Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 57 57: You Are Also an Ingredient

It was a guest room.

The room number on the door was blurred, but even if it were clear, it wouldn't have mattered. Ever since entering the mirror world, most of the room numbers they'd seen were nothing but unreadable symbols.

Charon pushed the door open.

Inside, the layout was almost identical to Room 404, except for one difference.

There was a window.

Outside it, nothing but absolute darkness.

The kind of darkness that made you feel like sothing could appear at any mont.

The lighting inside was dim.

So corners were nearly impossible to see clearly.

This wasn't a place anyone could rest.

Even a curtain would have helped, but there was none.

The window faced the foot of the bed directly.

No matter how clean and neatly made the bed was, it felt deeply unsettling.

But the most disturbing thing, wasn't the room.

It was the thing on the wall.

The mont Ana saw it a broken cry escaped her.

Without thinking, she buried her face into Charon's chest, her small body trembling uncontrollably.

Charon imdiately wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her back.

He didn't speak.

There was no need.

Actions were more effective than words.

Only when she finally stopped shaking did he speak softly:

"Stay behind . Close your eyes. Don't open them until I say so, alright?"

Ana nodded hard.

She moved behind him, hugging his waist from the back, her small head pressed tightly against him.

Charon gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, then stepped forward.

She trembled again, but followed.

On the wall…

Was a man.

Or rather–

A man who had been half-consud by the wall.

Half of his body had already fused into it.

The wall, however, didn't seem interested in fully absorbing him.

So of his flesh had been forced outward through the cross-section–

Distorted.

Exposed.

For a child, this sight was overwhelming.

Even for Charon–

It took effort to approach.

Because in the hand still sticking out into the air, the man was clutching a piece of paper.

Sothing he had desperately tried to leave behind.

His grip was tight.

Charon had to force his fingers open to retrieve it.

The mont he did–

The body was pulled fully into the wall.

The remaining flesh and fragnts followed, accompanied by a wet, chewing sound.

Then–

Nothing.

The wall returned to normal.

...

…Though no one would ever call it normal again.

The note was handwritten.

At first, the text was legible, but it beca more and more distorted toward the end.

...

[I want to go ho, but I can't leave]

[The exit is behind the throat–the esophagus. Go down. But it's locked]

[The floor is teeth. The headless pigs are eating it. They can sll you. You are also an ingredient]

[The banquet hall slls wonderful. So fragrant. They say I'm marinated. I'm an ingredient. Ingredients can't leave the kitchen]

[Help… it slls so good… I'm getting hungry…]

...

Everything after that was unreadable.

A chill ran down Charon's spine.

Fragnts like these, were far worse than a clear explanation.

It was obvious.

After becoming an "ingredient,"

this person had completely lost their sanity.

And yet–

In their final monts.

They had still left behind a warning.

No wonder the golden footprints had led them here.

The clues were clear:

Banquet hall.

Exit.

Kitchen.

Floor.

Ingredients.

The mont Charon read "throat" and "esophagus," his mind jumped to one thing, the elevator shaft.

The thing that had nearly eaten him before.

But until he saw the "exit" himself, he couldn't be certain.

Ana, anwhile, was not in good shape.

This scene had been too much for her.

There was no point staying.

And now they had a lead.

Charon crouched down.

"Ana, get on my back."

She hesitated, eyes still closed.

"B-but that would trouble you… I-I'm heavy…"

"I've had professional training," he replied casually.

"Carrying weight is nothing. You're tiny. Try saying that again after you grow up."

The mont he said that, sothing shifted.

The air went quiet.

"…Ana?"

"…Miss Ana?"

After calling her twice, he finally felt her small arms wrap around his neck.

Her body pressed against his back.

He could even feel her heartbeat.

Soft.

Light.

Still just a child.

"…I'll grow eventually."

She muttered under her breath.

Charon pretended not to hear.

There was no good response to that.

He took out a strap from his inventory and secured her firmly to his back.

That way, even if he moved quickly, she wouldn't fall.

The reason he carried her…

Was simple.

[The floor is teeth]

He could handle it.

She couldn't.

And there was no way he was showing her that note.

"Hold tight. And keep guiding ."

"Mm… okay."

From his back, Ana could fully focus on using the Mirror of Truth.

From that point on–

Charon practically moved with his eyes closed.

Because the reflection, was the real path.

Everything else, the corridors, rooms, halls, was a mix of illusion and reality.

Like the room they had just entered.

If he followed the mirror, he would never be blocked.

They found more notes like the first one.

Most ntioned the banquet hall.

Others were pure nonsense, ramblings that only eroded sanity.

Charon destroyed those imdiately.

He wouldn't let Ana see them.

In a world like this, normal logic didn't apply.

You had to trust the power you had.

Finally, the golden footprints stopped.

In front of a magnificent golden door.

From behind it, ca an overwhelming aroma of food.

Rich.

Warm.

Irresistible.

Even Charon had to admit, it was the most appetizing scent he had ever slled.

"…It slls so good…"

Ana swallowed, unable to resist.

If she hadn't been strapped to his back, she might have already opened the door.

So this was it.

...

The banquet hall.