Beyond the Eternity

[You have reached the end of this Fragmented Memory.]

[The Fragment of Despair has concluded.]

Click!

As the Fragment ended, a sharp screeching sound pierced the silence from the upper floors, as if a heavy metal door had been forced open.

Could it be...

"That sound... What was that?"

"Hmm, it came from the third floor. Could it be the study entrance opening?"

"Isn't that a bit too convenient? What if it's a trap?"

"Perhaps. But we have to investigate eventually."

Moon Jiyeon crossed her arms, still looking doubtful. I gave her a faint smile before gesturing toward the silent Soo Jinyoung.

"Of all of us, I can confidently say that person has the best detection skills. If an enemy were to appear, we'd have ample time to prepare and defend ourselves."

"Even so, don't you think it's too reckless to walk into such an obvious trap?"

I shrugged.

"Do you have a better suggestion? The next scene is supposed to take place in the study. What does everyone think?"

I glanced at the rest of the group, waiting for their input.

The first to answer was Soo Jinyoung.

"I'm fine with whatever."

Next came Ryu Yeji.

"If Jakga says it's okay, then it shouldn't be hard to check."

Yoo Rin scratched her cheek thoughtfully.

"I don't see any issues. We were planning to go there anyway."

Finally, Miyuki grinned.

"I'm with Ahjussi all the way."

Their responses came one after another, leaving little room for doubt. In the end, everyone agreed. On the other hand, Moon Jiyeon looked utterly exasperated, with her lips pressing into a thin line.

"You... people..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you still have any objections?"

She sighed heavily, throwing up her hands. "T-that...*Sigh* Fine. If everyone agrees, I'll go along with it."

I understood Moon Jiyeon's concerns.

The investigation had gone smoothly so far.

We had successfully examined several shattered fragments and uncovered valuable information about the House's mysteries without any setbacks. However, something was bound to happen. Things never stay smooth on the game board for long.

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Unfortunately, that moment arrived when we entered the Entrance Hall.

Soo Jinyoung, in charge of enemy detection, suddenly stopped and frowned. A sense of caution filled her gaze. She turned to us and spoke briefly.

"Enemies."

Everyone's expressions tightened at the mention of the word.

"Where are they? Are they on the second floor?"

"Yes. There seem to be about ten of them, but I can't identify what they are or the weapons they might have."

"In that case, the enemy is likely a familiar."

Moon Jiyeon frowned. "A familiar? Are you talking about a spirit?"

"Something similar. Once we step onto the second floor, we'll attack immediately. We'll move as quietly as possible. Miyuki, I'm sorry, but you'll have to sit this one out."

"What? Why?"

"If you use that thing here, there's a good chance you'll damage the property of the House. Aren't you still working your control?"

"T-That's..."

Miyuki stammered, visibly flustered.

She was talented in the Magic Arts, but her control over magic was her weakness. Because of this, she focused on supporting allies with buffs rather than fighting enemies directly.

I moved forward as quietly as possible, carefully suppressing my footsteps. When we reached the second floor, I peeked down the corridor.

The low growls of beasts echoed, accompanied by the lurking presence of shadows in the darkness.

The enemies were wolves, but their bodies were completely composed of shadow, as if born from the very darkness itself.

[Shadowfangs] X 10

That was the name of the enemy.

Unlike the Nightmares born from the essence of corruption, the Shadowfangs were familiars created by a powerful entity. While not exceptionally strong, they possessed an innate ability to merge with and control the shadows.

Damn. What a tricky opponent.

If these creatures started appearing now, things would surely become much more difficult.

I drew the Silver Magic Gun, Ivory, from my dimension coat and slowly curled my fingers one by one.

It was a signal for the assault to begin.

"Three. Two."

The final finger curled.

"One."

I didn't shout. Instead, I sprinted down the corridor, raising Ivory in preparation.

A shadow wolf turned, its predatory white eyes locking onto me. In that instant, I pulled the trigger.

Swish!

The magic bullets cut through the air with a whistling sound.

Before it could even react, the shadow wolf was struck by the bullet and exploded upon impact.

The other shadow wolves growled, attempting to merge with the shadows. However,

Thud!

Soo Jinyoung, who had advanced rapidly, swung her sword, decapitating one shadow wolf before twisting her body to cleave two more in half. The severed bodies of shadow wolves flew through the air, following the path of her sword.

Puok!

A magic bullet struck the shadow wolf as it attempted to merge with the wall, preparing to ambush Soo Jinyoung by launching shadow spikes toward her blind spot.

It was a headshot.

The shadow wolf collapsed in a heap, defeated with ease. Another one attempted to catch me off guard, emerging from the shadows beneath me to strike.

Anticipating the attack, I leaped away and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the lethal blow. Without hesitation, I aimed and fired, taking down the shadow wolf before it could recover.

There was no need for me to deal with rest of them.

Yoo Rin and Ryu Yeji cleared the remaining shadow wolves one by one.

Shadowfangs weren't hard to defeat, but they could merge with shadows and attack from any angle, making them dangerously unpredictable.

The dark interior of the Abandoned House was the perfect hunting ground for them.

However, once their attack patterns were understood, defeating them became almost effortless. Even so, without prior knowledge of their existence, countering them was nearly impossible.

Pow!

Yoo Rin delivered a devastating blow to the last Shadow Wolf's chin.

Her magic-enfused gauntlets amplified the force of the strike, sending the creature flying and disintegrating its body into shadowy fragments before it could even land.

What tremendous power that was.

The power of a striker was no joke. If she trained in martial arts, she'd become an unstoppable force.

I scanned the corridor.

We defeated the enemies with ease and suffered no casualties on our side.

Miyuki frowned with displeasure. She probably wanted to join in on the battle, but I wasn't ready to reveal my trump card just yet, so she was unfortunately pushed to the sidelines.

The moment we entered this house, we were under constant surveillance.

If the main enemy discovered something that could threaten their existence, they would act swiftly to eliminate it without hesitation.

Such a scenario would occur if they learned there was a magic user among us.

Ryu Yeji asked with curiosity, "... Huh, there are no coins?"

"That event won't occur in this Fable."

"At the very least, what about the monster cores?"

"These monsters are different from other Nightmares."

"How so?"

"They're familiars. We won't receive coins unless we kill the master."

Ryu Yeji seemed lost. As expected, this was probably the first time he was dealing with a scenario like this.

I turned to Soo Jinyoung as she sheathed her sword and approached her with a question. "Are there enemies on the third floor?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't sense anything."

"Are you certain?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You doubt my senses?"

"Nevermind, then."

I quickly dismissed it and frowned.

It was strange.

Why place obstacles on the second floor and not the third?

Was this some form of manipulation strategy?

By placing obstacles only on the second floor, they must be trying to lull us into a false sense of security, only to crush it when we least expect it.

It was a clever strategy. However, it only works when the opponent is either clueless or unaware of the true situation.

[Personal skill,「 Black Box 」has activated.]

[The skill has detected the gazes from an unknown territory.]

My gaze shifted upwards.

Perhaps those people were observing us from a place beyond the reach of the five senses and carefully plotting their next move.

Let them strategize all they want.

I'll make sure to dismantle their attempts thoroughly.

As we ascended the stairs and reached the third floor, I raised my hand, signaling the group to halt. Then, I casually tossed a pebble I had picked up onto the floor.

Moon Jiyeon asked, curious.

"Are you checking for traps?"

"It won't hurt to check."

"Nothing appeared. That means the coast is clear, right?"

"Not yet. I'm extremely cautious, and I won't relax until I'm certain there are no traps here."

Without waiting for me to turn to her, Soo Jinyoung stepped forward gracefully.

At the same time, a system message arrived infront of my retina.

[★ Soo Jinyoung has activated Dragon Demon Eyes.]

Frrr—

Soo Jinyoung's eyes transformed into that of a dragon as she scanned the entire third-floor corridor, meticulously searching for any hidden traps.

Demon Dragon Eyes.

(N/B: Demon Dragon Eyes and Dragon Demon Eyes are the same thing.)

Even if there were traps that couldn't be seen by the naked eyes or picked up by the five senses, they would inevitably be picked up by those eyes.

Soo Jinyoung narrowed her eyes, then pointed to a spot on the ground ahead of her.

"There's a trap on that spot. Stepping on it will trigger a chain of guillotines descending from above."

"Any other traps?"

"No. Surprisingly, that's the only trap on this floor."

A smile formed on my lips.

Those idiots... If they're going to set traps for us, they should at least make an effort to do it properly.

"Eh? Wait a minute..."

Ryu Yeji spoke as he realised something.

"Was that trap always there? Didn't we pass through here before?"

"Hmm, I'm curious about that. It wasn't there before. Where could it have come from? Maybe it's always been there and we just happened to be lucky."

"How can you speak so casually?! This is a matter of life and death! A single wrong move, and we'd be dead!"

I ignored him and continued walking.

Displeased with my carefree demeanour, Ryu Yeji turned to the rest of the group and complained. "Are you all really okay with this? He's acting like it's just another day at the office!"

Hearing his exaggerated reaction, Moon Jiyeon sighed.

"C'mon, can't you tell he's simply messing with you?"

".... Eh?"

"If that trap was there before, do you think he would have walked through here carelessly?"

"T-That..."

Completely caught off-guard, Ryu Yeji remained stationary as the rest of the group followed behind me.

"H-Hey, wait..."

Soon afterwards, he snapped out of his reverie and followed along.

A few minutes later, we were standing infront of the study.

As expected, the sharp sound came from the mysteriously creaking metallic door of the study opening on its own.

Soo Jinyoung examined the entrance before speaking briefly.

"There are no traps."

Moon Jiyeon asked, "So the door just opened on its own?"

"It seems so. Have you heard about something called checkpoints?"

"You mean like in a video game?"

"Yes. In a video game, checkpoints are save points within a level or stage. If you don't reach them, you won't be able to advance further."

"So you're saying this is similar?"

"That's correct, but it's more complicated than that. I don't even fully understand it."

I didn't fully understand it because the author didn't explain it properly.

To begin with, there was only little information available for the Sixth Fable, unlike the other Fables.

That was why I could only use my own understanding to explain.

"Hey, are you going to talk all day?"

Soo Jinyoung's cold voice snapped me back to reality as she walked into the study without hesitation. Her impatience was evident in her stride.

The group exchanged brief glances before entering the study one by one. First came Ryu Yeji, followed by Yoo Rin, and then Miyuki Kuroi.

I was the last to step inside.