Since the assault happened too fast, and the other players either couldn't or didn't dare to scream, Thain's slumber was intact.
The fiend got close to Thain, looked down upon him.
Thain was breathing gently.
The fiend's body slowly sunk into the floor, showing only a head on the ground, looking straight at Thain, inspecting him.
Except for the two crimson eyes on its head, there was no trace of eyebrow, nose, ears, or mouth, all covered in black mud, showing no emotion.
Some seconds passed. Thain shifted, from lying flat to the side. His hand unconsiouly pat the fiend's head.
Black mud on its head started rippling, covering Thain's hand and traced up to cover half of his body.
And right then, alien sensation from the mud caused Thain's hand -which was still on its head- shifted again, brushing its face and dropped to the ground.
The black mud stopped dead.
The crimson eyes stared Thain's face.
Some more seconds passed, the mud slowly shrunk back to the fiend's body.
Thain's body was released.
Stole a last glance at Thain, the fiend sunk completely into the floor.
-----
Morning came, Thain opened his eyes, stretching.
What a pleasant sleep.
This should be the 8th world now, right?
Looking around, Thain found the room familiar.
He seems to still be in the 7th world?
Why'd he still be in the 7th world?!
Where was the fiend?
That such a ferocious fiend didn't come?
He spotted two people on the sofa, got near to ask them, then noticed their necks had a relatively weird angle.
"???"
Thain then closed in the man lying near the front door, whose face twisted with agony, eyes popped out. He was dead too.
Leaning to the wall, Thain couldn't accept the hard cold truth.
The fiend came? I was sleeping so it spared me?
Were its eyes just for show! Such an obvious human in front of it and it didn't see?!
Thain deeply relfected on his mistake, he underwhelmed the business of getting killed by fiend.
He was too careless, sleeping at the critical moment, wasting this opportunity.
Well, so be it, his life is now prolonged one day.
NO, no, it's not the proper trail of thinking, once there is hope, despair will come right after!
Thain steered right his attitude, decided to exercise proper effort, to get killed by fiend's hand!
Actually, compare to fiend, comitting suicide woul be more convenient, but Thain wasn't that badass to lay a hand on his own life.
"Thain?" A voice came from outside the door.
It was the muscular guy's voice.
He glanced over the 3 bodies on the ground, looking at Thain incredulously "You didn't die?"
Hearing this, sorrow swept over Thain: "Yeah, I didn't die."
Muscular guy raised an eyebrow, stepped back a few steps: "Are you really Thain?"
He suspected Thain was possessed.
To prove his innocence, Thain replied: "Fiend possessing won't get its host's memory, you can ask me something."
Muscular guy then asked: "What is my name?"
"...."
This question beat Thain.
He looked at the guy: "Change question."
Muscular guy silently backtrack another 10 steps, asking other problem.
10 minutes later, muscular guy asked everything happened, details and such, believed Thain's innocence.
Thain just didn't know his name.
"I'm called Culenmais."
"Noted." Thain noted, Culenmais is masculine scramble, too easy.
After Culenmais confirmed there was no threat in the room, the others came in.
They surrounded Thain, asked him how he was intact.
Old wound stabbed again, Thain gave a resentful reply: "I don't know, I just slept, when I woke up it was already morning."
And so, the six players discussed the probability of feigning sleep to avoid fiend.
They came to conclusion it was purely Thain luck.
The six players felt relatively fret about their future: "This fiend is too strong! That guy's gift was vitality, and he still died in seconds."
"It seems like we can't defeat it, only fleeing available."
"Where could you flee to? That fiend came from the shadow, walls are useless against it, and we can't even leave the mansion."
"We could try putting off the lights, closing the curtains, then there will be no shadow."
"Who knows whether that fiend came from the shadow or darkness, we're in much more disadvantage without lights."
"Judging by today encounter, that fiend won't hunt you once you put in enough distance between it and yourself."
They stopped and looked at Culenmais and Moonwinder.
These two abandoned them and ran off to the front yard.
Culenmais coughed: "I tried warning you guys, but the fiend came too fast."
The four stopped pressing on this and decided to watch them closely from now on.
Culenmais tried to change the subject, he looked at Thain: "Thain, you have any suggestion, man?"
My suggestion? My suggestion would be to wait for death.
However, this was too straightforward, and they may not be able to take it.
He sighed: "Enjoy every seconds you're living."
The sun got higher on the sky outside, raising the temperature.
The maids and servant began their duties.
The butler came in the living room and was frightened. Culenmais came up, prepared to sooth him, but the butler was:
"Only three died!"
The players felt something off, Culenmais asked: "Why'd you say so?"
The butler replied, telling them last time all 10 exorcists died within a night.
But there was still something fishy: less exorcists died, people should be glad, but the butler was only suprised, not glad.
Culenmais wanted to ask some more, but the butler hurried away.
The servants moved the bodies, prepare them breakfast.
Thain finished his meal, refused the others' invitation to investigate, then strolled around the mansion.
At noon, he finished lunch, the take a nap in his room to stay awake in the night.
Culenmais and others were worn out after last night encounter, they separated to each own room for rest.
Moone was lying on her bed, tossing and turning, her mind kept showing the dead bodies sight, trembling in fear.
She saw how gruesome the fiend was, she wouldn't think of standing a chance against it. Now, the solution is to find a boss, someone who could protect her.
Thain survived the fiend, he must have some kind of tricks, she could go and invest in him a bit, she won't lose anything anyway.
On this thought, Moone got up, left her room and silently got in front of Thain's door.
She fixed her clothes, then pressed the door handle.
---Click
It was stuck. Thain locked his door.
Moone didn't expect that. The investment hasn't even begun but there already was obstacle.
She gently knocked the door, afraiding others might hear, and Thain was deep in slumber and didn't hear the door either.
Just like that, procrastinated a few minutes, Moone couldn't do anything but returned to her room.
The afternoon went by in a blink, and all players were having dinner in the dining room at dusk.
Thain sat on the sofa, idling, listening to others' trading information.
"Reid family have 4 people, one grandmom, one daughter in law and a couple of son and daughter."
"I saw the grandmom over the window, she looked so kind."
"I feel the butler and those servants know something, but they won't tell us."
Thain sat there, eating biscuits while listening to them. The biscuits came from the kitchen. Although there were 3 exorcist dead, the servants and maids all seemed calm, the chief even humming a tune while giving him the biscuits.
There was definitely something off with this mansion. But may be it was normal in a horror world.
"You can't sleep today?" Moone sat beside Thain, taking a biscuit.
She was testing whether Thain used sleep to avoid fiend.
Thain glanced at her, not sure if it was his imagination: her eyes looking at him felt somewhat resentful.
He didn't try to have a convo with Moonwinder, he replied her with straightest man of steel tone: "I slept this afternoon"
He instakilled the convo.
Moone actually could revive the convo, but she got Culenmais beside her. Facing the uncertainty of Thain's ability, it'd still be wise to snug up to Culenmais.
At least Culenmais could ran fast.