Attu told Anna and Suna that he was going to gather his things. His room was on the first floor. He went downstairs, entered his room, and began to gather his things. He started putting everything into a bag, including clothes and other items. When Attu grasped his sword and slung the bag over his shoulder, the sword fell to the ground. As he bent down to pick it up, the chain necklace his mother had given him hung down, swaying. Attu paused for a moment to look at the necklace. He picked the sword up from the ground and tucked it into the belt at his waist. Attu was carrying a new sword with him. He took the sword given to him by Gans and tucked it into his belt as well, bringing two swords with him. He took hold of the necklace that was visible over his clothes and tucked it inside. After that, he opened the door and headed to the second floor.
Once he climbed to the second floor, he saw everyone standing in front of a mirror looking toward the door. Attu walked over to them.
Valorant:
-"Where have you been?"
Attu:
-"I was gathering my things, just as you said."
Valorant:
-"Don't step away from Anna! Protect her! That's an order." - he said in a serious tone.
Attu:
-"Okay, master. But why are you talking so seriously?!" - he said in surprise.
Valorant:
-"Look this way!" - he said, leading him to the mirror.
Attu looked down through the mirror. Below, skeletons were walking toward the house. Seeing this, Attu asked Valorant,
-"What's going on with them?"
Valorant:
-"I don't have time to explain it to you. They have gotten close to the house. We need to eliminate the main necromancer as quickly as possible."
Attu:
-"Are you talking about the one holding the burning book?"
Valorant:
-"Yes, that's the one."
Attu:
-"How are we going to defeat them? Look at all those skeletons walking in front of us. I just counted more than fifty!"
Valorant:
-"We can't escape from here, and we can't confront them openly. That's why we need to set a trap for them."
Attu:
-"What kind of trap will we set?" - he asked.
Gustav:
-"We will use the house as a trap for them."
Valorant:
-"Yes, we will use the house against them. If we can eliminate the necromancer who is controlling them, it will all be over."
Attu:
-"So what do we do?"
Valorant:
-"Gustav!" - he called.
Gustav:
-"Yes, sir."
Valorant:
-"You know about swordsmanship, right?"
Gustav:
-"Yes, Sir Valorant."
Valorant:
-"Then, Attu, give me your sword!"
Attu:
-"Which one?"
Valorant:
-"Whichever you prefer."
Attu took the newly purchased sword from his belt and handed it to Gustav. Gustav took the sword and swung it from top to bottom to test its balance. The sword was suitable for Gustav.
Gustav:
-"I will try to take good care of your sword."
Attu:
-"Right now, just make sure to protect yourself."
Valorant:
-"Now, let's divide our main tasks..." - he said, asking Gustav and Attu to come closer. - "Attu, you will go with Anna and Suna to the farthest room by the house door and wait there. Gustav and I will welcome them inside the house as much as possible. If we let the skeletons pass, you will kill them. Do you understand everything?"
Attu:
-"Yes, I understand."
Valorant:
-"If there are too many skeletons passing by, find a room to hide in and don't make any noise. Whatever happens, try to survive."
Attu:
-"Got it, Master. Even if you're not scared, I will protect them no matter what."
Valorant:
-"Not just them, don't forget about us, and take care of yourself." - he added.
Attu:
-"I understand."
Valorant:
-"Now, quickly get out of here!" - he urged, pushing Attu and the two girls away.
Attu approached Anna and Suna and said,
-"We need to leave here quickly. Suna, take us to the farthest room from the house door."
Anna:
-"Why?"
Attu:
-"I'll explain everything later."
Suna:
-"Follow me." - she said, grabbing Anna's hand and starting to run down the hallway.
Attu followed behind them. As he ran, he glanced back at Valorant and Gustav who were trailing behind. Seeing this, Valorant lowered his head slightly in a nod. At that moment, Attu looked at his master as if to say, "I trust you; take care of yourself."
Outside, skeletons approached the house, wielding various rusty swords and clad in tattered armor. Behind them, the necromancer stood still, holding an open grimoire in his hand. The necromancer was dressed in a long black cloak, completely obscuring his head with the hood. No one standing far away could see his face.
Valorant and Gustav descended from the second floor to hide in different places on the first floor. The skeletons moved slowly forward. Valorant stayed closer to the door, while Gustav remained further away.
Valorant and Gustav settled into their positions, both waiting for the incoming skeletons. Valorant drew his sword from its sheath. Holding it with both hands, he began to prepare for the fight. The place where they stood was dark, making it hard to see what Valorant was doing with his sword. Slowly, a green light was emanating from Valorant's hands as he channeled mana into his sword.
Valorant:
-"The skeletons will enter through this door any moment now. We must do everything we can to prevent them from making it to the second floor. I've infused my sword with enough mana, but I can't use 'Fiery Wrath' techniques inside the house; the flames could set the place on fire. So I'll take out more skeletons first, then I can step outside to fight."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Attu and the girls were heading to the farthest room to hide.
Suna:
-"This way; we've arrived." - she pointed to the room with her index finger.
When they reached the door, Suna opened it. Attu grabbed the door and said, "Quickly, get inside!" Anna entered the room first, followed by Suna, and Attu entered last, closing the door behind them.
Attu:
-"Suna, give me the key." - he said, taking the key from Suna.
Attu locked the door with the key in his hand. After locking the door, he turned to look around the room. Various things were scattered around: toys and boxes with sealed mouths were piled up. In one corner of the room stood a large shelf. Seeing the shelf, Attu said:
Attu:
-"Suna, Anna, quickly get inside the shelf."
Suna:
-"Why?"
Attu:
-"If the skeletons reach the room, it will be harder for them to find you."
Suna:
-"If there's nothing but the shelf to hide behind, when a skeleton enters the room, it might say, 'Wow, there's no one here; they must not be in this shelf either,' and then it could just leave." - she replied to Attu.
Attu scratched his head and thought for a moment, looking around the room.
Attu:
-"Alright, hide wherever you can. Just stay quiet. The skeletons can't see, but they might hear you."
Suna:
-"But they don't have ears; how can they hear us?"
Attu:
-"That's a good point. It's curious how they can hear without any proper body parts." - he said, turning to face the door and keeping watch.
Suna:
-"Why are you asking me? How would I know? Why not ask Anna? She reads a lot of books."
Anna:
-"How would I know? I've only read about healing people."
Suna:
-"Was there no information about human skeletons in there?"
Anna:
-"Yes, there was. But it didn't say anything about how they see or hear. Besides, I've only studied how to heal people while they're alive. I haven't read anything about how to treat them after they're dead." - she said, getting a bit irritated.
Seeing this, Attu and Suna exchanged glances and burst out laughing.
Anna:
-"Hey, why are you two laughing? Are you making fun of me?" - she shouted, feeling annoyed.
Suna:
-"It's so cute when Ann gets angry while being teased, right?" - she asked Attu.
Attu:
-"Yeah, there's no way to disagree with that." - he chimed in with Suna's comment.
Hearing this made Anna's face turn red. Attu added,
"Especially when her face turns so red."
Hearing that, Anna blushed even more. She bashfully covered her face with her hands.
Suna:
-"Alright, enough of that; don't be so shy. Let's get in the shelf and wait. That way, Attu won't see you." - she said, taking Anna by the hand and pulling her toward the shelf.
Suna opened the shelf door. It was divided into sections for hanging clothes and items on top. Suna parted the hanging clothes and ordered,
-"Come on, Anna, get inside the shelf!"
Anna:
-"What about you?" - Anna asked.
Suna:
-"I'll get in too. First, you go inside and settle in, then I'll come in." - she said, tilting Anna's head to help her get into the shelf.
Anna climbed into the shelf and sat down. Suna slowly backed into the shelf and began to close the door.
As Suna was closing the door, she opened it slightly and called out,
-"Attu!"
Attu:
-"Yes?" - he asked, looking at Suna, wondering why she called him.
Suna:
-"Once everything is over, open the door like a prince on a white horse and rescue us from here. Do you understand?"
Attu:
-"What else do you want me to do?" - he replied, feeling annoyed.
Suna:
-"For now, just do your job! Don't worry about me." - she yelled at Attu and shut the shelf door.
Attu stood by the door, holding his sword, preparing for what was to come. Meanwhile, Valorant and Gustav were hiding by the door, waiting for the skeletons.