Chapter 1633: Chapter 1633

Hathaway and Briny were both unharmed, which brought Jenkins a wave of relief. But the scene before him, illuminated by the flickering light of a thousand candles, looked like a cult gathering, and it left him utterly baffled.

The door swung shut behind him on its own, but Jenkins paid it no mind. He didn't step forward, nor did he speak. Everything before him resembled a ritual, and without knowing the specifics, doing nothing might not have been the safest choice, but it was certainly the best one.

He blinked, and a wisp of purple light, invisible to everyone else in the room, flashed through his eyes.

To Jenkins's sight, everything was shrouded in a frighteningly dense black aura. The most potent aura from a Cursed Item emanated from the candelabra on the table.

The candelabra held three red candles of varying lengths, identical in style to the ones surrounding the dining room. He squinted at it, a sense of unease creeping in. He glanced down at himself—his shadow was perfectly normal. Yet the people encircled by thousands of red candles had no shadows at all.

"The candelabra, the shadows..."

He murmured thoughtfully, his gaze shifting to Hathaway and Briny. The two young women had clearly recognized him, but they remained silent, only shaking their heads insistently. Jenkins couldn't decipher their meaning.

"Spiritual Communion!"

His spirit swept out from him toward the table. Using this ability in Nightfall Manor was incredibly risky; every inch of land and every wisp of air here preyed on the human psyche. But Jenkins's spirit was resilient. Though his face paled as he activated the ability, at least he didn't collapse on the spot.

Beyond these thoughts, Jenkins also felt their terror—a deep, uncontrollable emotion welling up from within. He surmised that Nightfall Manor was using some method to restrain its original occupants, preventing them from leaving or even warning newcomers. Otherwise...

His eyes fixed on the candelabra. As he narrowed his gaze, his spirit focused with intense concentration.

Lines invisible to the mortal eye materialized just above the candelabra. As he mentally constructed them, a tiny droplet of water appeared in the air. Follow current novᴇls on NoveI(F)ire.net

Once formed, it lost the support of his spirit and fell, striking one of the candle flames with perfect precision. With a soft sizzle, a wisp of blue smoke rose from the wick.

The flame flickered violently before steadying. Then, an eye materialized in its center—an eye with a clear, self-aware consciousness. It scanned the people at the table, one by one, and only vanished after confirming that no one had moved.

A smirk touched Jenkins's lips; he was starting to grasp the situation. Activating his Psychography, he "drew" three more droplets of water into existence above the candelabra. The drops made the flames waver, and the three eyes that appeared within them turned to gaze at the ladies around the table.

At that exact moment, Jenkins deliberately took a heavy step toward the table. The eyes noticed the movement outside their immediate circle.

They swiveled in unison to face him, and Jenkins brought all three into his line of sight.

"Nightmare Entanglement!"

As he unleashed his power, he declared:

"It's time for you to sleep now!"

Though they lacked a physical form, the eyes were clearly some kind of organ belonging to the candelabra. Meeting Jenkins's gaze made them vulnerable to his influence, and under the combined force of his ability and divine power, they instantly drifted into slumber.

The 'hypnosis' worked. The three eyes flickered within the flames and then faded away. Jenkins quickened his pace, moved past the girls, and swung his leg up onto the table. His hand, radiating a chilling cold, seized the candelabra.

A layer of ice crept across the metal surface. The red candle flames were no ordinary fire, but with the candelabra's main consciousness plunged into sleep, the three wicks were finally extinguished by the frost.

As the candelabra's flames died, every other candle in the room went out in unison. But before the room was plunged into total darkness, Jenkins produced his Purification Candle and held it high. Its warm, yellow light washed over the ladies in their nightgowns. Their spirits, which had been slowly sinking under the weight of fear and the manor's influence, began to relax. The room had been sweltering, yet under the grip of terror, none of them had been sweating. Now, as relief set in, sweat nearly soaked the backs of their clothes.

Bathed in the light of the blessed candle, all their shadows returned. The flame of this miraculous candle could dispel curses on its own, and now it shielded them from the surrounding environment's influence, making them feel as if they had been transported from a windswept moor on a stormy night back into a warm, comfortable home.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Jenkins hopped off the table and pulled Briny into a tight embrace. The blonde girl trembled in his arms. Ignoring the stares of the others, Jenkins looked toward Hathaway. The red-haired young woman seemed to have collapsed into her chair. Before his arrival, her heightened senses had forced her to endure the greatest pressure of anyone in the room.

"It's okay. I'm here now. You're safe."

Jenkins gently patted Briny's back. He heard the scrape of chairs as the other girls gathered around them. Amid the sound of sobbing, he saw Hathaway rise from her seat and embrace him as well.

Jenkins felt a bit breathless, but he knew this wasn't the time to push anyone away. He could only offer soft words of comfort while scanning his surroundings, vigilant for any further surprises.

It took some time before he managed to help Hathaway regain some composure. Then, surrounded by the group of young women, he finally learned what had happened.

The strange events had begun about two hours earlier. The girls spending the night at the manor had been playing a game together in the dining room—a type of card-drawing game whose rules Jenkins didn't quite understand, but which had become fashionable in recent years.

The girls had been laughing and enjoying themselves when it happened. A violent gust of wind blew open all the windows and doors, and at the same time, dark shadows crept in from outside, stealing everyone's shadow.

Through the windows, they saw the courtyard outside transform, revealing a terrifying scene. Fortunately, Hathaway had reacted quickly, ordering her friends to draw the curtains. Because of her swift action, no one went mad from the sight.