Defense Specialization and the Haunted Mansion 3.

Like Sally, Maple had been flung somewhere as well.

"Um... Sally?"

Maple scans her surroundings. Sally is nowhere to be seen.

Maple is in some room.

A closet door has been ripped off. A bed covered in dust. The sheets are torn. The floorboards are lifted in places.

"Need to find her!"

Maple reaches for the door handle to go outside. She twists it. It rattles. The door does not open.

No keyhole. No reason why it won't open.

"Hnn... Fine! Can I break it? Let me try."

Maple speaks as she points the gun at the door.

At that moment, a creak comes from behind. Maple turns.

There, rising slowly like solidified night, is a shadow so black it seems endless.

"Wait—【Throne of the Heavenly King】!"

Maple hastily produces the throne and dives into it, seating herself.

"Even if I can't check things carefully like Sally usually does, this time—!"

Maple studies the shadow's movements with careful attention.

The humanoid shadow extends its hands forward. Nothing happens.

"For now... it's safe? Then—【Attack Initiated】!"

Maple fires a bullet. It passes cleanly through the shadow and strikes the wall behind.

The shadow advances without pause and attacks Maple directly. She deflects it without effort.

"Hmm. Physical attacks won't work at all... If I defeat this, will the door open? Hmm... ah!"

Maple leans forward and drives her head into the shadow's torso.

But when she tries to speak, her voice passes through it, nothing more.

"Really no good. Wait—ah, that's right!"

Maple frowns, manipulates her inventory, and draws out an item.

It is the remainder of the paper that stubbornly inflicted damage upon the Light King’s feet.

The attributes of fire and wind did not reach the Light King, so it had accumulated in great quantity.

"Better to burn it—no, wait, make it wind... petaa, like this!"

When Maple uses the item, a gust sweeps through the room, slicing the shadow before her.

"Come on, come on—another one!"

Maple presses it down repeatedly.

The black shadow, a minor monster only slightly stronger than usual, collapses after ten uses of the item.

Few players would use this item at zero distance instead of a skill, so its damage is set higher accordingly.

As the shadow fades, a clinking sound echoes from behind.

"Opened, maybe? There was no keyhole, though."

Maple extinguishes the throne and turns the door handle.

The door opens smoothly, unlike before.

"Got it! I can get out!"

Maple hurries out of the room, unwilling to be trapped again.

"Be careful with my feet while I look for Sally. I don’t want to be thrown again."

Maple strides quickly down the hallway, her steps light and rapid.

Meanwhile, Sally crouches beneath a desk in the room she tumbled into, trembling.

She cannot leave. There is nothing to do but wait for Maple.

"Th-that’s right… a message."

Sally sends a message to Maple.

It says only that she needs help. No element in it changes the situation. Sally does not notice.

"Stay here for a while…"

Sally’s "a while" means until Maple arrives.

"Until" is synonymous with "forever."

This area does not allow Sally to go unnoticed.

A creaking sound fills the room as the door swings open.

Something walks toward her, though Sally cannot see it from under the desk.

She hears it. Clamps her hands over her mouth. Holds her breath. Stillness.

The damaged floorboards groan beneath weight.

The sound approaches the desk slowly. Finally, a pale blue foot comes into view before Sally’s eyes.

“……!!”

Her silent prayer—pass me by—reaches its mark. The foot, not human, passes directly in front of her and continues on.

“…………”

The moment Sally relaxes, a message chimes.

Maple would not leave a message unanswered.

The rapid footsteps grow near. Sally rolls from under the desk and scrambles out of the room.

“Maple! Maple! Help me!!”

The voice she raised in reflex drew response from hands stretching from wall and floor, and from the spirit of a child whose body was torn and stained with blood.

“[Overdrive]! Overdrive, overdrive!”

Sally ran wildly, burst into another room.

Yet she could not scatter spirits that overflowed.

Sally, lost, ran still, deeper, deeper into the dark.