SAAE 28

Chapter 28

Wow, these demons are seriously… really committed to messing with people, huh?

I didn’t think I’d ever have to see that face again.

Either way, it snapped me wide awake.

“Rosie. How did you end up all the way here? I told you not to go far.”

“……”

“Come on.”

Dominic Grace.

He was the man who shoved me onto the altar.

Dominic strode toward me and reached out his hand.

“It’s time to go back, Rosie.”

Go back? Go where?

Where exactly did this demonic bastard think he was taking me?

I slapped his hand away with all my strength.

“Don’t touch me. You demon.”

“…What?”

“I’m not falling for it, so get lost.”

His appearance was identical to the Dominic I knew, but this wasn’t the real him.

It couldn’t be a low-grade creature like a fiend or beast—those things couldn’t transform this perfectly.

So he was probably some underling of the demon who controlled this trial.

In any case, one thing was certain: this was no illusion or hallucination.

Some actual, physical entity was pretending to be someone from my memories.

Isael needs to realize fast that that thing isn’t really Beatrice.

When I glanced over, Isael was still hugging “Beatrice” tightly.

He looks so happy…

How could I tell him it wasn’t his sister?

He was drowning in joy at their reunion—I couldn’t bring myself to break the truth to him.

…What do I do?

A sudden heaviness washed over me.

Worst case, Isael might refuse to leave this place.

Then I… I’d have to go on alone again…

No. No.

Don’t think like that.

If Isael can’t snap out of it, then I’ll have to force him to.

I can do this.

Just like always—I will do this. Absolutely.

I clenched my fists, steadied myself, and thought about what had to be done.

The condition to open the door on the 6th floor was the key.

I had to find the key hidden somewhere here, then find the descending door and open it to reach the 7th floor.

First, find the key.

Then find the door.

Just as I’d firmed my resolve, a greasy, butter-slick voice slithered in.

“Rosie. Telling your big brother to ‘get lost’? That’s not very polite.”

“…Ha.”

God, he’s annoying.

“You’re not my brother.”

You’re a fake.

Besides, the real Dominic had stopped being my brother a long time ago.

He frowned slightly, then smiled.

“That hurts a little… Why would you say that to your brother?”

“Oh. Just go, mister.”

“…Mister?”

“Yes. Please go away.”

“……”

He blinked, looking genuinely thrown.

Was ‘mister’ really that shocking?

Telling a demon to back off wasn’t going to make it disappear anyway.

If it would leave that easily, it wouldn’t have shown up in the first place.

I ignored him and tried to walk past toward Isael.

But then—

“Rosie.”

Suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist.

Chills shot up my entire body.

I immediately tried to yank myself free, glaring at Dominic with pure disgust.

“Where the hell do you think you’re touching, you psycho demon? Let go!”

But since he wasn’t human, his grip was too strong—I couldn’t break free.

“Let go!”

As I struggled, Second and Third rushed in to pry his hand off.

But their hands simply passed right through him.

Even though Third was hugging my waist, he couldn’t exert any physical force on the demon.

As if he’d expected this, Dominic scoffed.

“Rosie, you’re making this difficult.”

“Yrr grrrd hrrgg…”

Did he think my gritted-teeth voice was funny?

He pulled his mouth wide into a smile.

…Ugh. Creepy.

Why the hell was he smiling like that?

I froze for a split second, blinking in disbelief, and he spoke again.

“Don’t you want to leave this place?”

Maintaining that chilling smile, Dominic tilted his head and looked at me.

“You want to leave. Then you should behave, right?”

The way he squinted his eyes into a smile felt utterly alien.

“Only good kids get presents.”

With that sly, wicked grin, he loosened his shirtfront with one hand.

A long necklace dangling across his chest came into view.

Hanging from it—

Was the key.

You’ve gotta be kidding me!

Why was the key there?

How was I supposed to take that?

Even as I thought about what to do, my body moved first.

I reached with my free hand toward the key—but Dominic immediately caught that hand as well, amused.

“Nope, that’s cheating.”

“Let go.”

“Can’t. I told you. This is a present for good kids only.”

Gross.

Why did he have to sound so slimy?

I didn’t bother hiding the disgust on my face.

When I shook both hands furiously, Dominic unexpectedly let go of me completely.

“Now then. You must be hungry. Why don’t we sit down and share a cozy little meal? While we enjoy something tasty, we can talk about your special ability…”

“Second!”

Cozy my ass.

I spun around and jumped straight into Second’s arms.

Second, who’d been sulking a little, quickly hugged me and took off into the air.

Run first.

Retreat now, regroup later, then come back with a plan.

Whoosh—scenery blurred past us.

In an instant we were back near Isael. I shouted:

“Isael!”

He turned from Beatrice, startled.

I ordered Second immediately.

“Second, lift him up!”

“What—ugh!”

Second grabbed Isael by the collar, hoisted him, and we flew straight out of the Glory Hall.

Just before we fully exited, I glanced back.

The beings with Beatrice’s and Dominic’s faces stared blankly after us, as if dazed.

They looked completely bewildered, unable to grasp what had just happened.

This place was an exact replica of the Lyonesse Empire’s imperial palace—accurate down to the 4th floor.

Over a thousand rooms. Over a hundred staircases.

We hid in Isael’s actual bedroom located at the southern end of the 3rd floor.

But there was no time to relax.

—We won’t… hold out… long.

First’s voice dampened my mood.

As soon as we arrived, I’d asked Third to cast a spell to erase our presence.

But since this whole space was created by the demon of the 6th floor, Third’s magic couldn’t hide us from its gaze for long.

In fact, Third was lying on the bed now, pale and groaning. Maintaining magic in a demon-controlled space was clearly exhausting.

“Third, hang in there…”

I tucked a blanket over him, patting it gently, then asked First:

“How long can we stay hidden here?”

—At most… around 3 hours.

Three hours…

Could we find the right door in that time?

With over a thousand rooms, that meant over a thousand doors.

There were two ways:

Quietly avoid the demon’s gaze, find the correct door within three hours, defeat Dominic, and descend to the 7th floor.

Or kill everything outside first… and then take our time looking for the door.

I can kill Dominic.

Even if it were the real Dominic.

The problem was Isael.

Could Isael really kill something wearing his little sister’s face?

…He probably couldn’t.

The Isael I knew wasn’t capable of that.

He loved his sister too much.

He’d willingly leapt into a burning altar to save her.

Meanwhile, someone else threw his little sister into an altar to save himself.

I’d have to try the first method.

Find the door to the next floor among the countless doors, quietly, secretly. Then steal the key from Dominic and open it.

“First, go out and look for the door to the 7th floor.”

First nodded immediately, then slipped through the wall like mist and left.