◈ Episode 375: The Secret Mansion (2)
“Mmm.”
“What is this?”
The sudden appearance of the body shocked everyone in the party.
Rudger looked at the body and then moved his gaze to the far hallway.
“There are more bodies.”
The body was not one body.
Dead people could be seen here and there in the long hallway.
The total number of corpses is nineteen.
As you can infer from the numbers, it was clear which team entered this secret mansion.
“Have you been swept away by the mysterious phenomenon of the mansion?”
As Ludger muttered, Sempas opened his mouth.
“no. I’ve never heard of a case like this.”
“I-I think so too.”
Even Roina agreed with Sempas’ words.
“Mysterious phenomena happen in the mansion, but usually, if something happens here, it just disappears like a mirage. There are no cases where a body is left like this.”
“Then the corpses here are not simply there because of mystical phenomena.”
What, if not mystery, killed those wizards?
The answer was simpler than I thought.
Murder.
In this secret mansion, people kill people.
Of course, the possibility that this was also the result of a mysterious phenomenon could not be completely ruled out.
Since it was unknown what was going on, it could have been the first observed phenomenon.
However, everyone in this room instinctively felt that this case was a murder case.
“Uh, maybe that’s good? A murderer inside the mansion!”
“… … Why are 6th tier wizards scared?”
If it was a Lexarer level, even if the killer grandfather came, he would have been scared.
Leaving the fussing Roina behind, Rudger approached the corpse and examined its condition.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’m trying to figure out why this happened.”
“Gee, are you going to do an autopsy now?”
“It’s not that grandiose.”
If I could get some clues, that was enough.
If there are dangerous guys in the mansion, that alone is unpleasant.
‘The blood is not discolored. It’s been a while since I entered the mansion in the first place, so it probably didn’t take that long.’
But when you think about it, it’s kind of funny.
No matter how long they entered the mansion, as many as 10 people died.
“It’s a premeditated murder.”
“A plan?”
“Not long after everyone came in, this happened. Look.”
Rudger pointed to the other bodies.
“There are no signs of a battle. Most of them were unilateral. Besides, it’s not just one person. It was an organized effort by several people. It is absolutely not accidental.”
In short, the body was damaged in a total of three forms.
A corpse cut by countless sharp blades.
A corpse burnt in intense heat.
And a corpse, bubbling with dingy skin, without wounds.
“There won’t be just three, but at least the main killings will be narrowed down to three. Besides, he’s a pretty talented guy. Even if they used a surprise attack or other cowardly move, they couldn’t even use their side and get hit. Are there any people here who speculate that this could happen?”
Ludger’s gaze turned to Sempas and Roina.
The two shook their heads.
Sempas, a mad dog, and Roina, who lack social skills, didn’t know that much about other wizards.
Rudger looked at Rimray for the last time.
“What you looking at!”
“Does anyone have any doubts?”
“doesn’t exist!”
Limray was furious.
“There were over 200 people who came in here in the first place. And most of them are wizards. Who is the guy who can do this? Dodge everything!”
“If we narrow down the suspects to the Battle Mage, wouldn’t there be a significant reduction?”
“Eh! You stupid bastard! Think about it. First of all, not all battle mages know how to fight. Even a guy who only concentrates on academic research knows how to use magic. Do you know what that means? Killing people is not a job if you set your mind to it.”
Limray was also right.
Rudger asked something else instead.
“Do you know of a team that filled the maximum of 20 people at once?”
“Why is that!”
“These people. I was betrayed by the same team.”
Sempas and Roina, who had been quiet at those words, were surprised.
Unexpectedly, Rimray was not surprised or shouted that it was nonsense.
Instead, he asked with slightly heavy eyes.
“Why do you think so?”
“Look at the body. Ten people. The combination, which was all made up of wizards, suffered without any resistance. Of course, it will not be a head-to-head match.”
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“It could have been a surprise attack.”
“Won’t you know what’s going to happen in this mansion and respond to surprise attacks? As long as you don’t know how the mysterious phenomenon will happen, everyone must have been nervous. If we met another team, we would be wary. I got hit though. If it’s not a head-to-head match or a surprise attack, there’s only one.”
Right away, I was hit by my colleagues who were moving together.
“They must have believed because they were the ones who came in together. They may have even been together in a nearby city before entering the mansion, perhaps the day before. So I trusted him, and I thought it was okay to be together. Without anticipating what the outcome would be for them.”
Rudger pictured the situation in his head.
“They are 20 people in total. In other words, they must have come with the maximum number of people allowed to enter the mansion. That’s why it’s cut in half exactly. While 7 naturally drew attention, the other 3 handled it in their own way. Those three must have been the most talented people in this group. How is it?”
Rimray didn’t get angry at Ludger’s provocative glance at him.
It was a completely different attitude from the usual politeness and annoyance.
Limray smiled and nodded.
“okay. But maybe it’s because he’s a teacher, he’s really good at saying one thing.”
“You can do better, more coherently. Will you do that?”
“Eh. You’re trying to intimidate a very old man. done.”
“So, do you think the wise man is guessing?”
“Will I care about all 20 people meeting? It doesn’t even pay attention to that in the first place.”
“That is unfortunate.”
“Instead of.”
Rimray let go of his luck and pointed at a corpse with the tip of the stone staff in his hand.
The tip of the wand pointed to something in the corpse’s bosom.
“You know who the owner of this body is.”
“Your face is severely disfigured.”
The body was in the form of a knife wound.
I don’t know if he was aiming for it, but his face was also mutilated, so it was impossible to tell whose corpse it was.
“Even a faceless corpse speaks. Do you see the silver necklace in this bosom?”
“yes.”
“This is proof. It’s like a dog tag used by servant wizards in the Delica Kingdom. But usually these things are not something ordinary soldiers can get. You have to climb to a high position to get it.”
“Then this corpse can’t be… … .”
“okay. I’m not interested, but I remember who this guy is.”
“Belcat Benmark.”
It was a name that even Ludger remembered.
It was because he was one of the mages Arfa told me that he was someone to keep an eye on.
Besides, he was also a wizard who subdued one of the three Cheshire Tigers that caused multiple deaths.
Wizard of metal and lightning.
Roina muttered in disbelief.
“To think that a person of that caliber would die so pointlessly… … .”
“What are you so surprised about? That’s what the world is all about.”
Rimrey didn’t take it too seriously when the high-ranking wizard died.
“In practice, hierarchy doesn’t matter. Unless you are a legendary archmage, it is a reality that even 6th tier mages die in an unexpected surprise attack.”
“… … .”
Roina tried to refute that statement, but kept her mouth shut.
Didn’t she also go through the situation Rimray was talking about some time ago.
‘that’s right. I did too.’
The Chimera Corps was pouring in from the capital.
Roina consumed a huge amount of mana in real time to protect many people, and in the end, she could not stand it and was in danger of dying.
If Roina didn’t care about others and fought for herself, such a dangerous thing wouldn’t have happened.
But that assumption was meaningless.
One important thing.
In real life, it is not strange even if something suddenly happens.
“Even more so, if you did this with a surprise attack, even an excellent servant mage would go in vain like this. Maybe that’s why the killer’s skills are so good.”
“Well, then what now? There are murderers running around this mansion. As many as 10 people!”
“Unless we know exactly who they are, we should avoid contact with other teams as much as possible.”
“Shouldn’t I tell you first?”
“If you can let me know, that is.”
Rimray blurted out his words.
Roina tried to ask why, but she shut her mouth after seeing the situation that happened belatedly.
“The corpse… … .”
The body that had been there a while ago had disappeared without a trace.
Even the carpet on the floor and the bloodstains on the walls.
“The rules of the mansion… … .”
“In the hallway, you have to move for a certain amount of time.”
It was Sempas who took over the words instead.
“If 5 minutes pass without the slightest movement, they will disappear from the mansion without a trace. Like right now.”
There is no such thing as standing still as if nailed to a seat for five minutes unless it is a dire situation.
But the body was different.
The body neither breathes nor moves.
Naturally, the mystery of the mansion had lightly erased the corpse now that 5 minutes had passed.
“I was aiming for this.”
Rudger muttered as he looked at the missing corpse.
As soon as I entered, I wondered why he did it, and it was that he reversed the rules that existed in the mansion.
That way there will be no other witnesses.
It is a complete destruction of evidence.
“Arfa. Any traces?”
Rudger asked Arfa.
It was just a moment ago that the body disappeared.
Arfa, who hadn’t looked away from the corpse a while ago, might have seen something.
“no. It feels really good.”
However, even the special automaton, Arfa, could not penetrate the mystery of the mansion.
Those sharp eyes were defeated by fragments of the mansion’s strange power.
“It really is a haunted house.”
“No, don’t say scary things! Mr. Rudger!”
“… … Why are 6th tier wizards afraid of ghosts?”
Even if you use basic necromancy, you should be able to drive out quite a few spirits easily.
“So what are we going to do now?”
Rimray asked Rudger.
It was natural to treat Rudger as the leader of the party, but Rudger knew very well that it was not to show respect, but to pass on troublesome tasks.
“Keep moving. After all, that was not our purpose.”
“Lu, Mr. Rudger. But it’s a corpse! dead body! There is a killer in this mansion!”
“yes. Yes. As many as 10 people. However, there is no evidence that they committed the murder. The body is gone, and there are no witnesses.”
“If we testify… … !”
“What is the meaning of testimony without evidence? Besides, wizards won’t mind too much. 10 people died inside? Rather thank you. Because there are fewer competitors.”
“That, like that… … .”
“I agree with Rudger Celisi.”
At the right time, Sempas gave Rudger an assist.
“We still don’t know what the killers want. Maybe something bad happened in the past with the 10 people who died now. If we suddenly make noise in that situation, they’ll change their target to us. Of course, I won’t avoid it if they challenge me to a fight.”
Others won’t do that.
Sempas didn’t bother talking about it.
There is no evidence.
The body is also gone.
All that remains is the testimony of five people who saw the body.
Of course, those five people are all talented people, so the weight of the claim won’t be easy.
Will the other wizards really care?
Rather, it would be scraping and making a boil.
“Ignore it and move on. This is my choice.”
At Ludger’s words, Rimray, Sempas, and Arfa nodded their heads.
Only Roina felt sorry for the death of a person, but did not show any words of denial.
“Let’s move slowly. If you stay for a long time, it will be difficult for nothing.”
The group started walking again.
However, the atmosphere was slightly different from before.
Seeing the corpse made me a little nervous.
‘Sudden death and 10 murderers.’
Rudger doesn’t know the relationship between the dead and the people he killed.
But I didn’t think that this happened by accident.
‘First Order Leslie said she was plotting something on this mysterious night. And a murder took place in the mansion. Could it be a coincidence?’
No way.
In this secret mansion, the remnants of the Black Dawn, including Leslie, are now hiding.
The number is 10 people.
Or it could have been more.
You wouldn’t be able to catch your guard just because you ran into a group that wasn’t 10 people.
Just when he thought so, Rudger found a picture frame hanging on the wall on one side of the hallway.
Discovering it was just an accident.
He tried to pass by without realizing it, but stopped when he saw the picture drawn on the frame.
“This painting… … .”
“painting?”
It was Rimray who responded to Ludger’s murmur.
“you. You found it.”
“What is it?”
“Transparent frame. It’s one of the phenomena in this mansion. They say it’s a picture frame that can only be seen by certain people.”
“Is this invisible to other people?”
Everyone nodded at the same time at Ludger’s question.
Even that Arfa was the same.
“So what are the characteristics of this picture frame?”
“Is there a picture inside?”
“yes. It is a portrait of a person.”
“Then the transparent picture frame is correct. The transparent frame appears as a portrait of a person. And the person the figure represents will die sooner or later.”
“Are you going to die?”
Rudger looked at Rimray and asked.
“I don’t know the details either. But that’s just what has been said so far. Is there any smoke coming out of the chimney? It will be fine if you burn firewood. At least I think it’s real.”
“… … okay.”
Rudger looked at the frame again.
A framed picture that only you can see.
There was a portrait of Rimray painted on it.
