CHAPTER 1665: EXPLORING THE HAUNTED MANOR

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Nyx walked toward the books and gently ran her hands over them.

"I’m sorry for hurting you... I wanted to be your friend. Was I too rude? Can we be friends? I’ll read you if you want..." she said innocently.

"..."

The book’s pages slowly opened, revealing floating letters and illustrations from countless tales, surprising Nyx.

Then, the books began to float around her before lining up in front of her, seemingly of their own accord.

"Huh? Mom, I think they became my friends now, but I’m not really sure!" Nyx said with a big smile.

"You did it, sweetie! Well done!" Maria walked to her side. "See? First you weakened them, showing you’re strong. Then you approached and offered something else—and they became nicer, right?"

"Yeah, they became nicer! I can’t believe it. I guess they really needed a little shock first?" she asked.

"Maybe," Maria laughed. "But more importantly, you showed them kindness—something most Undead have never felt or seen. I suppose we can all develop our own ways of recruiting Undead."

"Can I befriend those too?" Nyx pointed into the distance.

"Sure, honey. Go ahead and give it a try," Maria nodded.

Nyx walked toward the other books and began speaking to them softly. Gradually, about half were recruited as her familiars. She then ran back to her mother, beaming.

"Mom! I recruited them! I recruited them! It wasn’t that hard!" Nyx said happily.

"Well done, honey. I’m proud of you," Maria replied with a gentle smile. "Now let me recruit these ones over here, and then we can continue exploring."

Maria quickly recruited the remaining books and book golems, gaining new allies of the spectral and ghostly kind. Unlike zombies, this haunted house featured mostly specters and ghosts, which made it quite unique compared to Necroterra.

The family continued through the library, recruiting every book creature they encountered until they reached a larger corridor filled with dozens of doors. As they opened each one, they were greeted by a variety of eerie sights.

Flying, screaming dolls. Ghostly figures draped in white sheets. Malformed specters crawling out of walls. Even furniture came to life, walking and leaping about.

Maria and Nyx recruited these beings with ease, showing they weren’t enemies but potential friends—sometimes through force, other times through honesty and kindness. Maria learned more from her daughter than she expected, and Nyx learned just as much from her mother.

Maria’s army of strange new Undead continued to grow. This world, like the one before, posed no real threat, making their journey feel more like a stroll than a struggle.

Since the manor couldn’t separate them or bring despair, it resorted to summoning more Undead and luring them into trap-filled rooms. Yet the group ignored the traps and pressed forward without hesitation.

It was unnerving, frustrating whoever controlled the tower. But Maria and her daughter laughed, played, and made hundreds of new friends.

As they passed through the first five areas, traps, new rooms, and monster spawns grew more aggressive. Ferleen warned them about the Bosses.

"There are a few Boss Monsters in this manor. They appear randomly after you’ve cleared enough areas... I think one might show up at any moment, so we need to watch for any sort of—"

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the room trembled. From the ceiling, a massive candelabra with hundreds of blue-flamed candles descended, nearly crushing them—if not for Maria pulling Ferleen away with her shadows.

CRASH!

"What?!"

The young fox boy gasped as the candelabra began to float. Its form twisted into a malicious, mocking smile made of gold and flame.

[The Haunted Manor Boss: Haunted Spectral Candelabra (SS+ Rank) has appeared!]

[Her presence unleashes Phantasmal Flames, summoning Will-o-Wisps to assist her in battle!]

"GRYYAAAAAHH!"

The blazing scream of dozens of souls echoed from the candelabra as it swung its massive metallic claws, sending a storm of flames through the air.

"{Oceanic Cannon}!"

SPLAAASH!

A powerful cannon of spiraling blue water struck the monster. Its flames vanished instantly, and its body trembled before collapsing to the ground, weakened.

"Wow, it was really weak to water," Celes said, eyeing the creature. "Nyx, why don’t you recruit it?"

"Oh really? Thanks!" Nyx ran to the candelabra, patted its head, and reignited its flames with her dragon fire.

And...

FLUOSH!

"Gyahahahaha!"

The candelabra stood back up, its flames now black like Nyx’s. It had taken a liking to her and became her new familiar.

"That was fast," Arthur commented, having mostly observed in silence. "How far are we from the end of this place?"

"I think... we’re not too far from the next door," Ferleen muttered, watching Maria and Nyx play with the giant ghostly candelabra.

"Will-o-Wisps, huh? You know, when your mother first became a ghost, she used to hunt those around the graveyard. It was really fun," Maria smiled. "Partner was there too—she was just a skeleton."

"Yeah," Partner nodded. "I remember those times fondly. I was pretty dumb back then, but now I’m practically a genius."

"Sure thing, Partner," Lucifer smiled. "You’re definitely our most brilliant mind."

"Heh, yeah I know!" Partner nodded confidently.

"Alright everyone, let’s keep going," Maria said.

She led the group through the manor for another hour, moving from sector to sector and room to room, defeating and recruiting dozens—then hundreds—of new Undead.

Maria’s Undead Army grew once more within her Shadows, now including many inanimate objects. She especially liked the dolls, which sang with children’s voices and laughed in eerie tones.

As Maria and Nyx explored the manor, they began to notice something. The walls, paintings, tapestries, furniture, rooms, and even clothing told a story.

A story of a strange family. A bizarre-looking father. A mother whose face seemed lifeless. And a child—always depicted in blurry, black-and-white photos.

Maria grew fascinated by this world, as did Nyx. Alma and Emeraldine became intrigued too, along with Ferleen, his sister, and even Jonathan, who pitied the family.

"So you think this is some kind of abandoned manor left behind by a family?" Alma wondered. "Maybe a family torn apart by something..."

"Perhaps... murder?" Emeraldine murmured, glancing at the bloodstains in the large room where they had arrived.

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