Investigation Report of the Gods-Chapter 131 : Burning the Ancient Castle

Chapter 131: Burning the Ancient Castle
"Sure enough, he’s already back by this time!"
Han Su felt a chill in his heart. Thankfully, he hadn’t recklessly summoned the door and rushed in, otherwise he and Bowl‑Cut Boy might have ended up running straight into his arms.
From the last visit to the Ancient Castle, he had learned that the Withered Butler usually returned around midnight, roughly ten minutes after the Black Cat appeared. This time, the Brass Key was on the Ghost Princess, so the only time to steal it could be within that same window.
No matter how he moved, it was impossible to get the key before the Withered Butler returned—meaning, there was no way to avoid him.
Moreover, back then, he hadn’t even known that the Black Cat would help and make the rescue plan for Bowl‑Cut Boy go so smoothly.
So, he never expected to completely avoid the old guy or escape before he came back.
With that in mind, he had arranged for the children on the first floor to help distract or act as a warning if needed. But despite no commotion below, the footsteps had already echoed from the right staircase.
So, this sneaky old bastard returned and, upon noticing the change on the first floor, silently came upstairs to search for him?
‘If that’s the case, I’ll give you something to deal with.’
While thinking this, he picked up a piece of candle, tugged at Bowl‑Cut Boy, and slipped into the same room he had passed when coming up. Listening again, the footsteps thudded directly from the right stairwell.
Clearly, his use of a Spell earlier had alerted the butler to his presence in the ninth floor area.
At that moment, someone poked his back. Han Su turned his head to see Bowl‑Cut Boy’s naturally smiling face.
He had told him not to speak, so he didn’t—but his lifeless eyes stared straight at Han Su, hands gesturing, as if asking if he had a knife?
Knife your ass!
Who could you even stab?
You’re not the hot‑headed guy from the third floor…
Han Su waved his hand to dismiss him, gently closed the door, and led Bowl‑Cut Boy deeper into the room. Raising the candle, he saw rows upon rows of Ghost Princess’s dresses covered in spiderwebs.
The fabric felt icy and slippery to the touch, of unknown material, but all the designs were similar—aged and luxuriously styled.
Han Su tore one down, spread it on the ground, ripped a strip off, carefully lit it, and ensured the fire would spread along the entire row.
Beside him, Bowl‑Cut Boy watched the fire-starting fervor. His dark eyes finally seemed to show a trace of life. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly confused:
‘Why not light the top row too?’
‘…’
"Let’s go!"
After confirming the fire wouldn’t get too big, Han Su lifted the candle and headed toward the wall-side cabinet.
Just earlier, he and the Duke had climbed up through here.
However, it was inconvenient to climb the hidden passage while holding a candle, so he grabbed an old kerosene lamp hanging on the wall.
Holding his breath, he navigated through one hidden passage after another, descending.
Bowl‑Cut Boy followed silently, not making a sound.
Among the first wave of kids in Han Su’s escape squad, some were brave, some clever, some obedient—but Bowl‑Cut Boy was a bit strange. He was the kind of child adults couldn’t understand.
But he never held them back.
They stealthily reached the third floor. Han Su remained tense. The mysterious will in the Ancient Castle, which could subtly alter things, had frightened him with every previous escape.
But surprisingly, everything went smoothly this time. Every step matched his carefully calculated plan, all the way to the third floor across from the rotating meeting room.
‘This is the treatment I deserve…’
Han Su thought inwardly. He had escaped the Ancient Castle several times, already familiar with the general location of the monsters. He was small in size, so in theory, escaping shouldn’t be hard.
But that mysterious will kept patching every loophole he had used, turning past escapes into future traps.
Until now, when the Black Cat Duke had shown him the secret passages, giving him back the upper hand in this hide-and-seek game.
And just as he had suspected last time—these secret passages were part of the Ancient Castle itself, so the mysterious will didn’t repair them.
Along the way, whenever they passed the first floor, Han Su used the candle from the kerosene lamp to light curtains, dresses, carpets, or decorative paintings—
Anything flammable was lit.
As they moved downward, they left behind a trail of small but precious flames, quietly spreading and growing.
At first, Bowl‑Cut Boy just watched coldly. Gradually, his expression became animated. By the end, he was visibly excited—perhaps even reverent.
Han Su knew—setting things on fire was one of Bowl‑Cut Boy’s top three hobbies.
He had first noticed Bowl‑Cut Boy’s uniqueness when he met someone else searching for a source of fire.
And as he watched those flickering flames, he felt the same satisfaction:
This damned Ancient Castle—he’d wanted to burn it down for ages!
……
Their pace was swift. Since Han Su had kept the flames in check, the Ancient Castle was still quiet by the time they reached the third floor. Not daring to delay, he handed the kerosene lamp to Bowl‑Cut Boy, then silently cast Zero Sequence Spell No. 7, listening intently.
Inside the meeting room, he faintly heard children sobbing, and his brows furrowed slightly:
"Someone really came up from the Earth Cellar?"
"When the Withered Butler returned, he must’ve seen them. Why hasn’t he dragged them back yet?"
"Is he trying to bait me?"
"…"
A cold smile crept onto his lips: That old bastard still thought he could toy with them like children!
Then let’s see if he hooked me—or if I bite the bait and get away.
……
Now with Bowl‑Cut Boy already rescued, even taking just him would be worth it. But the timing was perfect—soon the fire would rage—so why not gamble a little?
He didn’t hear the Withered Butler’s footsteps, so he cast Zero Sequence Spell No. 1, slowly emerging from the shadows. He walked straight into the rotating meeting room and headed toward a corner.
There, three small, dark shadows curled up tightly, not daring to make a sound.
Han Su suddenly spoke, "Only the three of you came up?"
In his invisible state, the three kids hadn’t noticed him. His sudden words nearly made them scream—but they quickly stifled it.
"Th-they didn’t dare come… some got scared and went back…" one braver child explained, eyes wide with hope. "Wh-where’s the grown-up?"
They had used courage far beyond their age to sneak here, believing an adult would meet them as Han Su had promised. But upon arrival, there was only a shrieking woman and deathly silence.
Facing their question, Han Su whispered, "I’m the adult."
"I came to save you."
He spoke while tightly gripping the key and led them to the back door—just twenty meters from the corridor.
Through it, faint firelight could be seen—that must be the Ghost Princess’s dress catching fire.
It was time!
Han Su turned back and whispered, "No matter what happens next, run with me. As long as we reach the end of the corridor, I can get you out."
"Understand?"
The three children, affected by his tone, nodded despite their confusion.
They didn’t quite understand why they had to run toward what looked like an empty end of the corridor, but fear silenced their questions.
Bowl‑Cut Boy, however, glanced at Han Su, then at the dark stairwell, as if pondering something—moving closer to Han Su.
"Follow me!"
Han Su took a deep breath and stepped toward the door, gripping the key tightly, murmuring:
"Door, the door should appear…"
The Brass Key in his hand turned icy cold, seemingly sensing his intention. Some unusual vitality was triggered, invoking a deeper force that seeped silently into the Ancient Castle and changed its fabric.
At the end of the corridor—where once was only wall—a door slowly emerged.
It embedded itself there, as if it had always existed.
The green letters spelling “EXIT” seemed to bring a glimmer of life to the despairing, dark castle.
"Run!"
Han Su suddenly gave the command, then gritted his teeth and bolted for the corridor’s end.
The other children followed immediately. Even Bowl‑Cut Boy, with a severely injured leg that would cripple most adults, ran fastest of all, as if pain didn’t exist.
No monster appeared to stop them, and no affiliated creatures stirred.
From the other end of the corridor, the hot‑headed boy’s cursing echoed faintly. Even the Half‑Bodied Doctor didn’t seem to notice their escape.
There was hope…
"Yo, if not for finding these little mice running around, I wouldn’t even know some outside force had infiltrated the Emperor’s domain…"
But just then—a cold, bizarre laugh came.
The voice echoed down from the empty stairwell like thunder, chilling every child to the bone. Strangely, with each word, the voice drew closer.
It seemed the speaker was rapidly approaching—and by the end of the sentence, he was already just overhead. One more turn, and they would collide.
The old bastard was finally here?
A flash of instinctive fear crossed Han Su’s mind—but what followed was an unprecedented ferocity.
"You still have time to mess with me? Why don’t you take a good look at your damned place first!"