Morder lunged at them, intent on ending the confrontation as quickly as possible; he had no way of knowing when the poison would flare up again.
A violent clash ensued between him and one of the monsters. In that split second, another appeared behind him while a third flanked his side. Sensing their presence, he drove his blade deep into the first monster's skull, used the hilt as a springboard to leap upward, and kicked both attackers away with a heavy strike.
He wrenched the sword from the creature's head, but as he moved to advance, a jagged blade pierced his back and erupted through his abdomen.
"Damn it… damn it… DAMN IT!" Morder hissed, grinding his teeth in white-hot rage. He spun around, severed the monster's arm, and then took its head in one clean sweep.
He collapsed onto one knee, gasping from the agonizing pain. He reached back to pull the blade from his body, but a torrent of blood began to gush from the wound.
"I have to end this… even with a sword buried in my back."
The two remaining monsters charged. Their blades slammed against Morder's in a violent shower of sparks. One of them struck his sword with enough force to push him back, but Morder reacted instantly, jumping directly over the creature's head.
"Slasssh…"
It spat a glob of caustic green bile. Morder jerked his head aside, watching as the substance sizzled and dissolved the floor where he had just been.
"You've got some tricks, you bastards."
The other monster swung to cleave him in two, but Morder delivered a powerful kick that sent the creature crashing backward. As for the monster beneath him, he seized its head and crushed it against the floor with such ferocity that it shattered into small pieces.
He looked at his hand, a look of grim indifference on his face.
'It seems my strength is steadily evolving… how stran—'
The words died in his throat. He slumped to the floor, coughing violently as he clutched his chest in agony. Blood began to seep from his eyes and mouth once more.
"When does this nightmare end? The pain is becoming unbearable."
The last monster staggered toward him, reeling from the force of the earlier kick. Morder tried to stand, but his legs failed him instantly.
"Not now…"
He struggled again and again, but his body refused to obey. The monster loomed over him, raising its blade to take his head.
The blade descended, but it only left a shallow scratch on his neck. Morder opened his eyes and looked up to see the monster trembling—until a tall woman thrust her hand completely through its torso.
"…"
She tore the creature in half and tossed the remains aside like trash. As she stepped forward, her features became clear: she had long, flowing white hair that moved with a fluid grace, and her eyes were obscured by wax dripping down her cheeks. She wore nothing at all, save for a shroud of white mist that veiled her chest and hips.
"Is the poison playing tricks on me, or am I actually looking at a naked girl?" he muttered sardonically.
She leaned down, peering into his eyes, and cupped his cheek with a cold smile.
"What a monster you are. Despite your shattered body, you managed to slaughter them."
"Thanks for the compliment. But if you're going to kill me, do it without the chatter."
Her expression shifted to one of mock sadness. She spoke in a sugary, melodic tone:
"No, I don't want to kill you that easily… I want to see your potential. Let's see if you can escape this asylum."
She made a heart shape with her fingers and added in the same tone:
"This place will kill you anyway. I'd hate to stain my hands by killing someone as handsome as you."
Morder smiled bitterly, then spat blood onto the floor.
"…"
She stood up and turned her back to him, waving her hand as she walked away.
"Try not to die too quickly, darling."
Then, she vanished like a mirage into the thin air. Morder gripped the hilt of the sword in his back and wrenched it out with a grunt. He tore a strip of fabric from one of the fallen monsters and tied it tightly around his waist.
He stood up again, leaning on his sword.
"One question haunts me… does she not own any clothes?"
He looked around and saw two doors in different parts of the hall. One was near the shattered staircase, and the other was at the far end of the hall. He noticed that blood was oozing from the door near the stairs, while the other appeared remarkably clean.
"The bloody path is always the right one," he sighed deeply.
He stood directly before the door. He reached out his right hand to grab the handle, but it trembled. He glared at his own limb with eyes full of suppressed rage.
"Those who hesitate, die. So don't you dare hesitate, or I'll cut you off."
He spoke to his hand as if it were a separate entity. He gripped the handle firmly and pushed the door open. Inside was a small, unremarkable room. Despite the blood that had been leaking from it, there was no obvious source for the gore.
"Bullshit."
He closed his eyes coldly. But as he turned to retreat, the door seemingly expanded and swallowed him whole. He suddenly found himself sitting in a chair. Before him was a small table set with a glass of deep red wine.
"Am I in a tavern?!" He picked up the glass and swirled the liquid.
As the words left his lips, an overhead light flickered on. A corpse appeared, bound to a gurney. Morder set the wine aside and gripped his sword hilt, bracing for an attack.
In the midst of his high-alert stance, the woman's voice drifted through the room again, calm and steady:
"Welcome back, darling. Did you miss me?"
Morder pulled his hair back, a thin smile spreading across his face.
"To be honest with you—no. I just ran into you a moment ago, so my heart hasn't exactly had time to grow fond of you yet."
"How cruel of you," she replied, her voice laced with a mock fragility.
"But no matter. I have a game for you, a game that might just allow you to leave this asylum with all your limbs intact."
"I highly doubt that." Morder began to sip from his glass, crossing one leg over the other with forced nonchalance.
"There are several stages, though the exact number remains a secret. All you have to do is emerge victorious from each one… and discover who murdered this corpse."
"Is that all?" Morder rubbed his lips, a look of skepticism in his eyes.
The mysterious girl let out an elegant, haunting laugh.
"Yes. I simply want to play with you for a little while."
The sound of a deep, lingering blow-kiss echoed through the air.
As she spoke, candles flickered to life, illuminating the hall. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the room except for the bound corpse and several dolls dangling from the high ceiling.
"Even the simplicity of this place is suspicious."
As he raised the glass of wine to his lips, he caught a reflection in the liquid: a monster was looming behind him, poised to take his head. Morder smirked and kicked the table, propelling himself backward. He caught the monster with a heavy blow to the stomach, sending it reeling.
Morder drew his sword and studied the creature. It was different from the others—it possessed a sword and a third arm.
"Hmm, it seems we have something special here."
Morder lunged forward with explosive speed, grabbing the monster by the collar and slamming it into the ground. To his surprise, it seemed unfazed. It sprang back up instantly and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Morder's head, sending him crashing into the wall.
Morder wiped the blood from his mouth, a look of genuine confusion crossing his face.
'What is this strength? He really is different.'
The monster reappeared at his side, raining heavy blows onto his stomach. The impact caused his previous wound to reopen, and blood began to soak through the bandages.
"Agh!"
Morder struggled to fight through the agony, but as the beating continued, his vision grew darker. He lunged forward, seized the monster's arm, and pulled it toward his face.
"You're starting to piss me off, you son of a bitch."
With a swift motion, he severed the extra arm and delivered a kick that sent the creature stumbling back. Morder didn't stop there; he unleashed a barrage of strikes so violent the wall behind the monster began to crack. The white bag covering the creature's head turned a deep, saturated red.
The monster let out a shriek so piercing that Morder had to press his fingers to his ears. It swung its sword, aiming to bury the blade deep in Morder's chest.
He saw the strike coming and dodged to the side, but he took a glancing blow to the head that made his balance waver. Seizing the opening, the monster carved a deep gash across his abdomen.
Morder leaped backward, his breathing ragged. His vision was severely blurred; he was seeing double of everything in the room.
The monster charged again, landing a sequence of hits that opened more wounds across his body, yet Morder remained standing, refusing to fall.
As he endured the assault, he glanced to the side and saw the wine glass. He shoved the monster back, grabbed the glass, and shattered it against the table. Before he could move, the monster was upon him again, driving its sword toward his stomach.
But the monster froze mid-motion.
A jagged shard from the wine glass was now protruding through the back of its head. Morder panted heavily, a manic smile on his face, his body a canvas of fresh blood.
"You were a real nuisance, you know that?"
Just as he prepared to savor the taste of his victory, a trapdoor opened beneath him. He and the monster plummeted into the depths. The mysterious girl's voice echoed out once more, dripping with sarcasm:
"Oops… I suppose I forgot to mention this part."