Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 59 59: Obtaining the Key

Those things were not identifying enemies through sound direction.

They had another detection system entirely unrelated to normal physics.

But regardless of how that system worked, the final result was the sa–

All of the dining guests locked onto Charon, the one who made the noise.

Starting from the first guest that stood up, rows upon rows of guests rose to their feet.

Then–

They all dropped onto the floor.

Like maggots, they twisted and crawled toward him at terrifying speed.

Just looking at that scene was enough to shred one's sanity.

Charon felt his pressure spike instantly, goosebumps covering his entire body.

There was no retreat now.

He had only two choices.

One:

Wait for Ana, who was heading to the second floor, to help him.

Two:

Bet everything and run for the door in hopes of escaping.

But if the door was locked–

That choice would simply beco suicide.

His decision window was less than ten seconds.

Those monsters crawled almost as fast as snakes slithering.

In the end–

He reached his answer within half a second.

Wait.

He trusted Ana.

And Ana did not disappoint him.

"Mr. Charon! Catch this!"

From the edge of the second-floor balcony, a rope was thrown down.

Without hesitation, Charon grabbed it.

After confirming it was secure, he imdiately kicked off the wall and climbed upward in one smooth motion, pulling the rope back up afterward.

The entire sequence flowed naturally.

It wasn't even close to his limit.

He still had at least five seconds before the guests reached where he had been standing.

Looking down again, the guests in the banquet hall stopped moving.

They paused in confusion for a mont, then crawled back along the sa paths they ca from and resud eating those sanity-destroying "foods."

"A-Are you okay?" Ana looked at Charon nervously, circling around him before finally relaxing after confirming he was unhard.

For a child, even with sothing as absurdly powerful as the crystal shoes, the pressure of this place was overwhelming.

If Charon had not appeared, who knew how this child would ever have escaped?

And unlike Charon, who could theoretically escape through death–

If Ana died, would she even be able to return ho?

At least–

Charon didn't dare gamble on that.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you."

Charon smiled and rubbed her head.

After carrying her this whole ti, the two had beco much closer, and she no longer resisted gestures like this.

Ana trembled slightly and lowered her head quietly.

"Mhm…"

"But honestly…" Charon frowned.

"Getting that key is going to be difficult."

A monster that could only be seen through the Mirror of Truth was nearly impossible to approach.

How were they supposed to deal with that?

Breaking through the crowd of guests below?

Pure fantasy.

With that speed and those movents, it was practically impossible.

And the conductor holding the key clearly looked like a boss-level entity.

"Oh, right. I found this."

Ana suddenly handed him a notebook.

"It was on the cart where I found the rope. I-it should be a clue?"

Charon froze for a mont.

The notebook in his hand was thin.

Its title read:

"Maintenance Log"

Black fingerprints covered the front cover.

After glancing around, Charon realized the room behind the door was a hotel employee break room.

Not especially large, but filled with miscellaneous items.

A cleaning cart stood in the middle of the room, the rope had been tied to it earlier.

"You really saved us."

Charon happily rubbed her head again.

Ana clearly enjoyed the praise, her eyes sparkling.

"Without you, I probably would've been trapped here already."

The notebook also contained plenty of sanity-draining content.

Things like:

food supply issues for the floor recipe,

dining and consumption procedures for guests,

ergency handling during mural activity…

Ana wanted to peek too, but Charon firmly pushed her away from it.

Children absolutely should not read this kind of thing.

Among dozens of aningless horror entries, only one provided a useful clue.

[Regarding the Cleaning and Feeding of the Crystal Chandelier]

[Maintenance Target: Banquet Hall — Main Chandelier]

[Report: The manager got drunk a few days ago and fed it sothing it shouldn't have eaten. After sobering up, he urgently ordered us to retrieve the foreign object.]

[Note 1: Can't reach it. The guests chew apart every ladder. Temporarily postponed.]

[Note 2: I'm guessing it's the manager's spare master key. Otherwise he wouldn't be panicking this much. The boss will kill him.]

[Note 3: If only we could hire those angels… sigh.]

Though it was only a short note, and technically just speculation, in this place, that practically ant confird truth.

"The crystal chandelier…"

Charon stood by the doorway and looked toward the enormous chandelier overhead.

From here, it appeared to be nothing more than a giant luxurious chandelier.

The only strange thing, was that it emitted no light.

But one phrase in the text bothered him deeply.

What exactly did "feeding" an?

No matter what, this ti Charon had no choice but to explain everything to Ana.

Because here, they truly needed her power.

After listening to his explanation, fear flashed across Ana's eyes.

But after steadying herself, she still nodded firmly.

"I-I'll go."

"I'll stay here and watch that thing."

Charon held the Mirror of Truth.

Inside the reflection, the conductor looked exactly as before, showing no reaction to either of them.

But if it really was the "manager" ntioned in the notes, then nobody knew what would happen next.

"For safety, take the rope too."

As Charon handed her the rope, he quietly explained a few instructions.

"…Do exactly as I said."

Ana blinked in surprise, clearly thinking:

That works too?

But because she trusted Charon completely, she set off without hesitation.

She stepped onto the gold-covered wall leaking black grease.

Then, holding the rope, she began to run upward.

When passing the angel murals, her expression changed slightly, but nothing happened.

The silent effect of the crystal shoes prevented her from triggering almost any traps.

After reaching the chandelier, her first action was stepping onto it and tying the other end of the rope securely in place.

So far, the conductor had not reacted.

Ana walked across the chandelier freely.

To her, every surface was "ground."

As long as her feet remained connected, she could stand steadily anywhere.

Finally, she seed to discover sothing.

She crouched slightly, searched inside one of the lampshades, and her eyes lit up.

She pulled sothing out.

A key.

Its design differed slightly from the conductor's key, but according to the theory, this should be the "master key."

At that exact mont, the chandelier suddenly lit up.

And a buzzing sound, like insect wings, echoed through the hall.

Instantly, the conductor inside the mirror froze.

Its pocket-watch head slowly lifted, directly toward Ana on the chandelier.

The next second, the murals on the do ceiling began to move as well.

The motionless "angels" struggled to crawl out of the paintings.

The conductor–

Had finally been alerted.