of an NPC:

“Attention, players: The Ghosts have completed a task and earned an opportunity to eliminate.”

The announcement, cold and unrelenting, cut through the budding confidence of the Good Faction players like a blade.

Noa’s brows furrowed as she muttered,

“Once the Vengeful Spirits complete a task, they can eliminate any Good Faction player they choose… I wonder who they’ll target first…”

As soon as she finished speaking, the bracelets on the girls’ wrists began flashing wildly.

The light rapidly cycled between green, yellow, purple, and black. Simultaneously, the room’s lighting became unstable, adding to the tension.

It was like a deadly game of roulette—a revolver with one bullet being spun and passed around. No one knew which pull of the trigger would fire the shot. And no one knew whose bracelet would stop flashing and settle on black.

Moon, Muse, and Hefei clung tightly to Noa, their eyes fixed on the flashing bracelets, praying they wouldn’t stop on black.

“Buzz—”

The ominous sound abruptly ceased, and the room’s lights stabilized.

The girls’ bracelets also stopped flashing.

“We’re okay… Thank goodness…”

“Did they not use their elimination ability?”

“No, they did. It’s just…” Noa said quietly, looking at her sisters.

“The person they eliminated isn’t among us.”

"Not even a flicker from your bracelet..."

The girl lowered her gaze to the bracelet on her wrist, momentarily stunned. Then, with a resigned smile, she chuckled softly.

“It seems like from here on out, you’ll have to go find Constantine and the others on your own.”

Leon sighed heavily, rubbing his temple in frustration.

“I thought that fire-breathing dragon would eliminate me first, but now it looks like he wants to toy with me a bit longer.”

“What can you do? The initiative is in their hands now,” Rosvisser said, stepping forward to stand beside Leon. She reached out and gave his shoulder a light pat.

“Just stay calm, alright?”

“Alright, leave it to me.”

Rosvisser nodded, leaving the scene as Leon turned his gaze toward the dark, foreboding basement.

“Constantine,” he murmured to himself, “I’ll get you out of this, no matter what.”

In the first underground level of the castle, Constantine and Helena were hiding within a narrow passage.

It was more like a large concrete pipe. The space was just right for a child like Helena to fit comfortably, but Constantine had to crouch awkwardly, his legs bent and his back hunched.

The two sat leaning against opposite walls. Helena rummaged through her bag, pulling out a piece of jerky and holding it out to Constantine.

“Here, have some food, Uncle Constantine.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Okay.”

Without insisting or putting the jerky back, Helena simply wrapped it in a clean tissue and placed it near Constantine. Then, she took out another piece for herself and began eating.

Even in the dim and confined passage, Helena’s eating was graceful and composed.

Constantine silently watched her, opening his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowing his words.

After a few minutes of quiet, Constantine let out a long breath, as though he had made a decision. He finally spoke:

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Uncle Constantine. What’s on your mind?”

“You’re close friends with Leon’s eldest daughter, right?”

Helena put down the piece of jerky she was eating and nodded confidently.

“Yes, we’re the best of friends!”

“But now, you’re on opposite sides. Even if it’s just a game, you’re systematically taking her teammates away from her, one by one… Doesn’t that affect your relationship?”

Helena blinked, looking momentarily confused. It seemed she hadn’t expected such a question.

She toyed with a strand of hair on her shoulder, pondering for a moment before answering:

“I don’t really know how to answer that, Uncle Constantine. The way you put it sounds so… dark.”

“Dark?”

“Yes.”

The little Sea Dragon nodded.

“Saying things like ‘taking her teammates away one by one’… I’ve never thought about it that way.”

“I’m not just close with Noa. Moon, Aurora, Muse, and Hefei—we all get along really well. And like you said, this is just a game. Playing a game with friends means giving it your all within the rules, doesn’t it?”

“If you’re too cautious and hold back, then you’re not really good friends.”

Constantine wasn’t entirely sure he understood her perspective. Having lived for over a thousand years, the number of people he could call “friends” was small enough to count on one hand. And “close friends”? Even fewer.

He stared at Helena, waiting for her to continue.

“True friends only grow closer through play. It won’t affect our relationship at all, Uncle Constantine, no matter what you think,” Helena said, her smile bright.

After a brief pause, she squinted playfully and added,

“And it won’t affect your ‘friendship’ with Uncle Leon either.”

“My relationship with Leon isn’t a friendship,” Constantine retorted instantly.

“Really? Then why did you come here to play this escape room game with him?”

“I… I came for Hefei.”

“Oh, I see.”

Helena didn’t press further, letting the topic drop as she shifted gears.

“In any case, Uncle Constantine, you don’t need to worry so much. If you think about it from another perspective—if I were Good Faction and Noa were a Vengeful Spirit, she’d give it her all to take me down too.”

That did sound like Leon’s eldest daughter—a serious and thorough personality in everything she did, Constantine thought.

Watching Constantine deep in thought, Helena hesitated for a moment before softly adding,

“And by the same logic, if Uncle Leon were a Vengeful Spirit, he definitely wouldn’t spare you either~.”

Constantine smirked.

“Well then, it’s settled. Watch me go all out!”

__________

Author’s Note:

Tomorrow will mark the explosive finale of the Castle Escape arc! Stay tuned!