12 O’Clock Marionette

The conversation between Julian and the other members of the congregation continued to echo.

"Ah, that's true. How long has this been open?"

"It shouldn't have been for long. When Dylan was dealt with, he tried to flee this way, so I closed it again."

"Shall we go inside?"

"No, I’ll check it."

Then, from behind, something began chasing after me.

The sound got closer and closer, and I never expected it to be this terrifying.

To describe it, it sounded like this:

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Why is it so fast? Was it a cockroach in its past life? How can that be in a human body?

I was gripped by fear in a completely different way and desperately swung my limbs.

By sacrificing part of my knee cartilage, I finally reached the end of the passage.

But then...

"Hmm..."

It was a dead-end.

It wasn’t a passage; it was a trap.

I blinked a couple of times.

Well, I did find an odd angle of a portrait in the office I entered, and it just so happened to connect to the place where Gavotte was trapped.

I thought I was lucky, but it was a failure.

As I chuckled bitterly, the sound grew nearer quickly.

I resigned myself and awkwardly turned my body in the narrow space.

I glanced down at the ring on my finger and, for no reason, put my hand in my pocket.

Even in the worst-case scenario, there was always one last move.

But would I be able to save Gavotte and take him with me if it came to that?

As my mood began to sink, a hand suddenly reached out from the wall and grabbed me.

"Hah?"

My body was sucked into the wall.

Out-of-body experience? Of course not.