V3: Chapter 68: Total Annihilation
"You guys are really lazy! We're so close, and you didn't even notice?"
The tower was silent; no one responded to Octaville's words.
Why was it so quiet?
A bad feeling rose in Octaville's heart.
Even if they were all lazy, even if they were all sleeping in, it shouldn't be this quiet.
Her shouting was so loud; it would surely wake someone up. Why was it so quiet?
At this moment, Laura lifted her foot, wanting to continue walking inside.
"Stop!"
Octaville raised her hand, stopping Laura and Hilary, who was following behind her.
"You two wait a moment. Don't make any rash moves. I have a feeling something's not right."
Hilary's brows furrowed, and she tugged at Laura's sleeve.
“Fu is right, something feels off too. We shouldn’t move. It’s so strange, so very strange.”
Hilary muttered to herself, “So strange,” while glancing around furtively, trying to find something unusual in the silence.
“You two stay close behind me. We’ll go upstairs together.”
Octaville slowly walked forward, but after less than five steps, she suddenly stopped, sniffed twice, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing Octaville’s actions and expression, Laura tensed up as well. Like a frightened rabbit, she frantically turned her head, looking left and right. She saw nothing. Everything around her remained peaceful, the furniture glowing softly in the candlelight.
Could there be something terrifying ahead?
Laura peered in, but all she saw was empty air.
“Lord Tower Master, what happened?” Laura asked, mustering her courage. Her voice was incredibly soft, as if afraid of waking the sleeping monster.
The Tower Master’s expression was extremely grave.
“I think… I smell a very strong stench of blood.”
Laura’s body jolted, and she immediately panicked. She raised both hands, one hand grabbing the sleeve of the Tower Master’s clothes, the other clutching the hem of Hilarious’s clothes. She sniffed hard twice, but smelled nothing unusual, only a faint scent of incense.
“I... I don’t smell any blood. Really… has someone really died? Or… or is there some kind of monster? It just ate someone and ran in from outside… No, aren’t there mages inside the Tower? It shouldn’t… it shouldn’t…”
Laura’s voice grew softer and softer, because a terrible thought was forming in her mind. If this thought was true, it would be too terrifying.
“Honey, can you smell the blood?”
Octaville seemed incredulous at her own keen sense of smell; her voice trembled as she asked Hilary beside her.
Hilary's face was even paler, as if she had just recovered from an illness.
“I can smell the blood too. It's not strong, but I think the reason it's weak is because we're still quite far away. We need to go upstairs and check; the smell is coming from upstairs.”
Octaville nodded.
“That's what I was thinking.”
Laura's legs trembled with fear, tears welling in her eyes. She nearly fainted several times. She knew she would definitely faint if she actually saw a corpse; she hadn't fainted yet only because she hadn't seen one. She was still the same coward she always was, without any growth.
Octaville walked in front, with Hilary bringing up the rear, sandwiching Laura between them.
This gave Laura a slight sense of security.
The three of them went up to the second floor. The corridor was pitch black; no candles were lit.
This was illogical.
There should be mages observing the sea from the second-floor windows, so candles would definitely be lit. But now, not a single candle was lit; the dark corridor seemed to devour all light.
“....”
Octaville didn't dare to think of anything terrifying.
“No, not this floor. The fishy smell isn't coming from this floor.”
Hilary sniffed twice, then shook her head, raising her chin slightly as she looked up into the darkness.
“That smell seems to be coming from the third floor.”
“I smelled it too. That smell is coming from the third floor.”
Octaville strode confidently ahead.
The three of them went upstairs. Just as they reached the third floor, Hilary suddenly grabbed Octavia's arm, forcing her to stop her hurried steps and turn around.
“....”
For a moment, Hilary was at a loss for words. A complex mix of pain flickered in her golden eyes.
“Fu, wait a minute. Whatever you saw, please don't be too upset. Fu, I know, I already guess what happened, so, Fu, you…”
“No need to say anything, honey, I understand.”
Octavia interrupted, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
“…Okay.”
Hilary nodded stiffly.
She couldn't comfort her anymore; she was also feeling terrible.
The three of them finally reached the third floor. At the corner of the corridor, in the darkness, Octaville saw a dark brown puddle on the floor.
What was that?
Octaville took a step forward, wanting to get a closer look at the pool of dark brown liquid.
Splat!
She felt something sticky under her foot.
Octaville slightly lifted her foot. She was wearing delicate white leather shoes, but the white seemed to be tainted by some other color.
The third-floor corridor was also dimly lit. Having no other choice, Octaville opened her palm, and a ball of flame rose from it, illuminating the surroundings. Octaville finally saw the liquid on the sole of her shoe and on the ground.
Buzz!
A booming sound echoed in her brain, and Octaville took a half-step back.
Some red liquid had splattered on the sole of her shoe and the front of her little leather shoe.
The stench of blood was stronger, lingering around Octaville's nose.
"I think I smell that blood you were talking about," Laura said.
Even Laura said she could smell the blood, so it couldn't be my imagination.
Octaville raised her hand and painfully covered her eyes.
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