Becoming a Cat in a Horror Game

As soon as I heard those words, I felt the blood drain from my face.

 

Throw me into that mouth?

 

Everyone else seemed to agree. Someone even smiled brightly, as if relieved.

 

One person clapped and said, “Great idea! Let’s throw it right away!”

 

A-Are you crazy?! Guys, throw the spider in instead of me…!

 

At this rate, I was really going to die. I struggled and bit down hard on the hand that was holding me.

 

“Ack! You crazy…!”

 

As soon as the person let me go, I bolted. I heard shouting behind me.

 

“Catch it! Catch that b*stard!”

 

Those chasing me felt more terrifying than the spider.

 

While I was fleeing, I saw someone approaching from the opposite side.

 

“Catch that cat! Hurry!”

 

Oh, this is driving me insane!

 

I quickly turned and started running toward another hallway. Soon, I hit a dead end.

 

Damn it, of all places…!

 

By now, a crowd had gathered behind me. Every single one of them had murderous intent in their eyes.

 

“Meooow!” I cried out sharply, trying to escape, but it wasn’t easy with so many people. The sight of all those hands reaching for me made my skin crawl.

 

“Got it!”

 

Then someone grabbed the scruff of my neck. Once my neck was caught, I couldn’t bite or scratch. Despite my frantic struggle, the grip on me was unyielding.

 

“Alright. Let’s offer this cat and get out of here.”

 

The people, seemingly pleased, headed towards the door while chatting.

 

I continued to wail. Please, please. Someone save me…! I don’t want to die like this! And I don’t even have a Guardian Stone!

 

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

 

A sharp voice came from behind. I turned to see Lian standing there. I’d never been so glad to see him before. Without realizing it, a meow slipped out of me.

 

The person holding me looked at Lian and said, “What does it look like? We’re going to offer this cat as a living sacrifice.”

 

“Living sacrifice…? You’re planning to put it inside that door?”

 

“Yes.”

 

He answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Lian’s face showed a fleeting look of shock.

 

Lian stepped forward and held out his hand. “No matter what, killing a cat is… Let’s find another way. Give it to me.”

 

“What other way could there be?”

 

“That’s…”

 

There is! There really is! I know it!

 

I thrashed around with all my might. The man holding me looked annoyed. He seemed ready to toss me at any moment.

 

Lian approached and grabbed him. “Let’s talk after you put that down!”

 

“Are you out of your mind? Why are you making such a fuss over just a cat?”

 

As Lian tried to forcibly take me away, the man handed me over to someone next to him.

 

“Hurry, put it in!”

 

No! I don’t want this!

 

I writhed and cried out with all my strength.

 

Am I really going to die like this? No, I don’t want to…!

 

“Aack!”

 

A sharp scream pierced the air, accompanied by the stench of blood. At the same time, the man let me go. I looked back and saw the man’s arm had been slashed by a sword. It was nearly severed.

 

The person holding the sword was Isaac. He was panting heavily. His eyes burned white-hot with rage as if they could cut through a person with just a glance.

 

“How dare you.” He was trembling with anger, veins bulging on his neck and forehead, his face twisted in fury.

 

I had never seen Isaac this enraged before. A demon summoned from hell might be less terrifying than him.

 

It seemed others felt the same. Despite one person being gravely injured, no one dared to protest, and everyone was frozen in place.

 

At that moment, when everything else seemed to stop, Isaac moved alone. He took a step toward the man. “How dare you try to kill my Mia?”

 

“B-But…! If we don’t offer something living to that door…! We can’t sacrifice a person!”

 

At those words, Isaac lowered his sword. The man, bleeding profusely, tried to flee. But then, Isaac grabbed him by the collar.

 

“Gasp, gasp…!”

 

Was he going to strangle him to death?

 

But instead of killing him, Isaac began dragging him somewhere. It was toward a massive sculpture with an open mouth. The man seemed to realize what Isaac intended and instantly went pale.

 

“No, no! I was wrong. Please…!”

 

Isaac shoved the man into the mouth. The man struggled to escape, but his upper body was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

 

The mouth then closed with a crunch, and a sickening chewing sound followed. The man’s screams echoed, splitting the air. His screams didn’t stop easily. They continued for what felt like an eternity, and all I could do was stand frozen in place.

 

Only after a long while did the chewing sound and the screams subside. Then, as if satisfied, the mouth opened with a clunk, and the door was revealed. But no one dared to step through. Everyone’s faces were ghostly pale.

 

In the midst of this, Isaac approached and picked me up.

 

“Mia, I’m sorry. I was too late, wasn’t I? Let’s go now.”

 

His voice and gaze were unbelievably gentle for someone who had just killed a person. It made the events that had just transpired feel like a dream.

 

As I was being carried away in a daze, Isaac suddenly turned back as if he had remembered something. “Let me warn you.”

 

That smile had vanished once more. I saw the people flinch and take a step back.

 

“Touch my cat again, and you’ll end up just like him.”

 

After issuing that warning, he stepped through the door with me.

 

As silence descended like death, a phrase appeared before my eyes.

 

[Night of Fear: The Night of Terror]

[Chapter 2. Sacrifice]

 

3. Can I Really Trust You?

 

“Mia, you have the day off today, right? Lucky you…”

 

“This is my first day off.”

 

The voices of the maids chatting felt strangely distant. I was watching them, dressed in casual clothes instead of the usual maid uniform for the first time in a while. They all just had smiling faces.

 

One of the maids kneaded my shoulder as she spoke. “Why the gloomy face on your day off?”

 

“Ah, that’s…”

 

“Is it because of the master? Don’t worry! The other maids will take good care of him.”

 

“…Yeah. I’m counting on you.”

 

Leaving the maids behind, I stepped out of the Blackwood mansion. As I walked toward the city, my mind was in a whirl. I was glad today was a day off. After what happened yesterday, if I had to spend the entire day with Isaac…

 

Thinking about yesterday sent shivers down my spine again. The things that shocked me weren’t just one or two. The fact that I almost died at the hands of those people and that Isaac killed someone…

 

Isaac killed without hesitation. Just because they tried to harm me. Was there no other way to resolve it? It felt like the young Isaac I once knew was truly gone. Was all that remained a cold-blooded killer filled with murderous intent?

 

“Hey! Get a grip, Yoon Mia!” I lightly slapped my cheeks.

 

I should be grateful to Isaac for saving my life, not terrified of him! If Isaac hadn’t shown up then, I would have been the one sacrificed. No matter how scary Isaac was, I was still saved by him. And those people who tried to kill me were the real villains, so I decided to think of it as something that couldn’t be helped. For now, I should just be thankful for being alive and focus on what I need to do!

 

I walked with determination toward a nearby pawn shop.

 

“Welcome.”

 

“Hello! I’m here to sell some items!”

 

“Oh, what a lively young lady. What do you have to sell?”

 

I pulled out the brooch and handkerchief I had brought from the mansion and handed them to the owner. He examined the items closely before speaking.

 

“Hmm… These aren’t particularly valuable. How about 1 gold for everything?”

 

1 gold? 1 gold?! I went through all that trouble to bring these here, and all I get is 1 gold?

 

The item window clearly showed they were worth over 5 gold combined. Isn’t this a bit too much of a rip-off, Shopkeeper…?!

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