Chapter 6
If he said no, could I just go anyway?
We were exchanging those pointless stares when it happened.
Ding!
Holloway thinks, ‘Aren’t there too many people?’
…Hmm?
Why all of a sudden…
Holloway decides it’s time for cleaning!
The notification window suddenly turned red, flashing wildly like an emergency light, assaulting my senses.
Wh-what? What’s going on?
Soon after, screams from the group on the first floor mingled with a monster’s howl.
“Kyaaah!”
“M-monster, a m-monster!”
— Roooaaar!
Thud! Boom!
Even unseen, I could tell the lobby was descending into chaos.
The fleeing group’s cries and the monster smashing things everywhere rang out loudly.
“…?”
I looked at Holloway with a bewildered expression.
He had his back to me, facing the opposite hallway, so I couldn’t see his face.
When he slowly turned to look at me, fear filled his eyes.
It was a face that stirred protective instincts so deeply, no one would suspect this child was the final boss.
Transparent tears glistened at the corners of Holloway’s eyes.
“S-sis… They say a monster appeared. Are you going to leave me alone?”
You summoned it…
The monster’s appearance was sooner than expected, leaving me flustered, but first, I decided to escape the second floor and find a place to hide.
“Sis.”
When I didn’t respond, Holloway called again, and reluctantly, like swallowing mustard while crying, I took his small hand.
His tiny hand wriggled in mine.
*Ah, seriously! Why does he have to look like a child?*
The warmth from his squirming hand made me afraid to let go.
If he were an adult, I’d kick his ass and tell him to fend for himself…
But even if it was just appearance, being a child made it impossible to be cruel.
He didn’t seem intent on letting me go either.
There was no choice.
With a monster appearing now, the safest place more than ever was by Holloway’s side.
Above all, if I left him, he’d probably eliminate me first…
“Let’s avoid the monster for now. It’s dangerous.”
“Aren’t we going to help?”
Coming from you, that’s disorienting.
“Do I look like someone who can help? Or someone who needs help?”
With my body not fully recovered, it’d be a miracle if I didn’t become a nuisance by jumping in to “help.”
Besides, even without me, they’d be scattering in panic, fleeing desperately right now—if I showed up offering aid, imagine.
Cleta and Werner might grumble but step up to protect me, getting hurt in the process.
It happened in the game too.
So instead of saving others, it was better to look after myself.
Especially since it was the very early game, no one should die yet.
…Right? They shouldn’t?
I’d never seen a monster appear this early, so it made me a bit uneasy…
Then, breaking through my worried thoughts, Holloway’s lively voice rang out.
“You look like you’re about to drop dead!”
Hey.
Smiling so brightly while saying that doesn’t make it any less offensive, you damned demon.
Holloway clearly believed that as long as he grinned cutely, everyone would think he was just a kid and suspect nothing.
Gripping Holloway’s hand, who uttered those eerily prophetic words, I swallowed back my sobs.
Even so, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
“Sis, are you crying?”
“Because I’m scared…”
Scared of you, who released the monster.
I rubbed my eyes roughly with my arm.
There was no time for chit-chat.
If things were changing from the game’s early parts like this, who knew what else might shift.
It was better to wait until my body fully recovered in two hours before doing anything.
There were no truly safe spots here, but to get away from the monster for now, I started heading upstairs.
“U-uaaaah! S-save me!”
I collided head-on with Pridel, who was bolting up the stairs in utter terror.
Why was he so fast?!
Spotting me, Pridel threw his arms wide in welcome.
“M-Miss Evelyn!”
Pridel was one of the villains in the original horror game.
He was so frustrating—doing nothing useful while complaining the most.
He’d stop at nothing to survive.
In the game, he’d endangered Moran multiple times to save himself, nearly getting killed by an enraged Cleta.
Now, in this dangerous situation, what did it mean for a guy like him to spot me and rush over?
“S-save me, Miss Evelyn!”
It meant he planned to use me as bait!
He’d shove Moran just like that while crying!
As I grabbed Holloway’s hand to bolt in the opposite direction…
— Screeech…
A few steps ahead, the monster Holloway had summoned appeared.
From its sunken black eyes, an unknown viscous fluid dripped.
Abnormally long legs and arms, a body twisted grotesquely.
As if boneless, its supporting limbs bent awkwardly.
The monster approached us slowly with its bizarre gait.
Its form was so otherworldly and hideous that Pridel convulsed in shock.
“U-uaaaaah!”
Honestly, I felt like screaming just like Pridel.
But I couldn’t, so I clamped my hand over my mouth with all my might to stifle the emerging cry.
I knew how sensitive the hotel’s monsters were to sound.
In dark places, hearing developed more acutely than sight, naturally.
…That was the game’s setting, anyway.
In short, screaming like that was a no-go.
I backed away hesitantly.
I couldn’t provoke that monster.
“Si…”
“Shh.”
“M-monster…!”
— Grrrk!
As if reacting to Pridel’s voice, the monster twisted its head. A crack, crackle sounded from its half-snapped neck.
Pridel leaped, spasming.
“Wh-what is that! What the hell!”
“Please be quiet! That monster seems to react to sound!”
Unable to hold back, I snapped at Pridel, but he ignored me and kept screeching.
“Who cares! React or not, does this look like a time to be quiet?!”
He was all friendly a moment ago, now snapping?
— Roooaaar!
Thanks to Pridel’s shrieks, the monster opened its maw wide and roared.
Its toothless mouth was pitch black.
As if that was the signal, the monster began charging, its body undulating in indescribable ways.
Pridel reacted to every move like an overzealous audience member.
“U-uaaaaah!”
Please! Shut that mouth!
I grabbed Holloway’s hand and started running too. The monster had already noticed us.
Because of that damned Pridel!
Thump, thump, thump!
Behind us, dull footfalls echoed as the monster’s long arms whipped like lashes, smashing walls.
Debris from the shattered walls rolled forward, and stepping on it barefoot mangled my soles.
But such pain wasn’t the issue now.
The monster’s rope-like long arms closing in were the problem.
At this rate, it’d catch up soon!
I gritted my teeth and ran, but Holloway was too slow, while the monster sped up.
The distance narrowed enough for it to bypass us and grab Pridel soon.
The chilling presence of the monster behind us felt raw on my back.
Cold sweat poured down involuntarily.
One more swing of those arms, and my back would be shredded.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Huh?”
Instead of explaining to the questioning Holloway, I slipped my hand under his arm and hoisted him up.
“Sis?”
“Sorry, you’re too slow.”
He was heavy, but my running speed increased. My body wasn’t fully healed, making it tough, but I bit down hard.
Pridel, ahead, glanced back and locked eyes with me, now right on his heels.
Panting heavily as he ran, a gleam flickered in Pridel’s eyes.
An uneasy sensation crept up from my feet, coiling around my throat.
That bastard wouldn’t!
I warned him urgently.
“Don’t you dare!”
I won’t stand by!
Despite the warning, Pridel sneered mockingly.
Then he shoved me hard, still holding Holloway.
Reflexively, I hugged Holloway tight to protect him from injury.
“Ugh!”
“Sis!”
My body tilted back, and I fell, my head slamming the floor.
Thud!
My vision blacked out momentarily, my head spinning. I couldn’t gather my wits.
After that, Pridel yelled like a madman.
“You think Pridel Akrotic is dying here?! No way! I can’t die!”
That crazy bastard…
“Sis, sis!”
Holloway shook me urgently, and I bit my lip hard, glaring murderously at Pridel.
“You…!”
“I’m better off alive than you! I just became heir—I can’t die!”
Since I’m not an heir, I can die, is that it?
Spotting us, the monster slowed, and Pridel seized the chance to dart away nimbly.
“That fucking bastard!”
The curse burst out involuntarily, and I staggered to my feet. No time for arguments.
I had to survive, somehow.
To live, even I had to leave the final boss behind.
He was the final boss anyway—the monster wouldn’t kill him.
Did he sense my conflict?
“Sis!”
Seeing Holloway reach out desperately, tears in his eyes, I couldn’t think at all.
The monster extended its hand toward us, and instinctively, I shielded Holloway’s body and crouched low to the floor.
In that moment, he truly looked like a child…
He didn’t seem like the game’s final boss.
…Damn it! This stupid sympathy will get me killed!
I squeezed my eyes shut, awaiting the impending pain, but something was off.
No pain hit my body.
Sneaking my eyes open, I locked gazes with Holloway, who was somehow smiling.
In this grave situation, seeing his smooth face made harsh words spill out involuntarily.
“What’s so funny?”
“Pfft!”
Holloway burst into laughter and hugged me tight.
“No. Just… the tension broke…”
Too late.
To figure out what happened, I slowly turned my head.
The monster had bypassed us and pounced on Pridel.
Was it because of the noise? Or because I was holding the final boss?
Whatever it was, we’d survived…
My tension eased a bit. I steadied my trembling legs, helping Holloway up.
My head still throbbed dully.
The culprit, Pridel, was caught in the monster’s grip, thrashing to escape.
Spotting me rise unharmed, Pridel cried out desperately.
Unlike his earlier vile demeanor, now he begged me for his life.
“S-save me, Miss Evelyn! Please save me!”
He was already captured, and I had no weapon.
No way to beat the monster, so Pridel had shoved me and Holloway as bait to flee.
In that state, asking me—with zero combat ability—to help?
“…How?”
At my dazed question, Pridel looked incredulous, even while gripped by the monster, staring at me in disbelief.
…No, I really didn’t know, that’s why I asked.
