Chapter 6

It didn’t take long for Taewoon and Jain to find Mikhail, who was possessed by the wraith of The Red Man.

The only problem was that, for some reason, the Wax Mask that should have been on his face had vanished.

‘Come to think of it, back in the 1st Cycle…’

The Red Man Taewoon had faced back then wasn’t wearing a mask. That meant he had already hidden the mask somewhere at that point.

“…I see. I think I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“He is a wraith to begin with. It might be that he wasn’t wearing a real Wax Mask from the start, but rather that our eyes were simply deceived.”

What kind of nonsense is this?

At first glance, it sounded like he was grasping at straws, but Jain was a member of a Secret Society with his own level of expertise. He didn’t seem like the type to spout useless nonsense in such a critical situation.

“Put it in simpler terms so I can actually understand.”

“I mean there is a separate, real mask! And its location is likely the stone chamber in the secret passage!”

“…Understood.”

Recalling the path to the stone chamber, Taewoon infused his body with a moderate amount of tension. Meanwhile, Jain stepped forward to block The Red Man’s path, pulling a luxurious silver dagger from his coat.

“Go. I will hold The Red Man here.”

“You? Honestly, you look like you’ll struggle.”

“This is finally the moment where my long efforts bear fruit. I must be willing to take a small risk.”

Jain, a member of the Secret Society, the Dawn Assembly.

Taewoon felt a bit resentful that he hadn’t revealed his identity sooner, but he was certainly a decent man.

Responding to his resolve, Taewoon left Jain’s side and began sprinting toward the secret passage leading to the stone chamber.

“Baron Werik?”

“…I’m in a hurry, excuse me.”

A butler wandering the mansion hallways with a lantern tried to stop him, but Taewoon ignored him and reached the secret passage with lightning speed.

‘I definitely… turned it to the side here.’

As he operated the mechanism in the correct sequence, the entrance he had seen earlier finally revealed itself.

Sprinting without stopping until he reached the stone chamber, Taewoon frowned at Wilson’s corpse lying on the floor and turned his head to check the interior of the room.

“…Is it this way?”

As he ventured deeper inside and pulled back a veil, a fishy scent of blood—even stronger than before—assailed Taewoon’s nose.

An altar that might have been soaked in someone’s blood, and within it, a red Wax Mask submerged in a pool of blood.

As he picked it up, a mysterious sensation he had never felt in his life began to shake Taewoon’s mind.

His body trembled naturally as if consumed by cold, and shivers ran through him, making his teeth chatter.

‘Ugh, don’t mess with me!’

Taewoon was a Hunter. If he were to shrink back because of a mere cursed mask, he wouldn’t have the face to look at those who had helped him until now.

As he hardened his resolve and focused his mind, the chill soon subsided. Clutching the mask tightly in his hand, Taewoon hurried back to the second floor where Jain was.

‘No, you bastard, Jain!’

Upon reaching the place where he had faced The Red Man, he saw Jain collapsed on the cold floor, drenched in blood.

Sure enough, as he had feared, it seemed Jain had been brutally defeated without even buying much time.

‘What am I supposed to do now!’

There was only one path, and nowhere to run. Sensing Taewoon’s presence, The Red Man fixed his gaze on the mask and began walking toward him.

“Damn it, get lost!”

The Red Man had already unwound his bandages and revealed his face. Thus, Taewoon tried to shake him off by stepping this way and that, avoiding direct eye contact.

“Urgh!”

Using a mysterious movement, The Red Man appeared behind Taewoon. He barely managed to dodge the attack, but he dropped the mask he was holding.

In that desperate moment, after rolling twice on the ground to regain his posture, what entered Taewoon’s vision was the dagger Jain had possessed: the Sacred Bird’s Claw.

‘Right! If I use this…’

Having made up his mind, Taewoon sprinted and grabbed the dagger, then began charging while limiting his vision to The Red Man’s lower body.

“You damn bastard! I’ve finally gotten used to that mysterious movement of yours!”

He might have lacked a Trait until now, but he hadn’t been lazy with his training.

Though he was still only a Trainee Hunter, Taewoon’s speed at full power far exceeded even that of a first-rate athlete.

“Take this!”

Reacting to Taewoon’s movement, The Red Man vanished again as if disappearing and moved behind Taewoon, but as mentioned, Taewoon had already read that.

With a perfectly timed upward slash, Taewoon cut through The Red Man’s abdomen. A faint light emanated from the dagger, creating mysterious cracks in the wound.

‘…Got him!’

Taewoon performed a breakfall, rolled once, and retrieved the mask. He then began sprinting toward the Banquet Hall.

At the same time, accompanied by the sound of urgent footsteps, a familiar face cut in beside him.

“This way!”

“Jain? What happened?”

“It’s not as good as the dagger, but I naturally possessed a tool to protect my body. However, the power of the curse was stronger than expected, making it dangerous.”

In short, he felt like he was going to die if he kept fighting, so he played dead and waited for Taewoon to arrive.

As expected of a member of a Secret Society, his survival instinct was truly remarkable.

“The Banquet Hall is just ahead!”

They encountered a few servants on the way, but most of them were either mindless or already corpses.

As they burst through the doors of the Banquet Hall, the gazes of the many gathered people shifted toward Jain and Taewoon.

“Is there anyone among you whose parents or grandparents had red hair? This is a critical matter, so please answer without hesitation!”

Jain shouted urgently, but no one answered such an absurd request. Instead, most of them looked at Jain with strange eyes, wondering why he was suddenly saying such things.

However.

“My grandparents from Cologne had red hair. And, I’m the only one in the family who also…”

Mary, who responded by hesitantly raising her hand, approached Taewoon and showed him the roots of her hair.

He hadn’t noticed because of the dye, but the ends were clearly a blazing red.

‘…There was a reason she was forced to introduce herself right from the start.’

He had suspected it, but he hadn’t thought she would be given such a pivotal role.

Reflecting on his mistake of not examining Mary more closely, Taewoon immediately asked Jain.

“Well?”

“If her grandparents were from Cologne, it’s almost certain. Other characteristics also match the Holstein bloodline I’m aware of.”

With Mary’s help, all conditions were met, but they still needed a little more time.

Taewoon, who held the mask, could feel the sensation of The Red Man drawing closer second by second.

“…The Red Man is approaching. I’ll buy time, so hurry with the persuasion and explanation of the situation.”

“A-Are you going to be alright?”

“I’ll hold out better than you, at least.”

Since Taewoon had no knowledge of the Ritual, he wasn’t suited to explain it, and no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was more capable in combat than Jain.

Furthermore, unlike the 1st Cycle where he had been utterly helpless, the current Taewoon possessed a shred of confidence.

‘My body moves better than I expected. Something has definitely changed.’

After blooming his Trait, the time that had been frozen for Taewoon began to move.

With appropriate experience and circumstances added to it, the results were rapidly manifesting on the surface.

‘Yes, I am now a Hunter in name and deed.’

Despite the perilous situation, Taewoon felt a surge of euphoria that suppressed his fear.

Quickly exiting the Banquet Hall and staring straight at the floor in front of him, The Red Man appeared as if he had been waiting.

“Do you want to take this?”

With a smirk, Taewoon threw the mask behind him, slamming it onto the ground.

The Red Man shifted his head slightly, but he didn’t express anger or spew hostility.

In the end, he was nothing more than a mere wraith.

“Let’s do this properly.”

Fear no longer existed. Taewoon was no longer ignorant of The Red Man, and he was not afraid of him.

Approaching rapidly, Taewoon swung the Sacred Bird’s Claw, aiming for The Red Man’s thigh. Faced with the even swifter attack, The Red Man was busy hiding his body.

After several exchanges, and despite a few dizzying moments, Taewoon read The Red Man’s movements almost perfectly, refusing to let him touch him.

It was a testament to how outstanding Taewoon’s adaptability to combat was, despite not having stepped onto a proper battlefield until now.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

[……]

After repeating surprise attacks by disappearing and reappearing several times, The Red Man, perhaps feeling it was futile, hid his body once more and tried to retrieve the mask on the ground, ignoring Taewoon.

“…So in the end, you have no real intelligence or anything.”

Against The Red Man, who had fallen for an obvious trap, Taewoon’s blade was merciless.

Squelch, rip!

The Red Man, whose back was shredded, let out a strange groan and stumbled backward, unable to move from his spot.

However, Taewoon, who maintained his state of concentration, noticed one peculiar thing.

‘…The effect of the Claw is weaker than before.’

As expected, the enemy was now adapting to the mysterious power of the dagger.

He couldn’t repeat this kind of exchange forever.

But at that moment, the doors of the Banquet Hall finally opened, and those who had been waiting appeared.

“The preparations are complete!”

“I-Is that The Red Man?”

“Yes. I repeat, you must absolutely not look him in the face.”

Seeing this, Taewoon signaled the location of the mask to Jain and, taking the risk, charged in to shred The Red Man’s entire body once more.

The ankles, the abdomen, and the shoulder blades!

He had successfully stopped the movement, but the effect of the dagger would likely decrease significantly from here on.

He had to make sure they succeeded this time.

“Now!”

“Miss Mary, please!”

Jain cast aside his haste and calmly guided Mary. Though terrified, Mary reached The Red Man and put on the mask she held in her hand.

And then.

Slowly lifting her lowered head, she lunged forward and slammed the mask against The Red Man’s face.

Taewoon was momentarily dumbfounded by the absurdity of the situation.

“I-Is this really right?”

“I’m certain!”

Surprisingly, the moment Mary slammed the mask into The Red Man’s face, another hidden Wax Mask was revealed, and its form became somewhat distorted.

“Miss Mary, it’s not enough yet!”

“Y-Yes!”

Another precise strike landed, and finally, the mask revealed on The Red Man’s face shattered into pieces and began to oxidize into a thick mist.

Jain stepped forward, pulling Mary back as if to protect her, and Taewoon also kept his eyes fixed on The Red Man’s solar plexus, monitoring his movements.

And finally, the moment The Red Man’s form completely vanished and ceased to exist, everyone, without exception, let out their held breath and collapsed where they stood.

“D-Did it work…?”

“Yes. Thank you. It’s all thanks to Miss Mary’s help.”

Though his tone was calm, Jain’s neck muscles were slack, showing how tense he had been.

Taewoon let out a hollow laugh, and Jain smiled in response.

Between them, Mary simply remained silent, looking bewildered and not knowing what to do.

【Congratulations! You have cleared ‘The Red Man’ Theater!】

【You will be moved to the Theater entrance in 30 seconds.】

‘…Is it over?’

Truly, the moment of parting came quickly.

As soon as he checked the notification and saw his body slowly oxidizing into light, Taewoon locked eyes with Jain, who was sitting and catching his breath.

“That…”

“Actually, there were circumstances I couldn’t tell you. It seems it’s time to part.”

“That’s a pity. I would have liked to share a drink to commemorate today’s connection.”

Taewoon tilted his head at Jain’s unexpectedly composed reaction, and Jain replied with a slight smile.

“For a member of the Dawn Assembly, meetings and partings are said to be like a flowing river. Because of the nature of our work, familiar faces disappear, and the act of welcoming someone new increases.”

“…That’s quite impressive.”

“Even if the physical form is gone, the memory remains. If our fates align, the day will come when we meet again.”

With those words, more than half of Taewoon’s body was dyed in light, losing its form.

Meeting Jain’s gaze, which contained sincere gratitude, Taewoon gave a cool farewell.

As he said, the memories of this Theater would eventually hold vastly different meanings depending on how Taewoon accepted them.

If so, this was enough.

His vision flickered again, and Taewoon found himself back in the unknown space he had witnessed when he first entered the Theater.

And now.

【You have perfectly cleared the Theater with one Ticket remaining!】

• Additional rewards are granted!

【You have perfectly cleared the Theater for the first time!】

• Additional rewards are granted!

It was time to be fully compensated for all the sorrow he had bottled up and the hardships of the past two days.