People came upstairs one after another. Grace's death was undoubtedly a significant blow to morale. Beom Seok, Noah, and the others displayed expressions of disbelief and shock.
"What happened? How long have you been here? Where are your things? Are they useless now?" Although Rami had always been at odds with Grace, he still couldn't quite believe that someone was truly dead.
"It only took a moment for the ghost to kill someone. We didn't react until we heard the noise. By then, the person was already gone," Ling Yan briefly described the situation. Downstairs, the others had just received the news and were discussing it, momentarily ignoring the three upstairs. They hadn't expected something to happen so quickly.
"So, it was a mirror?" Beom Seok stood at the bathroom door, tilting his head to observe the scene inside. "She smashed a mirror before she died? Do you think the ghost is in the mirror?"
"It must be in the mirror," Anna stated firmly.
"How do you know? Maybe she was restrained and wanted to make some noise to attract your attention," Rami countered, still unconvinced.
"Sister Grace told me that even if she died, she would try to stab the ghost. Since she smashed the mirror, the ghost must be there."
"Tsk, people don't think so clearly when they're about to die..." Rami glanced again. "Where's the knife?"
"In my hand."
"What are you doing with so many things, little girl? You don't even know how to use them properly. Giving them to us would protect you," Rami said, attempting to approach, but Beom Seok and Ling Yan blocked his path in the corridor.
"Sorry, but I do know how to use them. Besides, I'm the one who can decide your life or death now. Don't show me that attitude."
"Hey, that woman is dead, and you're acting arrogant again, right?" Rami glared at her. Anna, unafraid, jumped off the bed and walked closer, shouting past Rami, "Uncle Francesco, you have a lighter with you, right? Could you lend it to me?"
Francesco, without hesitation, tossed a disposable lighter into the house from the doorway, and it landed accurately in Anna's hands.
"Thank you."
Anna took out the prayer gold statue—Grace had secretly moved it inside her bathrobe earlier, but its exposure now didn't matter. She flicked the lighter and held the bottom of the gold statue close to the flame for a while. Whether it was due to the gold or some other reason, the statue only became hot without changing color. Seeing it was sufficiently heated, Anna extinguished the lighter with her left hand, flipped her hand over, and pressed the hot base of the gold statue against the back of her hand.
"What are you doing!" Rami hurriedly reached out to grab it but was still blocked by Beom Seok and Ling Yan.
The pain sharpened Anna's focus, and even her overall discomfort seemed to lessen. After a moment, she lifted the gold statue, revealing a square burn mark on her arm.
"If I had told Sister Grace earlier, she wouldn't have died," Anna said with a hint of self-mockery. After discovering the use of the gold statue, Kenzo had been killed right in front of her. The series of shocks had almost made her forget about it until she woke up that morning, touched it, and remembered. As a result, before she could share this information, Grace was quickly killed.
"Even if you're sad, there's no need to hurt yourself!" Rami said, not rushing forward. He shook his hands and took two steps back. "We don't need to take your things."
"This mark can block the attacks of ghosts. Of course, I don't know how many times it can block them. If you believe it, burn one onto your body too," Anna said, throwing the golden statue to Beom Seok. Catching it, he immediately understood its significance. He asked for a lighter and burned a mark on his body in the same way.
After the second person, a third was tempted. Rami remained stubborn, saying, "This girl is just in a bad mood, hurting herself and trying to drag us down with her," but who among them hadn't read the collection catalog multiple times? This item was indeed listed, and getting a burn wouldn't be a big deal. If it truly was useful, wouldn't it be a great advantage? So, the golden statue became highly sought after as it was passed from Beom Seok to Ling Yan, and they all used it to get their marks.
"What are you going to do, Anna?" Ling Yan asked, turning her head.
"Make trouble for the ghost, delay time, and find a way to complete what Sister Grace wanted to do before."
Anna tied the dagger to her waist, just as Grace had done.
"Then, this is for you," Ling Yan said, placing the letter in the bottle and putting it into Anna's hand. "I'm better at physical tasks. Since Grace trusted you so much, you should be responsible for finishing this. Also, see what she wanted to tell you in the end."
"Thank you. Then... can I be alone for a while?"
Beom Seok frowned. "Alone? In this situation? Don't joke with your life, okay?"
Anna shook her head. "I won't... Forget it. I'm sure that as long as I'm in this room, the ghost can't kill me."
"Did you find anything?" Ling Yan inquired.
"Yes, but if the two of you stay here, I can't guarantee your safety. As for this discovery... I'm sorry, but I'm not sure about other specific conditions right now, so it's best not to mislead you."
"Since you put it that way... We'll be downstairs. If anything happens, shout loudly, and I'll come as soon as possible," Ling Yan said.
"Me too," Beom Seok added, nodding to her.
Grace's body had been moved to another room, but the bathroom remained untouched. Anna didn't allow anyone to interfere, wanting to keep it exactly as it was.
Only when she was completely alone did Anna return to the bathroom.
The blood was still sticky, but the body was gone.
She picked up the clothes from the sink. Grace's blood seeped into the water, dyeing the clothes red again. Fragments of broken glass were still mixed in. It was almost a complete mess.
"Maybe it can't be washed clean."
Anna muttered to herself, took out the clothes, shook them a few times to remove the glass shards, wrung out the water, and carried them back to the room. She turned on the heater and began drying the clothes. The sky outside the window was bright; the dark clouds couldn't completely block the sunlight, making the room brighter.
The diary Grace had held was placed on the bedside table. Anna carefully picked it up and noticed that several pages were folded. Inside were some of Victor Ravencourt's records on the use of collections and mystical knowledge.
A wave of emotion washed over Anna. She paused for a moment, then took out the letter in the bottle, removed the cork, and carefully poured out the rolled-up paper inside.
A few lines were written in print on the note, concise and to the point.
[ If the dagger can kill it, there will be one less ghost. If not, it is the thing used to kill the third ghost. The diary in my hand also records the information of Victor Ravencourt's secret room. The few collections that haven't been found should be there, but the location of the secret room isn't recorded. Maybe I have to find other diaries... ]
That was it.
"I will find it, Sister Grace," Anna whispered, gently smoothing the note in her hand before rerolling it and placing it back into the small bottle. Then, she picked up the diary and began to browse the folded section.
[ July 2nd, Rain.
The turmoil in the laboratory has been quelled, and the mole has been identified. It's a pity that Max killed him before he could be apprehended. But does this kid think he can hide any secrets by dying prematurely? Naive people will never comprehend the terrifying methods that exist in this world. ]
[ July 3rd, Rainy.
I despise this continuous rainy weather.
To prevent anyone from sneaking into the laboratory, I installed the video recorder there so I could quickly access it when the alarm sounded.
Originally, as long as no one coveted Ravencourt's "secrets," I would have ignored the property information. However, it seems this is perceived as a weakness and an invitation to be exploited. It's time to remind them of the fear of the past. ]
[ July 5th, Sunny.
The three traitors have been executed, and it seems those with ill intentions have been sufficiently deterred. But I am old; I don't know how much longer I can continue to manage things. Ravencourt cannot fall into the hands of those greedy individuals, but the young people nowadays are not promising. Should I seek help from my old friend? ]
[ July 7th, Cloudy.
Finally, this day has arrived.
It seems the kid still hasn't grasped his predicament. The boundary between life and death is actually blurred in the eyes of people like us, and what secrets can a mere ghost conceal?
But I didn't expect someone to actually set their sights on the blood of the sacred bird. Is the allure of immortality truly that potent? Don't they consider that if immortality were truly attainable, why would I still be aging year after year? Greed has blinded their eyes; I must intervene. ]
Grace had circled several words in four consecutive diary entries: Laboratory, video recorder, three moles, blood of the sacred bird, eternal life.
Anna could understand the significance of these words. The laboratory was a facility not present in the main house they had searched and wasn't on the map. It must be the "secret room" mentioned in Grace's last words. The video recorder and the blood of the sacred bird were also listed in the collection catalog. There were question marks next to the "three moles," suggesting a possible connection to the three ghosts. Lastly, "eternal life" likely represented a motive, and the entire villa might be related to this pursuit.
But to what extent had Grace thought things through? Had she figured out the killing restrictions of the remaining ghost? Or had she conceived a better way to deal with it?
However, Anna was not Grace.
Her hope wasn't for everyone to survive together, but simply for her own survival. She lacked that sense of responsibility and wouldn't be moved by the deaths of strangers. Kenzo, Grace, and the relatively familiar faces of Cairo, Beom Seok, and Ling Yan were the extent of her concern. The others were outside her consideration.
"I need to wait until today when the invisible ghost kills someone... and act within this safe period."
Anna closed the notebook, picked up the almost-dry clothes, and put them on. Grace had placed her belongings on the bedside table. However, she didn't plan to risk going out alone, at least not until all the ghosts were done with their daily work...
She valued her life very much.