Noctis stood frozen.
"W-What a-are you?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Ian Vexwood stood in the middle of the hall.
His eyes…
Completely black.
No.
It felt as if his eyes contained darkness itself.
Then Ian's lips slowly parted.
"It's… all… your fault."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ian lunged at him.
Noctis snapped back to his senses instantly.
He dodged the attack and rushed toward the exit, but the door slammed shut behind him.
Left with no choice, he turned and ran deeper into the mansion.
He ran until his lungs burned.
Finally stopping to catch his breath, Noctis turned to look behind him.
"Huff… hah… did I manage to shake him off?"
Suddenly—
Loud banging noises erupted from the doors along the corridor.
Noctis stiffened.
One of the doors burst open.
A servant stepped out.
Then another door.
And another.
Soon every door along the hallway opened.
Noctis immediately understood.
He was in serious trouble.
He quickly pulled the revolver from behind his back and aimed it at one of the approaching servants.
They were not human.
Blood flowed down from their eyes as all of them slowly turned their heads toward him.
"Ah, shit!"
Noctis fired instantly.
The gunshot echoed loudly through the corridor.
One servant collapsed.
Without wasting a second, Noctis ran.
Hands lunged toward him from every direction as he pushed past them.
Noctis was exhausted, but the servants moved slowly enough for him to keep escaping.
He ran through corridor after corridor, searching desperately for somewhere to hide, only to find every turn blocked.
Finally—
He stumbled upon an empty servant room.
Noctis rushed inside and slammed the door shut, locking it immediately.
He dragged a chair across the floor and jammed it against the door for extra support.
Then he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
'What do I do now?
Do I try escaping through the front gate?
But would the mansion even allow that?'
He sat there thinking.
'Is this some kind of "defeat the boss to escape" situation?
If that's the case…
Then I'll have to kill Ian Vexwood. Or whatever that thing is.'
Noctis looked down at the revolver in his hand.
"Eleven bullets left… but would it really be that simple?"
After gathering some courage, he slowly stood up.
He removed the chair from the door.
Carefully pressing his ear against the wood, he listened for any footsteps.
Nothing.
Five minutes passed in silence.
Slowly, he turned the handle.
He opened the door just enough to peek outside.
Left.
Right.
The hallway looked empty.
Noctis stepped out and gently closed the door behind him.
He moved cautiously through the corridor, trying to avoid making any noise.
At the next corner, he peeked around the wall.
Two or three servants wandered aimlessly through the hallway like zombies.
Shit. I need another route.
Noctis turned to leave—
But suddenly a nearby door burst open.
A servant lunged at him.
He couldn't react in time.
The impact knocked him to the floor.
The figure pinned him down.
When Noctis finally saw the face above him—
It was Clarisse.
Her strength was far beyond that of a normal human.
Noctis struggled, but he couldn't free his arms.
Without hesitation, he drove his knee into Clarisse's stomach.
She staggered.
In that instant, Noctis raised his gun and aimed at her head.
BANG.
The gunshot thundered through the corridor.
Noctis shoved her body aside and immediately ran.
He knew the sound would attract even more of them.
He felt no remorse.
Not at all.
He already knew they weren't human.
Still… seeing these familiar faces chasing him through the mansion left an uneasy feeling in his chest.
He ran without stopping.
Until—
A dead end.
The servants were closing in behind him.
With no time left, Noctis turned toward the nearby window.
"This will do."
He threw the window open and jumped outside.
Landing on the ground, he quickly rushed toward the garden and hid behind the bushes.
Noctis remained perfectly still, trying to control his breathing.
He watched as the servants moved past the area, searching elsewhere.
Once they disappeared from sight, he finally let out a long sigh.
"Fuck… why is this happening to me?"
He sat there for a moment, gathering himself before stepping out from the bushes.
"I need to find a way back to the main hall."
Noctis began searching the garden for a shortcut.
But suddenly—
Footsteps sounded behind him.
He turned instantly.
The butler was already charging toward him at inhuman speed.
Noctis fired without hesitation.
The bullet struck Gerald's shoulder.
But he didn't stop.
Gerald closed the distance in an instant.
His fist slammed into Noctis's face, followed by a brutal kick to the stomach.
The revolver slipped from Noctis's hand as he crashed to the ground.
Gerald didn't give him time to recover.
He grabbed Noctis by the throat.
Noctis clawed at his hands, but they wouldn't move.
Air stopped entering his lungs.
His vision began to blur.
Darkness crept into the edges of his sight.
"Dammit…"
Just as he was about to lose consciousness—
Something struck Gerald.
His grip loosened.
Noctis pushed him away and collapsed forward, coughing violently as air finally filled his lungs.
When he looked up—
A familiar figure stood between him and the butler.
"Silas?" Noctis asked in confusion.
Then he noticed something else.
Gerald was standing again.
Even with a pair of scissors stabbed through his neck.
"The gun!"
Noctis immediately searched for his revolver.
At the same time, Gerald charged forward again with an inhuman roar.
But before he could reach Noctis—
Silas intercepted him.
The two clashed violently.
They exchanged blow after blow.
Noctis finally spotted his gun and rushed to grab it.
With the revolver back in his hands, he turned toward the fight.
Silas glanced at him.
Then immediately grabbed Gerald from behind, locking him in place.
Noctis understood instantly.
He aimed.
And fired.
The bullet pierced straight through Gerald's heart.
The butler collapsed.
This time—
He didn't move.
Noctis slowly lowered his gun.
He looked toward Silas.
Silas simply raised his hands.
Noctis let out a long breath.
He was safe.
At least for now.