The real trial still lay ahead.
The tower had only three floors; if it wasn’t on the first floor… then it must be on the second.
She took a deep breath, steadying her rhythm, preparing herself mentally.
Whatever awaited them would leave an indelible mark on Lydia’s heart.
Perhaps, even when she grew old and forgot everything else, she would still mutter about the horrors of today.
This was the true Human World Inferno.
“Let’s go, Lydia. Be ready.”
Come on.
Anna swung her sword, slicing open the decayed wooden door.
Each step she took on the stairs felt as heavy as sinking into a swamp.
A nauseating stench of blood rushed at them, mixed with vomit and something even thicker and fouler.
The odor nearly obliterated Anna’s sense of smell.
She didn’t need to look to know what had happened here.
“Big sister…”
Pa. Lydia bumped into Anna’s back.
Her fingers clung tightly to Anna’s coat.
“What…is that smell?”
“Blood, and some kind of…”
Anna searched for the right word.
“Some kind of liquid.”
She hoped Lydia understood what she meant.
A heavy, labored breathing echoed softly in their ears.
Following the sound, Anna pushed open a wooden door.
Lydia froze where she stood. Her pupils dilated at once, and a wave of violent nausea surged up her throat.
Her hand trembled as she gripped the hilt of her sword.
Anna was faster than her. A flash of her sword, and the goblin, reveling in its pleasure, was decapitated in an instant.
Underneath the goblin was a young man, judging by his torn leather armor, most likely the missing adventurer from before.
Both his hands had been sawn off, the wounds blackened. A rope was looped around his neck, then bound down his body to his feet.
He knelt on the ground in a posture almost like pilgrimage, but anyone could tell this was far from devotion.
From his missing limbs and the use made of other parts of his body, it was obvious.
A thick, unknown milky fluid was dripping down his spine.
“That’s what goblins are like. They torture the humans they catch… just like you see now.”
Anna walked over to the man, her face expressionless.
She bent down and whispered something into his ear.
The man’s shoulders suddenly began to tremble violently. Anna raised her sword and, with one swift motion, slit his throat.
She moved so quickly, Lydia didn’t even have time to cry out.
She could only stand there in a daze, hand covering her mouth, witnessing everything.
The overpowering stench invaded her from every pore, corroding her mind.
She couldn’t hold back any longer. Bending forward, she retched violently, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Let’s go. There’s more… you’ll see even worse.”
Anna brushed past her without looking back, her voice as cold as eternal ice and snow.
Coldness mixed with hatred, hatred soaked in fury.
Lydia’s gaze locked onto Anna’s back, as if it were the only source of light in the darkness.
She dared not look away, afraid that light would vanish at any moment.
Stumbling, she hurried after Anna.
The second room, the third room… the scenes were much the same.
For the first time, Lydia truly understood the reality of the “Human World Inferno.”
Everyone held captive on this floor was male.
Some had been dead for some time, their bodies incomplete; Anna opened a door to find hands and feet hanging from ropes.
Some still clung to a sliver of life, lying or crawling, their eyes vacant and pale, making meaningless hissing noises from their throats.
Anna only watched each one with a cold gaze.
For the dead, she would grab a scrap of cloth or a ragged garment and cover their faces.
For those still barely alive, she would crouch down, listen to their last delirious words, and then, with swift and precise sword strikes, put an end to their suffering.
Her sword was fast; for those not yet dead, it was a mercy and release.
By the third person, Lydia no longer felt nauseated.
Her nails dug deeply into the red cord wrapped around her sword’s hilt; when she let go, the imprints were clear.
She silently followed behind Anna, forcing herself not to imagine the suffering these poor souls had endured, forcing herself not to empathize.
She felt as if she was killing her own emotions.
Until Anna pushed open the last door on this floor.
This room was much cleaner.
In the corner, a boy who looked only in his teens was curled up.
He was shivering as if fished out of a pool of water.
His outer clothes had been stripped off, and he was covered in filth. When he heard the door open, he jerked his head up like a frightened rabbit.
A sudden light of hope flickered in his eyes.
The desperate light of someone on the brink of death grasping at a cure.
“Save…save me…”
His voice was hoarse.
“I’ll save you right away!”
A small flame of rescue ignited in Lydia’s heart.
She wanted to save him. She should save him.
She stepped forward instinctively.
But Anna’s sword was suddenly held out in front of her, blocking her path.
“Don’t move.”
Anna’s voice was low, her crimson eyes sharp as she scrutinized the boy.
“Sister… he’s still alive! We can save him!”
Anna didn’t answer, only silently examining every inch of the boy’s skin, and every corner of the ground behind him.
“Can you stand? If you can, come here. We’ll save you.”
Anna’s tone was icy.
Hope faded from the boy’s face, replaced by an almost eerie desperation.
“I beg you, please, take me away! They’ll be back any minute…”
His voice trembled with sobs, yet not a single tear fell.
“Sister!”
Lydia pushed aside Anna’s sword and walked toward the boy. As he saw her approach, his smile returned.
“Lydia!”
It was a harsh shout Lydia had never heard before.
She lost her balance.
All she felt was a hard kick to her ankle.
She fell backward, but in the corner of her eye, she saw Anna dart past her, sword gleaming with cold light, streaking straight for the boy like a meteor.
Almost at that instant, the boy’s smile twisted—no, his whole face twisted into an inhuman contortion.
The corners of his mouth stretched to an impossible angle, and the sound from his throat was no longer a plea, but the gloating of a cunning predator.
He exploded like he’d been struck by a blast spell.
Countless purple-black spiders crawled out of the blasted remains, surging together in a black tide toward Anna.
It was a baited trap all along.
“Get back!”
Anna shouted sharply. The tip of her sword instantly burst into golden-white flame.
She swept her sword forward, fire blazing from the blade, scorching the onrushing Spider Swarm with a crackling roar.
Lydia’s heart nearly stopped.
She scrambled up from the ground, understanding at last Anna’s caution.
If not for Anna, she would have rushed forward—and the consequences would have been unimaginable…
That Spider Swarm would have torn her to pieces in an instant.
It was Anna who saved her…