Chapter 30: 30 — Strange Place (1)

"It seems like it’s here," Cynthia chuckled, her expression shifting to an amused one.

Arlot, who heard those cries, looked at the young lady before him.

"What is going on?!" He demanded anxiously, however, he received no response.

As he stepped towards the exit of the terrace, Cynthia wrapped her hand firmly around his wrist.

"Stay," she ordered, her violet eyes glimmering in the darkness of the night.

Having no choice, Arlot clenched his jaw, submitting to Cynthia’s demand.

A few minutes later, Cynthia opened the terrace door and entered the banquet room once again.

The screams grew louder and a growling sound resonated throughout the hall. The lights had been turned off— rather the power went out.

"Now, now... where did you go?" Cynthia curled her lips with a bright smile as she searched for a specific figure in the hall filled with people.

The darkness of the room didn’t allow her to see properly; however, it seemed as if she knew where to look.

"Is she crazy?!"

"Has she really lost her mind?"

"I heard she was possessed. I guess it’s not a lie!"

"Shut your mouths," Vincent glared at the group of women whispering about his little sister.

Just as Vincent was about to reach for his sister, Alistair held him back by grabbing him by his shoulder.

"Let go," Vincent spoke coldly, his low voice cutting through the silence in the hall.

Alistair shook his head silently, resolute to not let go.

"She will be in danger if she isn’t by our side!" Vincent explained, his voice cracking from nervousness.

He had already lost his parents. He didn’t want to lose his sister as well.

"She will be fine," Alistair reassured his anxious younger brother.

He, on the other hand, trusted Cynthia’s abilities completely.

Despite his initial refusal about her participation in the war, he had watched her in battle and seen her prove herself in the war.

Through rigorous training and every opportunity she seized, she had earned her place as a knight of Eldoria’s royal army— the Black Wings.

A low yet menacing growling like a beast ready to strike reverberated through the hall once again.

The crowd of nobles gathered at the left corner while a few guards had already gathered around the king and crown prince.

Lucian, on the other hand, stood before the guards, clenching his hand around the hilt of his sword.

Upon hearing the growling, Alistair instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, while Vincent’s hand tightened around the golden necklace draped around his neck, both ready to strike at the monster the moment their sister was attacked.

From the shadows, a human-shaped figure advanced silently toward Cynthia from behind.

"Cynthia!" Alistair and Vincent rushed to the center of the room however their sister had vanished into thin air after a large amount of dark shadows surrounded her within a second.

"Where did she go?!" Lucian rushed to the scene, looking at the two blonde young men, who looked as puzzled as him.

***

Cynthia blinked her eyes open, finding herself in a dark yet faintly lit space.

"Where am I?" she groaned, slowly regaining her senses.

Did she pass out?

The last thing she remembered was the strange human-like creature emerging from behind her, and then everything went dark.

Now, she was here, in a confined space without any sign of an opening—no door, no window.

"A cave?" she wondered, scanning her surroundings.

"No... the walls are too well-built and plain. A building, but where?" she mumbled, running her fingers along the cold surface to confirm her suspicions.

"Ugh. Someone, anyone—remind me why I keep doing this to myself! As if getting stabbed to save Alistair on the battlefield and nearly being paralyzed from eating poison in Lucian’s place wasn’t enough!" She clenched her fist, anger swelling up at her own recklessness.

She had intended to stab that creature with the dagger she’d ordered Arlot to forge with mana, but she hadn’t even had time to react when it rushed at her, moving with impossible speed.

These strange creatures, different from demons, had appeared in her past life as well, bringing chaos to Selvarys.

The first time one appeared was today, the day of her wedding reception banquet. The monster took someone away, and they were never found again no matter how much the knights searched. Soon, such events kept happening and people started disappearing without any hope of being found again.

"Oh lord. Why did I let this thing catch me? I was supposed to kill it!" For the first time since returning to the past, Cynthia felt a real surge of anxiety.

After coming back, she knew what to expect—how to counter every threat. But now, she was utterly clueless about her situation. She was never taken away by a monster in the past!

"I can’t just sit here waiting for it to come back... or is it already here, hiding somewhere?" Cynthia started wandering, feeling along the walls.

Pulling with all her might, she managed to get one white crystal out.

"It works without being stuck to the wall too, huh?" She pondered, using the dim light from the crystal-like fixtures in the room to proceed to search for the creature which brought her here.

At least she still had her dagger, firmly gripped in her right hand.

After pacing a few times around the room, Cynthia sighed.

The creature wasn’t here.

So why had she been brought to this place?

Conflicted and deep in thought, a sudden dizziness overtook her.

A strange heat began to flood through her body and her heart started aching.

"What’s happening?" she murmured, groaning in pain and glancing around as the crystal lights above her shifted, turning from pale white to a deep red—like blood.

The rock-like lights started to melt before her eyes.

"W-wait... don’t tell me that’s blood," she scoffed, refusing to believe it.

But then a warm, wet sensation ran along the palm of her hand in which she had the white crystal, causing her heart to skip a beat.

She was right—it was blood.

Feeling shivers run down her spine, she promptly wiped the red liquid on her dress. Rather than caring for her luxurious clothes, she cared more about not getting rid of the red liquid on her hands.

The smell and sight of blood irked her. She could handle insects, snakes, any animals— anything but blood but that wasn’t going to stop her from escaping this place.

She never looked back at the bodies she killed on the battlefield. She got the job done and when the battle ended, she would rush to get herself cleaned.

Her nickname on the battlefield was ’clean freak.’

"How the hell is this happening?!" Cynthia shrieked in confusion and panic.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read