NOVEL NEXT C28
C28: The Haunted Castle (2)
Sablona Castle is located on the border between the Slayer Kingdom in the east and the Brave Kingdom in the west. Sablona Castle, which was a strategic point for border security until 50 years ago, is now a den of undead.
The Sablona family, the lords of the castle, were all killed by the Brave Kingdom. It is rumored that the treasures that belonged to the Sablona family were never looted by the enemy and are still hidden somewhere in the castle. Because of this rumor, even fifty years after the castle was abandoned, there is no end to the number of adventurers looking for the treasures.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha…….!”
A man sprinted breathlessly through the corridors of a deserted castle. The man was an adventurer from the Brave Kingdom who had invaded the castle in search of treasure. He had entered the castle with his friends in high spirits, but now he was running alone through the castle. Behind him, a group of skeletons in armor were chasing him, making a clattering sound. The man’s companions had already fallen prey to the undead.
“Damn it! How the hell did this happen? That’s not what the information said.”
The man and his friends did not enter the castle without a plan. They had obtained a map of the castle beforehand, and had also brought with them equipment that would allow them to fight the undead, as well as items such as holy water and holy ashes.
The party of adventurers entered Sablona Castle with all the preparations in place, but it collapsed due to the increasing number of undead as they went deeper into the castle and the sudden appearance of a difficult enemy.
“I didn’t hear about that monster at……!”
“What kind of monster is that?”
“Huh!”
Suddenly, the man screamed at the sound of a woman’s voice. Oozing out from the wall of the corridor where the man was running away, the figure of a girl in a dress came into view.
“Hey, hey, Uncle…did you just call me a monster?”
It was a young girl in her early teens. She was only about the height of a man’s waist, and if this were a city, she would not be a worthy opponent to fear. However, this was an abandoned castle infested with undead, and the girl in front of him could not have been human. In fact, the girl in the dress had become translucent and was floating a few dozen centimeters above the floor.
“No, no! I didn’t mean it!”
“Hmm? What’s the difference? I’m just a kid. I don’t know.”
“What?”
The girl smiled childishly, as if she was fooling around. It was an innocent smile that soothed the heart, but to the man it was the smile of the devil because with that smile, the girl in front of him had killed all of his friends.
“Forgive me! I apologize for coming into the castle without permission! We didn’t steal anything, we’re not bandits!”
“Hmm, what should I do?”
The girl tilted her head and pondered. It seems that the girl in front of him is a survivor……of the Sablona clan. She thought that the men who broke into her castle were bandits or something, and that’s why they were killed. However, it is true that they came for the treasure, so it is not wrong to call them bandits.
“I’ll leave the castle! So just let me go!”
“I don’t know…If you’ll just get out of the castle, maybe I’ll let you go? Hey, hey, what do you think?”
“Clack clack clack.”
When the girl directs her words to the skeleton behind the man, the skeleton responds with a clacking sound.
“Oh, so I can do whatever I want? What should I do?”
As she spins around in the air, the girl is in a good mood but also troubled. She is as innocent as a child choosing sweets at a candy store. It’s hard to believe that she is in charge of the life and death of a man.
“…………”
The man took out the holy ashes from his pocket, his expression twisted in abhorrence. He opened the bag of items that had great efficacy against ghost-type monsters.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do…….”
“Damn you!”
The man threw the holy ashes at the girl in front of him. The girl’s spirit body made a buzzing sound, and white sparks popped from where the ashes covered her.
“Ouch! Ouch!”
“Haha, screw you! Goodbye!”
The man slips past the girl and runs off towards the exit. The skeleton rushes after him, but he won’t be able to catch up anymore.
“Thank God for……!”
The man’s body sneaks through the door. A smile appears on the man’s face from the joy of having survived. But—
“I’ll never forgive you. I won’t let you go.”
A voice, devoid of emotion, spoke to his back. The next moment, someone grabbed the man by the ankles.
“Agh!”
The grip on his leg causes him to fall forward. As he looked down at his feet in panic, he saw a pale hand sprouting through the floor, grasping his ankle firmly.
“Get off me! Let me go!”
The man slams his sword into the ghost’s hand. The hand is cut off by the weapon, which has been given holy attributes by the priest. But one after another, hands come out of the floor, grabbing the man’s hands, feet, and whole body, pushing him to the floor.
“All adults who treat me badly should die.”
A girl flew up to the man and poured out a merciless condemnation. A group of skeletons walked slowly, and surrounded the fallen man, raising their swords.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
The skeletons swung their swords down one after another. A cruel scream rang out in the cursed castle where no living person lived.