/
Luke led us out of the slum, but we noticed that none of the frightened slum dwellers followed us, presumably due to their fear of the “ghost curse.”
The area was overgrown with lush grasses, likely because people didn’t move around frequently. The middle of the area was littered with discarded trash, and the trees had withered away, leaving only bare branches.
The road leading to the “Cursed House” was unpleasant, filled with an unpleasant sight.
‘Um… it’s not really a haunted place, is it?’
I thought it would be embarrassing if everyone knew that I was scared, so I kept walking while concealing my anxiety as best I could.
“We’re almost there. That’s the house you see over there.”
Luke pointed his finger at a house with a gloomy atmosphere. Actually, it would be more precise to describe it as an abandoned house than a home.
Andras murmured as he looked around the abandoned house. “Hmm. It looks like an abandoned house where no one lives on the surface.”
“I told you before. Everyone is scared of the ghost’s curse, so they don’t come anywhere near here.”
As Luke said, there were no signs of people around the house.
“But I think she’ll live in a house like that. Don’t you, Kroc?”
To Locus’ question, Kroc replied with silence.
Meanwhile, Lia smiled awkwardly and defended the woman named Terjan saying, “Sister Terzan has a unique taste.”
“Is that something unique? You’re freaking out, right?”
If you choose to live in an abandoned house like this, it’s hard to say as an area of taste.
In the middle of a conversation, Locus uttered with a frustrated look on his face.  “Oh! What are you waiting for? Can’t we just go in and check it out ourselves?”
“What?! You’re going in there?” asked Luke, jumping in surprise.
“Don’t we have to go inside to see if there is someone or not?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Luke appeared frightened, as though he had completely forgotten about the gold coins. Leading us to the house and entering it seemed like two entirely different things.
Andras retrieved a gold coin from his pocket and offered it to the trembling Luke.
“Great job. I’ll give you the reward as promised. You can head back now.”
“……..”
Luke appeared deeply troubled as he gazed at the gold coin before him. Eventually, he shook his head and pushed the coin away.
“I can’t get gold again while running away from the guests. I’ll stay with everyone until the end and get the second gold coin.”
“What?”
Everyone admired the young boy who had conquered his fear and rejected the offer of the gold coin.
With a sly expression, Locus posed a question to Luke. “Hahaha, are you sure you’ll be alright? I heard if a ghost curses you, you’ll die within a few days.”
“Uh… It’s fine. The guests need someone to guide them back.”
Luke demonstrated his determination once again, shaking his entire body. Locus smiled nonchalantly and ruffled Luke’s hair roughly.
“Don’t worry, kid. I won’t let you get cursed by the ghost.”
“Don’t worry too much. It’ll be over soon.”
Lia also held one of his hands with a friendly smile, which helped to calm Luke’s shaking and ease his expression.
“Sihyeon, are we ready to go?”
“Yes, let’s go inside.”
The party, starting with Andras and myself, then proceeded towards the abandoned house.
As we approached the entrance to the abandoned house, the wooden door creaked open with a very unpleasant sound. Upon entering the dark room, an eerie silence enveloped the group.
Gradually, my eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through the windows, and I began to discern the structure of the house – closet, bed, table, and so on.
Despite the foreboding atmosphere, the furnishings inside the house looked reasonably well-preserved. At first glance, the house seemed no different from an ordinary family home.
Apart from the strange ambiance, it was difficult to understand why people feared this “ghost house.”
“You don’t think anyone’s here, do you?”
“I don’t think so. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of human life.”
“I also think it’s empty here,” said Locus, surveying the house with a bored expression on his face.
“Andras, I don’t think there’s anyone here either. What should we do?”
“Well… I think we should go back and contact Ryan first. We can’t keep wasting time here without any other information.”
“Are we going back now?” Luke, who was clinging tightly to Lia, wagged his tail with delight.
I looked around the house again, feeling a mix of emotions.
This was my final hope…
Locus, who had been exploring on his own, quickly lost interest and expressed his disdain,
“Let’s head back. I wish there was a ghost or something…”
TILT!
Suddenly, Locus’ body leaned to one side, and he instinctively flailed his arms to maintain his balance.
Wooosh
“What?”
Wooosh
Woosh!
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
A high-pitched screech echoed throughout the room, causing the entire party to assume a defensive posture as Luke screamed in terror.
Woosh! Wooosh!
I strained my eyes to make sense of the situation while seeking shelter behind Kroc. A white figure darted through the darkness at an incredible speed, leaving only a blur in its wake.
After a moment, the piercing sound subsided, and an eerie silence fell over the room. The first thing I noticed was Locus, who appeared to be completely immobilized.
“Ugh?! This is…?
He was ensnared by a thin, spiderweb-like thread. Andras and Kroc promptly sprang into action, preparing for the worst.
“Locus!”
“Sihyeon, it’s dangerous.”
“…”
Woosh!
As the shadowy figure slowly emerged from the darkness, the party tensed up even further. The unidentified creature produced a sharp dagger and held it to Locus’ throat.
“Who is it?”
“Ugh!”
“Are you here to kill me?”
“Hey! You’re Terzan, right? Unlock this right now!”
The shadowy shape gradually took on a more defined form, revealing a slender woman wielding the blade.
“My name… Who bought you?”
“Hey! Don’t you recognize me? It’s Locus!”
“Locus… Locus……”
The woman, who had aimed the dagger, tilted her head while muttering “Locus.” But she didn’t seem to be thinking, and her eyes flashed with blue energy.
“I don’t remember anyone by that name……”
“……?”
“You’re going to die.”
“Argh!”
Just as the dagger was about to strike, Andras and Lia shouted as loud as they could.
“Terzan!”
“Sister Terzan!”
Fortunately, the woman stopped moving at the cries of the two, and slowly turned her eyes toward us.
The woman, known as Terzan, looked at Andras and Lia with unfocused eyes for a while, and there was a momentary flash of light in her eyes.
“Oh!”
Woosh!
She slid towards us in a strange movement that didn’t seem to belong to a living creature, her expression still expressionless.
“Andras… Lia… Right?”
“Long time no see, Terzan.”
“Long time no see, Sister.”
“Yes, yes…”
Every time she saw the two, a small light sparkled in her vacant eyes.
“What brings you here?”
“We came to ask you for a favor, Terzan.”
“To me?”
“It’s about the Forest of Silence. We really need your help.”
“……”
“I have a feeling this is going to be a long story. I’ll explain everything in detail shortly.”
“Okay… Andras is reliable.”
Terzan patted Andras on the head as if praising a child, an act that could be very unpleasant, but Andras responded with a rather happy expression.
“Haha! Thank you.”
Luke, who had been shaking due to the tense atmosphere, spoke up cautiously as the warm feeling spread.
“Excuse me.”
“……?”
“……?”
“Shouldn’t we let him go first?”
Uh! Locus!
“Hey, you bad guys! Can’t you even see me?”
Locus was still tied up and unable to move. Andras quickly gestured towards Locus and spoke to Terzan.
“Terzan, I think we need to address that first.”
“… …”
She turned her head and glanced at Locus briefly before speaking a word apathetically.
“Should I kill him?”
“Hahaha.”
“Sister…”
Andras smiled awkwardly while Lia let out a soft sigh, and Kroc looked at Locus with pity.
Terzan tilted her head as if she didn’t quite understand their reaction.
Although it was only a brief moment, I could understand a little bit why Locus was trembling while describing Terzan as a “crazy girl.”
“Whew… I really thought I was going to die.”
The freed Locus kept rubbing his neck and grumbling.
He also shot occasional angry glances at Terzan, but she remained unfazed.
We sat on the ground and began with a brief round of introductions.
“Terzan, this is Lim Sihyeon. He’s the owner of the Cardis estate and is currently working with Mr. Kaneff.”
“Nice to meet you, Terzan. My name is Lim Sihyeon.”
“Do you work with the Leader? Is it a new Black Hawk unit?”
“Oh, no. Sihyeon is just working on a farm. Mr. Kaneff is there as well.”
Terzan stared at me with an intense gaze, showing interest in me. I, too, stole glances at her figure.
She had black hair and eyes, an unfocused stare, and a blank expression. While the Angels’ emotionless expressions were like iron masks, Terzan seemed to lack emotions altogether.
Woosh!
With her ghostly movements, Terzan suddenly appeared before me and reached out to touch my head.
BUMP!
Huh?
I felt embarrassed as she stroked my head vigorously and shook her body. And she spoke to Andras in a slightly exasperated voice.
“Andras Andras. He’s strange. He doesn’t have horns.”
“Oh, Sihyeon isn’t a demon, he’s a human.”
“Human?”
Terzan’s eyes glimmered when she mentioned “human.”
Continuing to stroke my head, she also began to poke and smell me.
When everyone was perplexed by her curious behavior…
“SIHYEON doesn’t like it Popi, so get away from him, Popi.”