Ch114 Panic

Ba… Thump—!

I could feel my heart in my chest; it was beating like a crazed beast trapped in a cage.

My breath felt short as Owen's face darkened, his eyes dilated, turning empty, and he looked like a soulless doll. His gaze remained on me, his lips parted, releasing a breathless sound.

"Grrrh…"

My body shivered as I tried to move back, but kneeling didn't make this easier.

Then in the blink of an eye, his figure moved at an astonishing speed. Leaving a blur of afterimages, in a moment's notice I found myself tossed up in the air. The world turned upside down, then it returned to normal as I crashed on the wall opposite to him.

Thud—!

His desk shattered instantly from the impact, and my eyes, unable to follow his movements, felt pain as I struggled to stand up.

"Haa…. Coming here was a mistake after all." I muttered and looked at Owen; his gaze still looked empty as his figure again vanished as he appeared beside me.

My eyes widened as a strong kick was thrown at my ribs, sliding me on the floor.

"Garh!" Pain again spread through me as I felt something break inside my chest.

Gritting my teeth, I ran my hand through the broken rib cage, letting it heal.

Not wasting any time, I stood up and tried to run; my chest burned with pain as my breathing quickened, making my throat run dry. But Owen didn't let me go; he clenched his fist as if grabbing air, then punched in my direction. His fist came cutting through the air, leaving a trail of booming sound. Letting my instincts control me, I stepped aside on time.

Boom—!

The wall behind me shattered instantly like glass panels.

"Hey, at least say something!" I yelled and rushed to stand beside the window in his office.

Hearing my voice, he again vanished from his place, then appeared in front of me; a shockwave followed his steps, making me shudder in fear. His figure twisted, and then, like a rubber band, he raised his right leg in a way that should not be possible for humans.

I froze.

Like a sledgehammer, he brought it down upon me; the devastating strike landed on my shoulder as I bit my lips to let the pain move.

"Aghh!"

My shoulders tore open with a creaking sound as I fell to my knees and rolled away, letting the leftover impact hit the ground.

Boom—!

The ground shook, then windows and floors connected by the walls started to crack like a spider's web.

And shattered.

Owen tried to step aside, but it was too late; the damage was already done. So, he fell below, leaving no sound behind.

I stared at the broken floor and walls. My hand gripping my broken shoulders, I hung over it for a few seconds before I stood up.

"Huff… Huff…"

"What just happened…?" I said in confusion, my vision a little blurry from the pain, my legs ache, and my shoulder seems to be screaming even after getting repaired.

I bit my lips and moved to see what happened to Owen.

Down below he had fallen to the ground, his head hidden behind the debris of fallen rocks and dust.

But he shifted on the ground, his legs bending slightly to stand up once more. Seeing this, my heart felt like it might actually come out.

"Crazy, truly crazy… Did I break some rules, or is it a safety mechanism?"

I didn't panic seeing this and calmly assessed the situation. There was still some time before he could stand and come here.

But it looks like luck is not with me. Owen's bent legs instantly shifted down, then, like a frog, he jumped back in place. The maids around him didn't react to any of this till now.

But now they did.

Five of the maids present not far from Owen slowly shifted their gazes towards me, looking at my direction through the broken floor.

'Shit, that's scary!'

Looking at their gazes one by one, I felt another shiver run down my spine; it was a scene that felt like it came out of a ghost story told at nighttime.

Owen then again positioned himself straight, and my eyes widened as he suddenly leaped towards the broken floor.

Boom—!

Another loud noise followed his step, making me stagger back.

"Run!"

Even though no one was here beside me, I felt compelled to yell this out.

Owen glided up in the air, his silhouette appearing with a blur.

Instead of stopping at the present floor, he hit the top of his office, his head stuck.

"Ah…" I remained beside the previously broken wall, ready to run. But seeing him like this, laughter escaped from inside me.

His legs twitched as he kicked in the air, struggling to get out of his predicament.

"That's certainly an unexpected thing to happen…" I said, my lips threatening to curl up.

'Oh, wait, why am I wasting my time again?'

Just a few seconds ago, I had done the same thing. Which led to Owen hanging— I mean, being stuck in the ceiling. While it's a good thing, it doesn't necessarily mean it will always be good.

Giving one last glance to Owen, I was ready to flee till I saw that…

The suitcase I had previously brought with me inside the office has fallen over, its handle slightly open, giving me a small peek inside of it.

Ba…Thump!

My heart once again started to race as I touched it.

"Oh, god…" A feeling of dread spread through me, making my heart stop upon seeing what's inside of it.

Two grey eyes, a pale white face drained of blood, and long hairs spread inside the suitcase—I stepped back abruptly, making the suitcase fall.

Thump!

The woman's head rolled out shortly after…

"This Fu—" I stopped mid-sentence as another movement echoed above and below me at the same time.

Someone or something was coming here, and they were not alone.

Owen would likely come out soon, and I can guess that the servants will be here as well.

I licked my lips and ran toward the exit, my steps carrying me at a pace not used to this body.

My lungs burned as I was quickly out of air to breathe, then in another movement a maid came into the corridor.

Her right hand carried a sharp knife; its reflection showed Butler's pale and tired face.

Gulp…

I tried to look back, but another maid came from behind, leaving me with no choice but to run forward.

Taking a step back, I bent my right leg forward.

'Hope this body is a little bit more durable.'

Then in a blur of action I dashed forward; the maid raised the knife up in the air, ready to strike me down.

Stab—!

Then it happened too quickly for anyone to react. Instead of dodging the knife, I moved a little to my right and let the sharp blade hit my chest just below the heart.

A sharp pain stung me, and a muffled cry escaped my lips. But I didn't panic; a cold smile washed over my lips as I found myself grinning.

Thwack!

"Gah!" I grabbed the maid's neck with my right hand and then her right hand with my left, letting her drive the knife even deeper inside me.

"Huff… Huff…" My breathing quickened as from behind another maid ran in our direction.

"Hey, bad for you, I am a crazy person." With those words leaving my mouth, I twisted her neck as hard as I could.

Her body struggled as I felt her life drain in my hands. Her free hand hit my shoulders, again and again.

"Argh!" Another muffled cry left my mouth as she twisted the knife in me.

Snap!

Her neck snapped as she finally stopped moving.

Thud—!

Her body fell coldly over the floor, but I couldn't appreciate what I did just now, as the maid behind finally got near me. Her both hands held the knife like a dagger, her posture a little down for giving maximum damage.

I grabbed the knife plunged inside me and pulled it out.

"Huff…"

Drip—

Blood started to fall from the wound inflicted upon me, but I had no time to heal it.

Thwack!

I dodged to the left, letting the maid move past me; her steps halted as she kicked the side wall gracefully and turned back to face me.

I quickly held the knife in my left hand and swung it in a wide arc, prompting the maid to jump back. My right hand swiftly reached my wound before I could have lost more blood.

Then I started to heal it.

Slowly the blood filling my hands stopped as I finally felt the relief from pain. The pain was not as bad as before, but still bad enough to make me question my life decisions twice at the moment.

"Haa…" I let out a sigh of relief as I took a proper stance, with the knife raised just above my chest and held straight toward the maid.

But unlike the previous gracefully done attack, the maid bent down at the waist like a lizard and rushed forward in a frantic manner.

'Shit!'

I was not ready for such a strike. Just like me, she disregarded her own safety and left herself in the open.

But I also couldn't attack her; each of her stabs and slashes was aimed at my heart or neck, leaving no room to fight back.

I would step back, then to my right; her nimble body would jerk back towards me, just like Owen, in a way humanly not possible.

My experience with swords was not much, but I had managed to get something out of it as well. My instincts had honed a lot; my practice with Castor had not been a loss after all.

Clink!

Our knives clashed for a moment, leading to a moment of peace between us.

I smiled and pushed her knife up in the air; her side was left wide open. But I sadly couldn't slash it down, due to my own knife being up in the air as well.

I stepped forward, letting my knife go, and grabbed her wrist, pushing her back to the corner.

Thwack!

Then with my right knee, I hit her stomach, making her eyes widen.

I didn't stop; instead, I pushed her back even more. Her strength tried to overpower me. Feeling quite a lot of resistance, I pushed her down even further and put all my weight on her as she was dragged on the ground.

Her hands went to reach for my neck; like wild animals, we both tried to kill each other.

Stab—!

But I am not an animal…. So, I stabbed her in the chest.

The moment we had started to fall, I had pushed the knife with my leg near me.

Stab—!

I once again struck her heart as she tried to break my neck.

Thwack!

Her hands in the end fell to the side as I stood up and leaned on the wall.

"I am starting to feel sick again…"

My stomach churned, seeing the sight of two dead bodies. I can never get used to it, and I am happy about that.

They may have been puppets, but they were real in the children's memories.

'I hope they don't see this…' I hoped for the best and dragged myself to another corner not far from Owen's office.

The corridor was big, with many doors not far from the stairs. If I can reach that far, I might be able to climb down through another corner or window near it.

Leaving through the stairs was not a safe option.

Sounds of footsteps soon entered my ears as I turned to see more servants coming; maybe even Owen might come.

'Ah, it's the place where I met Ayla for the first time.'

Not much time has passed, but I suddenly felt nostalgia wash over me, the glass window on the corridor where I had seen my face for the first time, and the door beside it.

Door…?

'I had never noticed it.' I squinted my eyes in curiosity, nearly forgetting someone might come soon.

Tak—!

Hearing more sounds coming from ahead, I didn't waste any time and dashed to get inside the room.

It was suspicious, but the only place I could hide. After all, fighting one by one was still possible no matter how tired I was, but it was a different thing to fight four or five of the servants at the same time.

Click—!

The door opened as a pink-themed background greeted me. I quickly closed the door, seeing no one inside the room.

My gaze searched inside, roaming freely till it landed on the portrait of two figures.

It was Ayla and the woman with grey eyes.

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