Killing the Possessor - Chapter 33
“…Hunting? Player?”
That hunting notification message. Why does it seem so damn familiar? Isn’t it something I saw every time I died hundreds of times in the game?
Now that I think about it, it said “Playfield.” So, just like in the game, there could be hunting here, but why didn’t I think of that sooner?
“Uhm… Camilli, doesn’t it feel like things outside are getting unusually chaotic?”
At Illui’s anxious voice, I turned my gaze to the door.
Indeed, the atmosphere outside was drastically different from earlier. The music that had been playing just moments ago had stopped, and in its place, screams from people filled the silence.
“Illui, listen to me carefully from now on.”
Although I hadn’t finished the game, I’d experienced enough hunting to speak seriously.
Illui Hope, being the lead, likely wouldn’t suffer a tragic fate of losing her life, but since the possessor hadn’t arrived yet, I couldn’t afford to be overly confident about anything.
“Don’t go outside. Stay hidden in here. If the evil spirit comes this way, hold your breath and try to move out quietly.”
“An…evil spirit?”
At the mention of the evil spirit, fear filled Illui’s eyes again. But I didn’t have the time to comfort her now.
If I thought about it logically, this was none other than the Imperial Palace, where the most esteemed people in the empire gathered. Naturally, I assumed the security would be tight, and a mere evil spirit wouldn’t be able to disturb this place.
But this is the world of the novel. Just like Illui’s debut in the Imperial Palace, which didn’t make sense even in the context of nobility, this story prides itself on its absurd developments. In other words, there’s no guarantee that the chaos outside will be quieted down quickly just because we’re in the palace.
“I do have a bit of faith in something, though.”
At least, in this novel, the Imperial Guards are more reliable than anyone else. I sighed, recalling the silver-haired man I saw when I first entered the palace.
The stunning exorcism he performed when we met in Loitri was still vivid in my mind. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, but as long as that man was around, the evil spirits would surely be driven away.
However, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be too late. I had to find a way to save myself.
“Illui, do you remember what I said earlier? You absolutely cannot go outside.”
“Where are you going? You should hide here with me.”
“That’s not possible.”
It was because if more than one person gathered, the evil spirit could sense them. At least, that was how it worked in the game. There might be some minor differences in the settings, but the general idea was probably the same.
“Huh? Why…?”
“I’ll go now. Be careful.”
“C-Camilli!”
Illui seemed like she really wanted to stop me, but I intentionally ignored her. After all, she was the hope we absolutely had to protect.
Leaving the anxious Illui behind, I stepped out of the powder room. This time, unlike when I entered, the dance hall was eerily empty. It seemed like everyone had evacuated, and I crossed the vast empty space, trying to suppress my growing anxiety.
“I need to get out of here.”
The reason why the game Saving the Possessor was so difficult…
The message I received when I entered the palace said that in the Playfield, it was possible to fight off evil spirits, but in reality, there was no real way to defeat them.
You had to gather clues and fulfill specific conditions, but because the game was so unhelpful, it was hard to even figure out what those conditions were. And unless you were someone with divine power, you couldn’t physically harm the evil spirits.
In other words, hiding and running away was the only way to survive. But with the evil spirits’ excellent detection abilities, even that wasn’t an easy option.
“Come on, male lead, hurry up and do your job.”
Ren Abyss. The reason he could deal with evil spirits…
Contrary to his appearance, he had once been a paladin. How he ended up leaving the temple and now chasing after the possessor was a mystery.
But because he had been a paladin, he had divine power within him. The green-haired guy had that too, but I highly doubted that a high-ranking priest like him would be attending a ball right now.
“Ha, I knew this would happen.”
Arriving at the exit, I gazed at the firmly locked gate and sighed softly. I tried pulling on it, making it rattle, and even kicked it, but it was useless.
I had no intention of jumping down, but if the main gate was like this, there was no point in checking the balcony. In the game, players couldn’t leave the field until the evil spirit hunt was over.
“I need to find somewhere to hide.”
Where should I go? Normally, Camilli would be familiar with the palace layout, but unfortunately, this was my first time here, and I had a terrible sense of direction.
“Maybe I should go up first.”
