[Elsword] - Formulated Hearts

Act 22 - Haunted House: Part I

...

The boys had stared at the haunted house for a while before making their way inside. They inhaled a breath of the cold air in an attempt to calm down, though admittedly, Rena was doing one heck of a job with the stimulation. Glancing at each other with a nod, they burst open the squeaky doors, as another wave of ominous wind and murky darkness greeted them.

The mansion was definitely vintage; something straight out of a horror movie. Dust bunnies were scattered around, cobwebs were forming in the corners of the ceilings and floors, and as they took several steps forward, the floorboards audibly creaked, emitting an eerie vibe. The lights were dim, as they flickered on and off. The source of illumination was better than the dense forest, however, it was still difficult to make out what exactly was ahead.

A few more steps into the house, and the doors were forcibly slammed shut with a roar. Unnervingly gulping with a chill down their spines, the duo had averted their gaze to the gateway, though they hadn't bothered to check, as it was probably locked already, and there was no point in escaping to the woodland, anyway.

Add sighed. "Great, this place is creeping me out. That Nasod has to be here..."

"We'll get through this, together. I won't accept defeat!" Chung announced boldly. "Because I don't want to be hit by Miss Exotic and her weaponry arsenal afterwards..." he added, a lot more quietly.

"Yeah, alright. Let's just keep walking..."

~

As they vigilantly ambled through the endless hallway, a sinister voice whispered into Add's ear, the origin unknown.

"Scared yet~?"

The Esper jumped at the sudden sound in a slightly panicked manner, stepping closer beside the Chaser.

"T-There was a voice. A whisper... it's a damned ghost!" he hollered, terrified.

"Ahaha... A-Add? It's probably just the wind. Ghosts aren't real." Chung forced a smile, hoping to have helped his friend somehow.

"W-Wind? What fucking wind? There aren't any windows here, and the main entrance way back is closed shut!" he shot back in dismay.

"Please calm yourself, Mr. Add! Remember what I said earlier? We're passing this together! If there really are ghosts then... I'll get rid of them for you!" Prince Seiker shook him, to snap him back to reality.

"You better keep your promise. Or I'll personally kill you myself."

"Alright, Mr. Add..."

~

They proceeded to move forward for a while, before encountering several bugs. A group of wild cockroaches had appeared!

Due to the dim light, it was hard to see the army at first, so the boys had casually walked. One cockroach crawled over to Chung, and while he was focused on the path, slowly hopped onto his shoe, ascending up his leg.

"Huh..?" the Prince blanked out, glancing at his legs.

A feminine shrill echoed in the building, followed by a few more smaller shrieks.

While Add's weakness were ghosts, Chung's was undoubtedly cockroaches.

Shaking off the first roach off his body, Prince Seiker immediately skipped up to the Diabolic Esper, clutching his neck as the Esper held him bridal style in his arms.

"K-Kill it! Kill all of them!" Chung shouted, closing his eyes in fear.

Despite how lightweight the blonde was, Add still had trouble lifting him in his arms, though he tried his best to separate his ally from the filthy foes.

He considered stepping on the roaches, though he reminded himself that it would be completely unsanitary, and that his shoes would be contaminated with the disgusting flesh of the bugs. Instead, he controlled his Nasod dynamos, as they shot small, charged electric beams at the hoard of cockroaches. Each of them died, one by one, though it was careful not to cause too much of a ruckus as he murdered them.

Chung had stayed in his arms, refusing to be put down on the ground so soon.

However, in the distance, a pair of orange-yellow eyes peered at them silently.

"Playtime's over."

...