Chapter 1894: U: Beyond the Great Event (20)

Following the first round of the game, which showcased the special abilities possessed by the killers, the organizer seemed to have no intention of hiding their intent any longer. Through the scene currently unfolding in the great hall of the Nihlet family manor, they were telling all the duelists that this game was not merely a simple chase, and the killers were not just brain-dead brutes wielding chainsaws.

They possessed all sorts of bizarre abilities, understood the wisdom of psychological warfare, and now, it seemed, they might even find a place for themselves within religious texts.

The Gothic hall was extremely spacious with a high vaulted ceiling. A long carpet woven with dark green and gold threads lay across the dark gray stone floor. The intricate, sharp-pointed candle holders fixed to the surrounding walls resembled reaching ghost claws, echoing the olive-green silk hanging from the pillars, making one feel as if they were standing in a cold forest.

The hall was filled with a group of eccentrics in strange costumes: some dressed like Eastern Orthodox priests from the Roman era, others in wizard robes clutching heavy solid-wood staves, some dressed like Victorian-era detectives from Baker Street, and others opening heavy laptop computers to monitor radio waves with complex instruments.

"Is this place haunted?" Seeing Natasha asked, sounding uncertain. She scanned the surroundings; she barely needed a close look to guess the background of these people, where they likely came from, and whether they possessed any real skill.

The latter was the easiest to guess, as anyone with genuine ability would never dress like they were desperate to have their lineage written on their faces to prove their legitimacy.

Seeing Natasha nudged Batman with her elbow and asked, "Can you deal with ghosts?"

Batman remained silent, not even appearing to be in thought. He simply swept his sharp gaze over everyone in the room, as if he could truly determine their lineage just by looking at their appearance.

Schiller was also observing the crowd, looking for anything unusual among these strange people, or perhaps looking for something abnormal within this group of eccentrics.

After a full sweep, both Batmen reached the same conclusion: the strangest people here were still their own group.

Batman's image wasn't exactly exaggerated, but Seeing Natasha wearing a hoodie and Schiller in a lab coat made them stand out as anomalies against the demons and ghosts in the hall.

What made them even more conspicuous was that the old butler soon approached, leading their group separately toward a side hall. On the way to their destination, the old butler said, "Although there is no grand banquet, there is a simple welcome feast. The Nihlet family will not neglect guests who have traveled from afar. You may go and freshen up and rest; when the welcome feast begins, a dedicated attendant will come to escort you."

Batman could instantly feel several hostile gazes directed at them from the great hall.

This group of eccentrics in strange costumes and with bizarre behaviors were the typical sort who possessed no real skill, merely providing psychological comfort to rich fools through their various oddities.

In their eyes, everyone who arrived here was a competitor; they would prefer if everyone else were driven out so they could swallow the massive reward alone.

Yet now, a group had appeared that received special treatment from the host. Could it be that they were even better at acting than themselves?

Facing these gazes, Batman felt not a shred of anger, but his pace remained hesitant. He was considering whether it was necessary to warn this group that a terrifying killer might exist in the manor.

They were players participating in the game, so they naturally knew that a killer would inevitably appear here, and the killer wouldn't just kill them—it was more likely to be an indiscriminate slaughter, which would make the people in the hall very dangerous.

Just as Batman intended to act, a team of servants emerged from another side door, leading everyone else back to their rooms, saying much the same thing as the old butler.

This successfully diverted the attention of everyone else. After all, some among them were not wealthy, and some could even be described as destitute; a sumptuous welcome feast was already a reward for them.

Watching the crowd gradually disperse and return to their respective rooms, Batman quickened his pace. He thought that mass slaughter was the worst-case scenario when people were gathered together; while dispersing the crowd also had its dangers, it would be easier for him to handle.

The old butler led them to four doors at the end of the second-floor corridor. Schiller glanced at the window in the corridor and noticed that outside should be the manor's garden.

He walked to the door on the far right and indicated that he would choose this room. The old butler gestured for him to go ahead, and Schiller opened the door.

It was a guest bedroom similar in size to those in Wayne Manor, but the room's decor was in cool tones, lacking any warm decorative elements. There were no deep reds or earthy browns, only dark blues, moss greens, olive greens, and blue-blacks, looking both archaic and heavy.

In the center of the room stood a large European-style bed draped in moss-green silk sheets. The bed had a frame, and on either side stood sharp-edged cabinets filled with obscure tomes.

The entire bedroom had three large Gothic floor-to-ceiling windows. In front of the one facing the door sat a single sofa and a small tea table, but these too were made of dark fabric, leather, and metal; not a single modern design element was visible.

The lighting in the room was even more extreme, provided basically only by the fireplace on one wall and candles.

The glass was inexplicably foggy, making it difficult for natural light to penetrate. The repetitive design of the Gothic candle holders and their significant weight meant they couldn't hold very thick candles. Schiller walked over and saw they were animal-fat candles, processed in a rather archaic manner, causing the flames to flicker unsteadily. The wood in the fireplace was also processed quite crudely, causing the firelight in the room to flicker constantly.

Schiller walked over and touched the bedsheets. Despite the fireplace being nearby, the bed was ice-cold. He walked to the window and looked out at the garden, only to see through the foggy glass a pale-faced little girl standing under a gazebo in the garden below, staring straight at his room.

Schiller frowned slightly, looking at the little girl with a mix of surprise and hesitation, much like a protagonist in a horror movie. He then used his finger to write on the foggy glass: "Who are you?"

The little girl continued to stare straight at Schiller until he wrote again: "Are you okay?"

The little girl made a mouth shape. She said, "Leave here."

Schiller sighed, walked to the sides of the window, and drew the curtains, no longer looking at the scene in the garden. At this moment, his door was knocked upon. Standing outside was a Black manservant.

"Hello, sir. The suit tailored to your measurements before you arrived is ready. It is a dark brown three-piece set. I am here to ask about your preference for tie styles and if you have any other requirements. Do you have any needs?"

Schiller paused and said, "I would prefer a moss green or blue silk tie with a pattern. If possible, please bring me a sailfish brooch."

The Black manservant seemed slightly surprised, but after a moment of thought, he warned hesitantly, "Sir, we have prepared clothing sufficient to meet your requirements. However, Mr. Nihlet might return around noon today."

"Of course, Mr. Nihlet is a quite open-minded man, but his brother Hancock... well, I know this is not my place to say. If you require this, I will inform the butler."

"Our brooch styles may not satisfy you. Do you have any alternatives? When the time comes, I will bring them all, and you can choose for yourself."

"Perhaps, a hummingbird brooch?"

"Very well, please wait a moment."

Ten minutes later, the attendant returned with a briefcase containing the clothing and a tray of brooches. On it were all sorts of suit brooches: birds, fish, classical sun motifs, and various others, along with some button decorations.

Schiller changed into the clothes and found there was no full-length mirror in the bedroom, so he pulled the curtains open again to use the glass reflection to tie his tie.

He saw the pale-faced little girl again. This time, she wasn't staring straight at Schiller but was sitting on a swing beside the gazebo, head bowed, lost in thought.

After a while, an attendant ran over, seemingly trying to take the little girl away, but she shook her head. The attendant appeared afraid to get too close and could only leave, looking back every few steps.

Schiller watched for a while, then saw the little girl suddenly turn her head to look in his direction. Her eyes remained hollow and numb, and combined with her pale face, it was quite chilling.

Schiller wrote on the window glass: "If you encounter any trouble, please come here to find me. If you have no trouble, come and have a cup of tea."

From the little girl's eyes, it was clear she was reading the words carefully, but she didn't seem to understand—not the meaning of the words, but why Schiller would say such things.

Having straightened his tie, Schiller examined the brooch tray placed on the shoe cabinet by the door.

In the West, the hummingbird represents good omens and thus easily appears as a decorative element, quite popular among women. The sailfish, due to its immense speed and powerful body in the ocean, is seen as a symbol of strength, usually a decorative element worn by those in power or men.

These two brooches were not particularly rare. Although not as common as flowers or suns, there were several styles available. Schiller had been eyeing the sailfish brooch, but his finger slid across the gleaming tray, finally picking up a small but solid gold hummingbird brooch, which he pinned to the center of his suit pocket.

Having finished adjusting the details of his attire, Schiller walked back to the window but did not stand in the center. Instead, he stood on the side where the curtain hung, looking into the garden at an angle.

The little girl was no longer standing blankly or sitting on the swing lost in thought. She walked to the side of a bush and stared straight at another figure—a boy slightly older than her.

The boy was huddled behind the porch. As soon as he took a step, the little girl clenched her hands, stretched her head out, and let out an extremely piercing scream at him, making unintelligible sounds and waving her arms, her posture particularly terrifying.

The boy seemed terrified, stomped his feet in place, and ran back to call for help. Soon, a group of servants rushed out and took the little girl away from the scene.

Schiller watched all this silently, but his focus was different from the other "mystics" who had also seen the commotion from their windows. Or rather, they had all noticed the same event, but their interpretations differed.

Schiller saw that six large, burly middle-aged maids had rushed up, yet they were unable to fully restrain the little girl for a time. It was only after two more manservants arrived that they successfully carried the little girl away.