The threads clung to the fabric, cold and slimy, while a white light, musty mist billowed from the string like a layer of steam. Faint vibrations followed each breath. Laila swallowed and carefully crawled out from under the stiff blanket. Her gaze remained on the threads. What would happen when they vibrate? She didn't want to find out. Once her upper body and first leg were free, she slipped out of the pajama top and carefully placed it next to the pillow. The sticky threads clung to the fabric. Laila hurriedly stepped onto the floor before opening the closet and pulling on her Magecraft-reinforced clothes. She carefully sneaked to the desk and removed the threads from her Mystic Code.

A screech made Laila tremble as she watched the door with bated breath. What was going on here? Suddenly, there was a clatter. Something waited in front of the door! Red light swung like a gruesome shimmer between the cracks.

Laila immediately jumped back. Fingers covered her mouth while her whole body shook uncontrollably. A slight dizziness overcame her vision as each breath quickened. Suddenly, the air in the room felt heavy and dense.

'What am I doing? What am I doing?' Laila thought while both legs became stiff as a lead. Her body didn't want to take any steps. 'Okay, okay, okay, okay... Calm down.' Taking several breaths, Laila tried to get herself under control, but her heart wouldn't stop. She glanced at the window. Maybe she could get out of it? The room was on the second floor; such a fall would be no problem with Magecraft. She slipped to the window and pushed the curtain aside.

But nothing was visible. Just a slimy white mass covered everything. Laila was trapped! Trapped as if in a dream.

"Illusionkehr," she whispered, clutching her fan tighter, hoping that everything would vanish. But nothing happened. Perhaps the monster was just toying with her? Eyes could be anywhere in the darkness. Maybe even in this room. Suddenly, she heard a clatter in the corridor. The stairs rumbled. Wood splintered again, and she didn't move.

What kind of monster was it? She had never seen such slimy threads before. Where was it now, and how much time did she have before it returned? If she wanted to live, she needed help. Mr. Jones had the most experience. But then something struck her.

'Amalia! Is she fine?'

Her mouth went dry. Maybe her friend didn't break out of the illusion? Laila's mind spoke against it, warned her, yet both legs started moving on their own. She had to get to the other room! As fast as possible!

Laila quickly took a key out of a drawer, then sneaked to the exit, avoiding the threads lying on the floor and listening at the door. Nothing... She silently pressed the open fan against the wood. An indescribable stench made Laila stumble. She had to swallow and put her hand over her mouth when she tasted something sour. But when she heard nothing, Laila closed the fan and opened the door a bit.

The hallway was even darker than the room, and she had to use Magecraft to strengthen her eyes to get any sense of direction. Despite the cold, her skull warmed up. A large amount of string enveloped the room, making the hotel look like a neglected tunnel long forgotten.

Mr. Jones' chamber was to her left. But first, she had to reach Amalia's room. Maybe then they could escape together or help the others. When Laila reached the door, however, she hesitated. A foul stench she only knew from the alchemy classes lingered in the air, even worse than the disgusting mana waves she felt with her fan. The wooden edges were dry and already stained with a layer of mold.

'Is that a rune?' Laila asked herself. None of the symbols looked familiar to her.

She opened the fan and pressed it quietly against the door. Her whole body writhed as a terrible discomfort gripped her like a foul sea. Laila immediately stumbled backward and hit her back against a wall. She had felt the swaying waves on the other side too short, but that feeling was too much. A slight, fleeting blur of the chamber reflected in her mind. It was too hidden, behind something comparable to smoke, yet she felt no familiar presence. Nothing but an empty coldness.

"Amalia," Laila whispered anxiously, pushing herself off the wall. "She must be in there."

'Do you want my help?" it suddenly echoed. Laila flinched and felt a strong resistance on her leg. A thread! She got caught in a thread! Heavy, rapid tremors sounded one floor below and roared toward the stairs.

'It's coming... I'll distract it...' the voice continued.

Almost frozen in shock, Laila instinctively grabbed the knob behind her and stumbled into the room. The steps creaked, and the hallway shook. She couldn't get a good look at the room when the door looked on its own. Something rough slid over her mouth.

"Don't make a sound." Laila wanted to scream, but fear held her back. Why did the voice sound familiar?

A terrible scream made her bones vibrate. 'I can help you...' the soft voice whispered again. Laila glanced around. Mr. Jones was staring at the door. He was hunched over, one leg bent, ready to fight. Where did the faint voice come from? Did she go crazy?

"Can you keep it down?" Mr. Jone asked quietly.

Laila nodded. Jones hesitated as if he were afraid Laila might make a noise.

'I can help you,' the voice said again. Somehow, it felt familiar. For a moment, Laila thought she saw a gentle hand reaching out.

'Is Amalia all right?' Laila had to know. The voice didn't answer, and her mouth went dry.

The rattling stopped and presumably disappeared one floor up.

'If she's still alive, maybe others made it as well,' Jones thought. Although, it didn't comfort him. "If we manage to get out of the Bounded Field, I can call for help. We'll have to avoid the monster, though. By God, I've never seen anything like it."

Laila nodded. Not even Jones knew what creature was attacking. There was no guarantee of leaving this place. It was intelligent; it wouldn't have sealed the windows otherwise. The same could have happened to the front door.

"Is there even an exit?" Laila whispered.

"I hope downstairs," Mr. Jones replied.

"Let me check where it is," Laila whispered. Carefully and without making a sound, she opened her fan and pressed it against the door. She was slowly getting used to the disgusting taste, smell, or whatever it was. But still, her eyes watered as the mana waves seeped into her skin. A pulse moved slowly in their direction and finally past the door. It was lurking, Laila thought, pressing a finger to her lips.

Mr. Jones nodded. She had to reach Amalia's room. 'No. As long as she remains in her room, she should be safe. When we get out, Mr. Jones could ask Kayneth for help. Then Amalia would be safe too.' However, the hallway was huge. Like a scent, she followed the creature.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Do you have a way to contact Kayneth or Tohsaka?" whispered Laila.

Mr. Jones widened his eyes. Of course, he didn't know that Laila had overheard the conversation. Then he nodded.

"I sent a message, but I don't know if it got through. I'll try again outside."

"The monster is at the end of the corridor. It's waiting."

Jones didn't know how Laila's Magecraft worked, but he instinctively knew she was telling the truth. The clacking grew louder, but the sounds became more irregular and slow. He had an uneasy feeling. Perhaps the monster already knew where they were hiding and was just toying with them.

Laila took a deep breath and looked around the room. The bed, pillow, and blanket were neatly tucked away in the far corner. She didn't see any threads either. Had someone slept in this room? The curtain was not closed. Perhaps she could destroy the thread-like mass in the window with her fan and...

'No... you must run. Beware of Jones.'

'Who the hell are you?' Laila instinctively shouted into her mind. But there was no answer. Jones was still bent over behind her. One hand was on the wall while the other rested concealed behind his back.

Laila swallowed. Was he hiding something in his hand? Or was she just imagining it?

"Where is it now?" he whispered. Laila didn't answer but pressed a finger to her lip. Jones nodded.

'I'll help you... Let me distract it.'

Laila wanted to ask what the voice meant. An icy, cold scream flew through her body like white smoke and froze the blood in her veins. It stormed through the corridor like a phantom. The howling shook the walls.

The creature roared. With heavy clattering steps, it followed the phantom. The tremor almost threw her from the door. Laila's body was stiff; not a muscle moved. Jones also looked frozen. Something was whispering, but Laila was too disoriented to register anything. The dim light flickered in front of her eyes, though only darkness drenched the room.

It took her a moment until color returned to her face, and she could breathe again. Cold sweat covered her uncontrollably trembling skin.

'Run!' the voice screeched. Something clicked in her head and spread warmth throughout her body. Laila knew precisely where the monster was.

By the time she could think clearly, Laila was already on a fast run for the stairs. The corridor shook behind her. For a moment, she thought she heard a deep male voice. Red light flooded the darkness and nibbled at her skin.

Laila reached the stairs and skittered across the railing to the entrance. The reddish wave reflected in the silver guardrail, and she glanced back. Jones was a few meters behind her. However, a blink was enough to make out the beast's claws, tearing up the ground like an excavator.

Fortunately, there were hardly any strings blocking her path. Laila reached the ground floor. The creature's heavy body crashed into something. She staggered sideways into the dining room, where the long breakfast table stood.

'Let me help you...' the voice whispered again. But Laila only registered it in a far corner before she rammed the table aside. Her jacket cushioned the blow, but she still tasted blood on her lip.

Once again, Laila reinforced her body with Magecraft. She immediately jumped up. Her legs were already in motion. The door was within reach. The fan slipped into her fingertips, open. A quick flick of the wrist. The side of the fan surged forward like an opening dam.

Masses of air pressed against each other, churning. The engravings shimmered green before a storm galloped forth. Chairs and tables were swept away, crashing against the door, which arched outward under the pressure. Cracks echoed, and wood fell from the frame as a white substance oozed out.

Laila smashed her shoulder against the door. Something pierced through her jacket into her skin, but the white substance held firm.

Then she saw it. It was something white and spider-like. The light from the eight furious eyes corroded her skin mercilessly, like acid. Its body was as big as the stairwell itself. Spikes sat on the armor. Something red dripped from the claws.

Meanwhile, Jones rolled off the stairs to the side. A claw narrowly missed him and turned the side railing into shavings. His stance was calm. Steeled by the countless vampire culls he had performed in his career, his gaze was focused solely on the hall. But despite everything, the sweat of fear glistened on his face.

Laila's eyes darted haphazardly around the room. There had to be an exit. Somewhere. Darkness, a table, and one monster. Eyes stared at her like embers from the deepest part of hell. She breathed faster and faster. Trapped as if in a net, her chest constricted, and she gasped for air, which suddenly rose heavy and white in front of her.

'Exit... Exit... Crap!' Laila cursed as she saw the moonlight Jones was sprinting towards. Why hadn't she thought of the windows? His robe swayed in the dying wind. He was fast and knocked the chairs aside effortlessly.

The creature burst out of the stairwell. The floor cracked. The fan slipped from her hand as the trembling fingers no longer obeyed her.

Jones grunted. His steps suddenly felt sluggish, as if something was holding him down. The spider's eyes radiated a power that rippled through his bones. He had never seen such a nightmare. Fighting it was hopeless!

The blood threatened to freeze in his veins. Every fiber of his body begged to flee. It was like a nightmare from ancient times that dragged corruption with it wherever it went.

A white thread caught Jones's legs, and he smashed head-first through a chair. She reached down with her trembling hands. The fan had to be somewhere!

"A h h h h!"

Breaking bones accompanied the scream.

"..." Not a word came out of her mouth as Laila slid down against the wall, trembling. Jones reached his red hand toward the window, trying to grasp the faint starlight. But the claw had dug deep into his flesh, effortlessly penetrating his protective clothing.

The body slumped powerlessly as the maw of the beast slowly closed. With a jerk, Jones' upper half was flung into the corner of the dining room. The crunch of a jaw echoed deep in Laila's ears, but all she could see were the red eyes when its head slowly turned towards her.

Something dark flowed down the fangs and dripped to the ground. The legs clacked. The oversized body swung around, splintering furniture, then slowly staggered forwards.

She tried to robe backward but couldn't shake off the threads. Laila swung the fan, but only a faint breeze burst forth. Something whispered in the back of her mind, and clarity spread through her head.

She quickly reached into her side pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The rune flared up, swallowing the paper as Laila threw it at the monster. A bright, powerful firework exploded. A pain-filled scream burst the glass and tore Laila from the wall.

She finally managed to slip out of her jacket. The window! She could escape!

The light faded, and only a charred spot remained on the white armor. The monster leaped forward. Laila narrowly avoided it with a jump and crashed into a stool. She could no longer feel her body. Instinctively, she whirled around. Its legs tore up the floor as the terror came towards her. Its teeth were bared. Demonlike light poured out of its maw.

She crawled back. Her legs felt numb. But to her horror, she discovered that the threads had wrapped around her lower body.

'I can help you...' the voice offered in a whisper.

'Help me! Help me, please,' Laila cried desperately, clinging to the white light. She could barely escape backward when she felt the familiar helping hand on her shoulder. The spider-like creature raised its claw and paused.

Laila could have sworn she saw a smile before an indescribable pain twisted her wrist. It was like acid crawling over her skin. Then, a white light flooded the room. Laila closed her eyes, but she recognized the creature limping back, watching the circle form.

Gradually, the light faded before a violent vortex distorted the room. It glowed red and black. Tearing wood and chairs with it. Laila raised her arm and tried to protect herself somehow. The hair slapped her face and stuck to her wet skin. The wind tore the floorboards from the ground. Tables crunched as coins rolled across the ceiling. With tremendous speed, something heavy crashed into her shoulder.

Everything blurred under tears, but she recognized a person with ivory skin facing the abomination. Her black hair danced in tied twin-tails around the shoulders. She wore a red and black dress while a net bow in the same colors held her hair.

"Ara Ara, the future is always surprising, isn't it? You don't get to see such an ugly creature every day." A flintlock lay loosely in her hand and tapped against her lip as she tilted her head elegantly to the left.

The spider-like creature remained as if too frightened to take another step.

"All right, all right, we can't have a bloodthirsty beast like you here now, can we?" The woman spoke, licking her lips. "Surly, your time tastes delicious!"

With these words, the woman pointed her Flintlock at the monster. A screech shook the furniture, and shortly afterward, Flintlock spat fire. But the spider did not jump aside. Astonished, it looked at its eight legs, which sank into a dark substance.

The bullet smashed right through the white armor, splintering it like wood. The beast's body slumped powerlessly.

Laila's eyes widened... 'How is this possible?'