Chapter Thirty: Let’s Jump Off the Building Together

"Did you hear something?" After walking through several corridors, Natasha suddenly spoke.

"No, what did you hear?" Genomi stopped, his single-handed sword sweeping away the spider webs before him.

"A kind of wailing sound. It's getting louder, as if it's coming closer."

As Natasha spoke, she glanced at Fina. Fina shook her head. "Your shadow attribute protection hasn't been triggered. It might be some kind of targeted mental illusion."

"The air inside is polluted; I can't glean any information from it," Vernon added immediately.

"I hear the sound too, but judging from its volume, it's still some distance from us," Frank said, gripping his dagger. Their formation was too tight for the cramped space—using firearms would risk friendly fire.

"Fina, can you dispel it? Give them a hand," Genomi ordered.

Fina raised her hand, releasing a powder that, under the influence of mana, spread across Natasha and Frank. A transparent specter emerged from their bodies, let out a piercing wail, and dissipated into the air.

"They aren't ghosts! It's a kind of mark. You lack the energy to resist it, making you more vulnerable to the environment," Vernon observed.

Bladewind tossed two arrow feathers to them. "They contain mana. I've opened the conduit—holding them should create a mana field around you, which might help."

Frank listened closely. Indeed, the wailing had diminished. Whether it was due to the dispelling or the mana field, he couldn't say.

After another minute of walking, Genomi glanced around. "I've never been to a haunted house. Have any of you? Doesn't this distance seem off to you?"

Silence.

Genomi spun around abruptly, only to find his teammates had vanished without a trace. The space around him stretched rapidly, and the area ahead turned wide and empty. He seemed to have arrived at a rooftop.

"Stop! We're missing someone!" Fina's voice rang out inside the haunted house.

Frank immediately looked back. His charge, Vernon, was still beside him. Across the corridor were Natasha and Fina. Bladewind and Genomi were gone!

Vernon noticed too, dropping the seed he had been clutching to the ground. It sprouted quickly!

In an instant, a patch of grass grew beneath their feet, stretching back toward the small door they had just passed through, then splitting into two as it reached the doorway. Though it branched, it grew on the same plane, now forming two layers.

"Space has overlapped. He’s been pulled into another dimension. Fina, do you know any spatial magic?" Vernon asked.

"No, only basic descriptions," Fina shook her head. Spatial magic was beyond her knowledge. "Should we go back and see if we can get in?"

Crack—the ground suddenly gave way as Fina spoke. Natasha instinctively grabbed her, trying to pull her up, but the suction from the opening dragged them both down.

In an instant, two more were missing. Frank looked at Vernon, his face grave. What now?

Before Vernon could respond, the environment around them shifted again. The walls turned to tiles, the spider webs became white curtains. They seemed to have left the haunted house and entered a hospital—a deserted one.

...

Genomi watched his surroundings warily, searching for a solution. Suddenly, he saw someone standing by the rooftop railing, with a pair of red dance shoes beneath it.

The person leapt over the edge in a single bound.

"Bladewind?!" Genomi exclaimed in shock. As the figure jumped, he turned his head—it was the ever-silent, cold-faced Bladewind.

Genomi sprinted to the railing and looked down. Below, only a thick white fog—nothing else was visible.

Creak—the rooftop door swung open.

Genomi turned to see Bladewind, who had just jumped, reappearing, but now thinner, his face a bloody blur, flesh sprouting rapidly. The vampire’s powerful regeneration, combined with his natural blessings, produced a multiplier effect, keeping him alive.

Bladewind blinked repeatedly at Genomi, trying to convey something, but Genomi understood nothing. He watched Bladewind’s stiff body inch toward the edge, then raised his round shield and struck him.

When they were just five meters apart, the shadow attribute protection activated. Genomi felt as though he was submerged in boiling water—Bladewind was possessed!

Wham! Bladewind was sent flying, the force more reminiscent of a truck than a shield blow. Yet, left in his place was a blurred-faced ghost, seemingly a young woman.

The next moment, Genomi’s perspective shifted. He was now watching the rooftop edge, and saw a weeping girl approaching it.

He tried to speak, but it was as if his throat was stuffed; no sound emerged.

He could only watch helplessly as the girl removed her red dance shoes and leapt. Yet, the instant her body crossed the rooftop’s edge, Genomi found himself hanging in midair, replacing the girl.

Damn it! I don’t want to jump!

The thought flashed through his mind as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Smack! A wave of agony crashed through his mind. The impact was brutal, but the body of a full knight was tough. With the shadow protection spell lessening the damage, he wasn’t seriously hurt.

Before he could recover, he found himself back on the rooftop, but now he and Bladewind had switched roles—he was the one approaching the edge, while Bladewind stood by, unsure what to do.

Bang, bang, bang! Three more jumps in quick succession. Genomi was at a loss. He felt his insides were completely rearranged—even an iron man couldn't take this much.

Bladewind was sweating buckets. He’d thought the red shoes were the key, so he fired an arrow at them as soon as Genomi reached the edge, but it did nothing.

The fourth time Genomi returned, Bladewind realized this approach was futile. Blood was streaming from Genomi’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth—he was at his limit.

Gritting his teeth, Bladewind kicked Genomi, sending him flying like a shield strike. The body soared, but the ghost remained, attaching itself to Bladewind.

As Genomi was hurled away, he caught a glimpse of the ghost. Was it his imagination, or did it seem fainter now?