White Eagle, with his pistol in hand, slowly stood up and backed against the wall, signaling the other two with a glance. They quickly understood, stood up, and each drew their pistols from their waists, unlocking the safety.
Another clap of thunder lit up the room.
White Eagle pressed his ear against the wall, listening intently. "There's someone outside," he whispered. "More than one!"
He moved away from the wall, and a large amount of white dust fell from where his ear had been.
"Who's there?!" White Eagle roared and rolled away just as two bullet holes appeared where he had been standing by the wall, indicating someone had shot at them from behind the adjacent wall.
White Eagle sprang to his feet and rushed to the door, swinging it open and darting out.
Galon and Tarry Mercury stayed alert inside the room, not moving hastily. Galon, holding his pistol, backed against the window, keeping a vigilant watch on the main entrance. Suddenly, he felt someone tug at the back of his collar.
Turning around, he noticed the window had been opened at some point, with no one in sight and rain pouring down, almost obscuring the view a few meters away.
"What's wrong, Galon?"
"It felt like someone was pulling on my collar," Galon said, puzzled. "But maybe I'm just nervous, and it got caught on something."
Tarry approached the window for a closer look. "We're on the second floor; it's quite high off the ground. It must have gotten caught on something. Be careful, don't stand by the window. It's dangerous, especially in this weather when you can't see anything clearly."
"Got it," Galon nodded.
A gunshot suddenly echoed from the room next door.
"Let's go!" Tarry was the first to dash out, with Galon close behind.
They quickly entered the room next to theirs, the room where Galon had been pushed from before. It was empty.
"White Eagle!" Tarry called out loudly.
No response came, just the creaking sound of the door behind them.
Turning around, Tarry realized Galon, who had been following him, had also disappeared.
"Galon!?" He shouted, gripping his pistol tighter, his expression growing tense.
"White Eagle! Galon! Are you there?"
The half-open door was slowly swung fully open by the wind.
The sound was piercingly sharp in the quiet corridor filled only with the sound of rain. Beyond the door was pitch black, revealing nothing.
Tarry felt his hand holding the gun tremble. Something was off.
His gaze quickly swept the room.
Strangely, the room appeared exceptionally tidy. The cobwebs on the large bed were gone, replaced with clean bedding, and the floor had polygonal red bricks laid out without a speck of dust.
The large chest at the foot of the bed also looked unusually clean, without any dust accumulation.
"There's definitely something strange here…" Tarry's face darkened, and he slowly unlocked his pistol's safety.
Following closely behind Tarry, Galon saw him enter the adjacent room, and the door swung back due to the wind. He pushed the door open and entered.
"Uh?"
Something bizarre happened. Tarry, who had just been a step ahead of him, was nowhere to be seen.
"Tarry!?" Galon cautiously unlocked his pistol and stepped into the room.
The room was covered in dust, and the floor near the window had been soaked by the rain. A figure stood facing away from him at the window.
Galon looked closely, and the figure's clothes resembled White Eagle's.
"Tarry?" he asked quietly.
Footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
Turning around, he saw White Eagle rush into the room.
"Where's Tarry?" White Eagle asked breathlessly. "I saw someone in the next room, but… I lost them."
"Tarry's by the window, right?" Galon turned back, pointing at the window, only to find it empty. The person who had been standing there a moment ago had vanished.
"What's going on? I just saw someone standing at the window!" he exclaimed.
"Did you see it wrong?" White Eagle approached the window and crouched to examine the ground. "There are no footprints here; it's impossible someone was standing."
"No way!" Galon insisted. "I clearly saw someone at the window. And Tarry?"
"He wasn't with you?" White Eagle was taken aback.
"I followed him into this room, then he disappeared in seconds!" Galon said gravely.
A flash of lightning illuminated their faces.
"We're in trouble…" White Eagle's expression turned grave. He lit a torch he had brought, casting a small circle of light in the room.
Galon suddenly remembered something, his face changing. He rushed to the window and looked down. The ground was empty, and he sighed in relief.
"Tarry was just ahead of me entering this room!"
"Are you sure?" White Eagle asked sternly, his gaze sharpening. "He couldn't have vanished in such a short time."
"I'm certain!" Galon affirmed.
White Eagle stared at him, gripping his pistol tighter, then seemed to recall something. He slowly retreated to the room's entrance, crouched down, and touched the ground. Relaxing slightly, he said, "You're right… There are three sets of footprints here, but one disappears as soon as it enters the room!"
Galon, feeling uneasy, walked over and crouched to check. Indeed, there were three sets of footprints, with one set vanishing upon entering the room, while the others, damp from the rain, were still visible inside the room.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the window, slamming the door shut, narrowly missing Galon's nose.
"The wind is too strong," White Eagle stood up. "Sorry, I misjudged you." He tried to open the door but found it locked.
"It's fine. The door must have locked automatically. Use the key," Galon suggested, his expression solemn, ready to act swiftly. "We need to find Tarry quickly; he could be in danger!"
"I'm on it!" White Eagle nodded, pulling out a set of keys and inserting one into the door lock.
The key turned a few times without effect, and the door remained shut.
"Huh?" White Eagle was baffled. "Something's wrong!"
"Break it down!" Galon sensed something amiss.
White Eagle stepped back and kicked the door.
Bang! The door didn't budge, only shedding a cloud of dust.
"This room is strange!" Galon backed away to create distance.
"Go back and grab our stuff. I'll break the door down. Once we find Tarry, we're leaving this place!" White Eagle's tone suggested urgency.
"Okay!"
Galon hurried back to their room, gathered their belongings, and was about to head out when a gunshot echoed through the corridor, followed by the sound of splintering wood.
He grabbed the bundle and dashed out, only to find the corridor empty and silent.
The adjacent room's door remained locked, unscathed.
"What was that sound just now?" His scalp tightened. He had clearly heard a gunshot and the sound of the door breaking, yet now even White Eagle was gone.
"Could it be because of the medal?" He speculated on the cause.
Facing the locked door,
Galon knew they had to act quickly to prevent Tarry from dying inside.
"Though I've repaid your favor," he said, aiming his pistol at the lock.
Bang, bang, bang! Three shots shattered the lock.
Galon forcefully opened the door. The room was empty, the large bed moved aside, revealing a sloped exit to the staircase leading to the first floor.
Taking a deep breath, he jumped down, grabbing the staircase handrail for support, and landed next to Tarry.
"Tarry! How are you?" He helped the detective up, checking for a pulse. Tarry was still breathing.
Tarry slowly opened his eyes, mumbling.
"My bottom… my bottom…"
Galon then noticed the brass cross medal under Tarry, with a clear white scratch next to it, seemingly made just moments ago by Tarry.
As Tarry regained some clarity, he sat up, gasping for air.
"…So dangerous! In a blink, you both disappeared! I discovered a big secret in the room alone!"
"Never mind that now, White Eagle's gone!" Galon said urgently.
"White Eagle's missing?" Tarry composed himself. "Don't worry too much; he's stronger than us. If we're okay, he should be too."
"What do we do now?" Galon helped Tarry stand, neither touching the medal.
"Cursed antiques indeed bring curses. I've seen it now," Tarry Mercury said, eyeing the medal on the ground, "We just need to stay put."
He fired three shots into the air.
The gunshots momentarily drowned out the rain.
Quickly, a white figure dashed down from the second floor and landed in front of them.
"Are you okay!?" White Eagle asked loudly.
"We're fine!" Tarry nodded. "I just saw Golden Ring people! It's definitely them causing trouble!"
"I did too! Saw someone jump out the window, so I chased after them," White Eagle said gravely, "Sadly, I lost them. Follow me."
White Eagle led them out the front door to a small shelter on the castle's left side.
Inside the shelter lay a dead man in black, his chest oozing blood, diluted by the rain.
White Eagle pulled a golden earring from the corpse's ear.
"Number 114 Golden Ring."
He tossed the earring to Tarry.
"Golden Ring's hundred-digit member, definitely their work!" He began a thorough examination of the body, then discussed details with White Eagle, piecing together the situation through deduction.