167: Seal Release (4,000)

Chapter 165: Seal Removed (4000 words)

The secret passage led directly to the attic, allowing them to bypass the traps and monsters on the third floor.

The Armored Knight walked at the front, with Arthur close behind, occasionally checking the Pixie in his pocket to ensure she wasn't suffocated.

Her complexion was much better now than before.

The attic was empty, covered in thick dust, and cobwebs were everywhere.

Arthur motioned for the Knight to continue forward. Just as they passed an old painting spread on the floor,

an Itter Monster, lurking on a rafter, suddenly pounced down.

These malicious, spider-like predators walked on two legs, their bodies hunched like bows.

They typically lurked in dense forests or abandoned ruins, known for their venomous bites and their ability to spray webs to hunt.

These creatures often hunted in groups with giant spiders and common spiders.

Once they captured prey, they would drag it into their web-filled nests and slowly devour it.

This Itter Monster held a web woven from silk in its arthropod-like hand.

The Armored Knight, unable to dodge, was completely ensnared by the web.

Seeing its prey trapped, the Itter Monster let out a sharp, 'Aii, aii' sound.

Three giant spiders emerged from the shadows in response, circling the trapped prey.

However, they underestimated the prey's strength:

Not long after the Itter Monster signaled the hunt, the Knight broke free from the web.

He lunged forward towards the retreating Itter Monster—this seemingly clumsy armor moved with astonishing speed.

His longsword swung out, raising a gust of wind and a cloud of dust, cutting the monster in half with a single strike.

Foul-smelling, viscous fluid splattered out.

Immediately after, he moved again, rushing to Arthur's side in an instant, thrusting his longsword to pin a giant spider to the wall.

The next second, he abandoned his sword, directly grabbing another giant spider that was pouncing on Arthur with both hands.

The spider desperately bit the dark armor with its sharp fangs, but neither its teeth nor its venom had any effect.

The Knight, with astonishing brute force, tore the spider in half.

The last giant spider, seeing the dire situation, dragged the half-corpse of the Itter Monster back into the shadows.

The Knight did not pursue, but retrieved his longsword and found a dust cover nearby to wipe it clean.

With the danger gone, Arthur relaxed and began to carefully examine the entire attic.

Many oil paintings were piled on the floor of the attic hall, most covered with dust cloths.

One painting, placed in the aisle, caught his attention.

In the portrait, Rose and Thorn smiled faintly.

Their father held a naked baby in his arms, while their mother watched the infant with an expression full of disdain and mockery.

This family portrait attracted Arthur because something subtly unsettling was hidden within it—each change in angle revealed a part of that hidden thing.

The artist had used superb skill and wondrous pigments to conceal it in every detail of the painting.

Arthur forced himself to look away. For a moment, he felt as if he were enchanted, constantly searching for that thing in the painting.

He found a white cloth and covered the painting.

"Damn it, this place is full of traps."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief; he had been staring at the painting for less than a minute and was already sweating profusely.

And what he had seen was now branded into his mind like an permanent mark.

Based on his experience from his previous life, he knew what it was.

He tried his best not to think about it, focusing his attention on the task at hand.

Arthur walked towards the locked room and opened the door with the key he had found in the study.

The room's windows were bricked up, and a wooden children's bed was placed on each side.

Near the door was a toy box painted with a windmill, and a dollhouse that perfectly replicated the entire house.

All these furnishings were covered in cobwebs and dust.

On the floor in the center of the room lay two small skeletons, their clothes long decayed, yet looking very familiar.

The smaller skeleton still clutched a cloth doll tightly in its hand.

Arthur had finally found the Duerst Family's two children—Rose and Thorn.

At this moment, the recovered Pixie crawled out of Arthur's pocket.

Seeing the two skeletons on the floor, she sadly asked, "These look like children's, what happened?"

"Monsters attacked us, and Mom and Dad locked us in here to protect us."

A faint voice came from the corner of the room.

Arthur turned around and saw the two children had appeared beside the toy box at some point.

"I suppose that door never opened again, did it?" Arthur asked.

Rose nodded.

"What?" The Pixie frowned in confusion. "If the door never opened again, what did you eat and drink?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to suddenly understand. "Oh, I see. Poor little ones, you starved to death here."

The two children clearly didn't understand Xiao Lingdang's meaning.

They didn't know they were already dead, nor were they aware that the two skeletons were themselves.

It was likely that their bodies had already turned into skeletons before their souls became conscious.

Arthur walked towards them and asked gently, "Do you want to go outside?"

The two children looked at Arthur, their eyes sparkling.

"But... but there are monsters outside," Thorn whispered, shrinking behind his sister. "Dad said he would come open the door and let us out once the monsters were gone."

Arthur gave a faint smile: "He must have been delayed by something.

"Now I'm here, and as for those monsters, I'll deal with them.

"However, you need to help me find the crying child. I need to rescue them."

After a brief silence, the two children nodded and agreed.

Arthur took the two children back to the nursery on the third floor.

This elegantly arranged bedroom was connected to a baby's room, also buried under dust and cobwebs.

Arthur keenly noticed footprints on the floor, leading to the French window inlaid with stained glass.

He walked to the French window, pushed the door open, and stepped out onto the balcony, which overlooked the front of the house, but all he could see was dense fog.

Crying came from a corner of the balcony. Arthur followed the sound and saw seven or eight children hiding in the corner, staring at him in panic.

Arthur made a shushing gesture to them, then retreated.

He heard a commotion in the nursery—a woman in a white wedding dress and veil was slowly walking out of the baby's room.

The Armored Knight moved, raising his longsword to attack the woman, but Arthur spoke, signaling him to stop.

The woman sharply turned her head to look at Arthur, letting out a sob. There were several blackened bloodstains on her wedding dress.

It was obvious she had been stabbed to death with a small knife, and not just once.

The woman's sobbing suddenly stopped, replaced by a sharp roar.

Like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded, the vengeful spirit rapidly floated towards Arthur.

"Rosalie!" Rose appeared in front of Arthur and cried out.

The female ghost immediately stopped and began to cry again.

This time, she cried particularly miserably.

"Rosalie, it really is you." Thorn ran to the female ghost. "Why are you crying, Rosalie?"

Rose also walked to the nanny's side and asked softly, "Mommy said you left, went far, far away, and would never come back. Did you go to get married? Your wedding dress is so beautiful. Why are you crying?"

The two children were able to calm down the nanny, Rosalie, which was exactly what Arthur needed.

Otherwise, this resentful ghost would be impossible to communicate with.

He walked up to the nanny and asked, "I will reunite you with your child, but you must release the children on the balcony. They are not your child."

The female ghost looked up at Arthur. Even though he couldn't see her face clearly, Arthur could feel her rage.

"Your child is already dead," Arthur said. "You know very well that your obsession has made you mistake those children who wandered into the house for him.

"However, this has actually protected them."

The female ghost reached out to grab Arthur. Just as the Knight was about to swing his longsword, Arthur signaled him not to move.

The female ghost clutched Arthur, her face drawing close. Arthur could smell a stale odor wafting from behind her veil.

"You damn foolish woman," Arthur cursed. "You don't dare to find the one who truly killed you, but instead take your anger out on me?

"If you kill me, who will help you find your child? Who will help you get revenge?"

The two children also ran to the nanny's side, tugging at her wedding dress and crying, "Rosalie, he's not a bad person. He'll help us drive away the monsters."

The female ghost finally let go. She couldn't speak, but she pointed towards the nursery.

Arthur rubbed his neck and walked into the room. In the nursery, there was a cradle covered with a black shroud.

He lifted the shroud and found a tightly wrapped, baby-sized bundle in the cradle.

When unwrapped, it was empty.

The female ghost suddenly appeared by the cradle, carefully picking up the bundle as if her child were inside.

She began to sing a lullaby.

Arthur said to Rose and Thorn, "Go check on those children and tell them not to be afraid."

The two children nodded and ran to the balcony.

After they left, Arthur said to Rosalie, "Their father lied to you. He pretended to fall in love with you and got you pregnant.

"These were all part of the cultists' plan. They needed a Duerst Family bloodline for sacrifice, and your child was the perfect offering.

"He tricked you into a wedding in the basement, then killed you and your child on the spot.

"Now that child has become the monster in the basement. Whether you want revenge or want to free your child's soul, you need my help to open the seal at the basement entrance.

"Tell me, where is your body? Those cultists left a sealing mark on your skull. I must remove it."

Rosalie walked towards Arthur and handed him the bundle she was holding. Inside the bundle was a name—Walter.

The veil slipped from her face, and Arthur saw a dry, distorted face.

And most chillingly, her mouth was sewn shut with needle and thread.

She tried her best to open her mouth, and the threads snapped one by one.

"Find—find him!"

She uttered these words like a curse, her voice a whisper, yet powerful.

Immediately after, the floor, walls, and ceiling all creaked, as if someone was desperately scratching with their fingernails.

Moments later, a line of words formed by scratches appeared where the sounds came from—the wooden box in the attic storage room.

Arthur nodded and walked back towards the attic.

The storage room contained many pieces of furniture covered in white cloth, as well as a number of specialized mannequins.

Behind those mannequins was a wooden box wrapped in cloth. The box was not locked.

Arthur opened it, and inside was a skeleton wrapped in a blood-stained, tattered bedsheet.

Just as Arthur picked up Rosalie's skull to dispose of it, a cold hand pressed on his shoulder.

He turned his head and saw that at some point, the mannequins had turned their heads and were staring at him with hollow eyes.

"We are friends," Arthur said. "I'm helping her find peace."

The hand on his shoulder released, and Arthur stood up and crushed the skull.

After the black smoke dissipated, he asked the mannequins, "If you want revenge on those who killed you, come with me."

With that, he walked towards the door, and the mannequins clumsily followed, some of the more severely damaged ones even having to stuff their spilling flesh back inside.

These creatures were all murdered outsiders, brutally killed, dismembered, and then transformed into these golems by dark magic, to be commanded by the cultists.

Now they obeyed Rosalie—that pathetic vengeful spirit.

Only two skulls remained.

Arthur returned to the children's room and looked at the remains of the two children.

Seeing him frozen in place, Xiao Lingdang couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"Remember I said the marks had to be destroyed to enter the basement?" Arthur said.

Xiao Lingdang nodded.

"Those two children are the last two marks. I must break their skulls."

"Okay... okay. I guess if you do that, they'll be affected, right?"

Arthur sighed and replied, "Their parents also sacrificed them.

"Once they failed and died in the ritual, according to the will, everything would be left to these two children.

"That wasn't a simple will, but a contract, a contract with that otherworldly entity.

"As long as the will existed, this family would be his servants for generations."

"But they're already dead, so the curse should no longer exist," Xiao Lingdang said.

Arthur pondered for a moment, then explained, "The Duerst Family didn't expect the Dark Lord to truly visit in person. He massacred everyone,

cut off the ritual, and prevented the evil god's descent.

"These two poor children, locked in the room, then starved to death.

"The reason they can still exist as ghosts is precisely because of those marks."

Xiao Lingdang gradually understood: "You mean, if the marks are destroyed, they will disappear?"

"Exactly. After I eliminate that monster, they, along with that thing, will return to that otherworldly entity."

"Queen above," Xiao Lingdang was speechless for a moment.

After a while, she asked, "Why—why do you know all this so clearly? Maybe it's all fake!"

"Those mosaics," Arthur said. "They are everywhere, telling me all of this."