## Chapter 457 – Kim Kat and the Haunted House
“Hey, hey! Kopson! Meria! Lina!”
My voice alone echoed loudly in the silent, dark hallway. What’s going on? Did they suddenly disappear?
“Damn it.”
Stay calm, Kim Kat.
They were definitely right next to me just a moment ago. Is it an illusion or hallucination? Maybe it’s the ghosts’ sorcery. I immediately activate my battle-honed senses. They can’t possibly deceive me.
I breathe, roll my eyes, and slowly rotate with my sword drawn.
It’s dark outside. The hallway is dark too. Sounds… there are none. Sense of balance? No problem. The mana within my body is circulating normally as well.
It doesn’t seem like a hallucination.
This is definitely reality.
“These bastards…”
Did they run ahead faster than me?
Did the three of them abandon me?
No. There’s absolutely no way.
There’s no way Kopson would abandon me and run away. He’s the guy who carried me and protected me even when I lost consciousness and collapsed in the jungle. There’s no way he’d abandon me.
The moment even one person falls behind, our combat power plummets, and the chances of survival decrease. A guy who knows that wouldn’t abandon his comrades. Kopson and Meria both have plenty of practical experience, and they know that as D-rank adventurers.
And the timing.
They were right next to me until just now, and then suddenly disappeared… That’s physically impossible. If they had, there would have been a sound. From the moment I realized they were gone until now, I haven’t heard a single sound.
It’s incomprehensible.
That means it must be something magical.
“The cursed mansion.”
Is it the ghosts’ doing?
ㅡShing.
My coldly calmed heart sharpens the blade.
Can I even cut a ghost right now?
Normal physical attacks don’t work on those guys. If I had Elise’s holy enchant, I could easily take them down, but without it, what can I do? And are those ghosts even ghosts in the first place?
ㅡGhost.
I recalled the appearance of the ghosts that were chasing us earlier. A pure white woman. There were so many pure white female ghosts. They look a little different from the ghosts I’ve seen in the past.
Well, ghosts are all messed up anyway, there’s no standardized pattern. Ghost, banshee, wraith. Phantom. They’re all similar. Among them, banshees and wraiths were said to be female-type ghosts.
It doesn’t matter.
“Damn ghost bastards.”
Rather, being alone made the fear and dread disappear, and only extreme calmness filled my heart. It was a similar feeling when I escaped from the harpies and got out of the forest.
To survive, I need to deal with this calmly.
First, let’s find a way out, and then look for my friends. There was definitely a window on the second floor. I’ll find a room with a window, then find my friends and escape.
I hope nothing bad happens.
They also know there’s a window on the second floor, so there’s a high chance they’ll escape that way. If so, I might be able to find them on the second floor.
ㅡThump, thump.
I moved slowly, keeping the Necklace of Latras at its lowest brightness. Ghosts might suddenly appear in the darkness. I can assume there are no people or thieves. This mansion is already the ghosts’ territory.
In that case, even I must become a ghost.
From now on, I am ghost Kim Kat.
ㅡWindow.
As I walked, I looked at the windows on the side. Windows facing only the inside of the mansion. The outside was as black as if it were plunged into the deep sea.
“…What?”
Why didn’t I notice this?
It’s too black.
The outside of the window was so black that it would be correct to say it had completely lost its light. It felt like the mansion was placed in the middle of space where there wasn’t even starlight.
It’s unnatural for it to be this dark.
I reached out and touched the window.
“Asura Piercing Blood Fist!!!”
ㅡBang!
I punched the window with all my might.
The mana melted into my honed muscles possesses murderous power on its own. This kind of window should be crushed like a reed.
“…”
However, the window didn’t budge.
Just like when I hit the door earlier and there was no reaction, the window was intact. “Asura Piercing Blood Fist.” “Thunderbolt Rakshasa Palm.” “Blood Heaven Asura Kick.” “Wilderness Blood Jade Hand.” I immediately unleashed all sorts of martial arts and struck the window.
“Acting School Fist.”
ㅡPa pa pat!
ㅡBoong boong!
And the Ultimate.
I poured out the Ultimate. Even so, the window was intact. After hitting it a few times, I could tell for sure. I wasn’t directly hitting the window.
“…Shield?”
Right in front of the window. There was a transparent barrier as if it were coated. That barrier was taking my attacks instead. No matter how much I hit it, there was never a direct impact on the window.
The reason why the doors and windows weren’t breaking was because of this magical power.
A barrier… but it’s too broad.
“A ward?”
Is there a ward in place?
Of course, I’m not a mage, so I can’t clearly define this phenomenon. However, all I can think of is that the ghosts are possessing this mansion, so I can’t directly damage the mansion.
I can’t break the window.
If I can’t break the window, then escape is impossible.
Then how should I escape?
“Heavenly Demon Kim Kat never abandons his friends.”
I’ll save my friends.
Thinking about escape comes after that. I’ll save Kopson, I’ll save Meria, and I’ll take responsibility for Lina’s life as well.
These ghost bastards.
I’ll show you exactly what a real ghost is.
My life is with those I’ve killed. Just like the fragments when I used Heavenly Demon Advent, their souls are with me. In other words, I am Kim Kat, a necromancer who can control those souls.
Necromancers aren’t afraid of ghosts.
ㅡRustle.
As soon as I thought that, a pure white woman appeared in front of me.
“…”
Her pure white hair was long and seemed to reach the floor. Her dress was also pure white and fluttered, and her skin was as white as if it didn’t belong to this world.
“…What are you?”
However, only her eyes were as red as if they were filled with hatred and resentment.
The red glow in her eyes seemed to prove that she was an evil spirit. Eyes like two drops of blood fallen on a snowy mountain… An evil spirit wouldn’t be an evil spirit for nothing.
I guess I can call this bastard a banshee or a wraith.
“What do you want?”
I calmly asked the banshee while pointing my sword at her.
“Where are my friends?”
But as expected, there was no answer. The banshee just stared at me blankly.
Can I cut the banshee? Can I strike her with the mana within my body? What kind of attacks will she use? Will she use magic? These questions flashed through my mind.
Fighting an enemy I’ve never seen before always tests my mental strength.
Of course, I’ll just move forward when the situation arises.
I don’t care about the enemy’s identity. It’s enough to determine whether I can kill them or not. I could run away, but I need to figure out what this thing is here first.
This is my chance when there’s only one of them.
Let’s find out if I can cut her or not. It’s a necessary procedure to save my friends and escape this mansion.
I immediately approached the banshee.
In the worst case, I can use holy water and somehow manage.
“…Your.”
ㅡHalt.
The voice I heard at that moment was like a cold chill. But there was a youthful feeling of a girl in that voice. Is she a girl ghost? I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly and slowly waited for her words.
“Your blood is what I want.”
.
“Your flesh is what I want.”
.
“Your death is what I want.”
The banshee slowly continued, her voice filled with resentment and hatred. Her words were so heavy that they seemed like thick, flowing liquid. It was as if her resentment had materialized.
It was definitely conveyed that she wanted to kill me.
“I want you to become like me.”
The only words I could understand were those four phrases.
After saying that, the banshee suddenly started muttering busily in an incomprehensible language. At the same time, her pure white hair floated up as if it had lost gravity. At the same time, the banshee covers her face with the palms of her hands.
“Hic… hic… Hooo… Hic!!! Hic!!! I hate it, I hate it…! I hate it…”
This time, a sorrowful cry burst out.
“…I see.”
I said as I walked towards her.
“You were thinking the same thing as me. That means we could be friends.”
Surprisingly, the banshee and I were on the same wavelength. I wanted to kill her too, so if we think alike, maybe we can be friends.
“Don’t cry.”
“…”
I approached her with my sword in hand.
There were no other ghosts around.
“Pure white banshee. What is your name?”
When I asked her name, the banshee’s wails stopped. Then, she lowered her hands that were covering her face, looked at me, and answered.
“…Name?”
The red glow in her eyes had disappeared.
The banshee I saw up close was just a pure white girl.
“Yes, name. Tell me your name.”
“I am… I am…”
An evil spirit.
A being who died with resentment and couldn’t find peace, wandering the underworld.
What kind of story did this girl have? What kind of sadness and hatred turned her into an evil spirit? It’s sad. It’s painful, and it must be agonizing. But I, Kim Kat, a seeker of fusion Confucianism, am never swayed by evil spirits. I immediately raised my sword and struck down at the banshee, who had started muttering to herself again.
ㅡSlash!
The black longsword melted into the darkness and split the banshee in half in an instant.
Of course, it didn’t feel like cutting anything.
“Huh?”
The split shape of the banshee became blurry and then regained its shape. So physical attacks don’t work after all? It’s the same as when I fought Hildegard.
I need to run away now, damn it!!!
What the hell am I supposed to do if my attacks don’t work!!!
“It’s all the same…! All men are the same!”
As I was about to turn around, the banshee shouted as if her anger had exploded. Damn it. You were talking about my blood, my flesh, my death, and now you’re getting annoyed.
“Always! Always, always always! Always…!”
ㅡKiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!!!!!!
A scream burst out again, and the banshee rushed at me. Red light was already pouring out of her eyes.
“Damn it!”
I immediately turned around and ran away.
Even the power of holy water has its limits. I must have used up some of its power when I chased away the evil spirits earlier. For now, it’s time to run. Let’s save the holy water for the most hopeless crisis situation!
“Hic… hic…! Hooo…!”
After running for a while, I heard a woman’s wails from somewhere.
Could it be… Meria? Or Lina? When you think about it, Kopson is the type to scream like a girl, so there’s a possibility it’s Kopson. Anyway, it’s not the crying of the guy who was chasing me.
ㅡTap tap tap tap!
Judging that it was definitely the sound of an evil spirit, I tried to run away in the direction where there was no sound, but strangely, the sound was as if it were ringing in my head, like the moon that follows me when I look up at the sky at night, it wouldn’t leave me.
“Hooo… Hic… Hooo… I’m sad, I’m sad. I’m sad. I’m sad… Where is he, the knight who will save me… Why me, me, me… Hooo…!”
Eventually, something appeared from the corner ahead.
It was a tall, beautiful woman wearing something like an unrealistically blue nun’s habit. Her hands were clasped together as if in prayer, and a veil like Elise’s was placed on her head.
No… a nun’s habit? It’s like the kind of clothes a widow wears to her husband’s funeral.
Above all, she was moving while floating, and behind her, blue flames, candlesticks, and various other objects were floating and chasing her.
A nun ghost!
Is she a wraith!
“Ah, ah…! Ah! You’ve finally come, my knight!!!”
“What?”
The wraith, who found me as I turned the corner, said that.
“I was scared, I was afraid, it hurt… It was painful, hic! Hooo!! You’ve finally come…!
That bastard’s not normal.
No matter what she’s saying, I need to run away for now. Heavenly Demon Kim Kat is a man who knows how to thoroughly distinguish when to fight and when to run.
I ran and immediately turned into the corner right next to me.
“But… but it’s too late…! Hic! Hooo! So please be with me…!”
Even so, her voice is so vivid as if it’s right next to my ear…! Damn it! This is literally a haunted house! What the hell are my friends doing!
