“Excuse me?”
He could make the corpse disappear?
I tilted my head at the incomprehensible statement.
He didn’t seem to mean burning it, and it seemed to be related to his ability.
When I voiced my question, Mateo glanced at Igor’s corpse and approached it.
“It won’t exactly disappear, but I can deceive people’s eyes. It’s possible if it’s not alive…”
He trailed off and slowly reached out his hand toward the corpse.
And then, something miraculous happened.
As soon as his fingertip lightly touched Igor’s shoulder, the contacted part slowly began to turn transparent.
I realized I had seen something similar; it was quite similar to Lee Donghyuk’s ability that I had experienced before.
“Is it a transparency ability?”
“No, it literally deceives the eyes.”
Was it some kind of optical illusion?
If it was only possible with non-living things, then he must have only used his ability on objects normally.
Since a corpse was, after all, just a lump of meat, it seemed to fall within that category.
Well, Igor wouldn’t have captured Mateo for no reason.
Honestly, even with the explanation, the principle was completely difficult to understand, but it was a fortunate turn of events for now.
“Let’s go back to the basement first.”
I groped for the location of Igor’s corpse, and soon I felt the wet texture of his skin.
Since there was still warmth remaining, I lifted the corpse with a mixed feeling of unease and hesitation.
“…”
However, that unpleasant feeling soon completely vanished.
No, rather than vanishing, I was so shocked that I didn’t have the presence of mind to be bothered by it.
When I arrived back in the basement, I was instantly speechless at the sight that unfolded before my eyes.
I had somewhat expected it, but Ilya was lying on the floor in a miserable state, with no movement.
I didn’t even need to check; he had already passed away.
His face was so battered that it was unrecognizable.
Since multiple Awakeners had attacked him, this was a natural consequence, in a way.
‘He got what he deserved.’
He had only received the consequences of his own actions, and there was no reason to feel sorry for him now.
However, it was never a pleasant experience to see a gruesome-looking corpse.
‘It’s probably best to put them together…’
I laid Igor’s corpse, which was slung over my shoulder, next to Ilya.
Although there was nothing visible, a thump sound was heard, and people nearby started gathering one by one.
Even though the exit was open, they could have rushed out, but every single person was waiting for me in the basement.
“What is it? Is that bastard here?”
“That bastard? Igor is here?”
“What? Move aside for a second.”
“Is he already dead? I was going to kill him!”
With each person adding their comment, their questioning expressions gradually became agitated.
Doubt quickly turned into certainty and instantly spread into madness.
While Mateo discreetly used his ability on Ilya, the people rushed at the invisible Igor without hesitation.
They violently kicked and poured out their rage, somehow sensing his presence.
Someone spat, and someone else screamed in indignation.
Swept away helplessly in the chaos, I eventually banged on the iron door to focus their attention.
“Everyone, we need to get out of here quickly!”
The excited people turned back to look at me, breathing heavily at my shout.
Their eyes were a tangled mix of injustice, anger, and sorrow.
Of course, I understood their feelings, but there was no meaning in wasting time on a corpse that was already dead.
Now was the time to think about what to do next.
One hour later, all the people who had been in the basement finally gathered in the parlor.
Only after double-checking the headcount did a small sigh, which I had been holding back, finally escape.
I had only led a group of less than ten people, but I already felt completely exhausted.
“No one will be able to find this place now.”
After finally cutting out the button on the fireplace, a sense of relief washed over me that the plan had succeeded.
Even if someone discovered the basement, it wouldn’t be easy to find the transparent corpses neatly hidden in the wall.
The people suggested just burning them, but I was reluctant to use that method.
In the end, we agreed on cutting out the wall cleanly and concealing the corpses with the help of the people in the basement.
“To think I escaped from that hellish place… sniffle.”
“Thank you! Thank you, Hunter!”
“As expected, it is the grace of the Spirit-nim…”
The people, who had been tense moments ago, burst into tears as they looked around, as if nothing had happened.
Some of them even offered prayers toward Chirpy, who was peacefully sleeping on my head.
Some of them had been imprisoned for several months, or even years, so all the pent-up emotions seemed to have erupted at once.
I wished I could all leave the mansion together now, but there were still things I needed to do.
“I need to stop by somewhere quickly. Could you please gather the housekeepers in the meantime?”
“The housekeepers?”
“I know you may not like them, but I ask for your favor.”
I knew well that the housekeepers had feigned ignorance while these people suffered.
I even heard that they had treated the people like invisible objects even when they secretly pleaded for help.
Since the housekeepers were the ones who brought the tea initially, it was natural that there were no good feelings toward them.
I knew that fact, but from what I had observed so far, I felt that they were victims too.
Who would willingly want to be confined in a mansion like this?
Whatever the reason, the housekeepers also had the right to know the current situation, at the very least.
Leaving them here without telling them anything was something I simply couldn’t do.
“…Understood.”
At my repeated request, the people reluctantly nodded their heads, despite their discomfort.
Rumble.
A moment later, I stopped in front of the familiar pomegranate painting.
Once again, borrowing Chirpy’s hand, I stepped into the darkness, and my heart started pounding again.
‘Am I too late?’
I had hurried, but the anxiety only grew stronger.
Perhaps going to the basement first instead of here was a mistake.
Click.
I grimaced at the foul smell and turned the doorknob inside the torture room.
Soon, the familiar iron cages came into sight one by one.
Contrary to my fears, the people were sitting inside the cages, looking exactly as I had seen them earlier.
Three of the five were still unconscious, and two were blankly staring into space.
I felt a great sense of relief that no one had died and quickly approached the nearest cage.
“It’s all over now. I’m going to let you out of there.”
“Aaaaaah! D-don’t come near me!!”
But the man, who had been sitting listlessly just a moment ago, suddenly started having a seizure upon seeing me.
He violently thrashed his body, slamming the cage with his pale feet.
I was startled as I was about to tear open the cage door with force and quickly grabbed the man.
His body was already in poor condition, and this situation could lead to a greater injury.
“No, wait… calm down!”
Despite my frantic attempts to stop him, the man couldn’t settle down.
He seemed to be in a panic due to extreme fear, but I felt like something terrible would happen if I just left him.
Pulling him out forcefully risked breaking his bones, so I had to tightly embrace the man and carefully drag him out.
“Aaaah! Let go!!”
“Damn it, the highest-grade potion…”
I tightly hugged the man to prevent him from thrashing any further and quickly took out the highest-grade potion from my item pouch.
I poured it onto his severely swollen ankle while holding his struggling legs, and his movements became even more frantic.
“Hiiik!”
Before long, the skin that had been pale blue regained its color and gradually returned to its normal shape.
The man closed his mouth like a clam, as if he had been greatly shocked by the amazing sight.
Perhaps because he was mentally unstable, he looked like he couldn’t comprehend the situation before his eyes, even though this couldn’t be his first time encountering a potion.
In any case, now was my chance.
Taking advantage of the moment the man was frozen, I quickly poured the highest-grade potion onto his body as well.
The deeply gouged wounds that had exposed bone recovered in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t move, and wait there for a moment. Got it?”
I repeatedly urged him not to move, as it would be troublesome if he left alone.
Well, he didn’t seem to be in the right state of mind for that right now, though.
I left the man staring blankly at his ankle and dragged the others out of their cages one by one.
I wondered if the other conscious person would also panic, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Clink.
After some time had passed, the tenth potion bottle was empty after I had also finished treating the remaining four people.
The abundant supply of highest-grade potions wasn’t a problem, but there was one unexpected obstacle.
I had to take all of them out of the mansion, but I could only carry three people at once.
Even if I carried one on my back and two under my arms, two people would still remain.
Since their ankles were healed, I hoped the two conscious people would follow on their own, but they were still staring blankly into space.
However, taking three people and coming back would take too long, and I still had things to finish.
In the end, I decided to be a little forceful for everyone’s sake.
CRASH!
“Hey! I know you’re confused, but if you want to live, get up. Now.”
I kicked the door and spoke firmly, and the two people, startled by the loud noise, immediately jumped up from their spots.
They staggered slightly since their ankles had only recently been healed, but they seemed to have no major difficulty walking.
