“Haha!” A cheerful-looking girl with a rusting key in hand ran straight to the top floor, where she could see the mansion in its entirety. Then she saw a black-haired young man rushing upstairs.
“Hehe.” Andromeda pocketed the key and pulled out her daggers with chains tangled around them. The daggers blades were sharp, featuring ornate carvings and patterns. The handles also had spots for embedded jewels, yet they remain empty so far.
She took a tight grip on the chains and spun them around while the daggers, wrapped at the end of the long chain, cut through the air while she moved the chains around.
Soon, she heard footsteps.
A black-haired young man rushed from the staircase, panting heavily with sweat dripping down his pale face. He was dressed in a black cloak with two scabbards tied around his waist.
“Please, give me the key.” Ambrose reached out his hand to her. He was in a hurry; thus, he had no time to entertain the little girl because Cerberus might arrive in the buried mansion at any moment.
“Mm, where is Cerberus?” Andromeda asked with a smile and suddenly hopped on top of the handrail. There was a long fall to the bottom floor. If she fell, survival would be out of the question.
“We were separated,” Ambrose said, forcing a smile. “I have to make sure that the reward is in here. So, please, give me the key.”
“Mm, separated, you say.” She giggled and stopped leaning against the wall. Now, she was standing on the handrail without any place to grab onto if she accidentally fell.
“So, if I messaged Cerberus, would he say the same thing?” Andromeda asked, and after seeing Ambrose’s smile freeze, she giggled.
“Give it!” Ambrose rushed forward and tried to latch onto Andromeda’s arm, but she suddenly started leaning backwards, her giggling reverberating across the mansion. She suddenly started falling from the top floor!
Ambrose grabbed the handrail with both hands and watched as Andromeda fell straight to the bottom floor. She wouldn’t be able to survive such a fall.
As she neared the bottom floor and her death, she suddenly swung her chains, and the daggers stabbed through one of the wooden walls on the second floor, getting tightly stuck.
She then used the chains to pull herself forward, and using them to propel herself, she landed safely on the second floor with a calm smile on her face.
“What the heck…” Ambrose ran back to the staircase and soon arrived on the second floor. He saw that there was no one there except for a few pieces of furniture. He walked to the wooden wall, where there were two holes, caused by the daggers.
‘Her mastery of those daggers is spectacular.’ Ambrose thought and looked around the second floor. He then approached the handrails and looked down at the bottom floor.
To his shock, there was Andromeda standing in the middle of the lounge with a key in hand. Her smile looked eternal, with her dimples showing. 𝒪𝗏𝓛xt.𝗇t
She was clearly having fun, but Ambrose couldn’t say the same. He was getting exhausted from this cat-and-mouse game.
Without taking the stairs, Ambrose leaped over the handrail and fell straight to the bottom floor. He landed heavily on the floor, his knees bending and almost touching the floor. At the last moment, he managed to straighten his legs and stand up.
“I assume you are now an enemy of Zahhak.” Andromeda said while moving the keys in her hand. “Yet, instead of running away, you are trying to steal the reward. You will make him very angry if you do that.”
“Why do you care?” Ambrose asked while wrapping his hand around his sword’s hilt. “You are still young. Why are you part of them?”
“Because Cerberus is my brother.”
Ambrose’s eyes broadened in surprise, but it didn’t surprise him as much as he thought it would. He already knew that one of the Zahhak members was her relative.
“He is the only relative I acknowledge.” Andromeda said. “Our parents were scumbags and still are. He has taken care of me in their stead. So, why would I betray him for a stranger?
“A stranger, who is also an enemy of my brother.”
“Don’t make me do this.” Ambrose drew his sword. His expression was heavy, yet he was ready to do what was needed.
“You would attack me?” She clutched her chest with a tearful gaze. “I-I am just a little girl, and you would hurt me?”
Anyone seeing her would have their heart melt at the sight of her tears. They would curse the person and his seven generations for making her cry.
“You are right.” Ambrose slowly sheathed his sword but then suddenly charged forward. “I don’t have to beat you in a fight to get the key!”
Andromeda’s gaze turned cold, and she raised her hands, both holding the chains. She then lashed them down with daggers, approaching the young man’s neck.
Ambrose quickly stopped running, but his feet slid down on the floor for several meters before he came to a stop. The daggers were already a meter away from impaling his neck.
He quickly siderolled haphazardly and stood up at the moment when his roll stopped. To his shock, Andromeda flicked her wrists and made the daggers curve in midair, making them chase after him.
‘Cursed, I can’t get near her!’ Ambrose quickly rushed to the side, dodging the first dagger, but the second one approached him from the other side. He panicked and quickly put his hand in the way.
Spurt—the dagger stabbed through his hand.
“Heh.” Andromeda tried pulling the dagger back and laughed as Ambrose fell to his knees. The dagger was so deep in his hand that he was in complete control of the little girl.
Whenever she tried pulling the chains back, Ambrose would be dragged alongside them.
“Argh…” Ambrose gritted his teeth and turned his fiery gaze at the little girl. He was done playing around. He slowly stood up and grabbed the chain, trying to remove the dagger from his hand.
“I’m not letting you!” Andromeda playfully shouted and tried pulling the chain towards her. However, to her surprise, she couldn’t pull it anymore. She soon realized why.
Ambrose, with his bulging biceps, held the chain in a tight grip. She couldn’t pull the chain because he was holding it in one place!
It was the pure difference in their strength. She might be faster than him, but he was a dozen times stronger, and it showed. She managed to drag him along when he was on his knees, unable to use his strength.
But now he had stood up and utilized his strength to the fullest. He realized that having a dagger stuck in his hand wasn’t bad. Instead, it could be beneficial.
Ambrose slowly started pulling the chain towards him, dragging Andromeda along with it. She tried stopping him but was unable to.
She then used her second chain and tried moving the dagger at him, but the second chain was right beside Ambrose’s feet. Therefore, he stomped his feet down on the chain. Both chains were now under his control.
She bit her lips, trying to muster all her strength to pull her chains back at her. Without the chains, she would be helpless in a battle!
“Get over here.” Ambrose’s veins bulged, and he suddenly pulled the chain towards him. Andromeda cried out as she was suddenly thrown into the air. She removed her hold on the chain, but it was too late; she was already flying towards him.
He used his free right hand and grabbed Andromeda by her fragile throat. She was kicking around, smashing her tiny feet on his well-toned torso, but to no avail. After a while, she stopped and looked at him with eyes full of anger.
Ambrose narrowed his eyes and dropped her to the floor. He then pulled the dagger out of his hand and tossed it to the side.
“Mind giving me the key?” He asked the little girl, who showed no intention of running away or fighting back.
“Fine…” She tossed the rusting key at him. He caught it midair and looked at her in surprise.
“I thought you would fight over it.” Ambrose shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the circular brown door. His heart began beating against his chest. He wondered what kind of rewards would await him behind that door.
Immediately after that thought, he heard the little girl’s voice.
“You realize that he won’t let you go.” Andromeda said and turned to look at his upright back. “You won’t be able to escape this place. Even if you somehow do, he will hunt you down.
“He does that… Making him your enemy is the worst mistake you could make.”
“Unlike you all, I am not afraid of him.” Ambrose said while trying to look for the keyhole or any place that resembled one.
“You should…” Andromeda said, hugging her legs. “In the end, the Light Continent will look very small when he chases you. You have to look over your shoulder every day.
“After a while, that will become exhausting, and you will stop enjoying this game. It is not too late to give up the key and just leave.”
“There it is…” Ambrose suddenly smiled. There wasn’t any keyhole in the door itself, but beside the door, there were sharp veins, as wide as his arms, going around the door. On the vein, there was a small hole, resembling a keyhole.
He inserted the key into that and twisted it counterclockwise. To his surprise, the door’s lock clicked, and it began spiraling around. The door moved to the side, entering the wall and paving the path to the secret room.
“Hey, are you listening to me?!” The little girl shouted after feeling ignored.
Ambrose didn’t answer and entered the room. His footsteps faded in the distance while the little girl sat on the floor with a stunned expression.
“Is he crazy or what?”