Chapter 144: A strange Encounter

Looking at the notifications Ishiki frowned, but soon his expression turned to that of excitement and fluffiness.

He was wondering why did he get a new Vestige even when he git one just recently then he remembered that killing other players grant a 50% Vestige drop rate, so it was only normal.

He was panting heavily and each breath was sending sharp spikes of pain through his wounded side.

His hands clutched at the makeshift bandage made up of some strips of cloths. The fabric was soaked through now, stained with dark crimson blood.

The silk tunic that he had found and wore just this morning was gone. The purple flames from the skeleton’s jian had consumed the upper portion completely, leaving his torso bare and exposed to the cold of the cathedral.

Sweat mixed with blood across his skin, making him shiver despite the exertion of the fight, because it was December.

’I need to get out of here,’ Ishiki thought, his vision swimming at the edges. ’Damn It… it was a bad idea to fight in such condition. Maybe I should actually look for a healer.’

A sound cut through his thoughts.

It was deep and resonant.

Then, the entire cathedral shuddered.

Dust rained down from the ceiling as the ancient stone trembled. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls, spreading with audible snaps that echoed through the hall.

Somewhere in the distance, something heavy crashed to the ground with a boom that shook the floor beneath Ishiki’s feet.

’The whole building is collapsing,’ Ishiki realized with horror. ’Is it like those games where the place collapses after we defeat the boss?’

Whatever the cause, the result was clear. He had minutes at most before the entire cathedral came down on top of him.

Ishiki spun toward the wall where the bookshelf mechanism had rotated. He slammed his shoulder into it, pushing with all his remaining strength, trying to force the hidden door to turn and give him access back to the fifth room.

The wall didn’t budge.

’Goddamn it, still locked,’ he thought, cursing internally. ’The timer hasn’t reset yet.’

But there was no time to wait for the timer to complete. Ishiki held the Bladeless tachi tightly in his hand and slashed at the wall without hesitation.

The section he’d cut fell inward with a crash. Ishiki didn’t wait to see if the rest would hold—he dove through the opening, rolled across the debris-strewn floor of the sanctuary, and kept running.

Ishiki sprinted through the foyer where he had first entered this cursed place. The massive bookshelves were falling, cascading down like dominoes. Books flew through the air, their pages scattering like wounded birds.

The main door, the one he’d cut through when he had first entered was sealed again.

Ishiki raised the bladeless tachi and slashed diagonally across both doors. The invisible blade carved through the heavy wood, and he kicked the severed sections forward as he burst through into the cathedral’s main hall.

And stopped.

There was someone else in the cathedral.

A figure stood in the center of the hall, silhouetted against the crimson moonlight that poured down through the spaces in the ceiling. The darkness made it impossible to see details—just a vague shape that might have been human.

Instinct screamed at Ishiki to run and get out of this collapsing building before it killed him.

But something held him in place even though he realized that the person was clearly dangerous.

Ishiki moved quickly, diving behind one of the nearest broken pillars and pressing his bare back against the cold stone. His breathing was loud in his own ears, ragged and desperate. He tried to quiet it.

The figure moved and took a step forward, turning their head to look directly at where Ishiki was hiding.

’How—’

Ishiki’s eyes adjusted slightly to the darkness, picking out more details now that he was still rather than running. The figure was definitely female—he could tell by the curve of her hips and the swell of her chest that pressed against the fabric of her long shirt.

’Those are some really big boobs…

’ Then his eyes narrowed. Why he looking at them in such a situation.

’Don’t think about that,’ Ishiki commanded himself harshly.

“Why are you hiding, dear?”

The voice was deep, surprisingly deep for a woman—and it reverberated.

Each word echoed through the cathedral multiple times, bouncing off the walls and ceiling. The sound made the hair on Ishiki’s arms stand on end, made his skin prickle with goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold.

Slowly, keeping his movements as quiet as possible, Ishiki emerged from behind the pillar.

The moment he stepped into view, the door he had cut through—the one leading to the fifth room suddenly moved.

The severed sections floated back into place, fitting together perfectly. The cuts sealed themselves, wood grain flowing across the gaps like water until there was no trace that the door had ever been damaged.

Within seconds it looked completely whole again, as if Ishiki’s slash had been nothing more than a hallucination.

’What the hell…’

“Who… who are you?” Ishiki asked, his voice coming out hoarse and weak.

The woman smiled. Even in the darkness, he could see the white flash of her teeth.

Then she stepped forward into a beam of crimson moonlight.

And Ishiki’s heart skipped a beat.

She was beautiful.

Beautiful and attractive in a way that seemed designed to bypass rational thought. Long blonde hair cascaded down past her shoulders in waves that caught the red light and turned it golden.

Large brown eyes gazed at him with an intensity that made him feel simultaneously exposed and desired. Her features were delicate but confident—high cheekbones, full lips curved in that knowing smile, a jawline that suggested both femininity and strength.

She walked closer. Each step was deliberate and measured. Her hips swayed in a way that seemed choreographed to maximum effect.

Ishiki tried to step back. His body refused to obey.

His movements had grown sluggish and his thoughts were fuzzy at the edges. It felt like wading through water—every action required twice the effort it should, every decision took twice as long to form.

’What’s happening to me?’ he wondered distantly. ’Why can’t I move properly? Why is my mind so slow?’

Before he could process the thought, the woman was standing right in front of him, just Inches away. Close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her skin and smell something sweet and intoxicating that made his head spin.

Her chest pressed against his bare torso.

The contact sent a jolt through Ishiki’s entire body that was part arousal and terror, mixed with something else he couldn’t name.

The warmth of her skin against his was almost scorching, making his blood-soaked bandage feel ice-cold by comparison.

His breathing became heavy and labored. His heart hammered against his ribs so hard he thought it might break free.

She leaned in close, her lips nearly brushing his ear as she whispered.

“Do you really want to know?”

Her breath was hot against his skin. It made Ishiki shudder and clench his teeth.

Then she backed off, laughing with a sound that was musical and mocking at once.

Her hand moved slowly and seductively. Her fingers trailed across Ishiki’s bare chest with feather-light pressure that left lines of fire in their wake. Her touch moved downward, tracing the contours of his muscles.

’No,’ he thought desperately. ’I need to run away… Now. Somehow.’

Her fingers reached the cloth wrapped around his stomach, which was the makeshift bandage soaked red with his blood.

And even that touch, even the brush of her hand against fabric rather than skin, sent tingles through him that made rational thought nearly impossible.

’Her hand is so hot,’ Ishiki thought dizzily. ’It feels like it’s burning. Like she’s made of fire.’

He gritted his teeth and tried to step back. Desperate to put distance between himself and this impossibly alluring woman who was doing things to his body that he absolutely did not have time for.

But he couldn’t move.

It felt like invisible threads were wrapped around him, binding him in place. Not physically restraining him—he could still breath and he could still shift his weight slightly.

But they were preventing any significant movement. It was as if his body was being held together by something fragile, and any attempt to break free would scatter him into pieces.

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