Chapter 41: The Inventor’s Castle (3)

[3. Never come to the castle on snowy days. On those days... the Beast awakens.]

As he plunged underground, Su-myeon caught sight of icicles jutting upward from the floor like stalagmites.

He twisted as best he could, trying to land on his back so the Nemean Lion Hide would absorb the impact.

"Got... you...!"

But by sheer luck, Cheshire had followed him down and managed to catch him just in time, barely saving him from the fall.

After safely avoiding the icicles and landing on his feet, Su-myeon hunched his shoulders against the sudden, biting cold.

The underground chamber was packed with enormous cages fashioned from menacing iron bars.

The smaller cages held creatures whose shapes vaguely resembled things like mice and teacups.

They all had grotesque tentacles and rows of razor-sharp teeth, but with the bars between them and Su-myeon, they weren't particularly frightening.

"Damn it... I definitely checked the weather before coming...."

"......The weather doesn't always match the forecast~"

Cheshire answered lazily, though even he looked uneasy as he surveyed their surroundings.

The strangely bright underground space was filled with machinery covering the walls and ceiling, just like the floors above.

Here and there among the mechanisms, lightbulbs cast a pale glow.

Even if Su-myeon hadn't known that the Inventor's Castle in the game was based on Beauty and the Beast, there was one thing he did know.

Whenever it snowed, Belle's power weakened, while the Beast's minions grew stronger within the castle.

Bzz.

Feeling his Heartphone vibrate, Su-myeon pulled it out.

[#BELL : Are you safe?]

He checked the message and sent back a brief reply saying he was fine.

But after being dropped into the middle of nowhere, he had absolutely no idea where he was.

First, he needed to find a staircase leading back upstairs.

He passed what seemed like dozens upon dozens of cages of varying sizes, carefully scanning his surroundings as he went.

While picking his way around the icicles protruding from the floor, one cage caught his eye.

It was noticeably larger than all the others.

[Beast of Wrath: Do not make a sound.]

The cage bearing that sign was, quite literally, enormous.

The gaps between its bars were wide enough for someone of Su-myeon's build to pass through without difficulty.

And the cage door was.

"......"

Open.

Su-myeon quietly stifled the sound of his footsteps and turned back.

Of all places, he had fallen directly in front of the Beast of Wrath's cage—into the deepest part of the underground.

'No. Not "of all places." Maybe this was deliberate.'

As Su-myeon remained on guard, new messages appeared in the messenger window he had left open.

[#BELL : He]

[#BELL : was swallowed by a corrupted story]

[#BELL : Let's say he became aberrant.]

Belle explained that this was why she had been forced to confine him, and warned Su-myeon to be careful.

If even the Beast had been imprisoned by Belle, then the creatures crammed into all those smaller cages were probably there for the same reason.

Belle must have locked away every creature in the Inventor's Castle that had become aberrant.

"......"

At that moment, Su-myeon's eyes met the blood-red gaze of a beast staring directly at him.

Whether it was the freezing cold or the murderous glare of the creature, goosebumps erupted across his entire body.

He couldn't tell which had caused them.

He wanted to swallow, but Su-myeon suppressed even that.

Slowly, he focused every nerve in his body on the ground beneath his feet.

He had to get past without making a sound.

That line was no longer merely a rule written on a sign.

It had become a warning his instincts understood perfectly.

The Beast.

A monster that had been transformed completely into an animal.

Belle's request—to destroy the story that had become a ghost story—rose again in Su-myeon's mind.

Perhaps she wanted this story annihilated because seeing the Beast reduced to such a state was simply too painful.

"......"

Every muscle tense, Su-myeon even suppressed the faint sound of his soles brushing against the floor.

Only after what felt like an eternity did he finally escape the red Beast's line of sight.

Then another open cage came into view.

[Beast of Sorrow: Do not step in the puddles.]

Compared to the previous instruction not to make a sound, this one sounded much easier.

But the moment Su-myeon looked ahead, he nearly sighed aloud.

'Can you even call that a puddle?'

The entire path ahead was submerged in water.

To cross without stepping into it, he could theoretically hop across the jagged icicles rising from the floor like stalagmites, but.

'As if that would work.'

He had absolutely no confidence that he could make his way across pointed ice without slipping.

Which meant he needed another method.

Su-myeon dragged a hand down his face and collected himself.

He felt Cheshire, perched on his shoulder, tighten his grip on his collar.

After briefly relaxing the tension in his body, Su-myeon turned back the way he had come.

"Hey!"

This time, there wasn't the slightest trace of caution in his voice.

He called out to the Beast of Wrath.

Without even a moment's hesitation, the Beast of Wrath charged straight toward him.

Su-myeon immediately sprinted back toward the edge of the flooded passage.

"Over here!"

THUD, THUD.

The Beast of Wrath thundered after him, each heavy step shaking the floor.

Its enormous, terrifying form was enough to make Su-myeon's heart seize, but he forced himself to take a deep breath.

It resembled a lion, except its skin was rotting and hanging from its body in strips like tattered cloth, while sharp fangs protruded from the exposed flesh beneath.

Su-myeon waited until the creature was almost on top of him.

Then he threw himself sideways and rolled.

Unable to stop its own momentum, the Beast of Wrath plunged headlong into the flooded passage, sending water exploding in every direction.

"Oh~"

Realizing what Su-myeon had planned, Cheshire let out an intrigued sound.

The instant Wrath entered Sorrow's pool, a serpent-like creature burst from the water.

Its head shot forward like a striking snake and clamped down viciously on Wrath's body.

An indescribable shriek ripped through the underground chamber.

A moment later, Wrath and Sorrow were tangled together in a violent struggle.

"Let's go."

Su-myeon told Cheshire to hold on tight, then sprinted straight through the flooded passage.

His shoes and pants were soaked through in an instant, and the cold was so vicious it felt as though it were freezing him to the bone.

But he couldn't afford to slow down.

All he could do was hope the fight between Wrath and Sorrow would buy him as much time as possible.

GRAAAH.

With the shrieks of the battling beasts echoing behind him, Su-myeon finally made it across the flooded area.

As he ran onto dry ground, his shoes squelching with every step, the metallic clink of falling coins rang out from behind him.

"...!"

Su-myeon reflexively looked back.

There was only one kind of coin that could possibly drop for him here.

Rose Coins—the physical representation of one's influence within a ghost story.

Three coins came rolling toward him from behind.

Su-myeon quickly scooped them up.

Ahead of him stood the final cage.

[Beast of Pride: Do not raise your head.]

Compared to the previous conditions, this one was relatively simple.

And since it was the last cage, Su-myeon ignored the chaos behind him and moved forward at a brisk pace.

As he passed without hesitation, hot, ragged breathing drifted down from directly above him.

"......"

Suppressing the overwhelming urge to look up, Su-myeon kept his gaze fixed firmly on the ground and continued forward until a staircase finally entered his lowered field of vision.

Having at last found the stairs, he climbed them without hesitation.

Whether it was from running while keeping his eyes glued to the floor or from the sheer tension of the situation, his stomach churned unpleasantly.

He shoved open the massive wooden door at the top of the staircase.

Warm air washed over him.

He had finally returned to the hall overlooking the garden.

"Haah...."

His lungs ached from all the freezing air he had gulped down.

Su-myeon slowly drew in the warmth and steadied his breathing.

"Impressive. I thought you'd leave at least one arm behind down there."

Before he had even finished catching his breath, Belle appeared and spoke in a leisurely drawl.

Whether she had genuinely expected that outcome or not, she had already set up what looked suspiciously like a sales counter in the hall.

The fact that actual prosthetic arms and legs were lined up on display made it exceedingly difficult for Su-myeon to maintain his composure.

Belle was rapidly approaching a level of obnoxiousness that even her pretty face could no longer make up for.

"The underground is outside my authority, so there really isn't anything I can do about it."

Just as Belle said, Su-myeon had little choice in the matter either.

Even a cooperative relationship like this was better than having no help at all.

"It's a special sale~ You wouldn't want to miss it~"

Cheshire chimed in, apparently trying to placate the displeased Su-myeon.

Sure enough, a sign written in ornate lettering sat on the counter.

It read something along the lines of "10% Blowout Discount."

Shopping.

In the middle of all this.

Of all things....

"......"

Su-myeon lowered his gaze to his soaked, unpleasantly squelchy shoes.

Then he noticed a pair sitting on the counter.

They were labeled Zephyrus's Wind.

A pair of pure white running shoes.

They cost 36 coins—exactly the amount he would have if he spent everything he currently possessed.

"What does this one do?"

"Well~ dear customer, allow me to explain!"

Belle immediately launched into a sales pitch with all the practiced enthusiasm of a seasoned merchant.

In short, the shoes made the wearer's steps lighter and allowed them to move faster.

"And on top of that, they boast incredible durability! For someone as painfully slow as you, I especially recommend this outstanding product."

Belle delivered the jab in a playful, teasing tone, but Su-myeon didn't have enough energy left to argue with her.

How many times had he nearly died because he couldn't run fast enough by now?

Su-myeon bought the shoes without hesitation, then asked,

"If they break, do you repair them here?"

"Yep!"

Belle answered brightly, holding out her palm in a gesture that gave Su-myeon an unpleasant sense of déjà vu.

"It'll cost you, of course."

"......"

Why had he even bothered asking?

Su-myeon simply nodded.

When he took off his wet shoes to change into the new pair, Belle kindly offered him a pair of socks as well.

They were white socks trimmed with lace.

Accepting them made him deeply uncomfortable, but they were still preferable to putting wet socks back on.

"Are you charging me for these too?"

"No? They're just socks. No matter what, I'm not letting you wear one of my creations with soaking-wet socks!"

At least her pride as an inventor helped ease some of his discomfort.

Perhaps it was merely his imagination, but the moment he put on Zephyrus's Wind, the fatigue weighing down his feet seemed to lessen.

And the shoes fit perfectly.

"The snow's going to get heavier soon."

Now that she had completed a satisfying sale, Belle gestured toward the window.

The snowfall outside was already becoming more [N O V E L I G H T] intense.

The heavier the snow fell, the stronger the Beast's dominion over the castle would become.

Which meant outsiders needed to leave as quickly as possible.

"Next time, you really will have to leave a limb or two behind. Get going."

Su-myeon decided to heed her advice immediately.

He had already accomplished everything he had come here to do.

There was no reason to remain.

"Then. See you next time."

Belle waved as Su-myeon prepared to leave.

The strange castle stood alone in the mountains as snow continued to fall around it.

For a brief moment, Su-myeon looked back at the woman standing there by herself, her auburn hair tied tightly up.

Then he turned away and retraced his path.

As though it had been waiting for him, the lift that had previously stopped was moving again.

Snow poured from the sky for the entire descent.

***

After returning to Seoul, Su-myeon immediately sent a message in the group chat asking everyone to gather.

They were relieved to hear that he was safe, but his sudden request for a meeting drew immediate responses from everyone.

No one questioned his call.

They agreed to come as though their own lives hardly mattered anymore.

By now, half of their ordinary sense of normalcy had already been stripped away.

To them, Su-myeon's existence was like a lifeline lowered from the heavens.

"Are you really all right?"

Kang Han-su, the first to arrive, asked the moment he saw Su-myeon.

Su-myeon had thought he had returned without any injuries, but he hadn't escaped completely unscathed.

After repeatedly moving between extreme cold and warmth, he had developed mild frostbite on the tips of his ears and nose.

Kim Young-cheol, who arrived later, gave him a brief examination after noticing Su-myeon's reddened nose and generally disheveled appearance.

Everyone gathered around him, bombarding him with worried questions, but fortunately, it wasn't anything serious.

He only looked worse than he actually was.

A few days of recovery would be enough.

That reassurance finally allowed everyone to relax.

"So, you have something important to tell us, right?"

Once Su-myeon's examination was finished, Go Ju-hee asked.