Led by Annabelle, the group of six proceeded through the old school building.
In front of them stretched a corridor dyed crimson by the setting sun, as though it lay in wait with its mouth open wide.
"This is incredible. The atmosphere is great," Randy said.
The corridor was so ominously red that it seemed as if it were stained with blood. Even Randy couldn't help but anticipate encountering one of the seven mysteries.
"I-I'm seeing this for the first time, but it's more daunting than the rumors suggests," Annabelle admitted, swallowing nervously.
Despite being a member of the Occult Research Club, Annabelle had never witnessed such a phenomenon. Even just standing here could be enough to send shivers down the spine of an ordinary person.
Randy turned to glance back at the path they had taken so far.
Behind them was the dimly lit hallway they had walked through earlier. It was heavy and cold yet strangely lukewarm.
Yet compared to the sinister presence emanating from the crimson corridor before them, that dark hallway seemed less scary.
And the proof was…
"Well, well. It seems we've hit the jackpot," Ellie murmured beside Randy, her voice filled with excitement.
"Jackpot?" Randy asked, furrowing his brow.
Ellie simply replied, "Hmm, it's hard to say if anything will actually appear." She seemed to imply that, unlike the other seven mysteries, this phenomenon was completely a supernatural one.
"Well, standing here won't get us anywhere. Time to steel ourselves and move forward!" Randy declared, taking a decisive step.
But nothing changed. The atmosphere remained the same.
"Nothing's changed, right?," he muttered.
"Of course not," Ellie quipped in a low voice. "If it were that easy for supernatural phenomena to occur, there'd already have been casualties." She sighed and added, "There must be some kind of trigger."
Following Ellie's example, Randy carefully surveyed their surroundings.
But all he saw were his companions exploring in their own ways—walking down the red corridor or opening classroom doors.
"Could it be… a fake rumor?" Annabelle said dejectedly, slumping her shoulders.
They had been in the corridor for about ten minutes. The sun was sinking lower, and the air was growing darker by the minute.
"I don't get it, but we'd better head back soon," Luke suggested with a resigned sigh, gesturing for Cecilia to follow.
With Luke's words, the group reluctantly began to make their way back toward the dark hallway.
"Such a shame… it really had amazing vibe," Randy muttered, dragging his feet.
"What are you doing? Don't lag behind!" Luke called back at him.
At the moment Luke said that, the entire group was enveloped in a red haze.
The ceiling.
The floor.
The walls.
Everything was consumed by a crimson blood color.
At the same time, an eerie presence enveloped Randy.
"W-what's going on?"
"I don't know. Annabelle, stay close," Cecilia said, her voice trembling.
While the others panicked, Ellie muttered, "I see… a curse bound by words," her expression grim.
This confirmed it—they were now trapped by one of the seven mysteries.
The atmosphere around them was nothing like before. The red corridor now exuded an overwhelming sense of dread.
"This… this is beyond anything I imagined," Randy said.
Luke, too, forced a bitter smile as he gazed into the crimson surroundings.
He could sense powerful presence, just like Randy.
Looking back, the dim corridor they had come from had vanished without a trace.
"Well, might as well try heading back," Randy suggested.
The group nodded and headed back down the way they walked earlier. But no matter how far they walked, the scenery remained unchanged—just an endless crimson corridor continuing on.
"No matter where we go, it's just red everywhere," Randy remarked.
"Yeah, this really is one of the seven mysteries," Luke agreed.
Unlike the excited Randy and Luke duo, Cecilia and Corey scanned their surroundings with anxious expressions. Meanwhile, a now-calm Annabelle seemed to be investigating the phenomenon alongside Ellie.
She ran her hands along the walls.
Looking out the windows.
Annabelle focused on the physical aspects of their investigation, while Ellie crossed her arms, surveying their surroundings. "I see… the coordinates… no, perhaps the entire plane has shifted," Ellie muttered as she attempted to decipher the strange space they were trapped in.
Randy didn't understand Ellie's complex musings, but when he looked out the window like Annabelle, he was surprised to see the usual scenery outside.
The school building bathed in twilight.
Sports teams still practicing.
Students heading back to the dorms.
Yet, seeing such a normal scene through the window gave Randy a strange sense of restlessness.
"It's like we've been abandoned by reality," Randy murmured.
Without a word, the others nodded in silent agreement. It seemed they all shared the same unsettling feeling as they gazed out the window.
"The window… of course, it doesn't open," Luke said with a bitter smile.
Next to him, Randy pulled a large sword from his magic bag.
"Everyone, step back," Randy commanded.
The group quickly cleared the way as Randy raised his greatsword high and swung it down with all his might.
The blade cut through the air with tremendous force. But just before it struck the window, it stopped, as if an invisible force had blocked it.
The tip of the sword quivered slightly, and Randy let out a small, amused "Wow."
Even though he had swung with full strength for the first time in a while, his attack had been stopped. For the past two years, no one had been able to completely block one of his strikes.
"Stop it. This place may only be a pseudo-dimension, but it's still another dimension," Ellie said without trying to hide the truth anymore.
Her casual statement left Corey and Annabelle dumbfounded, but there was no time for them to process her words.
"Another dimension, huh?" Randy said, tilting his head as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the window behind him. Without speaking, he implied, What about the normal scene we can see out there?
Ellie shook her head. "It's a brane world. Parallel worlds exist layered on top of each other. Like this dimension we're in and the one outside."
"So this is a parallel world?" Randy asked, furrowing his brow.
"Strictly speaking, no," Ellie replied, shaking her head. "What we're dealing with here is an alternate world—a world progressing simultaneously. The master of this space seems capable of artificially creating new dimension."
"Alternate? Isn't that the same thing?" Randy asked, confused by the difference.
It was merely a case of different pronouncements, but the meaning was lost on Randy. Ellie, exasperated, sighed and knocked on the wall in front of the window.
"Fake or not, the wall of dimensions isn't something that can be broken by normal means," she said.
Ellie turned to face Randy, her expression unusually serious.
"If you want to break out of this space, you'll have to defeat the master of this domain," she declared.
Corey swallowed nervously in response.
"I-I'm so sorry… It's all my fault for dragging everyone into this without thinking," Annabelle stammered, her voice trembling as tears threatened to spill.
"It's not just on you. I didn't stop it either," Corey said gently, trying to comfort her. Beside them, Cecilia sighed softly, gazing out the window.
"So close, yet so far," she murmured, her voice tinged with melancholy.
Annabelle bowed her head again, muttering another apology before she broke down in tears.
"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Cecilia exclaimed, flustered, as the three fell into a state of confusion.
Meanwhile, Randy casually stowed his greatsword back into his magic bag. "So, we can get out of here, right?" he said nonchalantly.
He'd seen situations like this before in games—stages where you couldn't leave until you defeated the boss.
No matter how much you powered up your character, there was no way out except through the proper method. Items that let you escape were always disabled too.
Though Randy didn't understand the complicated talk about alternate dimensions and parallel worlds, it all boiled down to one simple thing: find the boss and take them down.
He didn't think of it as a game, nor did he take the situation lightly. It was reality, and his straightforward mindset told him there was no need to overthink it if there was a way out.
"In that case, let's get moving and crush them down!" Randy said, slamming his fist into his palm.
"Hopefully, they've got some bones to break," Luke added with a grin, mirroring Randy's enthusiasm.
The cheerful atmosphere between the two was infectious.
Annabelle stopped crying, blinking in surprise, while Cecilia, though still trembling slightly, clutched the hem of Luke's shirt and whispered, "We're counting on you."
"Don't worry. Even if it's the Demon King, I'll burst his head."
"No matter what happens, I'll protect you, milady," Luke added confidently.
Their smiles and fearless attitude lightened the hearts of everyone in the group.
"Annabelle, do you have any hints about where the boss might be?" Randy asked.
"S-sorry… the only thing mentioned in the Seven Mysteries is that we 'can't return,'" Annabelle said, her voice faltering as she looked down.
"That's okay," Corey reassured her gently. "I'm sure the Seven Mysteries itself has the hint we need."
"It mentions 'the third-floor western side corridor where she and her lover spent their time,'" Corey said.
"Then the boss must be somewhere in this area," Luke suggested, tilting his head.
"Normally, yes," Corey replied, though his expression seemed unsure.
"Is there something bothering you?" Cecilia asked.
"Yes," Corey said. "The Seven Mysteries says it's a corridor, but if you imagine lovers spending time together in a school at twilight, wouldn't they more likely be chatting in a classroom than standing in a hallway?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. It made more sense for lovers to sit in a classroom and talk rather than loiter in the corridor.
"So, the correct interpretation might be 'the third-floor western side corridor where the classroom they spent time in is located,'" Randy said as he opened the nearest classroom door. Inside, the space was also stained crimson.
"Bingo. Let's start opening them all," Randy said, his tone confident.
Luke nodded and began opening the classroom doors one by one. When Randy reached for one of the doors, he suddenly froze.
"Everyone, are you ready?" he said firmly.
Randy's words said it all—whatever was causing this phenomenon was here.
Slowly, he opened the door.
In the center of the crimson-stained classroom stood a lone schoolgirl, her back turned to them.
Though she appeared human, the aura radiating from her was far beyond that of any ordinary monster.
"Yo, miss. Mind letting us out of here?" Randy asked, his tone blunt and direct.
His instinct told him that he couldn't negotiate with this being before him.
Still, he spoke, mainly because her appearance resembled that of a schoolgirl.
Even if he knew she wasn't human, he couldn't bring himself to attack her outright.
"Come on, let us out—"
[Impossible…]
The voice reverberated as if the entire space around them was speaking to him.
[Why not stay here forever? Together… forever.]
When the girl turned and smiled, her expression was the same from that of a normal human. And yet, a chill ran down everyone's spines.
"Sorry, but I've got people waiting for me. And there are people I need to take home," Randy replied, drawing his greatsword. "So, I can't listen to your ramblings."
As soon as he finished speaking, the girl's eyes turned pitch black, like voids swallowing all light. Just gazing into them was enough to drive one to insane.
[You're going to leave me too, aren't you?!]
Her hair flared wildly, and she began to float into the air.
A series of loud cracks echoed through the space, and desks and chairs levitated around her, spinning violently.
"Wow, this one's formidable," Randy muttered with a wry smile.
Then, without taking his eyes off her, he called out, "Hey, Annabelle—what's stronger than a wraith again?"
"Uh, um, maybe a Specter? Or at the top level, a Spectral Wraith?"
"No, it's a Voidwalker," Ellie interjected firmly.
Annabelle's eyes widened in shock. "A Voidwalker? But aren't they servants of Nosferatu, the vampire king?!"
Ellie nodded. "Indeed. A powerful entity that manipulates the void and warps reality itself… Now, boy, prove your words. Show me how you'll take this on."
Ellie's serious expression made Randy chuckle. "Got it, Queen," he quipped, lowering his stance.
[Everyone… everyone… stay with me!]
Countless rifts opened behind the Voidwalker, and from them emerged shadowy hands, reaching and clawing.
Randy swung his greatsword like a whirlwind, while Luke used his straight sword to slash through the oncoming shadows. Though the hands dissipated upon being struck, their relentless attacks showed no sign of stopping.
Randy spun, cleaving through a shadowy hand, then stepped forward and unleashed a spinning back kick that sent a floating chair hurtling toward the Voidwalker.
The chair was deflected just before it reached her, as if stopped by an invisible barrier. Twisted and bent, the chair hovered momentarily before rocketing back toward Randy.
He sliced through both the chair and an oncoming shadowy hand with a single, sweeping strike.
"Damn, this is getting us nowhere," he muttered, not turning as he shouted, "Luke! Protect everyone!"
"What? You're going solo?" Luke protested.
"I'm counting on you. You're the only one I trust to handle this," Randy replied with a grin.
Luke smirked despite himself. "You're trying to look cool," he muttered, slashing through more shadowy hands while leading the others out of the classroom.
Once in the hallway, it became clear the Voidwalker's influence didn't extend beyond the crimson classroom. But now, the corridor was swarming with specters and their stronger variants , spectral wraiths.
"Luke, do you think Lord Randolph can win?" Cecilia asked anxiously.
"He'll win," Luke said firmly. "I can't imagine him losing."
Even as he spoke confidently, his expression remained grim. He glanced at Ellie, his gaze questioning.
Ellie sighed, catching his meaning. "Randy only knows how to use brute force. But the Voidwalker manipulates the void and distorts reality. Physical attacks won't work on it. To defeat it, he must cut through the very fabric of its dimension," she explained, her gaze fixed on the classroom, concern evident in her eyes.
Luke grinned sharply. "Then he'll just cut through its dimension. End of story."
As Luke struck down another specter, his corner of his eyes caught a glimpse of Randy charging straight into the sea of shadow hands.