"But how was he enchanted?" I asked.
Silence followed.
Dylan didn't answer immediately.
Together, we carried Bruno back inside and laid him carefully on the bed. His face had grown pale, almost deathly, and his breathing was becoming shallow.
I turned to Dylan, panic rising in my chest.
"So how are we going to break the spell?"
Dylan's expression darkened.
"I can't break it," he admitted.
My eyes widened.
"If you can't break it, are we just going to stand here and watch him die?" I snapped, my voice trembling.
Bruno might not like me, but that didn't mean I wanted him dead.
Dylan's gaze locked onto mine.
"I know someone who can save him."
"Who?" I asked immediately. "Then go get that person!"
"That person…" he said slowly, "is you."
I froze.
"The one who can save him is you, Clover."
"Me?" I repeated, stunned.
"Yes." Dylan nodded. "Get the Book of Evil."
I blinked.
"I… I don't have it with me."
He frowned.
"You can't summon it?"
"Summon it?" I echoed. "I can't. I've never summoned it before."
"Then try."
I stared at him in disbelief.
Why was he telling me to try when he knew perfectly well that I was powerless?
"Do you believe in magic?" he asked suddenly.
"I do," I replied.
"Then close your eyes. Take a deep breath… and call it forth."
I hesitated.
But then I thought:
There's no harm in trying.
So I did exactly as he said.
I closed my eyes, took a shaky breath, and focused as hard as I could.
Book of Evil… come to me.
Nothing.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
After several failed attempts, frustration began to boil inside me.
"It's not working," I said through clenched teeth.
And then—
With a snap of Dylan's fingers, the Book of Evil suddenly appeared, floating in the air between us.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"You knew this wasn't the time to play around!" I snapped angrily.
"I wasn't playing," Dylan said, his face serious.
He stepped closer to the floating book.
"I wanted to know if you could summon it consciously. Since you were able to summon it before, I needed to be sure."
I frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"Haven't you ever wondered why you couldn't find the book that day?" he asked quietly. "Back in Mr. Gareth's library?"
I went still.
Back then… when I had searched for it…
It had vanished.
My breath caught.
"I think you understand now," Dylan continued. "You may not be able to use magic the way others do… but the Book of Evil answers to your emotions."
I stared at him.
"If that's true…" he said, his eyes sharpening, "then it's possible your power can protect you when your life is in danger."
A memory flashed through Dylan's mind.
That moment the demons had chased them.
That moment when they had escaped.
He had thought that he was overthinking it during that time but it really seems that it was her who saved them.
But how ?
Dylan thought.
Is that even possible i asked?
Then realization hit me like a wave.
Maybe he wasn't all wrong.
Then another thought struck me.
"How did you know I searched for the book?" I asked, my voice low and suspicious.
Dylan paused.
For the first time, he actually looked… uncomfortable.
"I was forced to look into your memories," he admitted.
My jaw dropped.
"You what?!"
I glared at him.
"You pervert!"
His expression didn't change, but I could swear there was the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes.
"This is hardly the time for that," he said calmly. "Go and find the innkeeper. Ask her for lavender and white sage flowers. Bring them to me."
I huffed in irritation but nodded and hurried out.
I went downstairs, but the innkeeper was nowhere to be found.
The place felt strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
It was already evening, and the shadows around the inn had grown long and unsettling.
I searched the front hall.
Nothing.
The kitchen.
Nothing.
Then I stepped outside and made my way toward the backyard.
As I walked through the overgrown grass, my foot accidentally kicked something hard on the ground.
"Ow!"
Pain shot through my toes, and I bent down, rubbing my foot angrily.
Then I looked closer at what I had kicked.
And my blood ran cold.
It was a pile of bones.
Animal bones.
And tangled among them…
was a shed serpent skin.
My eyes widened in horror.
Without thinking, I turned and ran.
I rushed back upstairs and burst into the room—
Only to freeze.
The innkeeper was already there.
She sat calmly beside Bruno's bed, while Dylan stood behind her, his expression unreadable.
"Dylan!" I shouted, breathless. "She isn't human!"
I pointed at the old woman with a trembling hand.
"She's a snake!"
In an instant, Dylan drew his sword and pressed the blade against her neck, shielding Bruno behind him.
I ran straight to Dylan's side and positioned myself behind him as we cornered the old woman against the wall.
The old woman's face twisted, but she still tried to maintain her harmless act.
"I am human," she said coldly. "I don't know what nonsense you are talking about."
Now it all made sense.
My heart pounded as the pieces clicked together.
"You lied," I said, staring at her. "You said demons and witches killed your family and you have forgiven them… but in truth you never forgave them."
Her eyes darkened.
"You've been living here disguised as a human, taking revenge on every witch and demon who passes through this place."
For a second, the room fell silent.
Then—
The old woman burst into a chilling, deadly laugh.
Her cover had been blown.
There was no point pretending anymore.
A cruel smirk stretched across her wrinkled face.
"Yes," she hissed. "And even though you found out… it changes nothing."
A pulse of dark energy crackled around her.
"The preparations have already been made."
Her eyes slowly shifted toward me.
"And you…" she said, pointing a crooked finger in my direction. "You are far too interesting."
A shiver ripped through me.
"I was willing to let you leave quietly," she continued, her voice growing darker, sharper, more inhuman. "But I have changed my mind."
The air around her thickened with dark smoke.
"None of you are leaving here alive."
The black smoke swallowed her whole.
The walls trembled.
Then, in the next second—
A gigantic phantom serpent exploded out of the darkness.
Its massive body coiled through the room, its enormous tail slamming against the walls and ceiling.
The entire building shook violently.
Furniture shattered.
Wood splintered.
The serpent's glowing red eyes blazed with murderous hunger.
"Take cover!" Dylan shouted.
I screamed and ran toward the nearest corner, shielding myself as the beast thrashed wildly, tearing through the room like a storm.
The serpent's eyes locked onto Dylan.
Then it lunged.
Dylan dodged just in time.
Its jaws slammed into the wall, splintering it instantly.
Again it struck.
Again he evaded.
The second floor groaned under the force of their battle.
The beast lashed its tail, smashing through support beams as Dylan finally countered, his sword flashing like silver lightning through the dark.
The entire upper floor cracked beneath them.
And then—
With a deafening crash—
Part of the building collapsed.
Dylan and the serpent plunged down through the shattered floor to the level below.
The whole inn shook so violently I nearly lost my balance.
From above, I could hear the battle intensifying.
Roars.
Crashes.
Splintering wood.
The room felt like it was being torn apart around me.
Then suddenly—
I remembered Bruno.
I turned and looked toward the bed.
He was still there.
Still unconscious.
Still helpless.
My heart clenched.
I rushed to his side.
His condition had worsened.
His skin looked cold. His breathing was barely there.
He almost looked dead.
"Bruno!" I whispered desperately.
I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up.
But the moment I did—
Crack.
A sharp sound came from directly behind me.
My blood froze.
Slowly, I turned.
The floor beneath us split open.
"No—!"
Before I could react, the broken boards gave way beneath my feet.
Bruno and I plunged downward together.
The world spun.
Wood, dust, and shattered debris crashed around us as we fell through the collapsing floor—
And slammed straight into the middle of the battle below.
I gasped in pain.
The air was thick with dust and dark magic.
The phantom serpent hissed violently.
Dylan turned sharply.
And in that moment…
I felt it.
The room had changed.
The danger had changed.
The serpent's glowing red eyes locked onto me.
Dylan's eyes locked onto me too.
Or maybe…
Maybe it wasn't me the beast wanted.
Maybe it was Bruno.
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
The serpent began to rise higher, its monstrous body curling above us like death itself.
And for the first time since this journey began…
I truly thought—
Was I really going to die here?