Chapter 100
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Chapter 100
My lips dried as fear surged through me.
But if I just sat here like an idiot and the door slammed shut, what then? That's exactly what always happens in horror movies!
I scrambled to my feet and bolted from the room.
Fortunately, the door didn't trap me inside, but I caught sight of the black fabric I'd seen moments before disappearing into the fourth room.
Damn it. I found myself desperately wishing Jenath would hurry back to the Cabin.
"It's almost like... it's inviting me into that room."
Who knows? Maybe I'd find something like that notebook I picked up in the second room. Perhaps a clue that would bring me closer to understanding this Island's secrets.
Yes. To survive even a moment longer, I had to be brave.
With firm resolve, I passed the third room and stood before the fourth door. It was the farthest room on the Third Floor. After taking a deep breath, I opened it.
But there was no ghost as I'd feared. The room was surprisingly tidy. A bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The layout was similar to the second room.
Unlike the second room, which seemed long abandoned, this one had essentials scattered across the desk as if someone had been living here until recently.
I searched the room methodically.
"Nothing particularly interesting."
Then I noticed writing on the desk drawer. The first drawer had "Modification" written on it in Empire script.
Modification?
I tilted my head curiously and carefully opened the drawer. Inside, I found a red revolver-shaped flare gun.
"Huh? Wait, this is the same as mine?"
Even the name "Alea" written on the side of the flare gun matched mine.
A pouch of ammunition lay beside it, containing more rounds than what I had.
I pulled out my water-logged flare gun from my crossbody bag and quietly swapped it with the one in the drawer. Then I took the generous ammunition pouch and placed it in my bag.
"Did the owner of this room modify it themselves?"
Based on the "Modification" label on the drawer and the unusual appearance of the flare gun, my guess seemed right.
The second drawer was labeled "Essentials." I opened it and took out the lighter inside. I set down my water-damaged Zippo and put the new lighter in my bag.
"Could all these things belong to Jenath?"
If so, shouldn't I return them?
Morally speaking, yes. But in a life-or-death situation, it wasn't an easy choice. I swallowed dryly, wrestling with the decision.
As my deliberation dragged on, I suddenly recalled words from the notebook's author. That survival wasn't the most important thing—it was remembering who I was.
'I really should put them back...'
"Yeah. That's mine."
"Ahhhhh!"
A voice suddenly came from behind me, and I jumped so violently I fell flat on the floor.
Turning around, Jenath was leaning against the doorframe, staring at me with an expressionless face.
"Oh, when did you get here?"
The beautiful youth, arms crossed, answered matter-of-factly.
"Just now."
I watched as Jenath's eyes swept slowly around the room before I spoke.
"I was just... curious, so I came up to look around. Sorry for barging in."
He didn't need to know I'd found the diary in the next room, so I kept that to myself.
"I asked you to respect my privacy."
Jenath answered with a tone tinged with irritation. For someone who rarely expressed emotion, such words meant he was genuinely furious.
Jenath walked slowly into the room with his hands clasped behind his back. I cautiously retreated, keeping my guard up. My back struck the desk. There was nowhere left to withdraw.
As Jenath approached me, he gestured with his chin toward the flare gun in my hand.
"Keep that."
"Did you modify this flare gun?"
"No. I made it from scratch."
At Jenath's words, I understood.
Whether one tried to modify a pistol into a flare gun or a flare gun into a pistol, either way seemed nearly impossible.
It made sense that he'd simply crafted it anew.
"Wasn't it useful?"
Jenath tilted his head slightly and pointed to the flare gun in my hand.
I suddenly remembered that I had picked up this flare gun from the Mountain Peak.
Why had it been there? And that wasn't all...
I showed him the letters "Alea" engraved on the side of the flare gun.
"Did you engrave this yourself?"
"Yes."
"What does it mean?"
"You already know."
"I don't."
I decided to play dumb for now. Jenath nodded as if he understood.
"Ah, it's not your language. Alea—it's the name of this Island."
He clearly wasn't from Earth, yet he could read English.
'That doesn't make sense. How would someone from the Ingram Kingdom know English...? This is too strange.'
Could it be that among the countless modern objects on this Island, there were also books and such?
If so, he might have learned other languages during his thousand years living on this Island.
"The Island's name? What do you mean it's not your language?"
I pretended ignorance and asked. Jenath tilted his head thoughtfully before answering.
"I don't know the details either."
Then he fell silent again, drawing out the moment. I waited patiently for his next words. After a long pause, he finally added:
"My sister gave it that name."
"You had a sister?"
I asked in shock, but then belatedly remembered that he'd said everyone who came with him was dead. I felt a pang of regret.
So the sister he was referring to no longer existed...
Contrary to my concern, Jenath nodded with an unfazed expression.
"Yes. Anata studied that language."
"What language is it from?"
So his sister's name was Anata. I asked again, pretending not to know in order to probe him, but Jenath merely shrugged.
"Ask Anata about that."
"Your sister? Is she here...?"
"Ah..."
At my question, Jenath's expression finally shifted into something resembling confusion. With emotion flickering across that doll-like face, he looked genuinely like a young boy.
"That's right, there isn't one."
Jenath murmured with a bitter expression. He still hadn't forgotten his sister, then.
I didn't know how long his sister had lived, but if he'd been left alone after being with her, I could understand why he'd feel this way.
Had the kidnapper simply abducted people and then abandoned the Island for a thousand years?
"Then I don't know."
"How irresponsible can you be? If you're going to pique someone's curiosity, take responsibility for it."
"I don't know."
Jenath shook his head and fell silent. Then he turned away, as if warning me not to ask about it anymore.
Damn it, what is this? He always leaves my curiosity half-satisfied, driving me absolutely mad.
Still, one silver lining was that Jenath didn't seem to have noticed that I—a Korean—was possessing Margaret's body.
I really hoped to discuss this with Enoch and Kaiden soon.
"Oh, and...."
Jenath suddenly approached the desk with quick, shuffling steps and rummaged through the bottom drawer—one I hadn't managed to open yet.
He pulled out a telescope from inside and handed it to me.
"This is a gift."
I accepted the telescope from him quietly. Staring at the object in my hands, I asked him softly.
"You said you weren't coming with me. So why are you taking such good care of me?"
At my question, Jenath tilted his head.
"I hope Meg survives."
"Why?"
"Because everyone else died so easily, and it was sad."
It was a deeply meaningful statement. I wanted to understand what he meant, but since the boy had virtually no expression, I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.
"Jenath, someone of your caliber should have found a way to escape. I don't understand why you haven't."
The door must have opened countless times over a thousand years, yet a genius mage like Jenath couldn't escape—it was hard to accept.
"I can't escape. And I like it here."
"You like it here? What could possibly be good about this place? It's dangerous."
"That's what makes it fun."
This insane Island with Monsters roaming around is fun?
He looked perfectly fine on the surface, but clearly his mind wasn't right. Then again, after living on this insane Island for a thousand years, how could anyone maintain their sanity?
"You know there are Monsters wandering around this Island, right?"
At my question, Jenath stared at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression, then answered after a long pause.
"They weren't here from the beginning."
"...What?"
What is he talking about now? How is it that peeling back this Island's layers reveals new stories endlessly, like an onion?
"At first, they were all ordinary creatures. But they gradually evolved."
"The Monsters?"
"Yes."
So that's why the Monsters were modeled after ordinary creatures. And the evolution is still ongoing.
"I noticed they only appear from dusk until night. Do you know why that is?"
"It wasn't always like this."
"It wasn't always like this?"
"At first, they only appeared at dawn. Then at night, and now at dusk. But who knows—they're growing stronger, and they seem to be developing immunity to sunlight. Eventually, they might appear even in broad daylight."
If Jenath was right, I'd soon have to worry about Monsters even during the day. Good heavens, it was absolutely terrifying.
Then Jenath suddenly propped his chin on his hand and stared at me with an intensity that pierced right through.
"And there's something unexpected...."
His crimson eyes swept across my face with an unsettling thoroughness.
"The Monsters seem to like Margaret."
At his words, goosebumps erupted across my entire body.
'Why would Monsters like me? And how do you even know that?'
I swallowed the questions rising in my throat. Jenath was beginning to frighten me. Yet he continued speaking, utterly indifferent to my reaction.
"And it seems like someone in Margaret's group uses magical power."
Was he talking about when Enoch unleashed that blade of energy against the Monsters in front of the Cabin just now?
I was the one who shared my magical power with Enoch, but it seemed Jenath didn't realize that I was the source. He muttered as if deep in thought.
"Even I, in this body, am controlled by magical power—I wonder how that person managed to use it."
"How did you know that?"
"I was watching through the Monsters' eyes. It's difficult to control and they lack the power to attack, but that much is possible."
'What? Through the Monsters' eyes?'
Only then did I recall what Kaiden had said. He'd mentioned that a wolf-type Monster had been watching him as if keeping him under surveillance.
I'd suspected it, but to think someone was actually watching us through the Monsters' eyes!
"You've been watching us this whole time? Why?"
"Not the whole time. Only when I'm bored? And isn't it natural to watch when there are people around?"
At his counterquestion, I found myself at a loss for words, my mind going blank.
"Jen..., no, Jenath. I'm going to lose my mind—can't you just tell me everything at once? Why are you doling it out like this? You're not even properly answering my questions!"
I let out a sigh and continued.
"Why did you only watch? If you knew we were here, you could have come to meet us. And you don't have magical power—how did you borrow the Monsters' eyes? Did you control the Monsters all this time? Are you connected to their evolution?"
I had far too many questions. Far too many.
Then Jenath smiled as if amused.
"Because Margaret seems interesting, so I'm telling you. I'm not usually this kind."
Interesting?
Jenath stared at my speechless face before speaking again.
"For some reason, you seem different from the others, but I can't figure out what it is."
Jenath regarded me with an inscrutable expression. Then he glanced briefly at the open doorway before turning back to me.
"By the way, Margaret."
He called my name in a low voice. Then he asked.
"Have you seen it all?"
"...What? Seen what?"
"The Cabin. Have you explored the whole thing?"
"...No?"
A foreboding feeling made me deny it first, and Jenath suddenly burst into laughter—as if what I was doing was absolutely hilarious.
He laughed for a long while before abruptly stopping, his gaze fixed on me.
"What do you mean you didn't know? You're on the Third Floor right now."
I held my breath. Jenath stared at me with those eerie crimson eyes.
"I told you not to come up here."
The moment his words ended, a chill ran down my spine. The oppressive atmosphere was so intense that my hair stood on end.
A massive shadow fell beneath my feet—the shadow of something that had appeared outside the window behind me.
Jenath, who had been facing me, glanced over my shoulder, smiled, and stepped backward.
"I'm not going to help you. This is your own fault."
"What do you mea—!"
Crash!
Before I could finish asking, the window shattered. Something long and thick burst through, wrapping around my waist. A Monster of unknown origin.
I spun toward Jenath in shock, but he merely shrugged and waved goodbye. In that same instant, I was dragged outside the window.
"Ahhh! Damn Monster! We're on the Third Floor!"
Outside the Third Floor, no less.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org