章 44: Elle
In the subterranean chamber, the air bore an extraordinary murkiness, pervaded with an indescribable stench of decay, forcing Tyler to mask his face in his collar to mitigate inhalation.
Simultaneously, Avril's impending return kept Tyler on high alert; the slightest disturbance from the outside world was enough to cause his heart to skip a beat.
His present task was to scrutinize the items on the shelves as swiftly as possible, discerning the reasons behind their secretive placement.
Tyler positioned himself before the nearest shelf, illuminating the items on display.
(What kind of leather is this?)
Rows of impeccably cut, unidentified leather were stacked on the shelf. He brushed a hand over one, finding it remarkably smooth. The texture felt strangely familiar, yet he could not recall from where.
Subsequently, Tyler turned his attention to the next shelf, filled likewise with similar leather, although these were in their original, uncut rolls.
Then, on another shelf, he unexpectedly stumbled upon a series of semi-finished leather balls. Tyler recognized these; practically every child in the village had one.
Suddenly, it clicked. The familiar texture from the leather was that of the leather balls. This leather was the raw material used to craft them. Moreover, the leather dolls in Avril and Elle's room were stitched from this very material, which now explained the familiarity...
(Leather...)
(Leather balls...)
(Leather dolls...)
(The underground chamber...)
(The locked room...)
(Elle's missing remains...)
(Daed's and Beeken's 'insane utterances'...)
Tyler began to sense that something was terribly wrong.
It wasn't the shock of stumbling upon a crime scene; it was the mounting dread that emerged from the gradual confluence of ominous signs.
In this moment, Tyler felt as though a myriad of ants were crawling up his back, his skin breaking out in goosebumps. He sensed an insidious truth looming in the shadows, the evidence for which seemed a mere puzzle piece away...
Tyler's heart rate escalated as he approached the final shelf.
Illuminated by the magic stone, what was on display on the lowest tier of the shelf made him momentarily forget to breathe.
·
...it was a row of severed human faces.
·
Each face bore a meticulous semblance of preservation, devoid of any trace of rot or rancid stench. Bereft of eyes and teeth, they were naught but flaccid masks of human skin resting in place.
"..."
Tyler was rooted to the spot for quite a while, unable to move. It took him numerous deep breaths to still his thundering heartbeats.
(Are these... actually human faces?)
Suppressing his breath, Tyler picked up one of the faces, turning it over for a careful inspection before confirming that it wasn't a fabrication - it was, in truth, peeled off a human head. Counting through an entire row, there were seventeen faces in total, all of which belonged to middle-aged men.
(Where did these faces come from... Why are they arranged here...?)
(And if these are indeed real human faces, that would mean...)
Tyler glanced back at the other leather items on the shelves. These leathers... were likely human skin as well. He hadn't noticed because they had been so carefully processed. Then... the semi-finished leather balls on the shelves, the leather balls that the village children played with, were all made of human skin.
The leather balls were made by Avril as gifts for the children. Could Avril be unaware that the balls were made of human skin?
Human skin, human faces, all found within Avril's house. Could Avril truly dissociate herself from these horrendous findings?
All along, Tyler had been focusing his attention on "Ghost Elle", but now he realized he had been wrong. He had been misled by Daed and Beeken's words, thinking that the potentially problematic one was "Ghost Elle", while Avril was just a victim.
However, knowing Avril as he did, she truly had no reason or means to commit such atrocities.
Having seen into Avril's heart countless times, Tyler knew that a person capable of such actions could not possibly possess a heart as pure and unblemished as hers.
Thus, having ruled out all impossibilities, only one possibility remained - the one Tyler had initially contemplated but had set aside due to lack of evidence.
(Time to ascend. There's no purpose in staying here any longer.)
Tyler left the underground chamber, with the silly loli unusually quiet, evidently having fainted again.
Just as Tyler was resealing the underground chamber, there suddenly came a "creak-creak" sound from outside the door.
(Is it Avril returning?)
Tyler remembered that this kind of noise would be made when walking on the aged wooden floor of the corridor. At this late hour, the only person who would come to Avril's house other than Avril herself was not likely.
Tyler pondered and decided not to open the door, but to stay in the room, intending to leave quietly after Avril had gone to bed. He thought Avril would presume he had gone home after finding he was not in the room.
However, the "creak-creak" sound progressed all the way to the locked room door. Tyler felt as if he could already see Avril standing at the door by listening to the sound.
"Banning, are you in there?"
Avril's voice came from outside the door, but it sounded somewhat different from before - less tender, more detached, as if her voice had been drained of emotions.
Tyler did not respond. He drew his dagger and held it in his hand, quietly moving to the side of the door. This way, even if Avril managed to open the door and come in, she wouldn't be able to locate Tyler immediately.
"Banning, are you in there?"
Avril's voice reverberated once again, and this time, Tyler sensed she was almost pressing herself against the door.
Something was amiss. The overwhelming aura emanating from her bore no resemblance to the Avril Tyler knew. At this point, Tyler wished his heart could pause its rhythmic beating, fearing the echoing thuds might betray his presence to Avril.
"If you won't answer, I'll just come in."
With a loud clang, the doorknob was forcefully twisted, but because of the lock, the door remained closed.
Following the first attempt, another resounding clang echoed, this one even stronger. The sheer force of it made it hard for Tyler to associate the noise with Avril...
Who the hell was this individual standing outside the door?!
After multiple failed attempts to open the door, a brief moment of silence enveloped the area. Just as Tyler thought the individual had given up, a sudden "crack!" shattered the silence. The doorknob and lock were forcefully flung away by an unknown tool wielding immense power!
"All your fault for not opening up. Now that the door's broken, even your apologies are too late."
With a bone-chilling voice, the door was flung open.
The light from outside spilled into the room, illuminating the cover of the underground chamber situated in the middle. Avril's silhouette, cast within the light, appeared eerily unfamiliar to Tyler.
"Still playing hide and seek? You're not a child anymore, Banning, are you?"
Avril strode into the room, one hand gripping a long-handled axe and the other holding a pair of oversized scissors. She slowly approached the chamber cover, the misplaced rug making her believe that Banning was hidden underneath.
Tyler, sticking close to the wall in the shadows, held his breath and vigilantly watched Avril's actions. To his astonishment, the information he gathered from Avril did not match her...
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Elle, Female, 16 years old, Villager of Ira Village.
Production Occupation: None
Manufacturing Occupation: Tailor - Lv9
Combat Occupation: Murderous Phantom - Lv6
━━━━━━━━━
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