Vol 2 Ch 19 Abandoned Mansion Pt 1_OmniGuardian's

Jun, Wednesday 28, 2007 - 5:00 AM

 Metro City

 Lying in bed, Paradox was sleeping peacefully when a sudden, sharp knock on the door shattered the silence of the early morning. His crimson eyes fluttered open lazily, filled with drowsy irritation as he glanced at the clock.

 5:00 AM.

 “…Who in their right mind would be knocking on my door at this ungodly hour?”

 His voice was groggy, laced with mild annoyance. With a heavy sigh, he lazily swung his legs off the bed, rubbing his face as he got up. Dressed in only red and black sweatpants, his bare chest felt the cool air of the room as he trudged toward the door.

 As soon as he cracked it open and saw the familiar face standing there, his expression deadpanned. Without a word, he promptly shut the door in their face and turned around to walk back to bed.

 BANG! BANG! BANG!

 The knocking grew louder and more persistent, each impact sending vibrations through the door.

 “…What do they want from me now?” Paradox muttered in frustration.

 Giving in, he swung the door open again, now face to face with Samantha, whose left eye twitched in irritation.

 “I was sent with direct orders to inform you of a mission you will be partaking in,” she stated flatly.

 Paradox crossed his arms, unimpressed. “Yeah, well—I decline.”

 Samantha didn’t even flinch at his immediate refusal. Instead, she smirked knowingly.

 “I think you might change your mind.”

 His brow arched slightly. “Oh? And what exactly do you mean by that?”

 She wasted no time, getting straight to the point.

 “We’ve discovered a peculiar house. Anyone who enters—no matter how powerful, no matter what weapons they wield—everything is stripped away, rendering them completely ordinary.”

 That caught his attention. His half-lidded gaze sharpened slightly.

 “…Huh. Now that does sound interesting. Anything else?”

 She continued, her tone serious.

 “There have been reports of ghost sightings from those who managed to escape… But we weren’t able to get much out of them. Every last survivor’s mind was shattered beyond repair—broken by whatever they saw inside.”

 A slow grin spread across Paradox’s face.

 “Oh? A place that even cracks minds wide open? Sounds like something straight out of a horror flick.” He stretched, rolling his neck. “Alright, I’m in. Where’s this whole haunted adventure taking place?”

 Samantha handed him a small file containing coordinates.

 “Inside a haunted mansion. You’re our last hope in solving this case. If you do it, we’ll help you with that little secret building project you’ve been working on.”

 Paradox smirked, glancing at the papers before stuffing them in his pocket.

 “So it was you guys spying on me. Had a feeling… just didn’t care enough to call you out on it.” He yawned before turning away. “Alright, I’ll have it done in a flash.”

 Without another word, Samantha left, heading back to Omega-7 HQ.

 Closing the door, Paradox muttered under his breath.

 “Haunted mansion, huh…”

 Before he could ponder it further, a presence made itself known.

 Two pairs of eyes were burning into him.

 Looking up, he saw Eve and Norika standing there, arms crossed, staring at him with knowing expressions.

 “We’re coming with you,” Norika stated bluntly.

 “And you can’t stop us,” Eve added.

 Paradox blinked before grinning.

 “Why would I? I was already gonna ask if you both wanted to come.” He waved his hand nonchalantly. “Now hurry up and get ready. We’re going now—night’s the best time to hunt ghosts, after all.”

 <hr>

 Jun, Wednesday 28, 2007 - 5:05 AM

 Outside the Haunted Mansion

 The mansion stood like a monolith, draped in shadows. The surrounding air was thick with unnatural silence—the kind that made the world feel dead.

 Crows cawed from the gnarled trees, their silhouettes barely visible against the dark sky. Overhead, storm clouds churned, swirling like an omen of doom. Occasional streaks of lightning crackled across the heavens, illuminating the structure in ghostly flashes.

 And then—

 A figure appeared.

 Standing in one of the upstairs windows, a pale, translucent shadow watched them with empty, hollow eyes.

 Paradox took one look at the eerie spectacle and deadpanned.

 “Wow. Quite the warm welcome.”

 Beside him, Eve visibly tensed. Her grip on her jacket tightened.

 Noticing her unease, a wicked idea sprouted in Paradox’s mind.

 Without a word, his body lifted off the ground, his form twisting unnaturally as ghostly hands coiled around him.

 Then—

 He screamed.

 A bloodcurdling, agonized scream.

 His body was dragged into the mansion, vanishing into the darkness.

 “BROTHER!”

 Eve’s heart stopped. Without hesitation, she sprinted forward, sheer panic overtaking her senses.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

 But just as she reached the entrance—

 A hand landed on her shoulder.

 Slowly, hesitantly, she turned—only to come face to face with Paradox’s grinning face.

 “Yo.”

 CRACK!

 Her fist smashed into his face, sending him staggering back.

 “THAT. WAS. NOT. FUNNY.” Her voice trembled with lingering horror. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD, YOU IDIOT!”

 To the side, Norika was howling with laughter. She had already suspected Paradox was up to something when she saw that mischievous glint in his eyes.

 After wiping a tear from her eye, Norika took the lead, stepping inside first.

 The moment she crossed the threshold—

 Something changed.

 “…Tch.” She clenched her fist. “I can’t feel my powers.” Her face darkened. “And I can’t access the Omni-Watch.”

 Paradox tested his abilities. Nothing.

 “Yep,” he nodded. “We’re as powerless as horror movie protagonists.”

 A soft whimper made him glance down.

 Eve had instinctively grabbed his sleeve.

 He smirked, ruffling her hair. “Don’t worry, Eve—I’ll protect you.”

 “Say that again when you’re not being an idiot.” Norika snorted.

 CRASH!

 A nearby table flipped over, chairs levitating into the air.

 Eve yelped, while Norika took a defensive stance.

 Paradox?

 He didn’t even flinch.

 “It’s watching us,” he muttered, his sharp eyes scanning the room. “Waiting for our next move.”

 His gaze locked onto the walls.

 New doors had appeared—ones that weren’t there when they entered.

 “…Let me guess.” He exhaled. “We need to find the real door to escape, but it’s locked, and we have to find a key.”

 “Sounds about right,” Norika agreed. “Let’s split up.”

 “Right. Because splitting up in a haunted house always ends so well.” Paradox rolled his eyes. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

 With a reluctant Eve in tow, they each went separate ways—unaware of the nightmare that awaited them.

 <hr>

 Eve moved through the dim corridor, her heart pounding. The further she went, the colder it became.

 Then—

 Slam!

 She was flung through the air, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.

 “Ghh… what was that?” She groaned, clutching her head.

 A chair hurtled toward her—fast.

 Instinct took over. She dodged, just barely avoiding a direct hit.

 She gritted her teeth.

 “Even without my powers… I’m not helpless.”

 Her grip tightened on her red rods.

 A shadow moved in the darkness.

 “…Oh no you don’t.”

 She flung a rod—but before it could hit, it was stopped.

 A force unlike anything she had ever felt crushed the air around her.

 A presence so overwhelming… so utterly horrifying…

 That, for the first time in her life—

 Eve felt true fear.

 <hr>

 Paradox strolled through the farthest part of the mansion, hands casually behind his neck, his expression carefree despite the ominous air surrounding him.

 “If I were some kind of cursed item needed to escape a haunted room, where would I be hiding?”

 Before he could finish that thought—

 SHING!

 A sword came rushing toward him from behind. Without even turning, he sidestepped to the left, grabbing the hilt mid-air and flinging it right back where it came from.

 CLANG!

 The blade passed straight through its intended target—revealing a ghostly knight, its body flickering like a broken image on a screen.

 Paradox let out a small chuckle, amusement flashing in his crimson eyes.

 “Y’know, it’s really bad manners to stab people from behind—especially with a sharp object.”

 Another sword came hurtling toward his chest.

 This one was much faster.

 Paradox barely had time to react, his hands shooting up on instinct—catching the blade between his palms.

 His eyes narrowed.

 “Fast,” he admitted, gripping the weapon’s hilt. “But not fast enough.”

 With a flick of his wrist, he flung the attacker away, sending the ghostly knight skidding across the twisted wooden floor.

 ‘Good thing I summoned my [Uni Gloves] in time. Otherwise, I’d be looking like a damn kebab right now.’

 Now, if you’re wondering how he can still use his gloves despite all powers being stripped away—well, much like his little sister Eve’s weapons, his [Uni Gloves] weren’t tied to his internal power source.

 And Paradox?

 Paradox was always prepared.

 Before he could relish in that small victory—

 BAM!

 A sudden impact struck his face with the force of a meteor, sending him rocketing through a window. Glass shattered around him as he plummeted toward the ground below.

 But the fall never came.

 Instead—

 He landed somewhere else entirely.

 The moment his body touched the floor, he realized something was wrong. The air was thick with dampness. The walls were made of rough stone, lined with torches that flickered with an eerie blue glow.

 It was a dungeon.

 Paradox slowly pushed himself up, groaning.

 “…Sometimes, I should really just keep my damn mouth shut.”

 His gaze flicked forward, locking onto his new opponent.

 A massive, spectral knight stood before him.

 A towering entity clad in dented black armor, its sword dripping with something far too dark to be normal blood.

 Paradox cracked his neck.

 “Well, congratulations, you’ve officially pissed me off.” His smirk sharpened. “And for ruining my amazing point, I’m gonna kill you.” He raised a hand, gesturing mockingly. “Say hi to Death for me when you see her.”

 <hr>

 Meanwhile—

 Norika wasn’t walking through the mansion.

 She was charging through it, her feet slamming against the floor as she bulldozed through furniture, walls, and whatever else stood in her way.

 She wasn’t running away.

 She was hunting.

 And what was she hunting?

 The strongest ghost in this damn place.

 “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she called in a mockingly sweet tone. “I just wanna ta—”

 Her hand snapped to her hip, fingers curling around the hilt of her obsidian blade.

 Her entire aura shifted.

 “—Don’t think you can sneak up on me.”

 In one fluid motion, she spun around—slicing through the air.

 SCHWING!

 Couches, chairs, paintings, and even the walls were cleaved in half in an instant.

 And standing at the end of her onslaught was—

 A man.

 A very handsome, muscular male ghost.

 Norika raised an eyebrow.

 “You’re way too pretty to be a horror movie extra.”

 The ghost smirked.

 “You will never leave this building,” he declared. “Your life will be given to Mother.”

 Mother?

 A flicker of excitement lit up in Norika’s crimson eyes.

 “So there’s a boss ghost in this place? Tch. You should’ve just led with that.”

 She grinned.

 “Take me to your ‘Mother.’ I wanna meet her.”

 “That cannot happen.” His expression hardened. “I will not allow harm to come to Mother.”

 With a wave of his hand, everything in the room lifted into the air—then came flying toward Norika.

 Tables. Chairs. Glass shards. Everything.

 Norika’s grin only widened.

 “Then I guess I’ll just have to kill you and find her myself.”

 Her foot dug into the floor, the wood cracking beneath her weight—

 And then—

 She vanished.

 Moving faster than the eye could follow, she launched herself forward, spinning mid-air, her obsidian blade igniting with crimson flames.

 “Kindly—”

 She swung.

 “—DIE.”

 But before her blade could connect—

 Her body froze.

 Her limbs went limp.

 Her entire consciousness shut down.

 She collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

 The last thing she heard before the darkness took her was the ghost murmuring—

 “Thank you, Mother. You always protect me.”

 And the last thought in Norika’s mind?

 ‘I’m gonna kill that bitch.’

 <hr>

 Eve ran.

 Not out of fear.

 But out of sheer, desperate urgency.

 She needed to find her brother and Norika.

 The air grew heavier as she moved through the mansion, her every step echoing unnaturally.

 Then—

 She tripped.

 Something was in her way.

 Looking down—

 Her blood turned to ice.

 Norika.

 She was lying motionless on the floor.

 “Norika?!” Eve dropped beside her, shaking her shoulders.

 No response.

 Her body was burning up.

 And then—

 The wounds began appearing.

 Small at first. Then more. Then dozens.

 Blood pooled beneath her.

 And yet—

 A smile was splayed across her lips.

 Eve’s breath hitched.

 “What’s happening to you?”

 Norika wasn’t just injured.

 She was fighting something.

 Something that wasn’t in this world.

 Eve’s fists clenched.

 “She’s battling something in her mind… If she doesn’t wake up soon—”

 Her blue eyes narrowed.

 Then I’ll just have to wake her up myself.

 <hr>

 Inside her mind—

 Norika was being ragdolled through walls.

 Her sword arm trembled.

 Blood dripped from her wounds.

 Her opponent?

 A monstrosity.

 Dark purple wings.

 Burnt skin.

 A body covered in razor-sharp blades.

 A mouth filled with too many teeth.

 It let out a distorted, inhuman voice.

 “YOU CANNOT ESCAPE.”

 Norika wiped the blood from her lips.

 A wild grin split her face.

 “Escape?” She spat on the ground.

 “I’m not escaping.”

 Her eyes gleamed.

 “I’m winning.”

 She charged—her blade raised, ready for the final blow.

 <hr>

 Meanwhile—

 Paradox stood in the warped, shifting dungeon.

 The very laws of physics were bending.

 The ceiling was now the floor.

 Everything was twisted.

 Paradox cracked his knuckles.

 Then he smirked.

 “Alright, beastie.”

 He summoned his [Chrono Sword].

 “Let’s make this interesting.”

AliNovel

Vol 2 Ch 19 Abandoned Mansion Pt 1