Chapter 58: Going Deeper Within

Passing through walls was an extremely useful cheat.

Not just in FPS games—just think about those massive open-world RPGs.

Often, players would see the target location right in front of them, yet no matter what they tried, they couldn’t find the entrance.

After wandering around in frustration, unable to figure out how to get inside, they would finally lose their temper, open the console, input the wall-hack command, and—bam—straight through the wall, directly to the mission objective.

The good part was that you could reach your destination right away.

The bad part was………sometimes players would be completely dumbfounded.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?

Right now, Levi was feeling exactly like that.

Where was this place?

Controlling the black cat, Levi stared at the scene before him, utterly confused.

If it was a cellar he had stumbled upon, Levi wouldn’t have been surprised.

If it was a graveyard, Levi wouldn’t have been surprised either.

But what if it was ruins?

Looking at the enormous hollow space before him, Levi couldn’t help but feel as if he had accidentally dug his way into the First Emperor’s Mausoleum.

In fact, the difference wasn’t all that big.

After using 【Shadow Step】several times to phase through walls and shorten the distance between himself and that light point, he once again slipped through a wall.

The next moment, the space suddenly opened wide before him, and the black cat—completely unprepared—plummeted downward as if someone had missed a stair while descending.

With a “splat,” it hit the ground.

Luckily, it wasn’t a real cat—otherwise it would have been flattened into a cat pancake.

Levi maneuvered the black cat to lift its head and scan the surroundings.

And then………

What the hell was this place?

Seeing the scene before him, Levi was completely stunned.

The hollow chamber was about half the size of a football field, looking much like a natural stalactite cave.

Stalactites hung down densely from the ceiling, resembling spears arranged as traps.

Underneath the black cat’s paws was a spiraling staircase made of stone, extending all the way down to the bottom of the hollow.

The stone pillars around the chamber were engraved with strange patterns, looking like the supporting columns of a palace.

Below, he could see an altar and several stone-carved chairs.

The whole environment reminded Levi of a round banquet table in a hotel’s private room.

That was about right—one large round table in the middle, surrounded by chairs.

And at this moment, the little girl was lying right in the center of that round table, looking as if she had been served up as a dish.

Clearly not a good sign.

This was going to be troublesome.

Levi frowned, made the black cat leap onto a higher ledge, and once again activated 【Soul Sight】to scan the surroundings.

Aside from the little girl, there was nothing.

Not even the souls he had seen before.

He should go down and take a look.

Levi sighed, made the black cat leap forward again………and then stopped.

He had reached the limit of his control range.

Feeling the taut threads between his fingers, Levi let out a helpless sigh in his heart.

Then he stood up, walked out of the room, and headed toward the first floor.

Although he didn’t yet know where the entrance to that underground world was, he needed to get closer if he could.

As Levi walked down the stairs, the dining room doors suddenly opened beside him, and Inspector Lestrade stepped out.

His expression was equally grim, and he gestured at Levi.

“What is it?”

Levi reluctantly set aside his half-played “Black Cat Simulator” and walked over to Inspector Lestrade, lowering his voice to ask.

“I just questioned the others, and found something odd.”

Inspector Lestrade spoke.

As a policeman, interrogation was second nature.

While Levi had been playing with the cat, Lestrade hadn’t been idle.

He had taken the opportunity to question everyone one by one—and he had indeed uncovered something.

“I asked the two maids.

They’re usually the ones maintaining this place.

That manager only came here once a week, and every time he performed some strange ritual.

As for that old medium, she’s got no real suspicion on her.

She said she worked as a medium in Mist City and had been hired by the manager for this séance game.”

Lestrade spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable.

Levi didn’t disagree.

Unlike in modern times, where mediums were seen as frauds, in this era many considered them “professionals.” Their work was more or less equivalent to fortune-tellers of old.

For an event like this, hiring a professional medium to preside over things would seem completely normal to people of this era.

“And then there’s that family of three.”

At this point, Inspector Lestrade perked up.

“I questioned them separately.

The wife said they were here visiting relatives nearby, while the husband said they were here for sightseeing.

Their stories didn’t match, which raised my suspicions.

So I pressured them a bit, and eventually, they told me the truth.”

“What did they say?”

“They said they were here to wait for someone.”

“To wait for someone?”

“Yes.

That couple said someone had approached them before, claiming to be some kind of proxy lawyer, and that there was an inheritance for them.”

“When was this?”

Levi, meanwhile, made the black cat glance once more at the altar, confirming nothing had changed, before turning his attention back.

“End of last year.”

“A matter from last year, and only now they came?”

“At the time, they didn’t trust it.

Felt like a scam.

After all, if some stranger suddenly showed up at your door claiming you had a huge inheritance, when you’d never heard of them before, wouldn’t you also be suspicious?”

“Then why did they come now?”

“The husband lost a lot of money in business.

In desperation, he remembered this, and thought it might be a lifeline.

Because before leaving, that person had given them a card with an address, telling them if they changed their mind, they could come here.”

“So that’s why they came………did you ask who that proxy lawyer was?”

“And that’s the most interesting part.”

Inspector Lestrade grinned.

“It was the innkeeper.”

“Good grief.”

Hearing this, Levi’s expression darkened.

“So this fellow really was wearing more than one hat……”

“I searched him already.

Nothing.

The guy was clean as a corpse.

And now, well—he really is a corpse.”

Lestrade’s face wasn’t looking good either.

Normally, in these times, people carried wallets with them—containing citizen IDs, various documents, money, even punched bank cards.

But when inspecting the corpse earlier, Lestrade had searched him thoroughly—yet found nothing.

Not even a watch or a ring.

“What about his room? As manager, he should have had an office here.”

“Yes, but I didn’t have time to check.

You—”

“I don’t have time now either.”

Levi understood what Lestrade meant.

But lives were at stake.

He glanced again at the situation over there.

The little girl hadn’t woken yet, but Levi didn’t believe she was lying there just to sleep.

“You found the child?”

“I have a lead.

I’m going to get her now.

We’ll deal with the rest later.”

As he spoke, Levi patted his pocket, pulled out a box of silver bullets, and handed it over.

“What’s this?”

Lestrade took the bullets curiously, puzzled.

“Silver bullets.

They say silver weapons can kill evil spirits.

If you run into something you can’t handle, you might try these———though I can’t promise they’ll work.”

“Even if they don’t, it’s reassuring to have them.”

Inspector Lestrade didn’t hesitate, pocketing them immediately.

“Anyway, you be careful.”

“You too.

Stay alert.”

Levi felt that Lestrade’s situation was even more dangerous than his own.

After all, he had to watch over a whole group of people.

If an attack really happened, chaos could break out instantly………Forget it.

No use worrying now.

For now, the only goal was to survive the night.

After a few more words, Inspector Lestrade returned to the dining hall, while Levi slipped away to a corner of the first floor.

It was a storeroom.

On the surface, nothing unusual—and in fact, it really was ordinary.

But what Levi cared about wasn’t the storeroom itself—it was what lay beneath it………

He quietly made the black cat take a few steps, reaching the wall.

Under the burning torchlight, the cat’s shadow stretched long across the stone floor—————but here was the question: this place looked as though no one had been here in centuries.

So why were there burning torches?

That was also why Levi couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Of course, he could use the black cat to scout the passages, find the entrance connecting to the underground hollow, then go down that way.

But the problem was—there might not be enough time.

Since he had the cheat-like ability to pass through walls, the best move was to rescue the girl first.

Whoever had kidnapped her, and for what reason—those could be dealt with later.

If possible, Levi would have preferred to remain hidden, using the black cat to rescue her.

But 【Shadow Step】was a single-target ability—he couldn’t bring anyone else through with it.

Which meant he had to go himself.

With that thought, Levi made up his mind.

Stepping forward, he slipped into the corridor’s deep shadow.

The darkness melted into a cold swamp, silently swallowing Levi whole as he sank downward.

In that pitch blackness, he felt like a deep-sea fish, swimming through the lightless abyss, navigating only by the faint disturbances of the currents———until he stepped forward.

At that moment, Levi felt as though he had surfaced from the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Shadows writhed and twisted around him, and then he emerged from them.

Lifting a hand, he pressed down the brim of his hat, scanning his surroundings warily———though he had already scouted with the black cat to be safe, he still needed to see with his own eyes.

Stepping out of the shadows, Levi collected his thoughts, and once more swept the area.

Using 【Soul Sight】and 【Shadow Step】in succession had drained him considerably.

But with a child’s life at stake, he didn’t consider it a waste.

On the other hand, when the innkeeper had jumped up earlier, Levi hadn’t even bothered activating 【Eye of the Reaper】………On lunatics like that, why waste anything? Just close his eyes and empty a magazine, job done.

Controlling the black cat, Levi double-checked the surroundings for anyone hiding in the dark.

Finding none, he quickly strode toward the round table.

The table was massive, even larger than the twenty-four-seat banquet tables of restaurants.

It was carved entirely from stone, as were the twelve surrounding chairs.

If there was anything odd, it was that the table and chairs were a bit too large.

Levi estimated that if he sat on one, it would be like a four- or five-year-old sitting in an adult’s chair—his legs wouldn’t even reach the ground.

Forget it—those details could wait.

Levi climbed onto the table and approached the little girl.

She was curled up, eyes closed, appearing to sleep soundly.

Her breathing was steady, no visible injuries—she seemed perfectly fine.

Seeing this, Levi breathed a little easier.

He reached out, preparing to wake her and ask what had happened.

But just then, he suddenly felt a burning sensation on his finger.

Looking down, Levi saw the ruby ring on his right index finger glowing with a dazzling light.

And then—the little girl, who had been fast asleep, shuddered and opened her eyes.

Her cute blue eyes had turned blood red, staring coldly at him!

The next instant, a violent gust of air surged straight toward Levi!

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