Before nightfall, I first walked along the corridor, pushing open every door that would budge, and memorized the staircase leading to the courtyard as well as a few windows.

I had long since prepared myself for death, but I still needed to leave myself an escape route.

I could only die after I had succeeded in avenging Sarah.

When I passed a corner, I pulled a handful of flour from a cloth bag I brought along and scattered it along the floor as I walked. Then I deliberately went to another corner of the corridor and waited in the shadows for a moment.

Through this method, I confirmed that Adrian wasn't following me.

I sat by the corner for a long while after that, only heading back through the main hall and toward the west side once night had fallen.

There were no candles in the corridor. The deeper I went, the colder it got, and I could smell a faint metallic scent of blood in the air.

I tightened my grip on the dagger in my sleeve and walked to the end of the corridor, where I finally saw a stone door wrapped in black chains.

The doorframe was carved with many strange runes, none of which I could read.

This was the old chapel.

Before I could do anything, I suddenly heard the sound of a woman weeping while saying something from behind the stone door.

I pressed myself against the crack in the door at once and listened carefully, trying to make out what she was saying.

But the sound came in fits and starts. I couldn't make out what she was saying.

Just as I was about to straighten up, I suddenly heard a familiar voice. "Evelyn..."

My entire body went rigid.

It was Sarah's voice.

I yanked at the chains with all my strength, but they didn't budge.

I clenched my teeth, wedged my dagger into a rusted lock, and threw my shoulder against the stone door.

With a sharp crack, the outermost chain finally snapped and crashed to the ground with a piercing clatter.

Not caring whether the noise would alert Adrian, I braced both hands against the stone door and pushed with all the strength I had until I managed to push it slightly open.

A cold wind laced with the sickly sweet scent of blood struck my face.

I squeezed through the gap sideways and shouted, "Sarah, are you in here?"

No one answered.

There were no statues of any gods inside the chapel, but only an altar wrapped in chains made of dragon bone.

Around the altar were several white candles; their flames didn't flicker at all.

The voice from earlier had vanished completely.

"Sarah?" I called out once, but no one answered.

I crept forward along the wall. When I reached the altar, I spotted Sarah's name on one of the candles at a glance.

My mind went blank. I dropped to my knees at once and wiped the dust off the candlestick with my hand.

I hadn't been mistaken. It really was her name.

"Sarah, why are you trapped here..." Before I could finish, the magic circle beneath my feet suddenly lit up.

Crimson marks rapidly crawled up my legs. Then, a cold force shot into my right arm, seizing control of my arm and forcing me to raise the dagger, aiming its tip at my own throat.

Terrified, I grabbed my wrist with my left hand, trying to stop myself from putting the knife into my throat. "Stop!"

But my right hand refused to obey.

The dagger kept inching closer to my throat, and its tip was about to press into my skin.

In that moment, I finally understood that Adrian hadn't been warning me just now.

He had deliberately made a point of telling me not to go near this place, precisely to plant suspicion in my mind and make me walk right into the magic circle.

That way, he wouldn't even have to kill me with his own hands. All he had to do was hide in the shadows and watch me slit my own throat.

"Adrian!" I gripped my own wrist desperately and shouted toward the door. "You went through all this trouble to lure me in here. Don't you even have the guts to show yourself now?"

I heard no answer at all.

The blade slowly cut into my skin, and warm blood trickled down my neck into my collar.

My arm was already starting to go numb, and the hand pressing down on my wrist was going limp.

Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably.

I didn't want to die, not in a trap Adrian had laid, without ever uncovering the real reason behind Sarah's death!

Just as the blade was about to pierce through my throat, the stone door behind me blasted open with a deafening roar.

Black flames swept into the chapel, and the red marks beneath my feet were instantly severed by the flames.

Before I could even see who it was, someone grabbed the dagger in my hand.

The blade cut into Adrian's palm, and blood streamed down his wrist.

But he seemed to feel no pain at all. He yanked the dagger away and pulled me straight out of the magic circle.

My legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed to my knees.

Adrian looked down at me condescendingly. "I warned you not to come near this place."

Adrian's face was terrifyingly dark at that moment.

I gasped for breath, still shaken. But when I saw the faint trace of concern in his eyes, a surge of fury rose up inside me. "You did this on purpose."

Adrian frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You deliberately told me to stay away from this place. You wanted me to get suspicious and come here on my own." With a trembling hand, I wiped the blood from my neck and took a deep breath. "And once I walked right into your trap, you came swooping in to play the hero and save me, so I'd start trusting you."

Adrian stared at me for a moment, then let out a bitter, contemptuous laugh. "What the hell are you thinking exactly?"

Seeing how angry he looked only made me more certain that I had hit the mark.

"Am I wrong?!" I snapped and pointed furiously at the white candle beside the altar, the one etched with Sarah's name. "You were not satisfied after killing Sarah. You had to trap her and the others' souls here too, just so you could savor watching the moment they die over and over again, didn't you?! She died because of your twisted tricks! You're a pervert who gets off on toying with people!"

Adrian's face darkened completely. "These candles are nothing like what you think. They're..."

Before he could finish, a golden mark suddenly appeared on his neck and lit up.

The mark, as if alive, swiftly coiled around his throat, tightening gradually.

Adrian's body stiffened, and he was forced to choke back the rest of his words, a trace of blood seeping from his lips.

He was silent for a moment, then finally said coldly, "Stay away from these candles."

With that, he let go of me and walked toward the altar.

He dropped to one knee and pressed his hand against the still-glowing magic circle. Black dragon flames slowly spread along the dark red marks of it.

I didn't answer him. I just leaned against the wall, catching my breath, my right arm still numb. But my gaze quietly drifted toward my boot.

He had taken the dagger made of dragon bone I meant to kill him with, but before I set out, I had hidden a short knife as well.

Because I knew that to kill a dragon like him, I would need to make many preparations.

His back was to me now, so this was my best chance.

I clenched my teeth and slowly drew the short knife from my boot.

Just a little closer, and I could stab him through the heart from behind.

I held my breath and lunged forward, driving the knife toward him.

I was certain that I would succeed this time!