The Eldritch Files

As always, he appeared on the school bus. As always, he entered the Ancient Castle.

The little boy’s wailing and the pig-headed monster’s loss of control, the brave girl with the ponytail stepping forward and her head shattering—it all played out exactly as it had before.

The process of the monsters choosing their children, and even the subtle movements involved, remained unchanged.

The old butler was, as always, the picture of elegance and civility, a stiff, false smile plastered on his face. His hands drifted over the children’s heads as if conducting a symphony. He easily pointed out five children, but after picking the fifth, his movements suddenly stopped. His hands hovered in mid-air, as if he were in a bind...

’Is it because Mei Lan is missing?’

Han Su snapped out of his daze, realizing the crux of the matter.

Mei Lan, or ”Wei Lan” as Special Assistant Xu called her, had already been rescued. He had saved her, and she had escaped the fate of being kidnapped forever.

Inside the Ancient Castle, a change had occurred.

Originally, after the seven monsters had each picked a child, the old butler would personally select six children to send upstairs. Mei Lan had been one of the six children he chose.

But now that she was gone, a substitute had to be found.

But now, the old butler actually seemed to be in a difficult position.

His pale blue eyes, completely devoid of any spark of life, swept across the children before him, one by one.

No one dared to meet his gaze, and they all hurriedly lowered their heads.

At that moment, Han Su grew exceptionally tense. ’The old butler is the most terrifying monster of all.’

He had previously tried to escape before the school bus even entered the Ancient Castle, either by climbing through a window or by trying to grab the steering wheel from the petrified driver.

But no matter which method he tried, the moment he made his move, he would be targeted by the porcelain-like old butler.

When the butler wasn’t paying attention to him, he could blend in with the children, pretend to be under hypnosis, and wait for an opportunity to escape.

But the moment the butler noticed him, there was no avoiding the hypnosis.

With a single, soft clap, the butler could force him to hold a single posture, standing in place for six or seven hours. It felt as if every muscle in his body was cramping at once, his frame so rigid it was on the verge of breaking down completely.

In the past, the old butler had never chosen him, but this time...

Han Su was so nervous his back grew slightly rigid. He could definitely feel the old butler’s gaze lingering on him for a moment.

But soon enough, the old butler sighed regretfully, his palm landing on another boy. ”It’ll be you, then,” he lamented.

Han Su let out a breath of relief and focused his attention, scanning the monsters in the main hall for any sign of the ”key.”

In the Ancient Castle’s current state, escape was impossible without the key.

But because the monsters’ forms were all different, and their robes were intricate and strange, he didn’t dare move from his spot. He could only use the opportunity to carefully observe every detail, searching.

It was confirmed. The key wasn’t on the Pale Giant, nor on Lady Meat Horn.

The key was...

When he finally caught a glimpse of the key, his heart leaped with joy. But then he identified the monster carrying it, and his happiness faded, replaced by a sudden heaviness in his heart...

The key was on the Worm Monk.

It was hanging beneath his black cleric’s robe, hidden by the drooping hem, revealing only the gleaming golden tip.

’Damn it, why him?’

Han Su sighed inwardly as an invisible pressure welled up in his heart.

Of all the monsters by the dining table, the Worm Monk was the most peculiar and also the most low-key. Each time, he would simply appear, select a child, and go upstairs.

At all other times, this monster’s movements were invariably slow and unhurried, one might even say elegant.

He had never been seen speaking or losing his temper; he always appeared lifeless.

But Han Su knew how difficult he was to deal with.

With the other monsters, he could divert their attention. He could even do what he did with the Pale Giant: directly torment its dolls to make it anxious, then snatch the key by force while it was caught off guard.

But none of those tactics would work on the Worm Monk.

Because his entire body was covered in worms—the writhing, pink-skinned, nauseating kind. They existed on every part of him.

Most importantly, these worms were extremely sensitive.

Every single worm was like one of his eyes. No matter the angle of approach, the worms would discover it instantly. Even observing him for slightly too long or with too much focus would be immediately detected by those worms.

How could anyone possibly steal the key from a monster like that?

’Still, no need to panic...’

Han Su comforted himself. Regardless, there would be an opportunity later, during the Night of Revelry.

And besides...

With a sliver of hope, he subtly averted his gaze from the Worm Monk and began searching the other monsters.

He still had one other hope.

Previously, he had rescued Xu Ji, and as a result, an extra key had appeared in the Ancient Castle, along with a door that could manifest on any floor. So, what about this time?

He had rescued Mei Lan. Would a second key appear this time as well?

He desperately hoped he could find a key on one of the other monsters. The Pale Giant would be best; after all, it had been his most cooperative ”old friend” throughout his recent escape attempts.

But he kept watching and watching, until the selection was over and the remaining children were sent to the cellar by the butler, and still, he found nothing.

’Then who could have the key?’

’It couldn’t be on one of the monsters that didn’t even come downstairs, could it? Searching for it then would be like finding a needle in a haystack.’

As he pondered this, Han Su quickly realized another problem. ’But, while in theory saving a second person should result in a second reward, is that reward actually a key?’

It was just that the door appeared after he rescued Xu Ji. But was it possible that the reward for saving a second person wasn’t a door, but something else entirely?

He was suddenly at a loss. ’The Ancient Castle is enormous. How am I supposed to search for it?’

But as he forced himself to calm down, a few sentences suddenly flashed through Han Su’s mind:

[When facing mysterious Penetration and bizarre phenomena, no situation is 100% safe.]

[Tension and anger will only cause madness to spread. Please remain calm. Controlling your own heartbeat is the prerequisite for confronting the bizarre.]

[When faced with phenomena beyond your Understanding and the unknown, if you are unable to make effective plans or deductions, please act according to your human instincts. Execution is the primary element in confronting the bizarre.]

[...]

These regulations were all from the safety manual he had been required to read and memorize at the Disaster Management Bureau.

Han Su wasn’t the kind of genius who could memorize the entire manual word-for-word, and no one from the Disaster Management Bureau had come to explain it to them rule by rule. So at the time, Han Su had only memorized it for the sake of an exam, treating it as just material to be tested on.

But now, huddled in a corner of this gloomy Ancient Castle, the contents of the manual he had paid little attention to were inexplicably surfacing in his mind, one rule at a time.

’That’s right, there’s no such thing as a 100% safe and clear plan.’

’I’ve been back so many times, I have a basic understanding of these monsters. At the very least, I know that as long as I get the key, I can escape this Ancient Castle...’

’I have the advantage!’

’...’

He remained calm and silently made his calculations:

’The best preparation I made for this return was learning that Invisibility Spell at the Disaster Management Bureau...’

’And the best time to test the quality of this Spell is...’

His eyes narrowed slightly. ’...Now!’

Indeed, it was now.

His gaze swept across the children in the cellar, who were overwhelmed by fear and tension, confirming his idea. The monsters had all gone upstairs, and what’s more, the old butler wasn’t outside.

’In that case, my apologies...’

Having made his decision, Han Su looked at Secretary No. 2’s kid, who was just then talking about how he coveted the pretty maid’s old nanny.

He walked forward and patted his shoulder. ”Your dad is Secretary No. 2? The big official who can beat someone to death with no one daring to intervene?”

And then he slapped him. ”Let me give you a taste of the working class’s iron palm...”

”...”

The sudden beating threw the children in the cellar into an uproar. The boy with the side-part, who had no idea what was going on, let out a shriek and started bawling.

Han Su really hadn’t held back; the boy was truly in pain.

The crying in the cellar immediately attracted attention from outside. Before long, the small door opened. A hunchback stood there wheezing, intimidating them as he raised a light to inspect the situation inside.

Han Su, who had been paying close attention to the movements above, was about to act when he suddenly noticed the object the hunchback had brought in.

His mind exploded with shock and anger.

Every time a commotion broke out in the cellar, the hunchback would come to check, holding up a lantern to see what the children were doing. But this time, Han Su discovered that what he brought in was no longer a lantern.

But rather, some kind of crystal that emitted an eerie light?

’Damn it all, is this because I used the lantern to burn the first-floor carpet last time?’

Had the mysterious will within the Ancient Castle made its move again?

Because he had used the lantern to burn the carpet last time, had it silently altered the lantern’s structure, replacing the flame with this Crystal Finger Bone?

”Son of a bitch...”

”Are you really not going to leave me a single opening?”

’...’

Cursing inwardly, Han Su focused his gaze.

But then his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Why did the crystal in the lantern look just like the bones from the Crystal Plague incident he had handled in reality not long ago?