Could it really be sorcery? I recalled the musty smell I had noticed earlier. There was nothing particularly strange that caught the eye, but I felt an odd sense of dissonance. It was similar to the dissonance I had felt from the sorcery formation hiding the snake’s passage in the Serpentine mansion.

But there was no way a snake’s passage could be here.

‘Could Erhan or the Duke have created something here?’

The two of them often left the mansion empty due to external schedules. Well, it’s not strange for those who research sorcery to come to a land forsaken by God. If this was also a snake’s passage, the door would open if I knocked six times, just like at the mansion.

‘Might as well try.’

I reached out my hand, feeling a bit tense.

Considering my original personality, I wouldn’t have deliberately touched such a dangerous object. But for some reason, I found it hard to just pass by. I had a strange intuition that I absolutely had to enter. I felt like I would regret it if I just passed by without checking this.

‘I know. I don’t have time for this right now.’

Finding Zachary’s whereabouts as soon as possible was the top priority. Having not found any significant traces of Zachary yet, I intended to check the identity of this dissonance, clutching at straws.

So my hand moved, and before anyone could stop me, I completed six knocks.

As if my prediction was correct, a bright red sorcery formation rose up, and then there was a thud as the door opened.

It seems the time I spent in the Serpentine mansion wasn’t in vain after all. Despite appearances, I’m a Serpentine who lives off sorcery…

“That’s… Aaargh?!”

At that moment, the foothold beneath me disappeared, and my body immediately fell vertically.

‘What do you mean the time wasn’t in vain! I think I’ve been through this before!’

Damn you, Serpentine! Please make at least the entrance normal!

“Cough, cough!”

I was afraid that if the passage was deep, I might die from the impact of the fall. I was worried about getting seriously injured, but fortunately, the passage wasn’t that deep.

‘It’s soft?’

Moreover, there was a soft blanket spread on the floor where I fell, which cushioned the impact.

However, I started coughing after inhaling the swirling dust. After several small coughs, I looked around.

‘It’s incredibly dark.’

My vision didn’t immediately adjust to the pitch-black darkness. Naturally, I couldn’t see properly since it was underground where no sunlight reached. Gradually, as my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, I started to see my surroundings.

‘It’s not completely without light.’

Thankfully, there were candles lit in candleholders sparsely attached to the walls. Judging by the traces of dried candle wax, it seemed like a place where someone lived.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously and looked up. The door had already closed, and I couldn’t see the entrance properly. The sorcery formation had risen and the door had opened after six knocks. It was definitely a snake’s passage, but…

‘Was it really made by the Serpentine family? Why do I feel so strange?’

I slowly got up. Looking around, my suspicion deepened. This place looked like a cave. If it weren’t for the blanket and candleholders used by humans, I might have mistaken it for a bear’s den that I had walked into of my own accord.

Clang!

“Ah!”

I turned around in surprise. A loud sound of something falling and rolling had hit my ears. Then, there was a brief sound of busy movement, as if someone was flustered, before it abruptly stopped.

‘There really is someone here.’

The cave-like structure seemed to make the sound echo even louder.

“Hello?”

I called out cautiously towards the darkness where the sound had come from. But there was no response. Only my voice echoed futilely in the quiet cave.

‘What is this? I hope it’s not a dangerous person.’

I raised my head for a moment to look at the entrance, my face filled with terror. It might not be easy, but it seemed like I could climb out and escape if I struggled hard enough.

Should I just leave? I’m not the type to enjoy adventures in the first place.

‘But maybe…’

However, I couldn’t let go of the hope that maybe…

The coordinates definitely pointed here. There was nothing else around except for this passage. It might help in finding Zachary.

Of course, I didn’t have high expectations. Why would he, the prince of the Holy Empire, be living in a snake’s passage created by Serpentine sorcery? Moreover, having been burned by sorcery, he would have avoided this area like the plague.

‘Let’s go and see for now.’

Whoever had made that sound, if they had intended to attack me, they would have moved already. I figured I should at least meet face to face and try to have a conversation. That person might be able to give me a hint in finding Zachary. I was still scared, but having come this far, I had no choice.

I started walking slowly. The cave seemed to be quite large, larger than I had thought. As I walked, I arrived in front of two doors.

One door was open, but the other was closed.

“Um, I’m sorry for barging in suddenly. Hello? Is anyone there?”

“…”

“I just want to ask one thing and then I’ll leave right away. Is anyone here?”

It seemed like there was someone behind the closed door, but no matter how much I called, there was no answer.

What should I do? As I pondered, I peeked inside the open door.

‘Can people really live here?’

It looked like an incredibly harsh environment. There was nothing that could be called a bed, just a thin blanket on the floor. I saw more candleholders than before. It seemed that someone was indeed living here…

‘But why are there so many books?’

I widened my eyes and tilted my head a bit more towards the inside. Although I felt it wasn’t right to enter someone else’s room, I couldn’t suppress my curiosity. The only thing in the room that could be called furniture was a desk that showed signs of use. But countless books were piled up like mountains not only on the desk but also on the floor.

I’d have to get closer to see what kind of books they were.

‘That doesn’t seem right.’

Since it was a snake’s passage, it was probably a place created by someone from the Serpentine family, but that didn’t mean I could enter the room without the owner’s permission.

‘I need to meet the owner somehow…’

After hesitating, I slowly pulled my head back and approached the firmly closed door again. Since I couldn’t see any other passages, the person who had made the sound must be behind this door. I swallowed dryly and knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock.

“I’m sorry if you’re angry that I came in without permission. My name is Oscar Serpentine. Do you perhaps know the Serpentine family?”

This was a place where the coordinates Erhan had given me overlapped with the location I had in mind based on the information I had gathered. If there was even a small clue, I wanted to check it out.

“I’m really sorry, but can I ask just one thing?”

“…”

“Do you… know anything about Prince Zachary Thaddeus? If you know even a little, please answer me.”

I hoped they would tell me anything, even the tiniest clue about Zachary. As I was knocking on the door with desperate feelings, the door began to open with a creaking sound.

Contrary to my expectations, the door wasn’t locked. It seemed to have opened naturally from the force of my knocking. I immediately covered my nose at the pungent smell that leaked through the opening door.

‘The smell of… blood?’

It had been a faint smell from earlier, but considering this was underground, I had thought it was just the smell of earth. Now that I smelled it properly, it was definitely the smell of blood.

The source of the stench was beyond this door. A strong smell of blood, as if a massacre had taken place, poured out from inside the room.

What on earth could be in there?

I was so shocked that I froze without realizing it. Through the slightly opened door, I could see the floor and walls completely stained with blood.

And…

‘What on earth is that?’

There was a long, transparent cylinder filled with a dark red liquid. All sorts of strange characters were engraved all over the room.

I couldn’t help but recognize those. They were the patterns used in sorcery at the Serpentine mansion.

Erhan was the one who had given me these coordinates. Surely he wouldn’t have given them to me just to play a prank. Could Erhan have misunderstood something and given me the wrong information?

But sharp-witted Erhan couldn’t have not known that the person I was trying to find was Zachary. Then, contrary to my expectations, there was a possibility that this space was created by someone unrelated to the family…

“Ugh!”

But I couldn’t continue my thoughts. A pitch-black silhouette standing behind the open door immediately pounced on me.

As soon as I felt an impact on my neck, the world turned hazy.

‘I’m done for.’

That was the only thought I had as my body collapsed. I shouldn’t have entered such a dangerous-looking place after all.

Would I really not wake up this time and go straight to the afterlife? I had hoped to meet Zachary at least once more before I died… With the sensation of someone firmly grasping my falling body, I lost consciousness.