Chapter 181
Chapter 181
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: The Elder's Mansion (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Smoke wafted through the air, and I could see a drone in the gaps.
Yoon and I stayed put, observing as the security guards gathered in one spot. Unless it was a Creature, the rule was not to respond.
Especially not in a situation like this.
Shashinsky had vanished to understand Spitfire's orders. The bespectacled subordinate stood motionless by the Elder's side.
I brought the cigar back to my lips.
I savored the bitter smoke, leisurely assessing the situation.
Ah, there was Spitfire's blond subordinate.
He grinned broadly as he shot down the incoming drones one by one, like swatting flies.
Of course. It seemed these people had already prepared for an uprising.
The regular security guards guided the civilians out of the building.
"This has turned into quite the inconvenient party. My apologies."
Earhart rose from his seat and buttoned his jacket.
"I had hoped for a more relaxed chat, but tea time will have to wait."
"Not at all. I'm just glad to receive the game."
I replied with a smile.
It was code for hand over the game and get lost.
He couldn't possibly miss the implication. Eric Earhart looked down at me with a smile.
"Unfortunately, the game is in the underground studio."
Well, now.
"I was planning to go down with you... but as you can see, something's come up, and I must excuse myself first. I'll tell you the location—will you fetch it yourself?"
"Is there a basement in this building?"
"I've displayed my favorite pieces there."
Spitfire answered readily, then flashed a happy smile.
To a stranger, it might have looked like the smile of a cute middle-aged man excitedly explaining his beloved artworks.
"Those pieces better stay safe."
"Where's the game?"
Any suggestion not to go wouldn't stick anyway.
And I had no desire to attend Eric Earhart's party again.
Spitfire grinned and made a hand signal to his subordinate, asking for something.
"It's the gallery guide device. The game is in Section Q."
I took the device, like a museum-provided walkie-talkie.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the hall.
The attendees screamed, but none of us turned our heads.
Spitfire straightened his clothes and bowed elegantly.
"Enjoy your tour."
One of the columns collapsed.
I sighed deeply and set the cigar down on the glass table. It was a good cigar, but I wouldn't get to finish it. Yoon was rising slowly from his seat.
Looks like I'd be touring an Elder's collection whether I liked it or not.
I rubbed my neck as I stood and turned to Yoon.
"This is taking longer than expected. Sorry."
"Let's just grab it and go."
Yoon easily wove through the chaotic party hall.
"Territory reclamation always stirs things up like this right after."
Ah.
I understood the situation from Yoon's mutter.
New territory meant a shake-up in the power balance. Vast land brought plenty of rewards. Resources buried beneath, buildings to rise above, and the forests that would grow to provide even more.
Humans had always fought to expand their living space.
We were no different.
Silent, we headed underground.
***
"Wow."
I gaped at the painting before me.
"What the hell is this?"
"'Study of Proboscis Monkey.'"
Yoon peered at the device Spitfire had given us and muttered flatly.
"Francis Bacon."
"What kind of taste..."
If not for the title, I wouldn't have recognized it as a proboscis monkey.
I stared in bewilderment at the bizarre animal in the painting.
I knew Spitfire was a pervert, but I hadn't realized he was this much of one. It made me feel uneasy, so I quickly looked away.
Beyond the painting stretched a quiet, dark space.
As Spitfire had said, there was a gallery underground. I'd come down half-doubting, so the proper exhibition hall surprised me a bit.
The air was kept slightly cool to preserve the works. Lights illuminated only the pieces on the walls.
The artworks, spotlit in the darkness, sent chills down my spine.
The similar vibe of the pieces in Section A made it even creepier.
"Let's head straight to Section Q."
I shivered in the chill.
"No need to see more of these depressing works."
"Section C is pretty normal."
He was already there.
Right. Thanks for coming along.
Thinking that, I walked toward the voice.
Flowers bloomed before my eyes.
The floor of Section C was covered in paper flowers. The unexpected sight made me stop dead at the section's entrance.
White paper roses blanketed the dark exhibition floor.
Yoon stood in the middle, looking up at something hanging from the ceiling.
I approached carefully, avoiding stepping on the roses.
"What's this?"
"The first thing that came out of humanity's initial portal."
At the end of a thread attached to the ceiling hung a white creature.
It was taxidermied. A small body with three pairs of white wings on each side—six in total.
I didn't recall seeing anything like this in my original world.
Narrowing my eyes in thought, Yoon added,
"It's not from your world. It shares almost no traits with the majority of Creatures we encounter."
"What? You mean portals connected to other worlds too?"
"Only briefly."
Yoon looked away from the creature and left Section C.
What did that mean?
Did that mean there could be people from other worlds here besides us?
Flustered, I hurried to close the gap with my Master.
Our footsteps echoed through the gallery.
As if sensing my confusion, Yoon spoke as he passed the plaster statues in Section D and entered Section E.
"It's got nothing to do with the war. It never connected to other worlds as strongly or surely as it did to yours. Most opened and closed meaninglessly, or only a few minor things leaked out without much impact on Earth."
True enough, it had taken us multiple attempts to reach Earth.
Remembering the failed dimension transfers soured my mood.
I nodded silently and checked the device for Section Q's location.
Until Yoon, who had walked ahead alone, let out a voice laced with surprise.
"Isn't this you?"
I looked up from the device.
Yoon stood before a photo.
A spotless white wall held a frame. Inside the black-bordered frame was a photograph.
Slightly out of focus.
I walked slowly toward the photo.
Leaning lazily against a black sofa.
Taken from behind the sofa, long white hair cascaded over the backrest, catching my eye first. My side profile, eyes cast down in a smile, and below it, the whiskey glass in my right hand.
My left leg draped over my right thigh, extending downward until obscured by the angle.
Across from me sat an excited Eve.
"How did he get this?"
I let out a hollow laugh.
"I've definitely never met Spitfire before."
"Guess not all the records from back then were burned."
Yoon muttered, hands in his pockets.
"Who's the woman across?"
"Eve."
I didn't elaborate.
"Eve from From E."
"Ah."
Yoon helpfully caught on quickly.
"That..."
Crash!
A sharp shattering pierced my ears.
Yoon and I whipped our heads around.
Breaking glass. From Section Z.
More precisely, it was ongoing. Moments after the sound grabbed our attention, crash, crash! The breaking glass continued in succession. Someone was smashing something.
Section Z was directly opposite Section Q.
I bolted toward the noise.
"Did you hear someone come in?"
"No."
Yoon kept pace right behind me.
I hadn't either.
That was why it gripped our attention so fiercely. If we'd noticed someone entering, we wouldn't be this tense.
I'd assumed we were the only two in the basement all along. No signs of life when we entered or stayed.
"A drone?"
"Even machines make noise."
Yoon replied.
"Probably a pro."
He was right.
We didn't necessarily have to catch them, but we should check who it was. This was the Elder's domain. Better safe than sorry.
If it was just a petty thief or another Elder's probe, we'd back off—but if it was sabotage from a deranged insider, we'd have to intervene or evade.
With that in mind, I reached Section Z and faced a familiar face.
Jaeyeon.
Colton's right-hand man.
"Hey."
He wore the same outfit as before, but his face was entirely different. I muttered in shock.
"What's wrong with you?"
He was in a frenzy.
To the point my instincts screamed not to approach upon seeing his state. It warned that getting close would unleash indiscriminate violence.
Yoon, stopping beside me, didn't speak rashly either.
Jaeyeon was that unhinged.
Dilated pupils, ragged breaths. His left palm covered his face.
Blood flowed down his right arm.
But it didn't seem to be his own.
I glanced at the shattered vial fragments scattered on the floor.
The floor was red too, as if filled with blood.
"What is this section anyway?"
I stared blankly at the surely-aligned vials behind the broken glass Jaeyeon had smashed.
"What's stored here?"
Whose blood is this?
Why would he come all the way here to smash this and just sit?
It looked like ordinary blood.
Ah.
"Don't tell me this is my kin's blood or something..."
In that instant, Jaeyeon lunged.
A strangled scream? Or curses as he charged?
Details blurred. What stuck was the weight shoving me, the loss of balance. The feel of skin against the fist I swung reflexively.
Then Yoon's low curse.
My Master, who'd likely grabbed me just before the suction pulled at my back, growled.
"You crazy bastard."
His growl brimmed with fury.
"Should've deactivated the intruding portal!"
Too late.
We were sucked into the portal behind me—the path Jaeyeon had infiltrated the basement—still active, waiting for something to enter.
***
"Fuck."
Yoon's voice snapped me back.
"Where are we?"
"Patrick Yeats's mansion."
Jaoyeon's gloomy voice came from behind.
"The secret lair of a greed-filled Elder."
Damn it.
I shoved Jaeyeon off me from atop and dropped him aside.
Then, without getting up, I covered my face with both hands.
My damn luck.
Even tumbling through a portal to the wrong place, it had to be somewhere outside the law like this.