"By burning the research institution to ground?" she said.

I chuckled.

"That'll do nothing. They can just rebuild the research institution building."

"So we take out the people supporting it? If no one supports the research institution, then it will automatically shut down," she said.

This was her observation from the clue we had.

[The $%@ Institution was built on @#'s support.]

The @# was who we needed to take out.

And I knew who this person was.

"You guessed correctly, Yuna. And to do what you said, we need to eliminate the deputy director."

"The deputy director? How do you know he's the one supporting the research?" she asked, frowning.

I shrugged. "If you can't figure it out before we find Selene, I'll tell you then."

I couldn't tell her I knew from my past life.

Better to change the topic.

I knew the information because of my uncle Elias's last words from my last life.

"The deputy director is always watching."

That was the clue to exorcising this Cursed Spirit.

Yuna's spirit flared.

She clearly wanted to ask more, but I stopped her.

"Instead of asking me that, why don't you try to guess where the director is?"

She tilted her head. "Wait, you know where he is?"

I nodded. "I'll give you a clue. The director is always watching."

"Hmm, if he is always watching, is it through CCTV? But I didn't see a single camera. Then can it be….."

She went quiet, thinking.

Finally, she stopped trying to ask questions.

I opened a portal and stepped through it, appearing on top of a tall building.

I looked around the silent city.

I hadn't closed the portal. If I did, the thread that was extending beyond the portal would snap.

"Let's see, where is Selene?"

Selene could be anywhere.

But she must have left some kind of trace behind in case someone came for her.

I scanned the streets below.

My mana and mental strength were draining fast, both from keeping the Security Guard Cursed Spirit trapped and from the mental pressure of the thread.

Then I caught a scent.

It was faint but familiar. A floral smell.

I knew it wasn't just a fragrance.

It was something only vampires and their sub-species could produce.

They used it as a kind of signal or marker.

The stronger the scent, the purer the bloodline.

They mainly used it to show off their prestige and family background during balls or other important occasions.

I activated Hollow Eyes again and focused.

Thin gray lines appeared in the air, leading away from the city center.

That was the direction of the scent.

I deactivated Hollow Eyes and stepped back through the portal to the ground, closing it behind me.

Then I started running.

The trail led to an old, abandoned warehouse.

The air inside was cold and heavy.

"Selene, I'm here to rescue you," I said, stepping inside.

Silence.

There was no response, but I could tell she was here, hiding somewhere in the shadows.

She was probably unsure if I was really myself or just a Cursed Spirit pretending to be me.

I could've asked Mira for a secret that only the two sisters knew and used it to prove my identity, but that wouldn't help here.

Cursed Spirits could use powerful mind abilities.

They could create illusions so real that you'd see people you loved, saying things only they would know.

Even private memories could be used against you.

Defending against that kind of trick was nearly impossible.

So, even if I told Selene a secret only she and Mira shared, she would probably think it was a hallucination.

That's why I decided to take a simpler approach.

"Selene, come out," I said, my voice steady. "If you don't come out in ten seconds, I'm leaving.

"You're stuck in a domain with no hope of rescue anytime soon.

"You can either come out and leave with me, or you can stay here and miss your only chance."

I started counting.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five—

"Hey," Selene said with a small smile, stepping from behind a huge container.

She looked calm, but I could tell from her stiff movements that she was nervous.

I sat down on a nearby chair.

"Bring a chair and sit. Don't worry about the Cursed Spirit. It won't attack us right now."

She dragged a chair over and sat down, her eyes still cautious.

I started explaining everything that had happened. How Mira was safe, how we got here, and what needed to be done.

When I finished, she let out a slow breath.

"You faced quite a few things. Thank you for coming to my rescue despite everything."

"Don't mind it."

She didn't stand on ceremony and continued, "So, we need to eliminate this Deputy Director? And once he's gone, the Cursed Spirit will be exorcised, and we can escape?"

I nodded.

"Where is the Deputy Director then?" she asked.

"In the main world of this domain," I replied.

She frowned. "There are multiple personal worlds here. How do you know which one is the main world?"

"This one could be the main world," I said.

She tilted her head. "How?"

"Before I tell you that, let's talk about something you need to know first.

"We're experimental subjects who couldn't even damage or break our test tubes, yet somehow we 'escaped.'

"We're being hunted by a creature that can teleport anywhere instantly, but it only attacks at strangely precise five-minute intervals.

"And instead of taking all of us at once, it captures us one by one."

She stared at me, processing my words.

"Doesn't that seem… planned?" I added.

Her eyes widened as realization hit her.

"You're saying…"

"Yes. We were allowed to escape. This whole situation is part of an experiment.

"The five-minute interval isn't random. It's part of the experiment being done on us. And if it's a test…" I left my words hanging.

"The Deputy Director must be observing us at all times," she finished.

I nodded. "Exactly. That brings us back to the main world. These multiple personal worlds exist to confuse us and keep us from finding him.

"One of these worlds is the main one.

"And since he's watching us all the time, he has to be somewhere that makes it easy to observe everything," I said.

Selene leaned forward slightly. "Where is he?"

I lifted my hand and pointed upward.

"The sky. He can watch us easily from there."

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